Chapter 3

Chapter 3 DO YOU DARE ENTER THE CELLAR OF SECRETS? NOT WITHOUT A HALL PASS, YOU DON'T! Jodi was certainly curious about the mysteries of Minecraft. But she had a mystery to solve in the real world, too. She got to school early the next morning. She wore her best spy gear: dark sunglasses, quiet sneakers, and a wide-brimmed hat. Despite the clothes, Harper still recognized her immediately. "Hey, Jodi," she said. She was sitting on the school's front steps, reading a graphic novel with a dragon on the cover. "Where's Morgan? Don't you usually walk together?"

"He was taking too long to eat breakfast," Jodi answered. "I had to leave him. I didn't want to, but it was for the greater good!" Harper grinned. "On a mission, are you?" Jodi looked around the schoolyard, making sure no one was listening. She lowered her voice just to be safe. "Doc has been acting strange all week. I'm going to get to the bottom of it." Doc Culpepper was their science teacher. She was also the inventor of the VR goggles they used to enter the game world. (Though she seemed to

have no idea what that particular invention was really capable of doing.) For Doc, "acting strange" was actually quite normal. Jodi and Harper were both fascinated by their teacher. But they were fascinated in different ways. Harper thought of Doc as a creative and inventive role model who was dedicated to science. Jodi thought of Doc as a puzzle to be solved—mysterious, secretive, and quite possibly descended from an ancient race of mer-people dedicated to taking over the surface world. "Does your investigation have room for an

apprentice?" Harper asked. "Maybe I could help out." Jodi gave Harper a grateful smile. She also gave Harper her hat. "Glad to have you on board," Jodi said, "because that hat is way too big for me!" Jodi led Harper to a staircase. The stairs descended into a dark basement. "Why are we going down here?" Harper asked. "Doc's lab is on the ground floor." "That's what made me suspicious," Jodi said. "I've seen Doc go down here three times this week. Each time, she was carrying buckets full of water." "That is strange," Harper said. She held the handrail, careful not to lose her footing in the low light. "Do you think it's for a science experiment?" "No," said Jodi. "I think she's building a basement swimming pool. Or an ice-skating rink!" She frowned. "Although I have to admit,

your idea does sound more likely." They reached the bottom of the stairs. There was a large furnace on one side of the room. Against the back wall was a large closet with a chain-link door. In the closet, cleaning supplies were neatly stacked upon the floor-to-ceiling metal shelves. "Do you smell that?" Harper asked. Jodi sniffed the air. "It smells like…the beach?" "It's salt water," Harper said. "Of course!" Jodi said. "Harper, what if Doc is from Atlantis? That would explain why her science is so advanced!" Harper gave Jodi a funny look. "She went to college and got two doctorate degrees," said Harper. "That explains why her science is so advanced." "Maybe she went to college…in Atlantis?" Jodi suggested. "Maybe," Harper said. She pointed at a series of small puddles leading down a side hallway. "The trail leads that way."

They walked to the end of the short hallway. A door was ajar. Jodi peered inside. "What do you see?" Harper whispered. "It looks like a classroom," Jodi whispered. "But there are big tanks of water. And I think I hear something. An animal, scuttling and squeaking." Jodi strained her ears. Just then, a shrill noise sounded out. It was so loud and unexpected that Jodi nearly screamed. "We must have tripped an alarm!" she hissed over the noise. "Sharkmen are probably already on their way to detain us! We have to get out of here!"