90% Human
Page 7
I returned with the phone and two dry towels. I put one around Megan’s shoulders and handed the other to Austin. He rubbed it over his face. He was pale underneath his tan.
“That was great, Austin! You should try to get your Junior Lifeguard certification,” I told him.
He looked up from drying his legs, then threw the towel around his shoulders. His eyes crinkled, and he sucked in his cheeks. He was trying not to laugh. Then I got it.
“You already have it!” I slapped my forehead in frustration. “You already have your freakin’ Junior Lifeguard certificate.” Of course he did. Once again, my younger brother had beaten me to a goal. Suddenly I felt very tired. “When did you get it?”
Austin folded the towel and handed it back to me. “Two years ago.”
“You got Junior Lifeguard certification when you were ten?” I hadn’t meant to screech. I just couldn’t help it. The whole thing was so ridiculous. “Why didn’t I know about this?”
Austin shrugged. “You didn’t ask. You just assumed I was all brains and no brawn.” He paused. “That means you thought I was intellectually superior but had no physical strength.”
“I know what it means!” Actually, I didn’t know what “brawn” meant, so I was glad he explained. I huffed out a long breath.
I turned back to Megan. She had huge goosebumps on her arms and her lips were tinged with blue. “Are you okay?” I asked her.
“Just cold. You probably think this whole thing was stupid. I mean, somebody my age should know how to swim.”
The nurse ran down the steps, and she and the lifeguard replaced Megan’s wet towels with a warm blanket. Then Miss Powell held Megan’s arm as they started up the stairs. Austin, Jim, and I followed along behind.
“What happened to your life jacket, Megan?” I asked.
Megan glanced back at me over her shoulder. “I took it off. It was embarrassing being out there with that on.”
“It’s probably more embarrassing to drown,” said Jim. He smiled at her.
“I know. It was dumb.” Megan started to cough.
“You guys can talk later,” said Miss Powell. “Megan needs to get checked over in the Emergency Room. We’ve called an ambulance.” She called a Tracker girls’ counselor to get Megan some dry clothes.
Kevin came up behind us and took Megan’s other arm. “I can carry you, if you want,” he said. Megan shook her head and trudged onward. It took them several more minutes to get up the stairs.
Jim and I walked back to our cabin to change.
I said, “I wonder what they’ll do to Jake.”
“They should send him home for this, don’t you think?” said Jim.
I nodded. “Sounds like a plan to me.”
Jake did not go home. The counselors did not discuss campers with other campers, so we didn’t know what they might have reported. Apparently Jake told the camp director the incident was an accident. But Austin and I had watched Jake and Bill deliberately ram Megan’s canoe. It was no accident.
That should have been enough drama for one day. But that night, I awoke to screams. I sat up fast, bumping my head on Jim’s bunk. I reached for my flashlight. The other guys woke up too. Lights flashed back and forth in the darkness. Terry opened the screen door and came inside, followed by Levi.
“What’s going on?” asked Terry.
Jake was standing next to his bunk, pointing at something long and black that was slithering under the covers. He was gasping for breath and didn’t speak. His finger shook as he pointed.
“There,” he gasped.
Levi drew close, eyeing the bunk. “What was it?”
“A snake,” said Terry. “Not sure what kind. I didn’t hear a rattle.”
“Everybody get back out of the way,” said Levi. “Go outside. We’ll tell you when you can come back in.”
Both counselors carried large flashlights. I watched through the screen as they directed the beams onto Jake’s bed. Terry grabbed the covers and yanked them back. A long black snake with yellow stripes slithered toward them, burying itself under the blankets again.
“Garter snake,” I said through the screen. “Not venomous.”
Terry glanced at me through the screen door. “Yup. But fatal if it scares somebody to death.”
Jake glowered at me. “You’re the one who did it, aren’t you. You put that damn snake in my bed. I’m going to….” He clenched his left fist and came at me. I put up an arm to block his punch. Levi flew out of the cabin and stepped between us.
