Trapper Jack and the ogopogo

Trapper Jack and the Legend of the Ogopogo


It was a sweltering day in Monroe, Washington. So hot Maddie felt compelled to drag the hard plastic kiddie pool from the garage out back next to the concrete back patio. She picked up the end of the garden hose dropped it in the pool and turned the water on full tilt. She set up the area next to the pool, a chaise lounge chair, A patio table stocked with ice water, spray bottle filled with water, fan, and SPF-50 (she didn't want anymore freckles). She climbed into the chair and tested the water with her toes.“hmmmmm perfect” she sighed. She dipped her legs into the pool and piled her waist long brown wavy hair into a bun. Maddie put on her sunglasses and lathered the sunscreen on liberally. Careful not to get any on her modest teal bathing top. Maddie was 16, and her body was still changing in ways she felt entirely uncomfortable with, she's a tomboy through and through as evidenced by the boy athletic shorts she wore. Unfortunately her body had other ideas, her cute little pixie looks complimented a curvaceous bod, that much to her embarrassment. turned heads. She grabbed her phone started the latest Rihanna album up, popped in her ear buds and leaned back in the chair to relax. Just as Maddie was just starting to get comfortable, her eyes closed head bobbing unconsciously to the music. Her 7 year old brother Jackson, with a wicked gleam in his eyes and bad intentions snuck around the corner of the house holding a semi-automatic water rifle, and carrying numerous water grenades taped his belt wrapped around the waist of his camo shorts. He advanced on his sister's position wearing untied loosened army boots camo shorts, a t shirt with an over-sized army helmet sitting unbuckled on his head. When he judged he was close enough, to see his sister through his glasses he lobbed a grenade at his sister, laughing maniacally,

"ahhhhhh!!!" came the surprised shrill reply, as she jumped up from the chair, "ohhh! You don't know what you just started Jackson Keats, you're going down down to Chinatown clown " and she grabbed the hose from the pool, and slid her thumb over the opening of the hose and attempted to spray the now darting figure of her little brother

"Ha ha, you can't get me slowpoke!" yelled her brother, just as Madison found her range and sprayed him directly in his now sputtering face. It was her turn to start laughing maniacally which she now did with relish.

Just then "Jaaaaaaacksoooonnnnn, Maaaaadisoooooonnn Their sister Kenzie's voice came caterwauling from somewhere inside the recesses of the house. "Coles got a case!" Maddie and Jack dropped the water battle abruptly turned off the hose and went to see what was what. When Maddie and Jack got inside, Kenzie flipped a towel at them, and spoke into her ear piece, "give us a sec Cole these two water babies got to dry off".

"Hey who you calling a baby,?" whined Jack,

"Simmer down Bobo", said Kenzie shushing him. She'd given Jackson Bobo as a nickname years ago no-one was sure why, but it stuck. As Madison, and Jack dried off, Kenzie turned on the TV and the video conferencing. Cole's excited mug came into view sporting a beanie, and soul patch."Alright we're up" she said, and sat down on the left side of the couch in front of the TV. Madison finished drying off sat down on the right side of the couch, with the towel draped over her shoulders like a shawl.

"Excellent, have you guys ever heard of Ogopogo?", queried Cole.

"Of course", said Jack calling on on his near encyclopedic memory of North American Monsters, as he sat down right in the middle of his two sisters. "Lake Okanagan, British Columbia. The Salish Tribe called it n'ha-a-itk, or lake demon, it's a standard many hump lake monster, most often referred to as a Sea Serpent. Legend has it the Salish wouldn't cross the lake unless they had an animal sacrifice for the hungry monster to snack on. Hundreds of people have sighted it, MonsterSearch did a documentary, didn't find anything though. Crypto-zoologists postulate that the most likely candidate for the Ogopogo is an evolved form of the Prehistoric Basilosaurus, a whale. Personally though I believe that runs contrary to the many eye witness descriptions I've read which depict the beastie as a large water serpent." You may have noticed Jackson didn't talk like most boys and girls his age, in addition to his unhealthy obsession with North American Monsters. Jackson was on the Autistism Spectrum, he was very high functioning, and spoke as he were ten years older than he really was, his sisters called him the "Little Professor".

