Return to Nim's Island Page #5

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on the black market.

Why would they want a chubby nerd?

Nerd? I am an academic.

It was a joke, Ben.

Your face is a joke!

Let me down, or I'll call your manager.

- It means...

- Don't hurt yourself, Ben.

- Your face!

- You think you're funny, but you're not.

Dear Buccaneer complaint department,

"I am writing you

to inform you of an altercation

"with two of your employees

who left me stranded."

I know it's tough being

stuck in a small space,

but it's only for a few more minutes.

If Alex did her research,

your drones are already

mounting a search and rescue party.

They'll have their queen back soon.

Wait for me here

and if anything happens,

we rendezvous back at base camp.

Arbie, no!

BEN:
Some of those animals are ugly.

Might have found you

a girlfriend, finally, Frankie.

You would know. You have

experience dating an ugly animal.

Moira's not ugly.

Yeah, yeah, of course. Of course.

Compared to a warthog,

she's downright lovely.

She pitched a fit

when you bought her daisies.

BEN:
That's my fault!

I know she likes roses better.

The girl of my dreams deserves roses.

FRANKIE:
I'm not trying to.

Get out of my face!

Think you're funny,

but you're not funny.

- Watch me. I'm funnier than you.

- BEN:
You can't even tell a joke!

[GLASS SHATTERS]

[BUZZING]

Way to go, Arbie.

[ALL EXCLAIMING IN SURPRISE]

Get out of here!

[BUZZING APPROACHES]

[GASPING]

[ALL EXCLAIMING IN FEAR]

Into the water! The water!

BEN:
Please! Please, go away!

Please, I don't like stings!

BOOKER:
Bees can't swim! Into the water!

Ben! Ben!

- [BEES BUZZING]

- What'd I ever do to you?

Pack your bags and tie your shoes, guys.

Oh, get off!

This is a jailbreak.

Not the face! Not the face!

That's your favourite son?

That was so brave of Ben

leading all them bees away from us.

What?

[GRUNTING]

Wow. Okay. Plan B.

[EQUIPMENT CLATTERING]

[BIRDS SQUAWKING]

Come on. Come on!

Stupid dull knife.

Poachers need to take

better care of their things.

[SELKIE BARKING]

[SNUFFLING]

Well, hello, my pretty girl.

[BARKING]

How do you know it's a girl?

Maybe it's her long eyelashes

and that pink bow in her hair.

Do you know how much

the Russian Circus would pay

for a trained seal with

both its flippers?

- Dad, I think that's a sea lion.

- Shut up, Frankie.

- Come on, Ben. Have a guess. How much?

- 50 bucks.

Exactly! $50,000.

[ALL CHUCKLING]

You can't stay out there forever!

Yeah, good one, Ben.

That's the perfect size for a sea lion.

Right size for you, runt!

I know, I'm trying.

[SIGHS]

I'll be back, guys, I promise.

With my machete.

NIM:
Selkie, we'll have to come back.

The cages were...

Selk?

Selkie's fine. She has to be fine.

[SELKIE SNUFFLING]

What?

I know I'm late,

but that's no reason to yell at me.

She was trying to warn you.

Just so you know, when my dad gets home

he's going to kick your...

- [OBJECTS CLATTERING]

- That's him! Jack!

Sorry to disappoint you, but that's

just my boys looting the place.

BEN:
The fridge is full of worms!

Ugh.

We saw the mooring for a boat

on our way in, but no boat.

My dad's here. He's just on

the other side of the island.

Oh, right.

You sure you want to keep lying?

I've gutted fish bigger than you.

Where's your other accomplice?

Where's Edmund?

The boy? [CHUCKLES]

No, he's not one of us.

No, he's just some runaway.

Ever notice how people think their problems

won't follow them wherever they go?

That's why I always like to make sure

I tie up loose ends.

BEN:
Hey. They don't even have a TV.

Oh, you poor girl! How

do you pass the time?

I read!

Do you really want to come between

me and my pay day?

You really want to call

my best friend a pay day?

[SNUFFLING EXCITEDLY]

Oh!

Go, Selk!

Get out of here!

[SCREAMS]

[LAUGHS MENACINGLY]

Oh, you're brave, I'll give you that.

Do you know what happens

to brave little girls?

No, neither do I.

They don't live long enough

to tell their tales.

Now, you gonna let me

take your seal here?

Sea lion.

You can't save her.

Better to give in

than watch me hurt her, hey?

Come on, don't feel so bad.

You're unarmed, outnumbered.

Not a lot of choice, really.

I'm not giving up.

I'll figure something out.

[SNUFFLING]

Go, Selkie, go!

Thanks for training her so well.

Circus pays extra for that.

Pack it up, boys. We're casting off!

BEN:
What?

FRANKIE:
We're leaving, idiot.

- What?

- I said...

Always had a feeling

we'd find something worthwhile here.

Something big.

Just remember, you try to follow me,

you pull any of your other little tricks

and I take it out on your pet.

A dead seal's better than no seal.

We just don't have any legal recourse

to reverse the sale.

But if there was something else

unique about the island

besides the protozoa.

What if there were several

habitats for endangered species?

I don't have any

documentation for it yet,

but I know my daughter has seen...

We can't get an extension

based on the word of a child.

I'm starving. What about a break?

Fourth floor, there's a vending machine

with a very tasty selection.

NIM ON ANSWERING MACHINE:

Jack, you have to come home.

I can't find Felix.

And there are poachers...

Nim's in trouble.

I've gotta go.

You go. I'll do what I can here.

And ask my granddaughter

to come and visit me one day, will you?

She looks more and more like Emily.

My daughter would have been

very proud of you today, you know.

I know.

It's a long shot,

but Emily would have tried.

FELIX:
"Get out of the lab, Felix"!

"Do some field work"!

Is this what you meant

by "embrace the chaos," Jack?

[GRUNTING LOUDLY]

When you come across my bones

picked clean by all

manner of claw and fang

I hope you feel terrible for luring me

to this island to participate

in ground-breaking scientific research

when you knew, you knew

I'd be scraped, stung, rained upon.

Tormented by lawless children

and laughed at

by psychopathic

pirate-theme resort developers!

Have at me, bird!

Do your worst!

[SQUAWKS MOCKINGLY]

Well, what do you know!

Now I don't suppose you could

recommend a good optometrist?

[SQUAWKS]

Wait a minute.

Rope's not the only thing

that's gonna burn around here.

Nim, you okay?

What happened?

They took Selkie.

He had a knife and I couldn't...

Oh, no.

Selkie's my best friend.

More than that.

She's been there for me

every day since my mom died.

She's family.

- What if we can...

- We can't call for help.

We can't go after them.

All the boats are gone.

- There's nothing we can...

- [JINGLING]

[CHIRPING]

That little kleptomaniac.

Hey, these are Booker's boat keys.

- Which means...

- There's still time to save Selkie.

[SIGHS]

We need to be prepared.

Let's check the lab.

Maybe we'll find something labelled,

"Take Out Maniacal Poachers Kit"!

[EQUIPMENT ZAPPING]

Who are you and what

have you done with Felix?

Felix went into the field, Nim.

I'm what the field spat back out.

Great, because we could really use your help.

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