Griffin Rock's Secret: A Cody Burns Fanfiction

Chapter 17

     Heatwave grumbled as Kade tried to get Mr. Pettypaws down from a tree. The cat had jumped out of Mrs. Neederlander's arms, run across 3 roads of traffic, and climbed up a tree. This had brought on a traffic jam across the street and a very upset Mrs. Neederlander. Mr. Pettypaws meowed at Kade, who was balanced on balanced on top rung of Heatwave's ladder.

     "Come here, kitty kitty," Kade said, trying to reach the white cat sitting just above his head. Mr. Pettypaws gave one last meow before leaping off the branch onto Kade's helmet, onto Heatwave's head, and down into Mrs. Neederlander's arms. The elderly lady gave a huffy thanks to the firefighter before heading back toward her house.

     Kade sighed as he hopped down from the ladder, looking over at the chaos across the street. Chase and Chief were attempting to guide traffic while Graham and Boulder tended to the crash. No one was injured, but the people were definitely shaken. Dani was at the firehouse with Cody and Blades, ready for the signal from Kade when his 'rescue' of Mr. Pettypaws was over.

     "Hey Dani," He called, pressing the comlink on his jacket. "Me and Heatwave are gonna head over to the firehouse. You can take to the skies with Blades now." Looking up at his partner, he gave a tired grin. Heatwave couldn't be mad at him, he was feeling the pressure as well. None of the family was doing well with the knowledge obtained from Graham.

     "Copy that," Dani replied, looking over at Cody who was reading the book that Frankie had let him borrow. "Cody, Blades and I are heading out for some reconnaissance. Kade and Heatwave are headed here soon. Will you be okay being by yourself for a few minutes?"

     "Yep!" Cody said, briefly looking up from the book. Dani smiled before heading up to the roof with Blades.

     Cody couldn't help but try to keep himself distracted with the book. It was very interesting, talking about how griffins came to Griffin Rock, and how there was a sea creature somewhere in the south near the Artic. Especially with the Aed Mau, and the idea that it was searching for an island to rule over. The pictures were intriguing, some detailed with lines pointing to different parts of the creatures, while others looked to be small sketches of their habitats or ruins dedicated to that creature. He grinned as memories returned to him, a few days where he had snuck out at night, going back into the forest. It was his secret though, he didn't want to worry his family.

     However, his whole family had been acting really protective of him over the past few weeks. There was always someone nearby, and if they all had to go on an emergency, he was watched by Doc Green and Frankie. The bots tried to keep him from even going outside to the courtyard to play basketball once, though his dad had shut them down quickly. Cody was sure that they were also hiding some information that was putting them so on edge, but he figured that he'd ask them about it at dinner.

     He sat up as the sound of Heatwave and Kade arriving in the garage echoed into the bunker. He got up, holding the book, and used the elevator to go and meet his brother. As he was walking out from the elevator, a thought flew through his head.

     "I wonder if there's been any news about Quarry?" Cody blinked a few times in surprise. Had he said that out loud? The startled faces of Kade and Heatwave confirmed his question. His brother looked awkwardly at the bot before looking awkwardly at Cody.

     "Uh," Kade said, caught completely off guard.

     "No, to be completely honest," Heatwave answered, crossing his arms as the garage doors closed behind him. "Quarry's disappeared off the face of Griffin Rock, and we haven't got a clue now. Graham had said that Doc had seen some weird stuff happening around Mount Griffin, but now there's nothing," The fire bot walked over to the small console that lead down to the bunker. "I'm heading down for some training. You guys coming or staying here?" Kade and Cody stepped off of the platform to allow the bot to ride down alone.

     Turning to face his little brother, with a slight hint of grumpiness, Kade asked, "What have you been doing for the past few hours?" Cody held up the old book, which was now even more worn than before.

     "Been reading this," He said, a smile on his face. "It's really interesting. It talks about the Aed Mau, and Griffins and even a sea monster that's called-"

     "Okay, okay," Kade interrupted, pushing the book back towards Cody. "You like the book. Now, why don't you and I play some basketball outside?" Cody grinned and started up the stairs to put the book away. Before he got to the top, Kade called up a reminder by his dad. "Oh, Doc wants to see you in the lab tomorrow, by the way! Say it's something important."

     Outside, Cody and Kade were playing on the court, the basketball in the possession of Kade. He threw a shot, but Cody used his hoverboard to give himself a slight hight advantage. Jumping off of it, his fingers grazed the ball so that it hit the rim and bounced off. Catching the ball, Cody zoomed forward, almost getting a score. However, Kade grabbed him by the waist and spun him around, causing him to miss the shot entirely.

     "Hey, that's illegal!" Cody was laughing as Kade released him. His brother grinned.

     "Well, it sure keeps you from beating me," He smirked, showing the score to be 5-5. The sound of the rest of the family returning made the game end in a tie, which was a little disappointing for Cody. As he and Kade met up with Dani, Graham and Chief, Cody couldn't help but wonder why they were so worried.

     "Cody, I need to have a private talk with your siblings. Will you go upstairs for a few minutes?" Chief Burns asked his youngest son, who looked a little confused.

     "Is it about Quarry?" Cody's dad sighed, trying to find the best way to explain the situation without causing his son to worry.

     "Dad, you don't have to worry about me," Cody tried to reasure his dad. "Nothing out of the ordinary has happened aside from the usual emergencies. There's been no sign of Quarry or the creature since you found me, and the whole town has been watching. You can tell me what's been happening." Chief Burns gave another sigh before motioning everyone to go sit down on something.

     "The mainland has gotten in touch with me," He said, folding his hands. "They said that Quarry was supposed to be in solitary confinement with them, but escaped a few months ago. They hadn't found any sign of him until Cody had a run in with him. They had his location until something interfered and they lost it," Chief Burns gave another sigh and looked at his family. "The last place he was last tracked to was near the lake where Cody was, four days ago."