by S.A. Bodeen
Marco slowly turned his head. The module was about five yards from Sarah, fifteen yards from him and Leo, about the same distance they were from the cat. Could they make it?
Marco swallowed. They had to try. “Leo, we’re going to start backing up.”
Finally Leo blinked and met Marco’s gaze. The boy’s eyes were full of tears.
Marco realized that he must be thinking about how his grandfather had died. Maybe he was reliving that horrible moment, the last time that he had come face-to-face with the cat. And the time before that, when he had tried to shoot the panther with the tube and failed.
“This time will be different, Leo,” he said. “We’ll get out of this.”
Leo blinked and went back to staring at the panther, which hadn’t come any closer.
“Sarah,” whispered Marco. “Back toward the module—”
“No,” said Leo at full volume.
The panther’s ears twitched.
“Don’t make it mad,” whispered Marco. “Let’s just back up and go in the module and—”
“And what?” Leo’s eyes locked on the panther as he spoke to Marco. “Hide in there until time has run out?”
“You’re running out of time. The modules are full, and your ship is going to leave.…” Marco’s words trailed off as he realized what he was saying. Yes, the ship would take off.
But he and Sarah would still be on it.
“You are the ones running out of time, Marco.” Leo tightened his grip on the tube and aimed at the panther.
The panther snarled and twitched its scarlet tail.
“Marco!” whispered Sarah. “Come on.”
“It’s going to attack,” said Marco.
Leo fired.
Nothing happened.
Marco’s stomach clenched.
Crouching, the panther screamed and leaped off its hind legs.
“Leo!” yelled Marco.
Suddenly the skimmer flew over Marco’s head with Sarah holding the control stick. She caught the midsection of the panther with the edge of the platform a second before it reached Leo.
The panther dug into the slats with long front claws, its back half hanging off as Sarah careened around the cavern. “What do I do?” she yelled. “Get that thing off!”
Leo shifted his aim.
“More to the left,” said Marco.
“Got it,” said Leo. The net blasted out toward the cat.
“Direct hit!” yelled Marco.
The cat slipped from the skimmer, landed and rolled, then came to stop, a crumpled white heap.
Sarah still circled in the skimmer, her eyes huge. “How do I land this thing?”
“Back and down to the left!” called Leo.
Finally, the skimmer scraped the floor of the cavern, jolting to a stop. Sarah asked, “Is the cat hurt?”
Marco nudged it gently with his toe. “No, he’s just immobilized.”
Leo dropped the tube and leaned over, webbed hands on his knees, breathing hard.
Marco set a hand on his back. “You did it!”
“What will you do with it?” asked Sarah.
Leo shrugged. “I’ll figure that out later.”
Marco and Sarah exchanged a glance. He put both straps of the backpack over his shoulders. “We’ve gotta go.”
Leo stepped onto the skimmer. “Move aside.”
With no argument, Sarah plopped down in the middle and Marco jumped aboard. He knelt at the same time that Leo jammed the control stick forward. They sped through the corridor, no one saying a word.
The fires in the torches flickered as they flew by.
By Marco’s calculations, there was still plenty of time. Hopefully the shuttle was charged enough so that Leo could zip them all the way to the Moonflight and make it back himself.
Sarah hugged her knees to her chest and stared straight ahead.
Finally, they reached the entrance and Leo brought the craft to a halt on the ground just outside. Sarah jumped off and Marco followed.
The ground shook under their feet.
“Marco!” Sarah pointed to the western sky, streaks of red swirling.
“The last one,” said Leo.
Marco whirled to face him. “You can take us back, right? There’s still time!”
Leo’s mouth dropped open.
“Maybe not,” said Sarah.
Marco slowly turned back.
The crimson swirls in the sky had turned into not one, not two, but three orbs. All twirled for a moment, as if steeling themselves.
“Why are there three?” asked Sarah.
The red balls shot forward as if launched from a cannon, heading right for them.
