Danger in the Jungle Temple Read online

  “Then what about shark attacks?” Destiny countered.

  “They usually take a bite and then stop,” Yancy said, as if this made everything okay. “They bite to try to figure out what something is, because they don’t have hands like us. And anyway, shark attacks are incredibly rare. I’m sick of sharks getting a bad rap.”

  “Says the one trying to scare Stevie by showing him shark pictures,” Maison muttered under her breath.

  Yancy shut the book and tossed it dramatically on the floor of the boat. “I’m just trying to get us prepared for this mission. I’ve never been in the Overworld ocean before.”

  To tell the truth, I hadn’t either. And that thought kept growing and growing in my head, like a pufferfish puffing itself up.

  “Hey, if you’re in shark territory, you’re in their space,” Yancy went on. For some reason, he was really worked up about this. “They’re just trying to eat to stay alive, and if people are being careless and in the shark’s hunting grounds, they might get bitten. But don’t blame the shark. It’s not like in Minecraft, where you have hostile mobs that attack you for no clear reason.”

  Even though I was still nervous, I thought Yancy had an interesting point. If sharks had to eat, they had to eat, even if I thought they were scary looking. And if something unfamiliar was in the water, they had to figure out what it was, right? On the other hand, if we ran into any hostile mobs underwater—“mobs” was another word we used for “monster”—then they’d attack us just because they can, not because they need to in order to survive.

  “Do you know you can pay to go under the water in a cage and have the great white sharks come right up to you?” Yancy asked. “I want to do that someday.”

  “Cool!” Alex cheered. “How many emeralds does it cost?”

  “Why would anyone pay money for that?” Destiny asked at the same time, making a face.

  “The cage keeps you safe, and there’s a boat right there next to it,” Yancy explained. “I heard that sharks circle their prey,” Destiny said. “What if they start circling your boat?”

  “I know where you’re going with this, but it’s not going to happen,” Yancy said. “As long as you’re in a boat, nothing is going to hurt you.”

  That’s when something leapt out of the waters and landed, with a screech, in our boat.

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  Read the Unofficial Overworld Adventure series for more of Stevie’s adventures!