Read Online Gargantua by K. Robert Andreassi - Free Book Online
Authors: K. Robert Andreassi
Ads: Link
foliage.
Brandon couldn’t really make out what it was, but it was green, and it was big. In fact, he was pretty sure that it was the same color green as that thing he saw the previous day in the water.
It’s probably just a salamander or something, he thought, but salamanders didn’t usually come that large.
He considered his options. Following the blur meant going into the jungle. He had no idea what lay within it. On the other hand, how dangerous could it be? And Dad didn’t tell him not to go into the jungle, just not to go into the water.
And he did say I should go exploring.
Of course, Dad had suggested eating at Manny’s in the same breath, and that had turned out really lousy, but Brandon didn’t care. He wanted to see what that thing was.
These thought processes took all of a second, so he muttered, “Shazam,” and dashed into the foliage on the heels of the green blur.
Though he did not possess the speed of Mercury that his hero had, Brandon could move quickly even through the dense, big-leafed trees around him. The plants ahead of him rustled, and he followed the sounds as they led him deeper and deeper.
Just as the rustling stopped, Brandon came to an overhanging tree whose branches drooped down like the flaps of a tent. He pushed the leaves aside to find himself at the mouth of a beautiful lagoon.
Like all the water hereabouts, the lagoon was a deep blue.
However, it wasn’t an undisturbed blue-right at the shoreline near Brandon’s feet, the water rippled, as if something had just dashed into the water.
Brandon smiled. The wisdom of Solomon tells me that the little dude ran in here. He squatted down and peered into the water.
Suddenly, a creature emerged from the water. To Brandon’s amazement, it actually did look like a salamander, with two major differences. For one thing, salamanders didn’t walk on their hind legs; for another, they rarely grew three feet long.
Its eyes were huge, like some goofy stuffed animal’s.
Then it went back into the water.
“Holy moley,” Brandon muttered.
He stared at the water for several minutes, wondering when the thing would come back out.
The ripples it made started to slow down. After a little while, the water was completely calm.
Of the creature, there was no sign.
Weird, Brandon thought.
Jack Ellway’s first thought upon seeing Ralph Hale’s seaplane was, I’ve got to get my own oceanographic institute. UCSD would never let me have toys like this. He directed a few more choice thoughts toward his employers as the dinghy took them to where Hale kept his plane.
They spent the day flying around the open ocean, Jack peering through a pair of binoculars, trying to find something that didn’t match with the information regarding local marine life that he’d studied in depth in preparation for his trip here. Hale, for his part, steered the plane unerringly; Jack only felt queasy three or four times, which was a lot less than he expected in so small a plane with such high winds.
Around lunchtime, they landed on Kalor to grab a quick lunch—Jack was not surprised to find that everyone they met knew Hale personally—then went out again.
By late afternoon, they had given up. “I haven’t seen a damn thing that doesn’t belong here,” he shouted to Hale in the front compartment.
“Pity,” he said. “I’ll radio the pier, let ’em know we’re comin’ in.”
It took another ten minutes for them to arrive back at Malau, and another five to take the dinghy back to the pier.
Shortly after meeting him, Hale had commented to Jack that, “You can’t order a pint on one end of Malau without someone on the other end knowin’ what brand you’re drinkin’ inside of two seconds.” So it came as no surprise to find a massive welcoming committee waiting for them at the pier: President Moki, Paul Bateman, Chief Movita, and a number of others, including, inevitably, Derek Lawson and his two hangers-on.
Before the dinghy pilot could even
Brandon couldn’t really make out what it was, but it was green, and it was big. In fact, he was pretty sure that it was the same color green as that thing he saw the previous day in the water.
It’s probably just a salamander or something, he thought, but salamanders didn’t usually come that large.
He considered his options. Following the blur meant going into the jungle. He had no idea what lay within it. On the other hand, how dangerous could it be? And Dad didn’t tell him not to go into the jungle, just not to go into the water.
And he did say I should go exploring.
Of course, Dad had suggested eating at Manny’s in the same breath, and that had turned out really lousy, but Brandon didn’t care. He wanted to see what that thing was.
These thought processes took all of a second, so he muttered, “Shazam,” and dashed into the foliage on the heels of the green blur.
Though he did not possess the speed of Mercury that his hero had, Brandon could move quickly even through the dense, big-leafed trees around him. The plants ahead of him rustled, and he followed the sounds as they led him deeper and deeper.
Just as the rustling stopped, Brandon came to an overhanging tree whose branches drooped down like the flaps of a tent. He pushed the leaves aside to find himself at the mouth of a beautiful lagoon.
Like all the water hereabouts, the lagoon was a deep blue.
However, it wasn’t an undisturbed blue-right at the shoreline near Brandon’s feet, the water rippled, as if something had just dashed into the water.
Brandon smiled. The wisdom of Solomon tells me that the little dude ran in here. He squatted down and peered into the water.
Suddenly, a creature emerged from the water. To Brandon’s amazement, it actually did look like a salamander, with two major differences. For one thing, salamanders didn’t walk on their hind legs; for another, they rarely grew three feet long.
Its eyes were huge, like some goofy stuffed animal’s.
Then it went back into the water.
“Holy moley,” Brandon muttered.
He stared at the water for several minutes, wondering when the thing would come back out.
The ripples it made started to slow down. After a little while, the water was completely calm.
Of the creature, there was no sign.
Weird, Brandon thought.
Jack Ellway’s first thought upon seeing Ralph Hale’s seaplane was, I’ve got to get my own oceanographic institute. UCSD would never let me have toys like this. He directed a few more choice thoughts toward his employers as the dinghy took them to where Hale kept his plane.
They spent the day flying around the open ocean, Jack peering through a pair of binoculars, trying to find something that didn’t match with the information regarding local marine life that he’d studied in depth in preparation for his trip here. Hale, for his part, steered the plane unerringly; Jack only felt queasy three or four times, which was a lot less than he expected in so small a plane with such high winds.
Around lunchtime, they landed on Kalor to grab a quick lunch—Jack was not surprised to find that everyone they met knew Hale personally—then went out again.
By late afternoon, they had given up. “I haven’t seen a damn thing that doesn’t belong here,” he shouted to Hale in the front compartment.
“Pity,” he said. “I’ll radio the pier, let ’em know we’re comin’ in.”
It took another ten minutes for them to arrive back at Malau, and another five to take the dinghy back to the pier.
Shortly after meeting him, Hale had commented to Jack that, “You can’t order a pint on one end of Malau without someone on the other end knowin’ what brand you’re drinkin’ inside of two seconds.” So it came as no surprise to find a massive welcoming committee waiting for them at the pier: President Moki, Paul Bateman, Chief Movita, and a number of others, including, inevitably, Derek Lawson and his two hangers-on.
Before the dinghy pilot could even
Similar Books