"Wow, Jack, don't know why I bother googling this stuff I should just ask you, anyways....eh hmmm" he cleared his throat and then a ringing came from his laptop. “That must be the client now, Mr James Allen I'll patch him in” Cole hit a few buttons on his laptop and a bald head with a fullimmaculately groomed beard appeared on screen in a square in the bottom left corner of the TV.
“How do I start this thing?, Oh yes there they are...”A large dark skinned man in a butler uniform retreated into the background from his position in front of the laptop, where he had been assisting the man to open the video conferencing software. “Thank you Kel, be a good man and fetch me an scotch. Well hello,” Mr Allen turned his attention to the siblings. “My name is Mr Allen, and I understand ya chillun is ahh responsible for the blog my man Kel found about debunking this here reeediculous monster nonsense.” When the children nodded their assent he continued. “Well I purchased this here golf course smack-dab in in the middle of Lake Okanagan on Rattlesnake Island, and ever since I been beset by trouble.
“What kind of trouble?” asked Maddie eyebrows raised.
“Golfers are a superstitious lot, and some of those daggum loonies think they saw something in the water, no doubt making up the story as an excuse fer slicing it right in to the water. But the stories caught wildfire and now other folk is reporting seeing the blame thing. I got a protest group up here picketing nonsense about endangered species and it's endangering my bidness. I need you kids to get up here right now and debunk this nonsense straight away!”
“Alright Mr. Allen, my colleagues and I will discuss the case, and get back to you, when we've decided if we'll take the case” Cole said ending the conversation with the client, his square disappeared from the corner of the TV.
“So, what do you guys say?" asked Cole.

The three siblings looked at each other, "We're down!" they said in unison.

"Excellent", Cole replied, "I'm so geeked out right now guys, I got so much new equipment I wanna show ya'll. First things first though I'll let Mr. Allen know we'll take the case. Lets pack up, n meet first thing in the morning, say sixish it'll take us 4 hours to get up to Lake Okanagan."

"Ohhhh no six in the morning?, why don't you just shoot me now?" Maddie groaned. Jackson, and MacKenzie laughed. They both loved mornings, while Maddie would just skip them if she could.
"Its a four hour drive, said Cole “You can get your beauty rest on the way up, princess" Maddie scowled at him "don't forget your passports, see ya six sharp,."

"Lets go trap ourselves an Ogopogo." Jack said with finality, and Cole waved, hit a switch in front of him, and disappeared escaping Madison's withering glare. "Alright ladies, time to pack up, and this time leave the kitchen sink, please." Jackson teased his sisters.

"Yes sir, Jackson sir, right away sir!" both his sisters chimed in with long practiced synchronization. Punctuating it with their heels clicking together, ending in a faux salute. The what in the world look on Jackson's face made them go from zero to cackle in two point two, and ran up the stairs to their rooms, cackling the whole way, leaving Jackson in their wake. Girls! he thought shaking his head, then headed to his own room thinking about what lie ahead, and how many pairs of socks he'd need, and if the Ogopogo was real, and just what kind of trap could he use to catch a sea serpent?
The next morning came, and it was not a moment too soon, all three had trouble sleeping the night before, their minds racing with anticipation of the case. Jackson came bounding down the stairs, and dropped his single backpack down next to the mountain of luggage that seemed to have risen up from the floor in the middle of the night and those were just Kenzie's things. Sheesh-Ka-Bob he thought, kitchen sink included.

"Don't you say a word Jackson Keats!!" Kenzie warned him dropping his middle name from the kitchen where she was making breakfast: poached eggs and bacon. Gluten free, high protein. Going Gluten free seemed to be helping with some of Jackson's more autistic behaviors. He didn't seem to be drifting off into own imaginary world as much, and the intense emotions/sights/sounds he had always experienced, lessened and became more manageable. Instead of having what the Autistic community have termed a melt-down, he was now able to count to ten, control his breathing and the moments mostly passed. (Please do not use the term tantrum, it is offensive. As children throwing tantrums have complete control of them, autistic children do not.)

"I didn't say anything!" he protested, out loud he thought. Just then Madison came trudging down the stairs, sporting her backpack, double strapped, a shoulder bag, thrown over her shoulder, and an additional bag in each hand. Jackson saw her coming down he stairs, and rushed to her assistance.
"Hey sissy, whatcha go there?" Oooof he exaggerated, as he took one of the bags. "Feels like you got a dead body in here!!" he grumbled.

"Pfffttt, how would you know what a body in a bag feels like?" Maddie scoffed.

"Youtube" he deadpanned, shrugging. Maddie and Jack dropped the bags onto the ever growing pile and then sat down across from each other at the table, just as MacKenzie swooped in and plopped a plate in front of each of them.