“Look out!” Marco grabbed Sarah’s arm and dragged her back toward the cave. They ran inside with Leo beside them and sprinted about thirty yards down the passage.
BOOM!
The explosion knocked them forward.
Marco landed, skidding forward on his chest. He quickly rolled over, wincing at his skinned knees and arms.
Leo and Sarah lay on the ground beside him.
Marco asked, “You guys okay?”
Leo got up and brushed himself off. “Yes.”
Sarah sat up. She pushed stray hairs out of her face and frowned at her skinned hands. “Close enough.”
A beeping started up, so loud that Sarah covered her ears and Marco had to yell to be heard. “What is that?”
Leo’s eyes grew big. He grabbed Marco and Sarah and tried to pull them up. “Come on! You have to get out!”
“Why?!” Sarah got to her feet beside Marco.
Leo yelled something, but Marco couldn’t hear him. Then the alien pointed.
The top of the exit seemed to be shrinking. What had been an eight-foot-tall hole was now seven.
Marco blinked. Was he seeing things?
The space narrowed more.
Their exit, now at only a clearance of six feet, was slowly disappearing.
“Run!” Marco grabbed Sarah’s hand.
Five feet.
“We’re not gonna make it!” Sarah let go of Marco’s hand and they both pumped their arms and raced.
Four feet and closing.
Marco’s heart pounded.
They were only five yards away. “Almost there!” The backpack slipped off one of Marco’s shoulders. He reached out to catch it and stumbled.
He hit the ground on one knee just as Sarah bent nearly double and scooted through the opening.
Three feet.
“Marco!” Sarah’s eyes were huge circles. She fell to her knees and slapped the ground. “Hurry!”
Two feet.
“Come on!”
Marco took a deep breath, pushed off his one leg, and dove forward. He hit the ground.
A sharp jolt of pain shot through his lower arm. He groaned and rolled over. His lower half was still inside the cave.
“I’ve got you!” Sarah grabbed him by the backpack and dragged him until they were clear of the descending rock.
“Leo!” cried Sarah.
Leo was inside. He dropped to his knees as the opening closed to one foot.
“Get out!” yelled Sarah.
“He can’t.” Marco reached up and set a hand on her arm. “That’s his ride.”
Leo lay down, his head on the ground. One webbed hand raised in a wave. His lizard eyes blinked and glittered.
Marco lifted his hand in return.
“Bye, Leo,” Sarah said.
The rock dropped all the way with a thud that reverberated under them.
Leo was gone.
The beeping hushed.
“That’s it?” Sarah’s eyes were full of tears.
Marco felt a lump in his throat. “We knew this would happen. This is what we wanted to happen.” He sat up with a groan, cradling his arm.
“Are you okay?” asked Sarah.
“Just landed on it hard. I’m fine.” But his arm hurt.
With no warning, Sarah flung her arms around Marco. “I tho
ught you weren’t going to make it.”
Marco hugged her back with his good arm for a moment, then leaned away and cleared his throat. “You could have just left me, you know.”
“Thought about it.” A corner of her mouth turned up. “But I didn’t feel like getting grounded for life.”
The ground trembled under him.
On instinct, Marco’s gaze shot to the west.
The sky was blue, free of any red swirls.
“What’s happening?” asked Sarah.
Marco started to get to his feet. But the ground shook so much that Marco nearly lost his balance.
Sarah helped pull him to standing.
He glanced up. “Look!”
A massive white spaceship, the size of a football stadium and shaped like a sphere, rose up above the top of the volcano.
Marco stared. No words came.
Sarah dug her fingers into his arm.
The ship hovered at the top of the volcano for a moment, so long a moment that Marco began to wonder if something was wrong. But then it lifted, rising so fast that it suddenly disappeared.
All was still, save for their ragged breathing from the rapid escape.
Marco turned to Sarah. “It’s over.”
“Then why do I still feel sad?”
