Free 20,000 Nerds Under the Sea by Jeff Miller Page B

friends let out a huge cheer as the ship began to lose its balance.
    â€œNeil, you’re breaking it. You’re doing it!” exclaimed Sam.
    â€œCritical injury,” said a robotic computer voice. Gauges and meters began to misfire from every control panel.
    Without a properly functioning dorsal fin, Magda was spinning endlessly. It spiraled like a football. Neil was getting dizzy, unable to focus on a fixed spot to reduce his nausea.
    There’s way too much ketchup inside me for this to end well.
    Suddenly the metal bars holding the pilots in disengaged. With a hydraulic hiss, Neil, Biggs, and Sam were released.
    â€œHold on tight, everybody!” yelled Sam. She regained control of her fin and managed to slow the rolling of the ship, wedging her radio headset next to the joystick. Blue emergency lights illuminated the back of the cockpit. They surrounded a small doorway marked with a giant red exclamation point.
    â€œOh, you’re all soon to be smithereens. You think you can get away in my ship?” came Jolly’s voice. She continued to scream as the three friends staggered away from their seats.
    â€œThat’s gotta be the escape pod,” said Neil. “Let’s make a break for it, before this thing sinks.”
    The three friends grabbed metal beams to help stabilize themselves. The shark kept twisting through the water like a torpedo. Neil peered out the windows to see an orange coral reef ahead.
    â€œTurn with it!” said Sam, who maneuvered around the spinning cockpit, walking on the wall and then ceiling as if they were back in space. They scrambled to the back of the ship’s cabin and crawled into the tiny escape shuttle. There was barely enough room for all three to fit, but Sam pulled the metal latch shut. A red handle was illuminated behind a clear piece of plastic. Sam removed the cover and tugged on the emergency release.
    â€œLet’s get out of here!” yelled Sam as she maxed out every lever on the tiny craft. With an incredible burst of speed, the small submarine sped away from Magda .
    The shark continued to roll, grinding its fin on yet another rock formation—narrowly missing a head-on collision with the coral.
    Neil’s face was squeezed against a small window. He watched as the shark’s eyes flickered off and then backon again. With a final crackle, they turned black, and the nose of the submersible began to sink.
    â€œGuys, I think we just pulled off an impossible escape,” Sam said. “I’m shaking.”
    â€œMe too,” said Neil.
    â€œMe three,” said Biggs. “But there’s a good chance that’s red Singapore-goo related.”
    â€œNow let’s get away from her before her yacht catches up,” said Sam.
    Neil smiled as the tiny submarine sputtered its way through the ocean, past lots of happily uneaten sharks.

“SO, WE’RE IN A SUBMARINE,” SAID BIGGS, HIS LEGS BENT to fit. “A submarine that is stuck somewhere in the ocean, surrounded by sharks, and we don’t have to be at school until tomorrow. What’s next?”
    Biggs was right. It was probably noon, and regular life continued tomorrow morning. The team paused as the sub’s propellers continued to hum. The pod was controlled by a simple joystick and two buttons—one to stop, the other to go. It was like a prehistoric video game.
    They coasted through open water, with schools ofsmall translucent fish wriggling alongside. Various sizes and species of sharks swam past, coming close enough to investigate.
    â€œAnd what do we do about Jolly?” asked Sam.
    Neil wasn’t sure, but he knew getting away was the priority.
    â€œLet’s take things one step at a time. For instance, how far can this thing get us? Can’t imagine there’s much fuel in an escape pod,” Neil said. He scanned the controls for some kind of fuel monitor, but there was nothing to be seen.
    Sam read from a GPS.