-6-
Sam stared back through the metal grate from the passenger seat of the police cruiser. The creature sat stroking its wiry fur, brooding. It had a powerful chest, long arms, and bowed legs that made its body looked vaguely like that of a great ape. But long, sharp grizzly bear claws jutted from its nimble fingers, and its eyes were like nothing Sam had ever seen—they were huge, yellow, and curious…scheming, Sam thought. Its blunt snout and the curved warthog tusks that protruded from its oversized mouth gave it a fearsome appearance, but it had long, pointed ears that stuck up like those of an Egyptian cat. They turned back and forth, alert, as though listening carefully, and they made the thing seem slightly less brutish somehow.
Sam and PJ pulled into the tiny police station parking lot.
“Okay, here we are,” PJ said. “Now what’s the next phase of your clever plan?”
Sam pulled a long, pointed instrument out from under the seat.
“What’s that?” PJ asked.
“Taser” Sam replied. “Your dad told me he zaps bad guys with it, and it incapacitates them up to a full minute.”
“You want to zap a ferocious animal with a device designed to work on humans and drag it inside in less than one minute? That’s your plan?”
“Unless you’ve got a better one.”
PJ frowned for a moment, then snatched the Taser from Sam and stuck it through a hole in the safety cage.
BZZZZZZT!
The creature contorted and went limp. “Go!” PJ yelled.
The boys jumped out and hauled the beast from the back of the car, grunting and cursing at each other as they struggled to drag it across the sidewalk. The creature’s head bumped up the steps as Sam fumbled the front door open. Thump-bump-thump-bump.
Once inside, they pushed, pulled, and rolled the thing across the floor toward the jail cell as fast as they could. Sam gave a heave, PJ gave a shove, and it flopped inside. PJ slammed the barred door closed with a clang just as the creature blinked awake.
It rose slowly and snuffled about the jail cell, shading its eyes from the artificial lights of the room. Its clawed hands flexed angrily. The boys could see now that a thick leather jerkin hung over its vital areas, like armor from the dark ages.
“Not brilliant,” PJ mumbled, “nuh-nuh-nuh-no.”
“What is it?” Sam asked, staring in wonder at the creature and its outfit. It sat on the bench with its head slumped into its deep chest, but Sam could still see its toothy expression. Its eyes darted about beneath its thick brows so that it looked like it was evaluating its surroundings.
“A deformed bear?” PJ suggested. The creature looked up, frowning. It spotted the foam toy bat in the cell and grabbed it, feeling its weight.
“No,” Sam said, “it’s more like a mutated monkey—it almost seems like it’s thinking.” He looked around and found the foam ball, which had rolled out of the cell. He tossed the ball back into the cell.
“Oh yeah?” PJ said. He motioned for the beast to throw the ball back. To their surprise, the creature stooped and picked it up, then rolled it to the bars of the cell, within PJ’s reach. “Hey, I think it understands,” PJ said. He stepped forward and leaned down to grab the ball.
“Argh!” the creature growled. It leapt at PJ and slammed the bat against his head through the bars.
Wham-wham-wham!
“Ahhh!” PJ cried out as the thing beat him about the face and ears. Sam yanked PJ away as the creature continued to pummel him with the foam toy. They tumbled into a pile against the desk. PJ shook Sam off angrily, staring up at the beast in the cell. “You ungrateful, treacherous piece of…why’d you do that?!”
“You’re gonna call your dad now, aren’t you?” Sam suggested.
“Oh, now there’s a fine idea,” PJ panted, hauling himself up. “What kind of crook are you? You don’t call the adult you’re going to get into the most trouble with.”
Sam shrugged. “Well it’s not like you can just call animal control and have them come haul it away…”
– End Chapter Six –
