it was a moose or a black bear,â TJ whispered.
Jimmy shrugged his shoulders. âWhatever it was, itâs gone now.â
And thatâs when a cannon blast of frigid water hit me full force in the stomach.The water pressure was so powerful it knocked me off my feet and sent me nosefirst into a thick maple tree. My Mardi Gras mask flew off my head and landed on a branch above my head. Vivian and the Not-Right Brothers got the same treatment. The intense surge of water sent them flying a good ten yards into a stand of white pine.
When I came to my senses, I saw Dr. Wackjöb emerge from the woods dragging a fifty-footlong fire hose.
He looked at Vivian and the Not-Right Brothers. âThatâs what you get for trespassing!â He then turned to me, an angry scowl on his face. âAnd as for you, GrÃöarstór Nef, that was for ruining two hunks of my precious hákarl!â
CHAPTER 11
ROTTEN SHARK MEAT
I reached for my bottle of cayenne pepper, ready to sneeze Dr. Wackjöb back to the Paleozoic Era, but Vivian stopped me.
âStop spraying us!â Vivian shouted. âWe have proof that aliens exist!â
Dr.Wackjöb lowered the fire hose. âWhat kind of proof?â
âA video,â TJ said. âThe kid you called GrÃöarstór Nef âwhatever that meansâhas been visited by aliens. They shove big pipes up his honker and make him snore.â
A look of skepticism washed over Dr.Wackjöbâs face. He held up the hose, like he was going to water blast us again. âIâve been laughed at and shunned by the scientific community,â he said bitterly, âI wonât allow a bunch of children to make fun of me too.â
âWeâre not here to make fun of you,â Vivian pleaded, and then plucked the flash drive from her pocket and tossed it at Dr. Wackjöbâs feet. âPlug this into your computer and watch it for yourself,â she said. âItâs a video of weird aliens doing some nose experiment on Schnoz.â
Dr.Wackjöb picked up the flash drive, rubbing it gently with his fingers like it was a precious diamond. He looked at us, back down to the flash drive, and then back at us again. âWhat are your names?â he asked.
âVivian.â
âTJ.â
âMumps.â
âJimmy.â
âAndy,â I said. âBut my friends call me Schnoz.â
âOr, if you get on his bad side,â TJ added,âheâll become Super Schnoz and pepper-sneeze you all the way back to Iceland. This guyâs whiffer has the power to blow up a fleet of armored tanks and blast an eighteen-wheeler in half.â
Dr.Wackjöb stared at my nose for a long second. âI like the name GrÃöarstór Nef for you better. Follow me. My computerâs in the observatory.â
All of us looked like dripping wet rats as we trekked to the observatory.
Vivian handed me my mask. âHere,â she said. âYouâre not Super Schnoz without your disguise.â
âI might as well leave it off now,â I said. âDr. Wackjöbâs seen my face so what does it matter?â
The Not-Right Brothers and Vivian plugged their noses as soon as we stepped into the compound.
âThat smell is disgusting,â Jimmy choked.
âIt reeks like your gross old Super Schnoz suit,â Mumps gagged.
âThatâs the building where he dries the meat,â I said. âThe place is full of the stuff.â
âAsk him what it is,â Vivian said.
I broke away from the gang and caught up with Dr.Wackjöb. âExcuse me, but can you tell me about that meat drying in that building? Whatâs it called again?â
âHákarl,â Dr. Wackjöb said, not breaking a stride. âIt means rotting shark in the Icelandic language. Itâs a delicacy in my country served at the midwinter Ãorrablót Festival.â
My nostrils flared wide. Any food that
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