"Eat up, Cole will be here any minute." then she sat down at the head of the table in front of a
ginormous cup of joe, and her own plate, took a big gulp, and then daintily nibbled the end off a piece

of bacon. Jack and Maddie attacked their plates like a mob of angry villagers .Just then a shave and a haircut was authoritatively rapped out on the front door.

"Twooooo Biiitttts", Jackson sang out his arms stretched out wide a bit theatrically, as he got up to get the door."Hey Cole, come on in.", said Jack, opening the door to find super-geek Cole Avery.
Skinny as a weed; Atari T; cargo shorts; Birkenstocks; backward cap; soul patch. Looking at him Jackson found it hard to believe that Cole at 23 was one of the richest under 25s in the US. Guess that's what happens when you start your own wildly successful software company at the tender young age of 16. Now though Cole used his vast resources to do what he really loved. Investigating rumors of legends and proving to the world that supposedly mythological monsters DO exist, fueled by his own traumatic childhood experience of almost being carried off by the fabled Thunderbird. Only his quick wits, and the pocket knife he jammed into it's talons saved his life. He still had the scars to prove it. It was the disbelief, ridicule he faced when he tried to explain the wounds in his shoulders to his parents, and friends, and teachers, and anybody else who would listen, that drove him to do what he did. To prove to everyone who didn't listen then, that he wasn't really crazy, not about this anyway.

"Yowza!" Cole exclaimed, his eyes growing big as he saw the pile of luggage.

"Hey Cole!" Kenzie called out from the kitchen, "Do you want any breakfast or coffee?"

"Temptress!, " Cole replied, visibly sniffing the delicious aroma wafting from the coffee pot, "That smell right there is probably the closest thing to heaven I'll ever see. Naw, sit down Kenz, I'll get it."He said motioning for her to sit back down, grabbed his own mug from the peg on the wall next to the coffee pot, poured his cup black, and settled into the empty chair across from Kenzie. Took a small sip from his cup, Gone Squatching stenciled on it's side. "Ahhhhh Heaven!" he sighed,savoring the taste. After a minute letting the caffeine surge through his brain, he started to talk. "I don't know about you guys, but I couldn't sleep a wink last night. Try as I might I couldn't quiet my brain."

"Word" intoned MacKenzie between sips.

"I started thinking about how I could trap a water serpent" said Jack,
"I've come up with a plan, it involves a large Plexiglas aquarium with motion sensors, and bait. Here are the plans." Jack pulled a sketch out of his back pocket and slid it over.
"Awesome!, let me take a pic of that" replied Cole, as he pulled his phone out of his pocket to
snap a photo, "It shouldn't be difficult to get Plexiglas in Canada.


"I've studied the surrounding area for the appropriate ecosystem a water serpent that size would

need in order to survive." Maddie chimed in, she passed over a map of Lake Okanagan with several

areas circled in red.

"Wow you guys are on your game!" he said snapping a photo of the map. "but I haven't been exactly sitting on my laurels either. I created a database of all the known sightings of the Ogopogo.

"Oh, " Kenzie added "I got us a campsite at Okanagan Mountain Provincial Park, right on the water and I found a nice speed boat rental place on the way, and reserved one for us."

“You are so good at logistics, and details Kenz, I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Probably be making your own coffee to start with." she chuckled.

The conversation over, Jack and Maddie both stood up plates in hand. Their eyes widened, their
brows furrowed. Then their feet exploded into a dead sprint toward the kitchen sink. Being the last
to put their dishes in the sink would mean have to run the dishwasher. Not a horrifying fate to be
certain, but one to be avoided if at all possible, and to the victor the bragging rights. Jack got there
first, tossed his plate into the sink with a smirk "In your face sucka!, uhuhuuhuhuh ", he teased as he
did the chicken dance.

"Sweet," said Cole, "now you can help me load the rig, with that ridiculous amount of luggage.

"Hehe" Maddie teased Jack

"Curses!" exclaimed Jack snapping his fingers and then smiling to show he was just kidding.

"I'll help you wash the dishes Maddie, and then we can both help the boys, you know neither of them can pack a thing, no spatial awareness." Kenzie stood up and started walking to the kitchen.

"Hey!! We can too!! Come on Jack, let's get this stuff packed up before they finish." and Jack and Cole went to the front door, and started hauling the bags out.