“That’s enough. You aren’t going to do anything, Jake. How many times do I have to tell you about physical abuse of other campers?” He turned to the group of guys. “Did anyone see anything? Did you see anybody put a snake in Jake’s bed?”
Everyone shook their heads, muttering that they hadn’t.
“He did it!” shouted Jake, pointing at me.
“I didn’t!” I yelled back. “I wouldn’t do a mean thing like that to a snake.”
“Why you…” Jake balled up his fist again.
Levi grabbed Jake’s wrist. “If I see you do that again, I’ll call your father to come and get you, tonight. Then I’ll call the police and file a report. Got it?” He released Jake’s wrist. Jake muttered something about calling his father himself. He never let anyone forget his dad was a lawyer.
“We have to catch this snake,” said Terry. “Then you guys can go back to bed.”
Levi went back into the cabin. “We need something to put it in.”
“You could put it in a pillowcase,” I said. “I think I can catch it.”
“I’ll help,” said Jim.
We went back into the cabin, shutting the door quietly behind us. The snake had disappeared. I took the pillowcase from my pillow and opened it wide. “Chase it toward me, Jim.”
Jim flattened himself over Jake’s bunk and flapped the covers. The snake moved out from under the bunk. I gently covered it with the pillowcase and picked it up. “I’ll let it go in the woods.”
Jim and I took the snake outside to the trees. I set the pillowcase on the ground, partly open. The snake slid out and disappeared. It was probably glad to be back where it was safe.
When we got back to the cabin, everyone was inside, looking for snakes in their bedding. I didn’t blame them. Whoever put the snake in Jake’s bed might have done it to someone else as well. Jim and I checked our beds too, as everyone flipped back their covers, turned over their pillows, and peered under their bunks. Finally Jim climbed into his bunk, and I got into mine.
“I’m gonna get you for this, Brockway,” muttered Jake.
“Right.” I closed my eyes. It had been a very long day. A troubling thought kept me awake for a long time. Someone had put that snake in Jake’s bunk. It wasn’t me. So someone else had a reason to be angry at Jake Parma. Who was it?
Chapter Six—Shell Necklace
During free period the day after Megan almost drowned, I went to the Trading Post to get some ice cream. Austin was there, buying a purple rain poncho.
“Good color on you,” I said.
“It’s not for me.” He handed the cashier some money.
“Who’s it for?”
“None of your business.” Austin put the bag under his arm and bought both of us a fudge bar. We followed the path to the Tracker woods and sat down on some logs to eat our treats.
“Why are you wearing long pants?” asked Austin. “It’s ninety degrees out here.”
I let out a long breath. Why was I keeping it from him? Was I ashamed of it? Yes, I was. Even though it wasn’t my fault, I didn’t want to admit to my brilliant, attractive, and talented little brother that the feathers were spreading. I had to tell somebody, though. Austin already knew they were under my arms, so he wouldn’t be too surprised.
I reached down and pulled up my pant leg. Small white feathers covered my lower legs, extending all the way down to my ankles.
Austin stared at my leg, frowning. “Are they on both legs?”
“We’ll have to go home.” Austin sounded alarmed. “You can’t keep covering it up. What if it—”
“Don’t say it.” I didn’t even want to think about having more feathers.
“But what if it does, Luke? You could wake up tomorrow morning with feathers on your face. They’ll call an ambulance or something. Then we’ll have a hard time getting out of here.” He stood up. “Let’s go. We’ll call Gramps right now.”
“How can we? Neither of us has a phone.”
Austin grinned, showing all his teeth. “I have a phone. Mom gave it to me before we left. She knew I wouldn’t use it unless there was an emergency.” He put his arm around my shoulders, stretching up to do it. “This is an emergency, bro.” He threw the last of his fudge bar into a trash can.
“What about the Fish Island campout?” I asked. “It’s the day after tomorrow. Cooking over a campfire and sleeping under the stars are the things I like best about camp. We couldn’t go to Fish Island last year because the weather was bad, so I don’t want to miss it.” I knew he’d been looking forward to it too.
“Plus I need the overnight to complete requirements for my camping badge.” This wasn’t a scout camp, but the counselors could sign off on badge skills.
