20,000 Nerds Under the Sea by Jeff Miller Read Free Book Online Page B

Sunlight filtered into the room. Two muscled, bearded men in all-denim outfits looked down.
    â€œWho said you could untie yourselves?” said one of them, who wore a gray stocking cap. He had a stubby nose that was slightly crooked.
    â€œNever mind. Ze captain wants to see you,” said the other. He had black hair with flecks of silver mixed in. They both spoke in thick French accents.
    â€œWhat if we don’t want to see the captain?” replied Neil.
    â€œThat eez not how this works,” said the man in the hat.
    Neil thought back to the small amount of karate wisdom his sister had passed on to him. If they charge at us, what would Janey do? Go for the ankles?
    The two men turned and walked away, leaving the entrance open. An ocean breeze dipped into the stuffy room. The air was refreshing.
    â€œWhat are you guys thinking?” said Biggs. “I’m worried there’s, like, even bigger burlap bags waiting for us up there.”
    Neil’s eyes narrowed.
    Sam nodded at Neil. “Maybe it is a mission after all.”
    Neil knew they had no other option and climbed up the slimy metal ladder. He poked his head into the sunshine. There was no sign of the henchmen—or land, for that matter. Neil saw only stretches of unending ocean.
    How far away from home are we?
    Neil climbed out and turned to help Biggs and Sam. In stark contrast to the metal room they’d been in, the boat was a beautiful pearl-colored yacht. It was double the size of Reboot’s and was filled with all sorts of sophisticated diving equipment.
    Neil could see the ship wasn’t like a regular boat with a large hull—it had a huge opening in the center, like a donut. A semitruck could fit through the center without scraping the sparkly paint job.
    â€œThis way, please,” said one of the men, scowling. He pointed toward the cabin at the prow of the ship.
    â€œDo we trust this?” asked Sam.
    â€œMore than jumping off and swimming home. The water could have sharks,” said Neil. “Let’s just see who this is.”
    Neil entered the surprisingly lavish cabin. Mirrors trimmed in gold were bolted to walls covered in amber wallpaper. The floor was covered in intricately stitched rugs with golden tassels. Expensive, very breakable-looking marble sculptures were perched in all corners of the room. It smelled like Neil’s grandmother’s house.
    At the front of the cabin was an old-fashioned steering wheel and two albino parrots inside a large copper cage. A girl stood silhouetted by the window.
    â€œWow,” Neil said. “Nice digs.”
    â€œWell, thank you,” said the girl. She wore an intricate off-white dress. Its sleeves came down to her wrists in patterns that reminded Neil of his grandmother’s couch doilies. It looked fancy.
    â€œWho are you?” blurted Neil.
    She stepped out from behind the large birdcage.
    â€œJolly?”
    It was the host from Reboot’s convention, without bright stage lights on her face.
    The girl’s eyes glistened as she gave a short laugh.
    â€œI knew I’d get you here somehow,” Jolly said. She walked to a cushy leather couch and sat, tapping the glass of a bottle containing a small model ship.
    â€œWhat’s going on?” asked Neil.
    â€œI am the captain of this ship,” she said. She spoke with a subtle accent—Neil wasn’t sure where it was from, exactly, but it sounded British. She must’ve disguised it before. “Captain Jolly Rogers the Third.”
    â€œDo you kidnap all your guests, Captain Jolly?” asked Sam.
    â€œOnly in special circumstances like this,” she said. “Sorry if my boys were a tad rough with you. They said you all seemed to be rather OK with being kidnapped, though.”
    Sam gave Neil a glare as the girl walked toward them with her hands on her hips. Around her slender neck was a thin gold chain with a locket.
    â€œI need your help,” said