“Because it’s always hard to say good-bye.” Marco glanced up at the sky again. He didn’t know what he was expecting to see, but there was nothing other than the blue sky. A wisp of a cloud appeared, spiraling up. “That’s a weird…”
“What?”
“I was just going to say that’s a weird cloud, but—” The spiral of white grew thicker and grayer. Marco’s gaze drifted along to the bottom, which seemed to precisely adjoin the top of the volcano.
Sarah said, “Are we sure that’s a cloud?”
The ground rumbled. Different from what was caused by the orbs or Leo’s ship. This disturbance came from far beneath them.
“That volcano is gonna blow. It’s time to go,” Marco said. He glanced once more at the top of the volcano, where the wispy spiral had become downright thick and gray and sinister. “We need to get back, like, now.”
“We have a little problem,” Sarah said.
Marco turned around.
The shuttle was a charred, blackened heap, the smoking remains of one of the red orbs directly on top of it.
They had just lost their ride back.
15
“Oh no.” Sarah’s hopes evaporated as she took in the wrecked shuttle. On foot, they would never make it back in time. This couldn’t be how it ended, could it?
Then her gaze went to the skimmer. “There! Come on!”
Marco moved a bit slowly with his bad arm, but clambered aboard.
Sarah positioned herself in front of the silver stick.
“Don’t you think I should drive?” asked Marco.
Sarah scowled at him. “You’re hurt. I can do it.”
Marco raised his eyebrows. “You didn’t do that great the first time.”
“Well, there’s a learning curve, obviously.” She grabbed the stick and pulled back. They shot straight up about six feet. She shrieked and pushed the stick away from her. Immediately they zoomed forward and headed straight for a thick palm tree.
“Sarah! Look out!”
Sarah leaned to the left, drawing the stick along with her. The skimmer swerved and circled back.
Marco said, “Just stop! Can you stop?”
“I’m trying!” Sarah pulled the stick slowly back to center and the craft hovered. She took a deep breath. “I think I’ve got it now.”
“Maybe we should just walk,” said Marco.
He was right. She had hoped the second time around would make the skimmer easier to fly, but she wasn’t any better. And the time they would save wasn’t worth crashing. “Let me set this down.” She started to lower the skimmer.
BOOM!
Sarah froze.
Overhead, dark smoke poured from the top of the volcano. Bright orange bits shot into the air as a thick stream of glowing lava flowed over the edges.
Sarah clamped her hands down on the stick and steered the craft around to face their camp. “Hold on!” She nudged the controller forward.
The skimmer surged.
They buzzed smoothly along the beach, halfway between the tree line and the water. Sarah relaxed a little as the wind blew her braids back. She couldn’t help but smile. “It’s like a flying carpet!”
“It’s not so bad.” Marco grinned. “Just don’t go any faster.”
“I got this,” said Sarah.
A faint meow came from the trees.
“Do you hear that?” called Marco.
“Is that the kitten Cash heard?” asked Sarah.
“I don’t think so. Look!”
A brown monkey swung from the branches, first reaching out with a long tail, then spindly arms, keeping perfect pace with the skimmer. The creature turned its head toward them, revealing the face of a massive orange tabby cat with blinking green eyes, pink nose, and long white whiskers.
Sarah stared.
“Watch out!” yelled Marco.
Mere inches below them, the rhinocorn bolted out of the trees, followed by the kangaroo with lion’s paws and over a dozen other animals of various colors and sizes right behind it.
“Go up!”
Sarah yanked back on the controller and clung to it with both hands. They shot up about ten feet. She scrunched her eyes shut and pushed forward slightly.
She opened her eyes.
The skimmer had leveled off. She relaxed and observed the exodus from the trees, an entire herd of freakish creatures. “Where are they going?”
Her stepbrother didn’t answer.
She glanced back over her shoulder.
He wasn’t there.
“Marco!” she screamed.
