by Shari Barr
McKenzie thought for a moment. If sea lions used to live in the cave, maybe the Frankses could be hiding Mario and Bianca there. We thought maybe there were clues hidden in the cave, but maybe it’s the sea lions. That would make sense. The Frankses really were trying to scare us away that day when they tipped our sailboat over.
McKenzie’s mind wandered as she tried to put the pieces of the mystery together. When she and Alex had entered the cave the other day, she had heard no sea lions barking. Surely we would have heard them echoing in the cave, she thought. Unless there’s another entrance! That must be it! But where?
The roar of the plane made it difficult to talk, so McKenzie decided to wait until the plane landed to discuss her ideas with Alex. The hour passed quickly, and soon the Skyview touched down at the airport.
“I have another tour going up shortly,” Aunt Becca announced when they climbed out of the plane. “These tourists are from our resort, so you two can catch their shuttle bus back to Emerald Bay. Okay?”
As the girls rode to the resort, McKenzie’s cell phone rang, signaling a new text message. “It’s from Sydney. She said she sent us an important email message.”
McKenzie couldn’t wait to get back to the beach house. What in the world is so important? Could it be something about the maps? she wondered.
The girls hurried home from the resort, stopping at the mailbox. McKenzie pulled out a thick, brown padded envelope addressed to her.
Ripping it open, she cried, “The video sunglasses are finally here!”
Alex snatched them from her, and they raced inside to the computer. Two messages waited for them—one from Sydney and one from Elizabeth. Eager to see their messages, McKenzie opened Sydney’s first.
This took some digging on the internet, but I finally got it done! Check out the attachment.
The moment McKenzie opened the attachment, her jaw dropped open. “Look, Alex! She found maps of caves in this area!”
After printing the maps, McKenzie laid them out on the desk. She quickly located the old sea lion harbor. She traced the dark line that represented the underground cave. It curved and then branched off into two different directions. One tunnel appeared to stop at a dead end. The other one ended near the north end of the Emerald Bay Resort.
“There’s the other entrance.” Alex jabbed her finger at a dark spot on the map. “Isn’t that up by the Hideaway?”
McKenzie squinted at the tiny markings on the map. “It sure looks like it. Maybe we can find it.”
Now that she had the map, McKenzie started feeling nervous. What if we go to all this work searching for the cave and Mario and Bianca aren’t even there?
Alex tapped her on the shoulder. “See what Elizabeth has to say.”
With a click of the mouse, McKenzie opened Elizabeth’s email.
Hey, guys. Thought you might need a little encouragement. I really feel you’re getting close to solving this thing. Don’t give up. Think how Susie will feel when you find her pups. Proverbs 12:10 says, “A righteous man cares for the needs of his animal, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel.”
Let me know the minute you find them.
“I don’t know about you, Alex, but I really needed to hear that right now. I was starting to think this was too much for us to handle. But now I know we can do it.” McKenzie grinned at her friend.
“I agree. We have to try,” Alex said, flipping her hair over her shoulder. “We don’t have much time left. We leave the day after tomorrow.”
McKenzie glanced at the clock. “We need to look for it while the Frankses are gone. Surely they would be at Sea Park now, training the animals. Even if they come home for lunch, that shouldn’t be for a while yet. I think we’d better go for it.”
“I’m game. Let’s go,” Alex said, her eyes flashing with excitement.
McKenzie grabbed Alex’s backpack by the door. She shoved in two flashlights she found in the kitchen cupboard and the pair of video sunglasses.
Alex raced to their bedroom and returned with sweatshirts.
“Since we know caves can get pretty cold,” she said, shoving them into the backpack with her cell phone. She slung the strap of her camera around her neck. “Just in case I need to take pictures of the evidence.”
“Good idea, but we’d better get going.” McKenzie scribbled a note to Aunt Becca and left it on the table. Then she folded the cave map and stuck it in her pocket.
Minutes later, they walked down the service road past Mr. Carney’s cottage and the lot of spruce trees. A wooden sign reading HIDEAWAY CABIN marked the narrow drive through the trees.
