Born to be Wild Chapter 4

The next morning at 9:45, Craig, Kelsey, JP, Mortimer, Wildernessa, and Cheesesticks were waiting outside the Cave of the Elders with their offerings. Craig knocked on the door, and was surprised to see only Mark there.

"Where are David and Barry?" He asked.

"They won't come until noon." Replied Mark. "Did you bring the offerings?"

"Did we ever!" Said JP.

"Very well." Said Mark. "You may come in." The kids and Mortimer went inside the cave, though Cheesesticks couldn't come in because he was too big.

'This is so geeky.' Wildernessa thought to herself while Craig, Kelsey, JP, and Mark sat down on the Dungeons & Dragons table, and Mortimer sat on Kelsey's head.

"Show me the piece offerings!" Said Mark. JP reluctantly handed over his Dino-grabby to the teen.

"Goodbye, Grabadon." Said JP. Kelsey handed over her fake butterfly wings from last year's Halloween costume.

"These were my warrior wings from when we were attacked by cicadas!" She declared. And lastly, Craig reached into his sack and pulled out his Bring Out Your Beast cards.

"Let's see what Beasts you've brought me today." Said Mark, and he was surprised to see his Ick-Arus back.

"You gave back my Ick-Arus?" Asked Mark in awe. "For all these weeks, I was stuck with Aqua Mantis! And a Bushallo? Even though there are better Grass-Type Beasts out there, Bushallo is useful in certain situations. Anyway, thank you so much for returning Ick-Arus! You may now get ready to leave, because there are many animals to release."

"Is it okay if I stop by the Trading Tree to get something for my brother?" Asked Craig.

"Yes, you may." Said Mark. "But make it snappy." Craig ran out of the cave so he could make it to the Trading Tree on time.

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After 7 minutes of running, Craig made it to the Trading Tree. Kit was wondering why Craig was in such a hurry.

"Good morning, Craig!" Said Kit. "What happened to you? You looked like you were running away from a man-eating lion!"

"It's private business, Kit." Craig replied panting. "Do you have any packs of Bring Out Your Beast trading cards?"

"You're in luck!" Said Kit, bending down to retrieve something. "I have the last pack in the entire Creek! But I won't give them out for free."

"I became prepared!" Said Craig, opening his sack. "Here are some turtle toys, a comic book, and a toy robot." Craig pulled out the said items and gave them to Kit one by one.

"The turtle toys aren't worth much," Said Kit. "But any kid on the Creek would want a robot or a comic book! Here's your pack of cards!" Kit gave Craig the card pack, and the African-American boy was happy. Cheesesticks then came over to pick up Craig.

"Who's dog is that?" Asked Kit.

"That's Cheesesticks." Said Craig, getting on top of the Mastiff. "He belongs to the Creek's savior of animals. Bye, Kit! I'll see you again in a couple of days!" Cheesesticks then sprinted back to the cave with Craig on his back.

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The kids, Mortimer, Cheesesticks, and Mark were now in Mark's front yard. Thankfully, his parents weren't home, so he was able to take their extra car. Mark and JP sat in the front seat, Craig, Kelsey, Mortimer, and Wildernessa sat in the back seat, and Cheesesticks was in the way-back.

"If a police officer drives by, JP," Kelsey told JP. "Tell him that you have to sit in the front seat or else you'll get carsick."

"But I don't get carsick in the backseat." Said JP.

"It's just a little white lie." Said Craig. "I lied to my dad once by saying I was a vegetarian. What could possibly go wrong?"

"Alright." Said JP, and Mark started driving. The car got out of the driveway and left Herkleston. After 15 minutes, a police officer drove by on a motorcycle. Craig and Kelsey hid under the seats so the officer wouldn't notice them, while Wildernessa simply ducked.

"Excuse me, young gentlemen." Said the officer. "Where are your parents?"

"They're at work." Lied Mark. "Me and my brother, uh, George were gonna drop our dog off at the groomer's."

"Then how come the dog is in the way-back?" Asked the officer.

"Because he won't fit in the backseat." Lied Mark.

"Then why isn't George in the backseat?" Asked the officer.

"Because I get carsick." Lied JP.

"May I see your driver's permit, please?" The officer asked Mark.

"Yes, you may." Said Mark, handing the officer his permit.

"It says your name is Mark Clements." The officer read. "You're sixteen years old, 5'2", and you're from Herkleston, Maryland. You're free to go." He handed the permit back to Mark and drove off. As soon as Craig and Kelsey got out from under the seat, Mark continued driving. Suddenly, Kelsey's cell phone started ringing. Kelsey answered it and heard a familiar voice.

"Hi, Kelsey!" It was Stacks. "Could you put the phone on speaker, please?" Kelsey clicked on the megaphone icon on her screen.

"Hi, Stacks!" Said Wildernessa. "Ready to give an overview of our plan?"

"Way ahead of you, girl!" Replied Stacks. "Craig! JP! Are you there, too?"

"Yes, we are!" Said the two boys in unison.

"Great!" Said Stacks. "First thing's first, the only way to get inside the exhibits without being too obvious is by getting the keys. Mortimer, since you're the only one of us here who can fly, you will get the keys. Got it?" Mortimer chirped in agreement.

"Good." Said Stacks. "The first place you need to go to is the Creature Encounters building. There's an African Grey Parrot there named Echo. What do you guys know about parrots?"

"Uh, they can talk like us?" Guessed JP.

"Close." Said Stacks. "Parrots can imitate whatever you say. If you enter the building unsupervised, the parrot will start sounding an alarm. If you want to free animals from the Creature Encounters building, shut the parrot up, but don't kill him. He's an endangered species."

"Got it!" Said Craig.

"Good." Said Stacks. "Once you have the keys, you can free all the animals you want. However, don't free the animals that are critically endangered. If you do, you might end up wiping out an entire species. These following animals are critically endangered: Bog turtle, chinchilla, Addra's gazelle, Chinese alligator, red ruffed lemur, Egyptian tortoise, African slender-snouted crocodile, Waldtrapp ibis, and Panamanian golden frog." As Stacks listed the names, Craig typed the names out on his cellphone.

"Also," Stacks continued. "Release as few predators back in the wild. It's been scientifically proven that captive predators adapt poorly to the wild. However, captive snakes, lizards, and amphibians released in the wild seem to thrive quite well. And finally, try not to encounter elephants, rhinos, porcupines, skunks, or rattlesnakes. An elephant or a rhino would squish you like a bug, rattlesnakes are poisonous, porcupines have painful quills, and skunks obviously emit a powerful odor that is very hard to remove. That's all I have to say. Good luck on your mission!" Stacks then ended her call and hung up.

'Next time these kids want to do something this crazy,' Mark thought to himself. 'They'll have to pay using real money.'
Authors' Notes:
The Trading Tree, shown above, is a location in Craig of the Creek in which kids can trade items for snacks, medical supplies, and toys. It is run by Kit, who looks a bit like Connie Masewaren from Steven Universe.

Since Mark doesn't have an official last name yet, I decided to give him one: Clements, who is of course named after Disney veteran Ron Clements.
Aqua Mantis is not a real BOYB Beast; It is one that I thought of for the sake of my story. Aqua Mantis is named after Aquamentis from The Legend of Zelda.