9 Dead or Alive

Chapter 9 DEAD OR ALIVE? The whales sped off into the darkness. For a moment, the giant squid was as still as a statue. Then it dropped to the ocean floor. Its tentacles looked like a pile of gigantic pasta. kk… kkk… kkkkk "Heh, heh, heh," chuckled Soggy Bob. "Ah guess mah fireworks were a little bit shocking." "Is it dead?" asked Judy. meep… "Maybe not dead," said Thudd. "Maybe shocked. Hafta wait and see if squid move." The Crab-Mobile crept from behind the rocky hill. The green glow of its glass dome lit up Soggy

Bob's grinning face. kk… kkk… kkkkk "The giant squid is mine!" said Soggy Bob. The round door at the front of the Crab-Mobile slid open and a big net swirled out. The Crab- Mobile's claws grabbed the net by its edges and dragged it toward the giant squid. "Noooo!" yelled Judy. "We can't let Soggy Bob turn the giant squid into snacks! We've worked so hard to save it!" "But if we get too close," said Andrew, "we'll get caught in the net, too." Suddenly Thudd's purple button started to blink. Uncle Al appeared at the end of a purple beam. "Hey, guys!" he said happily. "Look behind you!" Andrew and Judy turned and saw a vehicle shaped like a huge sea horse. It was covered with round porthole windows and it glowed with a deep blue light.

Judy smiled and waved with both hands. "It's the See Horse!" she said. "Uncle Al found us!" The See Horse flashed orange lights from its portholes. "Look at that!" said Judy. "The See Horse is saying 'Hello' in Morse code!" "Uh-oh," said Andrew. "Look!" The Crab- Mobile's claws were tucking the net around the squid. "Wait a minute," said Judy. "Soggy Bob was a good guy before Doctor Kron-Tox hypnotized him with flashing lights. We've got lots of flashing lights here. If we could hypnotize Soggy Bob, maybe he'd go back to his old pussycat-loving self. Then he'd let go of the giant squid!" Awk! "Smart little Dubble!" said Burpp. He poked his beak into Judy's frizzy hair and untangled a knot. "Let's start blinking!" said Andrew. "Uncle Al, you blink, too!" Andrew jiggled the switch that turned the Water Bug's headlights on and off.

Uncle Al flashed lime-green lights from the windows of the See Horse. Soggy Bob pushed his face close to the glass dome of the Crab-Mobile. His eyes opened wide. He looked surprised. Then he shook his fists. But after a minute, he slouched in his seat. His head slumped toward the windshield. meep… "Soggy Bob in a trance," said Thudd. "Not awake, not asleep. Now is time to give good message to Soggy Bob. Change bad message from Doctor Kron-Tox." Judy grabbed Burpp's speaker headphones. "Can you hear me, Mr. Soggy Bob?" she asked.

"Yeah," said Soggy Bob quietly. "But ah'm feelin' kinda sleepy right now." His head tipped forward. "Ah want mah bunny slippers," he sighed. Andrew grabbed Burpp's headphones. "Mr. Soggy Bob," said Andrew, "you want to go back to the good person you used to be. The person who loves animals and takes care of them." Soggy Bob nodded his sagging head. "Ah sure do," said Soggy Bob. "And ah want mah friend Burpp back. Ah miss the little guy." Burpp pushed himself between the front seats. His beak poked into Andrew's shoulder. Andrew saw something wet dripping from Burpp's eyes. Could those be tears? Andrew wondered. Can robots cry? Urf, urf, urf! came a sound through the speaker. Soggy Bob was crying, too! "Wake up, Mr. Soggy Bob! Everything's okay!" said Andrew.

Soggy Bob lifted his head and looked around. "Where am ah?" he asked. "What am ah doin' here? And what's that?" Soggy Bob was staring at the giant squid wrapped in the net. "Oh mah gosh!" he said. "It's a poor little giant squid! And it's all tangled up! Ah've got to get it out of there. Hey! You over there in those strange- lookin' vehicles! Can ya give me a hand?" "Sure we can!" said Andrew. "Here we come!" said Uncle Al. Andrew zoomed the Water Bug close to the giant squid. Under the net, it looked like a big balloon in a Thanksgiving Day parade—before it was blown up. "I hope it's still alive," said Andrew. Judy shook her head. "It doesn't look good."