“I hope they’re not home,” McKenzie said. The girls couldn’t see the Frankses’ cabin through the forest of evergreen trees until they rounded several curves.
Alex whispered, “This doesn’t look like any resort cabin I’ve ever seen. Look, it has a storage shed. I didn’t see it the other night.”
“Aunt Becca told me that the three cabins on this end—ours, Mr. C.’s, and the Hideaway—are for renters staying awhile. Maybe that’s why this one has a shed. Or maybe it’s just an old equipment shed,” McKenzie said.
“Their car isn’t here,” Alex noted.
McKenzie spoke softly as she stepped behind a stand of flowering shrubs. “I hope we don’t have to go into their yard to find a trail to the cave. If one of them is home, we could be in big trouble.”
Alex tugged on McKenzie’s arm. “See that break in the shrubs on the far side of the yard? Could that be a start to the trail?”
McKenzie peered in the direction Alex pointed. “It could be. Let’s stay in the trees and circle around that way. Then if someone is home, they won’t be able to see us.”
Together the girls walked through the trees. They ducked behind the shrubbery in case someone was watching from the house. Moments later they stepped onto a faint trail leading from the yard of the Hideaway through the trees.
“It looks like somebody has driven back here,” Alex said as she snapped a picture.
McKenzie glanced at the double row of tracks leading over a hill and then disappearing from sight. “These are tracks from an ATV.”
She peered back toward the cabin. Only a portion of the Hideaway was visible through the trees. If anyone was home, they weren’t outside. She didn’t see any signs of an ATV at the house.
“If they have an ATV, I guess it could be parked in the shed,” she said.
“It’s not big enough for a car, but an ATV could fit easily,” Alex said. “Let’s go before it gets any later.”
McKenzie hurried down the trail, deeper into the timber with Alex close behind. The wind whistled through the evergreens. Though McKenzie couldn’t see the seagulls, she heard them calling. The track twisted through the trees before dropping into a narrow valley strewn with sand and rocks.
“Hey, look over there!” Alex grabbed McKenzie’s arm and pointed to a dark opening in a rocky cliff. “There’s the cave!”
McKenzie scurried to the entrance and peered inside. “Someone drove the ATV in here, at least for a little ways. It’s a pretty wide tunnel.”
Alex slipped her backpack off and pulled the sweatshirts out. After slipping hers on, she retrieved the two flashlights and handed one to McKenzie. She hoisted the backpack onto her shoulders and said, “I have a funny feeling about this. I hope we don’t get caught, especially by the Frankses.”
“There’s no way they’ll catch us. Nobody saw us come back here. The Frankses will be at work until later this afternoon,” McKenzie said with certainty.
McKenzie took a deep breath and stepped inside the cave entrance. She flicked on her flashlight and swept the beam back and forth. Shadows danced eerily on the rough stone walls as she pointed the beam down the tunnel.
“Are you ready for this?” she asked, her voice trembling and echoing off the cave walls.
Alex edged closer to her friend. “I guess, but I’m only doing this for Mario and Bianca.”
“They’d better
be here,” McKenzie said softly as she crept down the tunnel.
McKenzie shivered beneath her sweatshirt and breathed in the damp, musty smell. When they approached a bend in the tunnel, she turned and looked behind her. The cave opening, now far behind them, was no more than a dot of light. The tire tracks that had led them into the cave continued deep into the tunnel.
“This is soooo creepy!” Alex said in a loud whisper, clutching McKenzie’s arm.
“Yeah. We had better find the sea lions, or I’ll really be mad.” McKenzie’s teeth began to chatter.
“We’d better not be doing this for nothing.” Alex paused, turning on her flash and taking a picture of the tire tracks on the ground.
The girls crept onward. The tunnel turned and sloped downward. Whoosh! McKenzie jumped when something fluttered above her head and she felt a quick rush of air on her face.
“What was that?” she cried.
“I think it was a b-b-bat!” Alex stammered, huddling closer to McKenzie.
Don’t look up! McKenzie thought, trying to calm herself. Then I won’t see a gazillion red, beady eyes staring at me. She scrunched her shoulders and linked arms with Alex, keeping her flashlight focused in front of her.
