Enter: Dot
Its not a nice day today. The sky is a slate gray, the water is green and choppy, and its raining. The ratlines are slimy, the deck is slimy, and so are the ropes used to tie down the sails. Its dangerous. The wooden beams are slimy too, and one slip means one hundred and fifty feet of air between me and the deck. It's a ratliners worst nightmare. But its no problem for me.
I'm not in the ratlines.
No, instead I'm below deck, exploring on tiptoe. I'm not even daring to breathe loudly. I'm looking for something. For what, exactly, I don't know. Some sort of powder. Yakko had told us last night to stay low. And I am. See how low I'm crouching? I open a door. Storage closet. Yakko's 'laying things out' last night really opened up my eyes to what's going on. We've only got two weeks to get a plan, and get our furry asses off the ship. Another door-bathroom. And when we do, we will be in Africa, a million miles from Warner Brothers studios. A tiny dark cloud crosses over my mind and stops me in my tracks. Millions of miles from home…oh I want to go home…I want my bed, I want Ralph to chase me…I want to go home so bad…
I actually shake my head to banish the thoughts. I cant sink into a pity party now! I try another door. And this one's locked. It's the only locked door I've come across all day. I lay down on the ground and try to see through the crack under the door. Nothing. But I do smell something…it reminds me of the fourth of July. After Yakko Wakko and I light the fireworks there's a smoky smell. It must be some sort of gun powder.
My heart catches in my throat
Gun powder
I sit back and try to get my bearings. After a few minuets I figure out that the room with the gun powder in it is directly below Wakko Yakko and I's room. Hmmm…
Ka-thap
Ka-thap
Ka-thap
Oh god! Footprints! My heart starts to race. If I make it out of this alive Yakko's going to kill me! I look around wildly. There isn't a place to hide, but its dark. So is my fur. I rip off my bright white tank top hid it behind me, and press myself up against the wall. I cover the white fur on my face with my hands.
Ka-thap
Ka-thap
Ka-tha-THUD
"Ouch! Mother fucker!"
ting-king-ling
tock
squeeeee
I hear the door open and someone go inside. I gather up all my will power and poke my head inside. The room is the same size and shape of our room, and is decorated with about fifty white sacks. Tom is standing in the middle of the room, and he looks like he is unloading something out of his pockets. He is turned around and cant see me. I hear him mutter, and take something else out of his pocket. There's a little click, and the room is flooded with light. He aims the flashlight at the stuff he got out of his pockets, and I can see its string of some sort. I swallow real hard. If he turns around with that thing on, he's going to see me for sure! Without thinking I tiptoe into the room behind him and hide behind one of the sacks. Being so small isn't just cute, its handy too…
After a hart pounding few moments, he turns and leaves. The room is plunged into total darkness. Then I realize how stupid I am. He leaves and locks the door behind him!
What am I going to do?! I get up and try the door, but it wont budge. If they find me in here….!
I sit in the room and take some nice big gulps of air. A few minuets go by. My eyes start to adjust. I can see a faint shaft of light coming from the ceiling. Standing on a couple of the white bags I can see a little knot hole in a wooden board of the ceiling. That same wooden board is a floor board in our room. Hmmm…
Gathering a bunch of bags, and make a tall, shaky tower to stand on. Up there, I can reach my fingers up through the knothole. I can even see our room if I put my eye on it. Then, the bags start to sway a little too much under my feet. Instinctively I grab on to the knothole and hang on as the bags topple to the floor. Phew that was close, I near-
Crack
Uh oh…
CRACK!!!
Part of the board gives way. It looks like I'm hanging on the tip of a little diving board! I swing my feet, and get them through the little hole formed by all this, then twist around and push myself up so that I'm standing in the middle of our room. Without my weight on the end of it, the board bounces back in place and you could never tell anything was amiss. I'm about to go tell Wakko when I hear someone shout at me from the deck.
"SPOT!" That would be Scarab…
Dragging my feet I head back up on deck. Scarab is there looking real mad.
"Get up there and tie up that damned sail!" I look up. Things have worsened up here. The wind has picked up and a sail has come loose. Its flapping around and if it flaps too much, it will knock me off and I'll fall. I gulp.
But I surprise myself. I get it tied down no problem. I must be a better sailor than I thought. I hear Toulouse yelling over the intercom, and its time for luch.