by S.A. Bodeen
A black shape sprang from the trees.
“Aaaaaaahhhhhhhh!” Marco shot his hands up in front of his face and squeezed his eyes shut.
He was knocked to the ground. An enormous weight pounced on his chest and felt as if would crush his lungs.
This was it.
He was never going to make it off the island.
He was meeting the same end as Leo’s grandfather. The cat was going to tear him—
Something warm and wet and slippery licked him from chin to forehead.
Marco opened his eyes a crack.
The huge pink tongue was attached to one panting and wriggling Newfoundland perched on top of him.
Marco relaxed and set a hand on Ahab’s head. “Hey, boy.”
“Ahab!” Nacho hugged the dog. “I’m so glad to see you.” He grasped his collar and pulled him off Marco.
“Me too.” Relieved, Marco lay back on the ground for a moment.
“Now there’s three of us.” Nacho hugged the dog again.
Marco sat up and scanned their surroundings, just in case Ahab wasn’t the only thing running around that part of the island. They were lucky, he knew. Odds were, it was but a matter of time before they encountered something a little less welcoming than Ahab. Even though it was dangerous, they needed to get to the face rock the most direct way. Which meant heading back to the beach.
“Let’s go find Sarah.” Marco directed Nacho, but took up the rear, wanting to make sure that nothing snuck behind them. When they reached the beach, Marco took hold of Nacho’s arm. “Hold on a sec.”
The beach appeared empty. Still … “Nacho, we’re going to run for a bit, okay?”
His brother frowned. “I’m tired of walking.”
Marco really didn’t want to explain that their life might be in danger if they took their time. “I don’t want to be exposed that long.”
“Why?” Nacho’s eyes narrowed. “What’s out there?”
“Nothing. But if Fox is watching for us, then—”
“Oh,” said Nacho. “I get it. We need to sneak up on them.”
Marco nodded. “Exactly.” He stepped onto the sand in the direction they needed to go. “Ready to run?”
“Yes.” Nacho stepped in front of Marco and then turned back. “Do you think…?” His words trailed off and his eyes grew huge. His mouth fell open.
Marco’s chest tightened. Oh no, the sharkodile. If it had already seen them, there was no escape; they couldn’t run fast enough—
BOOM!
Ahab barked.
Marco whirled around.
The sky dripped red, the streaks began to swirl together, and they formed a crimson orb like before.
“Run!” Marco pushed his brother forward and they sprinted down the sand, Ahab beside them. The thick sand was too challenging; Marco’s already-weary legs were burning. He knew Nacho couldn’t keep up that pace. Still running, he pulled on Nacho’s elbow, steering him to the hard-packed sand closer to the water.
Marco shot a glance backward.
The red orb hurtled toward them.
“Faster!” Marco caught sight of the opening in the trees, the path. He gasped, “Almost there!”
Nacho stumbled and pitched forward, arms out to break his fall.
Marco grabbed his brother by the backpack, yanking him upright. Their legs churned. They reached the thick sand and headed up toward the tree line. “There! Run!” Marco nearly shoved his brother into the trees.
Ahab was right on their heels, too close, and tripped them.
Boys and dog tumbled in a heap in the shade of the trees.
A second later, the red ball flashed by.
Marco lay there, pulse pounding in his ears.
Ahab panted next to him.
Nacho rolled over onto his back, gasping. “That … wasn’t … good.”
“Well, of course it wasn’t.” Marco sat up. “We almost didn’t make it.”
Nacho panted a bit. “No, I mean that thing.” He rolled over and got up on his knees. “It was a message for Leo.”
Marco wiped his sweaty face on the shoulder of his shirt. “So?”
“Don’t you get it?” Nacho leaned forward. “Leo is on a countdown. And he’s running out of time.”
7
The full brunt of the hot sun beat down on Sarah as she trudged along the beach beside Fox. They heard the boom and ran into the trees moments before the orb streaked by.
The whole thing left the man looking freaked out and exhausted.
Sarah wondered what would happen if she just ran as fast as she could away from him. But if she did that and she lost him, Fox would probably be able to make his way back to their camp. And she didn’t want him there alone with Yvonna and Cash and Nacho and a gun.
Her dad and Marco needed to get there first.
As she walked along, Sarah at least knew enough to be wary. She scanned the waves for a fin. If the sharkodile showed up, she didn’t have to outrun it. She just had to outrun Fox.
Sarah nearly smiled.
Fox becoming a snack for that thing wouldn’t be her fault at all.
“Here.” Fox pushed a warm bottle of water against Sarah’s arm.
She’d forgotten they had some and guzzled half the bottle, before gasping.
“How much farther?” Fox finished the other bottle of water.
Sarah wasn’t sure. She remembered that she and Marco had run from the sharkodile and had seen the entrance to the cave not long after. They had to be close. “Soon. I think.”
Fox stopped. “You think?”
Sarah’s free hand became a fist. “I’ve only been there once! I don’t remember specifics. I’ll get us there when I get us there.” She cringed, expecting Fox to yell.
Instead, he simply sighed. “Fine. But it better be soon.” He wiped his red, sweaty forehead with his ugly hat.