“I don’t like bats. I don’t like bats. I don’t like bats,” she muttered anxiously.
As they rounded a corner in the cave, McKenzie stopped and flashed her light around. The tunnel had opened into a large, high-ceilinged room. Something sounds different, she thought. A strange gurgling and splashing sound came from the center of the room.
Stepping forward cautiously, she pointed her flashlight down into a large gaping hole. A rock ledge about ten feet down ran around the edge, surrounding a small underground pool.
McKenzie swept her flashlight beam across the pool and two grayish brown masses lay on the ledge above the pool. She edged closer and peered downward. Her skin felt clammy, and her voice trembled. “Look, Alex. There are two sea lion pups down there!”
“Are they Mario and Bianca?” Alex asked, aiming her light on them too.
“I’m not sure. It’s too dark in here.” McKenzie pointed her light at the far end of the pool. “Look over there. There is some kind of a wire gate on that end. An underground stream feeds into this pool, and someone has made a type of cage to trap the sea lions.
“This is a pretty fancy setup,” she continued as she swept her light along the floor of the cave surrounding the pool. “Look! There are lights set up all around the pool. There must be a portable generator somewhere.”
The girls scanned the room with their lights.
“There it is!” Alex cried, hurrying to a large metal box on wheels. She leaned over and flicked a button on top.
Ka-chunk! McKenzie jumped as the generator powered up with a bang. Spotlights lining the edge of the pool flickered on. Their humming echoed in the vast cave. The two sea lion pups on the ledge lifted sleepy eyes.
McKenzie’s heart raced as she stared at the animals. I would know these two little guys anywhere, she thought. “Oh Alex. We’ve found them. Mario and Bianca are alive!”
Alex raced to McKenzie’s side, bubbling with excitement. “I don’t believe it! We really found them.” She lifted her camera and clicked photos of the sea lions and their surroundings. When she finished, she tucked the camera into her backpack.
McKenzie hurried to the ledge above the sea lions and peered down at them, calling them by name. As if answering her, they slipped one by one into the pool with a splash.
McKenzie jerked her head up as a rumble echoed from somewhere deep in the cave. She felt a vibration beneath her feet.
“Alex!” she cried. “Somebody is coming on the ATV! We’ve got to get out of here!”
Mission Possible!
Glancing around, McKenzie spied a dark tunnel on the opposite side of the chamber. “In here!”
She darted into the inky darkness with Alex close behind. Scurrying, McKenzie searched for a place to hide.
The roar of the ATV grew louder as it approached the pool chamber. Fleeing deeper into the cave, McKenzie grabbed Alex’s arm and pulled her into an alcove. She flattened herself against the wall, relieved by the temporary safety of the darkness. Peering around the corner, she saw headlights of the ATV reflecting off the rock walls.
“Oh, no!” she whispered with disgust. “We left the lights on! They’ll know someone’s here.”
Alex tugged McKenzie’s arm. “Get back! We don’t want them to see us.”
McKenzie shined her light down the tunnel before her then turned back to Alex. “Let’s go. We can’t stay here or we’ll get caught!”
The girls fled down the dark, sloping floor of the cave. McKenzie stopped when she heard the rumble of the ATV shut off behind them. Muffled voices echoed down the tunnel. She strained to make out the words, but the people were too far away. Boots thumped on the stone floor, growing louder as the intruder approached the tunnel where the girls hid.
“Someone’s over here,” a woman’s voice called. “I see flashlights down this passageway.”
A man’s voice yelled something while heavy footsteps clamored across the chamber floor.
A shiver ran down McKenzie’s spine as she recognized the voices of Mel and Tia Franks.
“We have to find a place to hide,” she whispered. “Turn your light off. One light won’t be as bright as two.”
“Where are we going to go?” Alex whispered fearfully as they hurried deeper into the cave.
“I don’t know.”
McKenzie stopped. The tunnel branched into two different directions.
The ATV rumble had started again.
It’s coming our way! her thoughts screamed as the roar grew louder. Dear God, help us get out of here, she prayed.
She quickly scanned one trail and then the other.
