The Elusive Treasure
Chapter Five
A Changing Landscape
"I don't believe this!" Otto cursed for what seemed the hundredth time as Reggie reached into the chest.
"Hmmmm... What's this?" She murmured as she pulled out a piece of paper and shut the box.
"Looks like another map." Sam said, looking at the paper.
"Why couldn't we find it!?!" Twister moaned.
"So we have to go to another spot, huh?" Rod asked, looking at the map.
"Looks like it." Scott answered, ignoring the two best bros as they cried into each other's shoulder.
"I was gonna be a nice billionaire! I swear!" Otto sobbed.
"Yeah! And I can't even count that high!" Twister supplied.
"So where is the treasure at?" Lou questioned.
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"Ugh! I'm getting a headache!" Izzy groaned, holding his head as he struggled to stand on his own two feet.
"Bro, why don't you put on your shoes already!?" Iggy asked, following on foot.
"Because I—Ow!—forgot my shoes at home..." Izzy replied, pushing himself up off the ground.
"Figures." The smaller brunet scoffed as they started off again.
"At least I'm not named after the insane Koopaling!" The older one snapped, causing Iggy to gasp.
"Is that true, Daddy?" He asked, looking up.
(Prince Izzy: O.O;;; Ummm... Errr... Ya see...)
"Told ya." Izzy smirked.
(Prince Izzy: Well... Yes and no?)
"Say it ain't so..." Iggy said, tears coming to his eyes. The other boy, however, was trying to stay standing as he laughed wildly.
(Prince Izzy: Ahem! While you do have the same name as Iggy Koopa, who's also named after some music figure… I didn't intend for that little coincidence.)
"I'm never gonna look at myself the same way again..." He moaned, wiping away his tears as he continued towards where the boys' sobbing was coming from.
"Ah... That was priceless..." Izzy said, continuing on.
(Prince Izzy: You should talk. You got the same exact name as Dil Pickles' imaginary alien friend.)
"BUST!!!" Iggy laughed. The older boy glared at the sky and then at his brother before moving on.
Soon, the brunets reached the clearing where Lou's truck was seen, along with the hole. As soon as they noticed it, Izzy and Iggy dove behind a tree and kept out of sight. After a few moments, in which Reggie was heard screaming at Otto and Twister, the group of seven climbed out of the hole and into the truck. The brothers pressed themselves against the tree as the headlights were turned on. They breathed a sigh of relief when it drove off back to Ocean Shores.
"Ok, the coast is clear. Let's go." Izzy said, jumping into the hole.
"What are we doing? They already left!" Iggy rationalized, following him in.
"I know that. Maybe they left a clue or something as to where they're going next."
With that, Izzy lifted up the lid of the chest, causing them to get engulfed by a bright light. They both gasped in surprise.
"Impossible! They were just here! They wouldn't be dumb enough to just leave the treasure behind!" The elder brother shouted, shutting his eyes.
"Ugh... Whatever's in here, it's bright!" Iggy yelled, covering his eyes. "What could be inside?"
"Maybe they left their flashlights on or something." Izzy said, trying to figure out a logical reason.
"Maybe it's the Triforce! We can get our greatest wish granted!"
Izzy gave him a weirded out look before slapping him upside the head.
"Duh! Don't be an idiot! Ya know it's not real! Besides, even if it was the Triforce, it woulda disappeared when Lars got his wish!"
"Then what is it, smart guy!" Iggy spat. They both blinked at each other before looking at the fully open chest.
Inside was a small, tiny, golden, mushroom.
"That's it!?" They roared.
"This little fungus is the treasure!?" Izzy yelled, picking it up. "No wonder everybody left it behind!"
"Hey! There's something else in here!" Iggy said, reaching inside.
"What?!" Izzy gasped, pocketing the mushroom. "Lemme see!"
The younger brother pulled out an old-looking scroll. It was torn slightly. Izzy snatched it out of his hand and opened it. His eyes danced over the parchment before he grinned mischievously.
"This is perfect!" He laughed crazily. "Iggy, do you know what this is?!"
"Uhhhh... A dungeon map?"
Izzy fell over.
