Free Danger Guys Hit the Beach by Tony Abbott Page B

and kicked the motor with all his strength.
    Sputt! The motor died. Everything went quiet.
    â€œHey, I said stop it, not kill it.”
    Zeek shrugged and smiled. “Don’t know my own strength, I guess.”
    â€œYeah, well, great. Now how are we going to get back?” I looked all around.
    It had been a short ride, but a fast one. I couldn’t even see the beach. We were drifting out to sea. The only thing anywhere near us was a small patch of land.
    â€œHey, what’s that?” Zeek asked. “Japan?”
    â€œYeah, right,” I said. “That must be the island Boomer was talking about. Let’s swim for it.”
    â€œNo thanks. I hate getting all wet, remember?”
    â€œOh yeah, I forgot.”
    â€œAnyway,” he said, “we’re better off staying in the boat. We’ll be spotted sooner.”
    â€œNo problem, pal,” I smiled. “We’ll just sit here in the … Say, what is the name of this boat, anyway?” I looked over the side. “Oh-oh.”
    â€œOh-oh what?” Zeek read the name. “ Gilligan ? He named it the Gilligan ? Oh, we’re doomed. We’ll be marooned here forever, eating tree bark and seaweed, while everybody else gets to go to the movies and eat cheeseburgers!”
    â€œHey, don’t talk to me about burgers. I didn’t get to eat mine, remember?”
    â€œYou can forget about lunch,” Zeek said. “The next meal we’ll have will be breakfast. If we’re lucky.”
    â€œAnd don’t start me thinking about—Hey, what’s that?”
    â€œWhat’s what?”
    â€œThis water in the boat. Was it always here?”
    â€œWater? In the boat? Man the lifeboat!”
    â€œZeek, this is the lifeboat. Man the surfboard!”
    I tossed the board over, and we jumped on.
    It was slippery. We were trying to sit up on it, when—
    â€œ Rooaaarrr !”
    Out of nowhere rose this giant black … thing! It was all slimy. It had a long snout. Huge bulging eyes. Two snaky with claws on the ends of them.
    â€œThe Ugly Dude!”
    The claws snapped open and shut.
    They were snapping at us.
    And they were getting closer.
    â€œPaddle!” I yelled. “Fast!”



THREE
    Zeek paddled with all his strength.
    So did I.
    Only we weren’t paddling the same way.
    So we didn’t move.
    But the sea monster did.
    RRRRRRRR! The snake arms shot out again from each side of the monster’s belly. They kept grabbing for us.
    â€œZeekie! It’s going to eat us!”
    Then, as if we dreamed it— whoosh —the monster vanished beneath the water. The air was still. It was just Zeek and me on the surfboard.
    â€œNoodle?” Zeek said. “Have we died and gone to surfer heaven? I mean, was there just a sea monster here? Or not?”
    I looked all around. I was about to smile and give Zeek the thumbs-up, but I stopped.
    Like they say, we were still in hot water.
    Or at least, bubbling water.
    The water began to churn all around us. It turned white and started to swell.
    â€œOh, no!” I cried. “The Golden Crest!”
    Whoom! We were lifted up on the crest of a giant wave. It must have been thirty feet high.
    The surfboard teetered at the top like a seesaw. Then the wave curled and crashed.
    Shoooooom! Down we went. We hung on to the board as long as we could before it flipped over.
    Wham! The board slammed into a rock, bounced up, shot back over the wave, and landed in the motorboat. Then the boat rode the wave back toward the beach where we started.
    â€œHey! Maybe we should have stayed—”
    Wham. Wham. That’s when Zeek and I hit the water. Hard.
    It seemed like ten minutes before the wave threw us up on the island. And I mean threw up ! Yuck! We were totally soaked and covered with slimy sea junk.
    When we finally got to our feet, the wave was gone, and the sea was calm again.
    â€œThis is all too weird,” I