9 Squids Ahoy!

Chapter 9 SQUIDS AHOY! Uncle Al's hologram was more transparent than before. "Hey there, guys!" he said. His voice sounded far away. "Hi, Uncle Al," said Andrew. "Hiya, Unkie!" said Thudd. "It's hard to hear you, Uncle Al," said Judy. "The Hologram Helper has problems underwater," said Uncle Al. "But the good news is that I've figured out a way to fix the destination dial. Judy, do you have a hairpin?" "Yes!" said Judy. "And I fixed it already!"

"And we met Soggy Bob in an underwater cave," said Andrew, "and we escaped!" "King Arthur on a Girl Scout cookie!" said Uncle Al. "You guys are amazing! Now we can get the three of you back!" "But by the time we get back," said Andrew, "it may be too late to save the squids!" "Yes!" agreed Judy. "We can't let Soggy Bob turn them into squidwiches!" Uncle Al shook his head. "You guys are very brave," he said. "But I can't let you take on Soggy Bob by yourselves. You're much more important than squids!" "We got away from Soggy Bob once," said Andrew. "We can do it again." Uncle Al looked very serious. "I'm worried about more than just Soggy Bob," he said. "The deep ocean is the most dangerous place on earth!" His voice was getting softer. meep… "At deepest ocean, seven miles of water above!" said Thudd. "Water heavy as herd of elephants!"

"But, Uncle Al," said Andrew, "I thought the Water Bug's coating of Protectum would keep it from getting squashed." "But there are other things, too," said Uncle Al. "There are sea creatures that are hard to imagine." Andrew's eyes got wide. "I like to imagine things that are hard to imagine," he said. "Well," said Uncle Al. His voice was fading, and so was his hologram. "It's not only the animals that are alive down there. The earth is alive, too! You may get to see how alive it really is. I don't want you to…" "We can't hear you, Uncle Al!" said Judy. All that was left of Uncle Al were his bushy eyebrows floating above the dashboard. Then they disappeared, too. "Super-bummer!" said Judy. "So what's this big deal about the earth being alive?" meep… "Earth changing all the time," said Thudd. "Like living thing. This what earth look like two hundred million years ago."

Thudd's face screen showed one giant continent surrounded by water. "Wowzers schnauzers!" said Andrew. "What happened?" meep… "Earth kinda like big pie," said Thudd. "Outside of earth called crust. Earth crust broken. Lotsa pieces. Underneath crust, earth got layer of melted rock. Hot, hot, hot! Earth crust float on melted rock, like crust on top of pie." Judy shook her head. "I thought the earth was like a giant rock," she said, "with a blanket of dirt on top for plants."

"Noop!" said Thudd. "Earth crust break up. Pieces move. Millions, millions years ago, South America stuck to Africa!" "You mean the continents moved thousands of miles?" asked Judy. "Yoop!" said Thudd. "Pieces of earth crust always moving. Move as fast as fingernail grow. North America moving away from Europe. Getting closer to Japan!" "Sounds goofy," said Judy. She leaned over to Thudd. "Did your brain chips get soggy again, little guy?" she asked. "Noop! Noop! Noop!" said Thudd. Judy looked at her fingers. "Who cares if continents are moving around as fast as fingernails grow," she said. "That's not going to bother us." She looked at Andrew. "I say we go find some giant squids!" "Neato mosquito!" said Andrew. "I'll turn on the Super-Sniffer." Andrew pressed a silver button on the dashboard.

"Search for giant squids!" said Andrew into the microphone. glurp… "I was hoping you would say that!" said the Water Bug. A compass lit up in the middle of the steering wheel. The words "giant squid" lit up in green letters at the top. glurp… "When the arrow points to 'giant squid,' you are going in the right—" Booooooooooom! came a huge sound from below. It sounded like someone banging on an enormous drum! Booooooom! Booooooom! Andrew and Judy looked at each other. "What's that?" asked Judy. "Could it be Soggy Bob?" asked Andrew. "Noop! Noop! Noop!" squeaked Thudd. "Earthquake! Earth crust cracking! Earth crust moving!" Suddenly the water lit up with a glow as red as a monster barbecue grill!