20 The Meerkat Show ⑧ The return of the veterinarian

"Tell me, Ikka, do you have an idea to get out of this place ? It's too dark and I can't see much..." Arun had been talking for a few minutes with the colossal squid, of which only face protruded from the water in front of him. He no longer needed to swim to keep himself on the surface of the water, as she gently carried him with her tentacles above the water.

It was a bit sticky and strange to the touch, but Arun was not going to do the trick. At least he escaped the cold and fatigue that had failed to kill him again a few minutes earlier.

"Get out ? Ikka never found a way out, and Ikka woke up here alone, after her friend abandoned her." The thin, light voice of the squid did not seem sad at all despite what she was saying.

"Your friend abandoned you?" Arun tried to know a little more, interested in the story of his new ally.

"Yes, but she said she would come back for Ikka. But Ikka is still waiting for her. Maybe she's lost ? Do you think she forgot about Ikka ?" An ounce of anxiety appeared on the face of the squid. She just seemed to have a special way of thinking. Arun thought she was a bit childish, but he could not tell if she was young or not.

"If she's your friend, and if she told you she'd come back for you, then she didn't forget you. Maybe she's had problems delaying her." Arun tried to reassure her as best as he could, but he was not familiar with the situation that had led her to be alone in this underground lake.

The most important thing now was that they come out of here both. If there was no known outlet for the colossal squid, then the only way to leave this place was to go where he had arrived. That is to say, through the hole from which emanated the only light that allowed him to distinguish a little form, and which was tens of meters above him.

"Hmm... I fell from up there." The vet pointed at the opening above. "It seems difficult to go back..."

"Maybe Ikka can jump high enough to reach the exit ?" The squid offered an idea.

"Jump ? Do you think you can jump high enough to reach this place?" Arun was a little surprised that she was able to jump so high. In his mind, it seemed unfeasible to him.

But he knew that in the world of pets, things could be a little different. He had seen how Kast and Miraj had jumped over a twenty-meter hole, with no more difficulty than that if they had not had to carry him.

By the way, he had completely forgotten the two squirrels !

"Ikka, I have a question!" Arun suddenly panicked thinking about the fate of his companions. They had fallen with him, right? If they had drowned, it was already too late ...

"Yes ? Ikka has already calculated everything, she can jump to the top !" The squid showed an enthusiastic smile, a little proud of herself.

"No, it was not for tha... Wait, really ? Did you calculate it?"

Squids were among the most intelligent animals that existed, because they had a very developed nervous system and that particularly interested scientists who studied the marine world... Put on a human scale, despite her simplistic tunes, Ikka was probably way smarter than Arun.

"If you think it's possible, then I trust you ! But I wanted to ask you something else before. Have seen other people than me fall into that lake ? I was with two of my friends before falling here..." Arun had first to find his partners too. They had not let him down when he needed them, so the least he could do was to reciprocate them.

"Friends of the human ?" Ikka saw no one but you, you were the only one who stirred the water while swimming. Arun sighed as he heard the words of the squid. So they had managed to escape the fall ? It was all the veterinarian could hope for.

"Then if you're ready, let's go in. I can't afford to lose another minute." Even though the many events he had undergone had turned him away from his final goal, Arun must not forget it. He had to reach the finish line of the Meerkat Race to qualify for the next trial. And he did not really think he was in the first...

"Ikka is ready !" The tentacles of the squid that supported the weight of the young man wrapped around him without a warning, preventing him from moving a limb. He felt like he was mummified, but just took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

Ikka then dived, dragging the human with her into her tentacles. She swam at an impressive speed to the bottom of the water, and Arun could feel his ears hurt because of the pressure. The depth was not to be taken lightly.

The squid made a graceful U-turn once arrived at the bottom and propelled even more beautifully with her tentacles to gain even more speed. Rowing like a torpedo tens of meters of water, she propelled herself into the air and crossed without difficulty the distance yet dizzying from which Arun had fallen.

She used the suckers underneath her tentacles to cling to the open pipe, and went back inside like a mountaineer. With the difference that she did not need to make progress.

She then placed Arun on the ground, finally freeing him from her sprawling embrace.

"It's... still so impressive." Arun murmured, breathing loudly, stunned by Ikka's performance.

"Congratulations Ikka, and thank you. Thanks to you, we have gone out of business !" The vet approached the squid and caressed her head kindly.

Now that they had joined a brighter environment, he could really see what his new ally was like.

Indeed, her face was that of a girl of thirteen or fourteen years old. Long red messy hair covered her face, and the vet could barely see her little black eyes underneath. Her skin was soft and wet, darker or lighter red depending on the area. And surprisingly, although she had a torso similar to that of a human, she had no arms or legs, but multiple tentacles were used to move.

Arun had almost thought that for a colossal squid, it was not very large, since he exceeded her by a few centimeters. However, behind her, there were meters of tentacles, and he understood where her height was coming from...

"Hihi, it's nothing for Ikka ! Ikka can do more than just jump !" She smirked as she felt Arun's hand on her head, glad she could help him.

"Now all we have to do is to get out of the labyrinth, and reach the finish line." Arun spoke to himself determinedly, searching around him if he could find any signs that his friends had not fallen with him. Unfortunately, he found nothing, but he hoped they were alive.