"No, ya n00b! It's a treasure map! They must've left it behind! This is our big break!"
"Hey, that means we know where the real treasure is!" Iggy grinned as his brother got up.
"Exactly! Forget following them! We're gonna reach it first!" The taller boy laughed giddily as he climbed out of the hole. "Let's go!"
"Hey! Wait for me!" The one in the green helmet shouted, struggling out of the hole as Izzy zoomed off through the steadily darkening forest. As he got onto his board and followed, he had a thoughtful expression on his face.
'I wonder... Why did they just leave the map behind?' Iggy gasped. 'Maybe there was more than one! ...But why?' He held his head. 'Ugh! This sorta thing is more Izzy's thing!'
Shaking his head, he caught up to Izzy and continued on back to Ocean Shores.
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"Guys, I give up, I don't want to spend my entire summer on some wild goose chase." Reggie said.
She was sitting between Otto and Sam, Twister was on the other side of Otto. Roderick sat up front with Scott and Lou.
"We can't give up now! We've come so far, and we have another map!" Sam said.
"Yeah and then we'll find another, and then another, and we'll be searching for the rest of our lives!" Twister said dramatically.
"Oh come on, it's not that bad. Otto? C'mon guys, we can do it!" Rod said, looking at his friends. None of them seemed to have any energy left.
"It's too much work. Walking, and digging." Otto sighed.
"Okay well then let's call it a night, we can start looking again tomorrow."
Later, in the Rocket's house…
Otto was fuming. He really wanted to get his hands on that elusive treasure, and the more it took them to find it, the more impatient he was becoming. It was late at night, but he couldn't sleep so he decided to go downstairs and get some orange juice. Otto jumped from his Cadillac bed and silently walked down the stairs and into the kitchen.
'Man, this stinks on ice' - he thought as he walked down the aisle - 'I can't believe we haven't found that treasure yet! And to make things worse, now the Lasers know about it!! This is becoming a very difficult experience!'
Otto walked to the kitchen and opened the fridge. He was very angry. He poured some orange juice in a glass, and then sat at the table.
'If only Squid had been more careful!' – he thought, slowly drinking his juice. - 'Lars would have never stolen the map, and we would have found the treasure already!'
'Oh, well' - Otto thought, taking the last of his juice - 'At least I know that he didn't do it on purpose. And thanks to Roderick, we kept track of those goons. Now I hope that map we found inside the chest is the right one. I don't want Lars to put his hands on my treasure!'
Otto left the glass in the sink and returned to his bedroom. Before going to his bed, he peeked through his window, and noticed light in Sam's window.
'What the...?'- he thought - 'It's well past midnight, and Squid is still up??? He must be studying the map. One thing is for sure; he might be a lousy surfer and skater, but he is a very smart guy, and when he says he's gonna do something, he makes sure to make it right.' He yawned. 'I bet we'll have the map deciphered when we meet again tomorrow.'
And with that, he got into bed and fell asleep with thoughts of the treasure on his mind.
-.-.-.-.-
Meanwhile, inside Sam's room…
Sam was sitting at his desk. He had changed into his pajamas, but hadn't even touched his bed. He had many history books by him, as well as some maps and charts of the coast of Ocean Shores. His eyes were reddened, and he was very tired; but he was almost finished deciphering the map.
He yawned. 'Oh, boy! What a goose chase!' - he thought while stretching his limbs.
'One thing is for sure: whoever buried this treasure did a very good job. I'm almost certain that we'll end up looking for the map somewhere around the beach. But what concerns me most is the effects of that earthquake of 1906. It changed the landscape a lot. And some of the references indicated on this map are no longer there. Turn left and head for the Seagull Inlet. That must be around the channel... near the place Twister almost drowned that time. I wonder what we'll find there,' he yawned, 'if only we could -----'
Sam didn't finish the thought. He was too tired. He rested his head on the desktop and fell asleep.
-.-.-.-.-.-
Inside the Rodriguez house...
"Now, spit it, dork!!!" - said Lars.
"Owww!! I don't know what you're talking about!!!"