A sudden idea came to her. She pulled a piece of gum out of her pocket and tossed it just inside the entrance to the narrower tunnel.
“That way is too narrow for the ATV. Hopefully, they’ll see the gum wrapper and go that way on foot. Then we’ll have a few extra minutes to get away.”
McKenzie darted into the other entrance, pulling Alex by her sweatshirt.
The girls turned a corner and flattened themselves against the cold, clammy wall. Without the light, McKenzie couldn’t see Alex but heard her rapid breathing. The roar of the ATV grew louder as it neared the intersecting tunnels.
“Get out and see what that paper is on the ground!” the man’s voice boomed over the idling motor.
A moment later, Tia’s voice cried out. “It’s bubble gum. I bet those two girls—whatever their names are—are sneaking around here! I knew they were up to no good. They must have gone this way.”
Mr. Franks grumbled and shut off the ignition. “Grab that spotlight and let’s get going!” he yelled, his boots pounding the cave floor.
McKenzie took a deep breath as the Frankses’ voices and footsteps grew fainter. Stepping back out into the main tunnel, she turned to Alex. “Come on! We have to move fast. We’re taking the ATV and getting out of here.”
“Have you ever driven one?” Alex asked fearfully.
“Lots of times. We drive them every day on our farm.” McKenzie flicked on her flashlight and ran toward the ATV with Alex in close pursuit.
As McKenzie approached the vehicle, a spotlight blinded her in the eyes. “Stop right now!” a raging voice commanded.
Shielding her eyes, McKenzie made out the forms of Mel and Tia Franks as they beamed their lights on the girls. McKenzie swallowed the lump in her throat.
A plan quickly formed in her mind. She leaned toward Alex and whispered, “Now’s the time to try out Kate’s video sunglasses.”
Alex nodded. McKenzie stepped away from Alex and moved toward the ATV. The Frankses followed her with their light, leaving Alex in the shadows. Out of the corner of her eye, McKenzie saw her friend slip the backpack off and fumble inside.
“Just what do you think you’re doin
g here?” Mrs. Franks said angrily.
McKenzie cleared her throat, and her voice came out all squeaky. “We were looking for the missing sea lion pups, and we found them. You stole them, didn’t you?”
I can’t believe I actually accused them! My plan had better work, she thought. Her knees began to tremble.
“Oh, I see you found cute little Mario and Bianca,” Mr. Franks said sarcastically. “Well, you’ll never be able to prove it. We’ve got a truck coming any minute now to take them away.”
“Where are you taking them? You won’t hurt them, will you?” McKenzie stepped toward Alex.
“Of course we won’t hurt them.” Mrs. Franks laughed crazily as she kept the light focused on McKenzie. “But I think we need to turn you two over to the cops. This cave is private property, and you’re trespassing.”
“But you stole the sea lion pups. You just admitted it,” McKenzie said, watching Alex return the backpack to her shoulder.
“No one will believe you. Like we told you a minute ago, we’re taking the sea lions away. We’ll have this setup torn down in minutes,” Mr. Franks continued.
“You know, girls,” Mrs. Franks explained in a sickly sweet voice, “We’re very well known around here as sea lion experts. No one will believe you. Don’t even try to convince anyone, or you’ll be the talk of the town. And not in a good way, if you know what I mean.”
Bzzzzz! Bzzzzz! Mr. Franks grabbed the walkie-talkie on his belt and answered. “We’ll be there in a sec. Over.”
He walked to the ATV and climbed on. “How lucky can I get? The truck is already here,” he said to Mrs. Franks.
Mr. Franks started the ATV, and Mrs. Franks climbed in beside him. He shoved it in reverse and turned it around. As he headed for the glow from the brightly lit pool chamber, Mrs. Franks motioned for them to follow on foot.
“You girls might as well sit tight for a while,” she said when they arrived back at the sea lions’ makeshift pool. “You’re not going anywhere until we’re out of here.”
McKenzie’s mind raced. We have to find some way to get out of here, but we’ll never get by them if we try to go out the way we came in. She reached into her jeans pocket and felt the cool touch of her cell phone.