The Attack of the Aqua Apes Read Free

“They are pretty cool. But wh—”
    Glen’s voice trailed off as he watched little air bubbles suddenly start floating up from the bottom of the tank.
    â€œWhat’s going on?” Scott asked. He grabbed the magnifying glass from Glen and peered into the bottom of the tank. The bubbles were shooting up from a crystal. A large black crystal.
    â€œWhat is that?” Glen asked. “I didn’t see it when we poured the packet in.”
    â€œI don’t know,” Scott answered.
    The black crystal continued to fizz.
    Scott and Glen watched it for a long time, waiting. Waiting for something more to happen.
    But nothing did.
    The black crystal simply continued to fizz.
    *   *   *
    The black crystal was still fizzing when Scott went to bed that night. He left the light on in the tank so he could watch it as he dozed off.
    But the aqua apes were way too small for him to see from his bed. He couldn’t even make out the black crystal from that far away. But he could see the air bubbles rising from it. Scott began counting the bubbles as they rose to the surface.
    The numbers raced through his head faster and faster. His vision blurred as he focused on the bubbles.
    Then the light in the tank went out. Scott figured the bulb in the tank lid had blown. He’d check it out in the morning.
    Scott pulled the covers up to his neck. As he rolled over to go to sleep, the light in the tank flashed on. And this time it glowed much brighter than before.
    Scott turned toward it. I should just get up andturn it off , he thought. But before he could even throw back the covers, the light blinked off by itself again.
    Then on.
    Then off.
    It continued to blink on and off until Scott slid out of bed. The moment his feet hit the floor, the light in the tank flared on and stayed on.
    He walked toward the desk slowly. Cautiously. As he stepped closer, he noticed that the black crystal at the bottom of the tank was bubbling furiously. The water began churning. It turned from clear to murky. Then dark.
    Scott reached out to turn off the light in the tank. But before his finger touched the switch, he jerked his hand away. What if he got another shock?
    The light clicked on and off again. Scott stood by the tank. Waiting. But this time it didn’t flash on again.
    Scott stood in total darkness. He wanted a light on in his room—now.
    He stumbled over to the wall. As he felt his way toward the switch for the ceiling light, a short burst of light flooded the room—as bright and as quick as a streak of lightning. And then aloud bang exploded in the room—as loud as a clap of thunder.
    Scott whirled around to face the tank. He could hear the water churning.
    Another flash of lightning shot through the water.
    Then the lid began to rumble. And before Scott could move, the lid blasted from the tank and shot up to the ceiling with a crash!

5

    W here is it? Where is it? Scott ran his hands up and down the wall, feeling for the light switch. Glen was right, he thought. Using the water from Fear Lake was a big mistake.
    Scott’s fingers finally hit the light switch. He snapped it on.
    He scanned the room. The lid of the tank lay on the floor. But from where he stood, everything else seemed normal. The water in the tank appeared calm and clear again. Nothing was out of place.
    Scott stooped to pick up the lid. There had to be a logical explanation for what had happened.
    Maybe something was wrong with the batteries, Scott thought. He pried open the lid of the tank to check. Sure enough, the batteries were oozing an oily liquid.
    Scott crossed over to his desk to check on his aqua apes. The little creatures seemed to be alive and well. Only they were all huddled together at one end of the tank—as if they were trying to hide.
    And the black crystal that had been bubbling and fizzing all day was gone.
    Scott stared into the water. Searching for it.
    He sat up for what seemed like hours,