Chapter 24: Doris

"Did my son send you to see me, kids?" asked the Windsurfer

Both Drake and Erika were taken aback, shocked that they had actually found him. "Whoa, that was easy." remarked Drake.

"Umm, yes, sir, Triton sent us." squeaked Erika, a little intimidated.

"Well, I can't say I didn't expect it eventually...though I'm surprised that such a young girl ended up with my crystal. Ah, and you have my brother's, young man...very fortunate. I'm one of probably two of us that can tell you where he is." said the man. "And in case I need an introduction, my name is Neptune, or Poseidon, depending on which mythology you're more familiar with. I guess you knew that, seeing as you've come here to find me, but I really like saying the name." he said, a grin appearing on his face.

"It's an honor, sir. As you're probably aware, I need to be trained to use my abilities...that's why we came." said Erika

"Of course, we'll leave immediately, provided you can pass my test. Think you're up to the challenge?" asked Neptune

Erika remained silent, thinking. "I didn't know there was a test!" she frantically thought.
Drake saw the look on her face and put his hand on her shoulder. "Of course you are, Erika...no sweat." he said, grinning.
"Umm, yes sir, I'm ready."

"Good then, the test consists of three parts: logic, skill, and a third round that I will come up with based on your performance in the other two." said Neptune. "First comes Logic, though I think we should probably go somewhere else...that young lady in the boat has been giving me a weird feeling..." "She feels like Prometheus' crystal...but different. Either way, we need to put some distance between us and her." he thought.

"Umm, sure, where to?" asked Erika, glancing over at the boat...it looked like an old man to her.

"How about we head back to my hotel, grab my stuff, and we can head to a safe house of mine a little ways from here." Neptune said. "We shouldn't have to worry about her there. Darling, could you come here, please?" he said to the woman, who was now standing a good ways away from them.
She casually walked over and stood next to him. "Yes, dear?" she asked.
"We're going to be heading to the safe house, would you be a dear and head straight there and get a meal going, please?" he asked
"Of course, honey, I'll get right on it. See you there, bye kids." she said with a wink and headed off to their car, pulling away and heading off toward the main road.
"My wife, Amy. She prefers it over Amphitrite, these days. She doesn't like to stick out, I suppose. Anyways, mind giving me a lift? It's just a few miles away, and then we can head to the safe house."

Minutes later, the three of them were in the car, driving into town to get Neptune's luggage from the hotel. Neptune got out at the entrance and hurried in, appearing ten minutes later with two duffel bags and a receipt hanging out of his hand. Drake got out and helped him with the bags, setting them in the trunk.

"Ok, now where to?" asked Erika
"Well, take a left at that traffic light there, and go for about ten miles, I'll show you from there. If you pass four Burger King's, then you've gone too far."

Neptune would occasionally point out where to turn, how far down the road, and landmarks to watch for, but other than that, not really say much. Two hours had passed, and Drake had a feeling they were still nowhere near the house, until the man spoke up and said:

"Ok, make a right at the Wal-Mart there, and the turn-off is about three miles down that road. There'll be a statue of a dolphin on the left side of the road, make that turn and then stop at the gate."

Drake did as instructed and ended up in front of a worn down iron gate with the silhouette of a dolphin on each door. Neptune dialed a number on his cell, which no one had noticed him carrying before, and said something in a language that they didn't recognize. Moments later the gates opened and Drake puleld through. He stopped in front of the large house, but Neptune said to keep moving, down the dirt road that led into the wooded area behind the house.

"We don't use the big house much... mainly to throw off people who are looking for the real safe house. Now stop at the end of the apth where the planks are spread over the poles there...get as close as you can." he said

Drake pulled right up close to the planks and moments later, ocne he ad completely stopped, he felt a rumbling under him. The ground around the car seemd to be surging up around them, but then Erika said something that made more sense. "An elevator?" she asked

The lift went down about twenty feet and was replaced on the surface by what looked like another lift platform. Drake pulled off the platform and parked near the entrance to a cave...within the cave.

"Welcome to the safe house, kids, and don't worry, it isn't a cave." he said, chuckling. "The cave leads to the door; inside you'll find a surprisingly normal looking house, with one minor difference."

Neptune opened the front door and they stepped in. Drake immediately knew this was no ordinary house. The entire wall to the left of him was made of glass, and on the other side, there were all sorts of sea creatures swimming; it was a giant aquarium! Drake and Erika walked up to the glass and looked out. They could see a large, dark shape moving towards them. A small head and insanely long neck appeared from the shadow, followed by a large body with four flippers. Erika jumped, and Drake was just frozen with shock.

"Oh, kids, she's friendly...she's just curious, is all." said Neptune.
"Is that...what I think it is?" asked Drake
"Yup, a Plesiosaur. The last one, in fact. You've undoubtedly heard of her...I take her with me to Scotland from time to time...she likes to visit home."
"NESSIE!" screamed Drake and Erika
"Actually, we named her Doris, after Amy's mother." he said, laughing at some inside joke that Drake didn't feel like asking about.

END Ch. 24