Lars was whomping Twister, as usual. But this time, it was more like an interrogation than the regular whomping session. Lars had pinned Twister face down on his bed, and was sitting on his waist, bending his arms behind his back.
"Wrong answer, dork!!" he said, bending Twister's arms a bit more, "Now tell me what you dorks found in that chest!!"
"We didn't find anything, Lars! OOOWWW! I swear it!! There was nothing inside that chest except for that stupid mushroom and a piece of paper---- ooops!!!"
"Aha!!!! I knew you had found something!! What's on that paper, dork??"
"OOOUUUCCCHHH!!! Nothing!!! It was... just an old piece of paper!!!!"
"You better tell me, or I'll make sushi with you, Twister!!!"
"LARS!! MAURICE!!! STOP THAT FIGHT ALREADY, OR ELSE!!!" cried Mrs. Rodriguez from her room.
Twister sighed. 'Just in time! What kept you, mom??'
"Saved by the bell, again. But I'll give you a warning, dork! You won't get away with that treasure! I'll be looking at you very carefully, and when I find out the location of that chest."
Lars made a punching move. Twister gulped. Lars released him and went to his room.
'That was close!!' thought Twister, 'I'll need to convince Otto to let me spend the night at his place tomorrow, or Lars will whomp me again!'
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Scotty pored over an urgent email he'd gotten from Sam.
"According to calculations, taking into effect the 1906 earthquake, next location to be checked is most probably underwater. I'm aware that you and Lou are scuba divers; would you have access to a motorboat and additional equipment for a few more people? - Sam."
Scotty replied immediately.
"That we do, but checking out that location might require additional equipment. Will check in the meantime if I can locate an underwater metal sensor. Will advise when we are ready to roll; could take a day or so to get everything squared away. Do you have an idea of the expected depth? - Scott."
Lou was still online. Scotty fired off an IM to him. "Things are getting interesting on this treasure quest, bro. We may need to go diving."
"We'll all need to have breakfast tomorrow at my place," replied Lou. "I'll email everybody but Twister; there seems to be a security problem there."
"I'll say. One wearing a gray beanie and a purple jersey with a red star," responded Scott. "What time you coming by?"
"Seven o'clock at the latest. I'll phone you on my way over," Lou rejoindered. "Go to bed, now; tomorrow will be a big day."
"As ever is the case with us," answered Scott with a toothy smiley. "Be seeing you, bro."
Scott powered down his computer and left a note on his bedroom door. "Plans with Lou and friends early. - Scott." That would be more than good enough for his mom and dad. Lou was a good influence on Scott since the two boys had met a few years earlier, and was a frequent presence at the Sanchez home.
Lou wandered down to the garage of the Crumpacker home. The white, seventeen-foot Boston Whaler sat in its trailer, ready for immediate use; elsewhere in the garage sat six fully configured aqualungs and other various diving equipment. He was tempted to go out there right away and look for himself--but, that wouldn't be such a good idea, rushing into that sort of situation, let alone at night. He was tempted to knock on Dullard's door right then and ask him what he'd learned. Permission would be no issue, as Lou was a competent skipper and had been fully trained on the boat's operation; his mom and step dad were away on the other side of the world on a long-deferred honeymoon and would not be back for several days. Lou went back to his computer and sent an urgent breakfast invitation email to Otto, Reggie, and Sam. He added Roderick too; though Roderick almost certainly didn't dive, it would be no big deal to show him how to snorkel and let him watch from overhead.
Meanwhile, at the other end of town...
The Lopez residence was a modest home. It was a house that sat on the hills of Ocean Shores close to Ocean Bluffs. It was three stories high and had a beautiful ceramic roof. All the windows were dark, except for one. A faint light was coming from the leftmost window on the second floor. Inside, a figure was seen pacing frantically.
'No, no, no! This can't be happening!'
The person this thought belonged to was none other than Izzy, the older of the two Lopez Brothers. He was dressed in a pair of blue flannel pajama pants with a matching shirt. He was wearing a red robe over the shirt. It was open, making it seem like he was wearing a cape. The robe swirled around whenever he turned, giving him an almost ominous presence. His hands were clenched into two fists as he stormed around his room. His hands were sweating profusely as he moved around the space.