Sarah finished the rest of the water. She carried the bottle for a little ways before casually letting it go. She didn’t condone littering. But maybe someone looking for her would see it and figure out she’d come this way. Besides, she still held out the tiniest bit of hope that they might run into her dad and Marco at any time.
There were a few rocks on the beach. Sarah pictured Marco picking one up to ward off the sharkodile. They were getting close.
Sarah studied the tree line and tried to remember if the entrance to the cave was easy to spot, or if she had to be standing a certain way. Then, suddenly, the dark, yawning mouth of the cave appeared. “There.” She pointed.
A slow grin spread across Fox’s face. “Well, lookie there. A cave.” He held out a hand. “After you.”
Sarah bit her lip. At least this time she knew what to expect. Her first step through the mouth was once again followed by a slight ripple through her body.
Fox followed her. “Hey! Did you feel that?”
Sarah raised her eyebrows, trying to look as innocent as possible. “What?”
“Never mind.” Fox frowned. “It’s really dark.”
“Well, it is a cave.” She took a step.
“Wait!”
She faced him. “Are you afraid?”
“No, I’m not afraid.” The last word was in baby talk. But Fox looked a little shaken.
Sarah had to admit the thought of moving forward into the blackness—even though she knew the way lightened after only about twenty yards—made her uneasy. But this path was the only way she knew for sure to get to Leo. She reassured Fox, and herself. “It’s only dark for a little ways.”
“Fine. No funny business.”
Sarah set one hand against the rough wall and slid it along as she descended into the darkness. She didn’t try to reach out for the left side, sticking to the right.
“You there?” Fox’s voice trembled a bit.
Was he afraid of enclosed spaces? Or darkness?
“Yes.” Sarah felt a little better. She was nervous, but not downright terrified. “Right here. Just keep moving. It’ll get light.…” Eve
n as she said the words, a faint glow ahead grew brighter and brighter, making it easier to see.
A moment later, Sarah stepped out into the vast cavern, lit as bright as day.
Fox whistled. “This was definitely not here before.”
Sarah shivered at the chill. The white modules were there, as before, and she headed down the center row.
A pure white butterfly, with wide black tips on its wings, fluttered by. Sarah watched it ascend, just in time for a bird to whoosh by. “Whoa!” She ducked. Expecting another mutant, she whirled around to look for four wings or teeth or something equally freaky.
The bird circled.
Beneath a bluish-gray head, the neck bore some iridescent feathers, ranging from bright violet to golden green, and the breast was various shades of pink. The upper back and both wings were a pale gray, and the tail had white outer edges with blackish spots.
The bird was beautiful. And perfectly normal.
Another white butterfly, identical to the other, flew by, followed by two bright blue ones with white spots on their wings.
* * *
They all seemed to be normal.
Had Leo figured out how to use the progenitor and replicate the creatures he needed?
“What’s in these things?” Fox paused in front of one of the frosted-over modules.
Sarah tore her gaze away from the flying creatures. “Clear the frost and see.”
Fox frowned. “You’ve been here before?”
“Yes.”
“And you saw these things before.”
“Definitely.”
“And you say my treasure is here?”
She pointed to the very end of the row. “Probably down there.”
Fox brushed past her, striding along.
She jogged to keep up, slowing only when she reached the end, and the module where she’d last seen her father. The door was closed, as before.
She walked slower and slower as she got closer and closer.
What if her dad was still in it? What if Leo had lied and hadn’t let him out? Worse, what if he’d frozen Marco too?
She stepped up to the window, but didn’t look. “Please be empty, please be empty.…” She raised her gaze. The module was empty.
Her dad was free.
Then where was he?
Sarah leaned her forehead against the cool glass.
Why hadn’t he found her yet? Was he even looking for her?
“Don’t, Sarah,” she whispered. Stop being a baby.
Her dad was probably doing something, right that minute, to get them all rescued. Maybe Marco was too. And she had to do her part. Unfortunately, that part was here, with Fox, in the cave.
“What the—?”
Sarah jumped at Fox’s outburst.
A shiny white divider blocked the way at the far end of the cavern. A flash of white light came from behind it.
“That wasn’t there before.” She added, “I swear.”
Fox froze a few steps in front of Sarah.
Sarah shielded her eyes. That light was the same as the light that came from the trunk when Leo had opened it at the beach. He had to have figured out the progenitor.
The light gradually began to fade and then disappeared altogether.
Suddenly, from around the edge of the divider, padded a muscular, light brown animal the size of a large dog. Chocolate stripes ran down the rear half of its back. With small ears perked upright and a twitching, shiny black nose at the end of a long muzzle, the creature studied them with bright, dark eyes. Its long, thin, nearly hairless tail slowly swept from side to side.
Sarah knew she should have been afraid. But instead, she felt something else.
“What is that?” whispered Fox.
Sarah sensed that this animal wasn’t a mutant. Like the bird and the butterflies, something about this one seemed too … real.
With a squeak, the creature yawned, revealing sharp, white teeth.
What was that thing?
She’d been to the San Diego Zoo so many times and had seen all the animals. Although she wouldn’t admit it to Marco and Nacho, she’d also watched a fair amount of shows on Animal Planet.