At the very end of the platform, fingers gripped a slat. “Hang on!” She managed to bring the craft to a stop in midair and ran to the back.
Marco hung off the skimmer, clinging with only one hand as the other clutched the backpack.
Sarah gasped. “Don’t let go!”
The herd of animals galloped and ran and hopped and buzzed right under them, panting and snorting, sand flying up in their wake.
“And don’t look down!”
Marco looked down. His legs flailed. “Get me up! Get me up!”
Sarah dropped to her knees and grabbed his wrist.
Marco grunted and thrust the backpack up on the skimmer. He grabbed the platform with that hand.
Sarah leaned back, straining to pull him up. Together they got him onto the skimmer. Marco rolled onto his back, panting and clutching his arm.
“You okay?” asked Sarah.
He took a couple of deep breaths. “I am never riding with you again.” But then he grinned at Sarah.
She laughed. “Sorry.” She jumped back up and took hold of the controller.
Marco knelt down beside her.
Once again, they were cruising along the sand. They soon caught up to the stampeding animals.
As if to answer her earlier question, Marco said, “They’re trying to get as far away from the volcano as possible.”
Sarah glanced back. No longer green, the top of the volcano glowed orange. Trees began to topple like dominos, destruction heading toward them.
Trees at their side began to shake, so fast they became green blurs.
Marco said, “I think the whole island is going to collapse.”
“Hold on!” Sarah pushed the stick farther forward and they sped up.
Marco pointed. “Our beach is up ahead!”
Sarah said, “Do you think they all got off it?”
“We’re about to find out.”
Sarge’s sailboat came into view, still too far out to see who was on it. Sarah steered toward their beach.
Yvonna stood near the water’s edge. She jumped up and down and waved both arms.
“Mom!” Marco yelled. “Go j
ust low enough for her to get on.”
Sarah cut a lower path in the air and steered toward her stepmother. Gently, she halted right in front of her, the skimmer hovering a few inches off the sand.
Yvonna said, “I wasn’t leaving without you!”
Sarah said, “Get on.”
Her stepmother frowned. “Is it safe?”
Marco glanced at Sarah. “Totally,” he said.
Yvonna climbed aboard.
“Is everyone else on the boat?” asked Marco.
His mom knelt beside him. “Nacho went with Cash and Sarge.”
“My dad?” asked Sarah.
“I sure hope so,” said Yvonna.
BOOM!
A fresh bout of lava flew straight into the air.
“Hang on,” said Sarah.
“Do you know how to drive this?” asked Yvonna.
“Hold on!” said Marco.
Yvonna grabbed hold of the slats beside her knees.
Sarah pulled the stick back gently and they rose in the air about four feet. She swung them around and pushed the controller forward. The sand receded under them, and then they were over nothing but water.
Ocean spray spit at Sarah’s face, cooling her.
Marco called out, “Maybe you should go a little higher.”
Sarah glanced at the waves, expecting to see a fin.
Nothing.
Still, she had to force herself to be gentle and not yank as she pulled back on the stick.
They rose another five feet and drew close enough to the sailboat to see Cash and Nacho at the bow, waving.
Sarge was farther back at the wheel.
“I don’t see my dad,” said Sarah.
The skimmer lurched.
Yvonna shrieked.
“I got it.” Sarah pushed the stick forward.
But the skimmer slowed and began to descend. Sarah smacked the controller with an open hand. “Come on.”
Marco said, “I think this thing is dying.”
Sarah glared at him. “Happen to have a charger?”
Marco scowled.
Their descent continued. Sarah pushed the stick as far forward as it would go. The skimmer limped closer, bit by bit, until it lay only about three feet off the bow of the sailboat, steady in the air but slowly sinking.
Cash and Nacho stood at the rail. He called out, “Jump!”
Marco and Yvonna stood up.
Sarah let go of the stick.
The skimmer immediately began to tilt.
She grabbed it again. “You guys jump. I’ll hold it steady.”