"Hehe, " Kenzie whispered to Maddie conspiratorially "works every time!" Kenzie started washing the pans while Maddie loaded the dishwasher. Standing next to each other the two sisters stood in stark contrast. Kenzie had a head chock full of curly hair so tight it sat in perfect ringlets framing her beautiful countenance. Maddie was jealous of her sisters hair, hers was only wavy. Kenzie stood a full half a foot taller than Madison's 4 foot eleven, another jealousy. Maddie didn't mind being on the shorter side, she just wished she could hit five foot, darn it. Where Madison was a tomboy, Kenzie was a girly girl. Their clothes also reflected this difference. Maddie was wearing a Doctor Who T, dark grey leggings, calf high leather boots, and her purple geek girl glasses. MacKenzie wore a pair of sandals, a simple flowery summer dress, and a white cardigan. The girls finished up, Maddie grabbed her matching leather jacket out of the closet and they headed out the front door. Where they stopped dead in their tracks. "OOHHHHH EMMMM GEEE!!!" Kenzie started

"What is that thing!" Maddie finished.
"Shhhhhh!!! She'll hear you! She's not a thing! This gorgeous lady's name is Nina. Her shell is a 1964 thirty foot sovereign double Airstream trailer. Modified as you can no doubt see, to add a coach..."

"A coach?" Jackson interrupted

"Engine, front seats, etc." Cole carried on doing his best tour guide impersonation. "Speaking
of the engine, it's electric, customized from a corvette engine with over six hundred horse power. The
panels on the roof are solar, no gas at all ever. This machine is all green.”

"Why'd you name her Nina?" asked Maddie

"Two reasons: One, she is our passage to new worlds; Two Ms. Nina Simone."

"Who is Nina Simone?" Jackson asked.

"Who is Nina Simone? " Cole repeated incredulously, "The High Priestess of Soul?
No? Blasphemy! Heretic!" he laughed. "Don't worry ya'll shall become acquainted soon enough.
Shall I give you the tour? Ok, first of course as you can see, we are towing, our trusty 51' M38 Jeep,
quite possibly the best off road vehicle ever created, customized of course, to also be a green
machine. And now if you'll all just step into my lair, muahahahaha....ehem" he cleared his throat. "Sorry, I get carried away sometimes." and gestured to the already open door, that to Kenzie's mind seemed to be inviting them in. Nonsense she thought and rejected the thought, and entered Cole's "lair", with her siblings and Cole in tow.

"What's so special about this beastie? It looks like a normal RV to me. " Jack asked.

"Au Contraire my darlings" came a rich velvety voice from all around them. Causing the siblings to jump in surprise.

"And, let me introduce y'all to my latest foray into Artificial Intelligence, Nina. Please continue
Nina."

"MacKenzie, Madison, and Jackson, I've heard so much about you, and I can't wait to get to know you more personally."

"Wow! the feeling is mutual." said Jack with a humongous grin from ear to ear, plastered on his face.

"This is so cool!" he whispered to Maddie, while Nina continued....

"Now on with the tour.” Nina started, “The flooring you see and various other paneling throughout the body, are made from reclaimed wood from old buildings and projects in the area..."

"Wouldn't have been greener to use fake wood?" interrupted Jack his interest peaked.

"Excellent question!, Actually though Jackson my dear that is somewhat of a misnomer. It requires energy to create the materials that fake wood is composed of. Oil or coal is used
mostly, thereby releasing their toxic gases into the atmosphere. It is far greener in fact to use
materials that have been reclaimed and re-purposed. To that point everything you see inside here is
much the same. To your left you see the kitchenette, including sink, dishwasher, oven, etc., all crafted
using reclaimed metals. To your right the tables and chairs are made from reclaimed wood, and
metals, now on through the curtain."

"Why is the good stuff always through the curtain?" asked Maddie.

"Because Maddie, the truth is often veiled." Nina replied as they walked though the curtain revealing bunk beds on either side and another curtain in the back.

"This is the truth? Looks like bedtime to me."

"Ahhhh the truth is a relative thing, my darlings, and almost entirely based on ones view point, and your current viewpoint is shall we say, incomplete." As Nina finished that statement a clicking sound could be heard in the walls, and the top bunks started to lower until they were flush with the bottom bunks and then turned on end and folded up into the wall. Revealing four chairs that came up from the flooring, and an array of computers and other equipment built into the bunks.
"Woah Awesome Sauce!!" uttered Maddie in awe. "If that's what's behind this curtain, what's behind that curtain?" she asked pointing to the back.

"Another ultimate truth....the bathrooms."

"Wha..."

"Poop happens." Nina deadpanned and then heartily chuckled.

"So tour completed, are we ready to rock and roll?" Cole asked as he threw up the universal rock sign, and started mock head banging causing Jack to laugh.