His emotions were a jumbled mess. He was confused, scared, mad, and nervous to say the least. His brows were furrowed as he paced back and forth. Anybody who knew the boy personally knew that he was pondering. Whenever he was moving around the way he was, it was clear that a great thought was weighing heavily on him. And what was this thought, you ask?
'Blast! It CAN'T be there! It just CAN'T!!!' He picked his bucket hat off his head with his right hand and ran his left through his hair. 'Of all the places for the treasure to be, it's THERE!?!' He roared inwardly as he turned towards the desk at the end of the room. Sitting on it were the treasure map and the gold mushroom he and Iggy found earlier that day.
'No... It's impossible...' He gritted his teeth as he stomped towards the map. 'I've done every single calculation I can think of and the result never changes!' He picked up the map, which had an X at the east end of it. He then looked at a map of current-day Ocean Shores. A red circle was marked where the harbor was.
'It makes no sense! How is it there!?! If the treasure was at the harbor, surely SOMEONE would've found it by now!!! Unless...'
He blinked as pure fear washed over him.
'It's UNDERWATER!!! How can we get to it now!? Maybe I messed up somehow.' He held his head as he sat at the desk. 'But I can't take that chance! By now, Blondie would've figured out where it is.' He growled at the thought of that kid in the black-rimmed glasses. 'So fine. It's underwater. That means there must be a sea cave under the harbor.'
He remembered hearing about an earthquake that occurred nearly a hundred years ago. If it happened exactly where the treasure was, it must've gotten buried under all that rubble. Then weathering and corrosion must've caused a cave to form. Izzy sighed. It was a stretch, but for now, he was going have to go with it.
'Hmmm...' He grumbled, crossing his arms. 'So now the question remains. How do Iggy and I get down there?'
So many different probabilities came to mind. Unfortunately, a high number of them involved him and his brother being seen by the other parties. He groaned and laid his head on the desk. He faced the mushroom he found in the chest and grabbed it with a sigh.
'What can I do? I'm at a dead end.'
He sat up and moved the strange trinket around in his hands, feeling every detail of the object.
'What if me and Iggy joined up with one of the other guys?'
He pounded the desk with his left hand at that idea.
'No way! It'd never work! That Lars guy is way too untrustworthy! If I joined up with him, he'll take it all for himself! Besides, how are he and his group supposed to get down there?'
He leaned back as he thought about the other alternative.
'Should I really join up with Blondie and those other guys?'
He leaned forward and placed the mushroom on the desk. He propped his head on his left arm as he studied it. He tapped his right fingers as he contemplated this.
'They do have a good chance of getting it... Blondie's group has a whole seven people while I only have Iggy with me, and he's a complete idiot.'
He sighed sorrowfully.
'Plus, they have so many resources at their disposal. The money made by those guys that run the Shack, not to mention the fact they're pretty popular among the rest of the town.'
He heaved another heavy sigh.
'What I wouldn't give to be as popular as them. With me, it's always, "Hey! There's that geeky gamer!" I can't give up though. They may have money and some other advantages, but I have an ace up my sleeve. I have some money to throw around myself. I just gotta figure out how to use it...'
That was when something came to mind.
'Yeah... That's perfect! If I rent a sub and get a crew together, Iggy and I can make it to the treasure first! I just hope Mom will lend me the cash for everything.'
He gave a moan when another thought arose.
'But that means a lot more people are gonna know about this. This could mean trouble...' He shrugged. 'Eh, oh well. It's about time I make myself known anyway. It'll make this little treasure hunt that much more fun.'
Smirking devilishly, he grabbed a piece of paper from one of the desk's drawers and got to work on his game plan. He worked hard into the night and made extensive plans for almost any possible situation he and his brother may wind up in. When he was sure his plan was one hundred percent foolproof, he turned off the room's only source of light, a reading lamp on the desk, and climbed into his twin sized bed. Considering how late it was, he fell asleep almost immediately. It seemed that everything would go his way. He smiled as he left the world of the living and entered the realm of dreams.
What he didn't notice, however, was the golden mushroom, which was radiating with a strange glow...