But she hadn’t seen any shows featuring this one.
The animal began to pace back and forth, nails clicking softly on the floor of the cavern.
Fox stepped back, cowering behind Sarah. “Is it going to attack?”
Sarah ignored him. The animal’s pacing mesmerized her.
Back and forth. Back and forth.
So familiar.
She had totally seen an animal like this before, moving that same way.
If not in person at a zoo and not on television, then where? Other than that, there was only the web—
* * *
The visual came to her, of the short black-and-white clip on the internet.
A zoo in Hobart, Australia.
The 1930s.
An animal …
… in a stark concrete-and-metal cage.
Pacing.
Alone.
Truly alone.
The last of its kind.
Goose bumps sprouted on her arms as she realized no one had seen this animal in decades.
“But that’s … impossible.”
Sarah dropped to her knees. “You’re supposed to be extinct.”
8
Marco put both hands on top of his head. What was he supposed to do?
Run around hunting for his stepsister?
Or go help an alien that had given him medicine for his mom?
Even though he still didn’t know whether the vial had worked, he had the feeling it was legit. And he had promised he would return to help Leo, whose time appeared to be running out.
“New plan.”
Nacho stroked Ahab’s head. “Aren’t we going to find Sarah?”
“Maybe Sarah is leading Fox to Leo’s cave.”
“Why would she do that? He wanted to see the face rock.”
“But maybe she went there instead.”
“Maybe she didn’t.”
Marco rolled his eyes. “Listen, it’s been a while since they left, right?”
“Quite a while,” said Nacho.
“So I think there’s a chance they could be at the cave already. Sarah can take care of herself.” When they’d started on the trip back in California, he never would have thought such a thing. But since they’d been on the island, it was clear he’d misjudged her. She was much tougher than he’d first thought. Smarter too. And he did think there was a chance she was, indeed, leading Fox to the cave.
“What if she can’t?” Nacho adjusted his backpack.
“Nacho!” Marco groaned. “We need to go to the cave.”
“You go.”
“Oh, come on.” What was with his little brother? Why wasn’t he just going along with him?
“You didn’t see him,” said Nacho.
“See who?” asked Marco.
“That guy. Fox. He is mean. I don’t like Sarah being alone with him. You shouldn’t either.”
“Well, of course I don’t—”
Nacho crossed his arms. “We should be going to the face rock to help her. Or maybe you don’t care.”
Marco slapped his hands on his thighs. “Of course I care. But we have to go to the cave!”
“Fine. You go.” Nacho hitched up his backpack.
Ahab whined.
“What’s wrong?”
The dog whined again and then panted.
Marco said, “I think he’s thirsty.”
Nacho sighed, set his backpack on the ground, and unzipped it. Several bottles of water lay inside.
“Nice.” Marco opened one up and took a big swig.
“Hey. What about the dog?” Nacho knelt down and cupped his hands. “Okay, pour some water in. See if he’ll drink it.”
Marco poured some water into Nacho’s grimy hands. “Here, boy!”
Ahab was more thirsty than particular, and lapped up the water in no time.
Marco poured more, continuing until the bottle was empty. Ahab sat back on his haunches, his tail thumping the dirt. Then, with a bark, he bounded into the trees.
Nacho wiped his slimy hands on his shorts and grabbed the backpack.
“Nacho! Where you going?”
“To get my sister.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes!” He took a few steps.
Marco frowned. “And she’s not your sister! She’s your stepsister.”
Nacho faced him and threw his arms out to the sides. “After all this? Hanging on to the whole step thing seems pretty stupid.”
Marco stared at his little brother, his gaze drifting over the wrinkled, smeared clothes and the smudges of dirt on his face. Before this trip, Nacho wouldn’t even go outside without bathing in hand sanitizer, let alone let a dog drink from his hands.
In a few short days, Nacho had become a different person. A stronger person. And, despite his quirks and annoyances, he was rational. Maybe the most rational person Marco knew. He sighed. “Fine. We’ll go to the face rock. But we’ve got to move fast. Okay?”
Nacho grinned. “We will.”
They pushed through the foliage and vines, following the dog. Marco hoped Ahab was headed toward the path, otherwise this would take them forever.
Nacho said, “Sarah didn’t have to do it.”
“Huh?” Marco slapped a vine out of his way.
“I saw her. Fox was taking Cash and Mom to the boat and Sarah stopped him.”
Marco paused. “How did she do that?”
Nacho’s face popped out between the slim gray trunks of two trees. “That’s when she told him about the rock with the face. Like she knew that would get him to stay.”
Marco took a step back. No one had asked Sarah to do that and put her own life in danger. But if she hadn’t, his mom could be anywhere by now. And she wouldn’t have taken the medicine. Sarah’s quick thinking might have saved his mom’s life.
Up ahead, the dog barked.
“Marco! Hurry.” Nacho slipped through several low-hanging branches and disappeared.
“Wait!” A branch snagged Marco’s shirt. He yanked himself loose and fought his way through a stubborn clump of vines. He emerged onto the path he and Sarah had been on before. The V was straight in front of them.