“And I’ll be fifteen in September, Austin,” I reminded him, “This is the last year of camp for me, so it’s my last chance. Besides, we won’t be swimming,” I added. “We’ll be wearing jeans and long-sleeved shirts.”
Austin made circles in the dirt with the toe of his shoe. “What about the feathers? If you get them on your face, what will you do?”
“You’ll be there. I’ll tell you if I get any prickly feelings on my face. We can take a boat back to camp. I’ll be okay.”
Austin rolled his eyes. “Right. How do you know?”
“I’ve discovered something important. When I do something that uses an eagle trait, such as eagle vision, it makes the feathers grow. Strong emotion such as anger makes them grow too.”
“I’ll keep an eye on you,” said Austin. “I’ll be able to see your face and you won’t. So if I say it’s time to go, we go. Agreed?”
“Agreed.”
Austin was still holding the bag with the purple poncho.
“That’s for Megan, right?” I nodded at the bag. “Is she your girlfriend?”
“Not my girlfriend. Just a friend. You’re the one she likes.”
I twisted to stare at him. Heat burned in my cheeks. Not this again. First Louise, and now Austin. He had to be kidding. I’d never thought of Megan that way. “How do you know?” I asked. “Did she say something?”
“Not exactly.”
“Then how do you know?”
“From the way she looks at you.”
“Please. You’re the one she talks to. Why do you think she likes me?”
“Because she always finds a reason to be around you. She hangs around the mess hall after her group leaves so she can say hi to you. She does it every day.” Austin took two wet wipes from his pocket. He handed one to me. “Haven’t you noticed that?”
“No.” That was a lie. I had noticed. Sometimes it embarrassed me, and other times it felt like she was just being friendly.
I wiped the chocolate from my mouth and hands and threw the wipe in the trash.
“Then there was the incident at the water fountain.” Austin was relentless. He lifted his eyebrows, waiting.
I squinted at him, trying to remember. “What happened at the water fountain?”
“You turned the water on so she could get a drink,” said Austin. “I saw you.”
I scratched the back of my neck. “So what? I was just being polite, like Dad taught us. Holding doors. Stuff like that.”
“Uh huh.” Austin pushed himself up from the bench. “You touched her hair. I saw you.” His tone of voice dripped with disapproval.
“It was falling into the fountain and getting wet. What was I supposed to do? Her arms were full of books.”
“Seemed more than just a friendly touch to me.”
I shook my head. Austin was being ridiculous. “Megan might like me as a friend. That’s all. She’s too young, Austin. She’s your age.”
I was going to high school in the fall. Ninth grade. Austin and Megan would both still be in middle school. Megan had been a good friend to me. She’d even saved my life. But no matter how much I liked her as a friend, I didn’t want a girlfriend.
From what I’d heard, once girls became “girlfriends” things started getting complicated. They started asking why you hadn’t called lately, when you’d just talked to them the day before. They got mad if you talked to another girl, even if it was about a lab assignment. They expected you to remember their birthdays and send them gifts on holidays. Who needed that? Not me. I had enough trouble remembering Mom’s birthday.
Austin took a pack of gum from his pocket and offered me a stick. “Don’t you like Megan?”
I sighed. Did we have to keep talking about this? “Sure” I said, unwrapping the gum. “I like Megan. She’s nice. She’s kind of cute, too. But I’m not looking for a girlfriend.”
“It happens when it happens,” said Austin.
“Austin, the love guru, speaks.” I poked his arm. “I’ll tell you what, buddy. It’s not happening to me. I have things to do.” It was time to end this conversation. I glanced at my watch. Free period was almost over.
“Someone is coming,” said Austin. “Someone with red hair. You’re already here, so it must be Megan.”
At that moment, Megan hurried down the path. “I’m glad I caught up with you guys.” She sounded breathless, as though she’d been running. “I wanted a chance to talk to you alone.”
Austin raised and lowered his eyebrows twice. One corner of his mouth went up in a kind of sneering half-smile. What was going on here? He was the one who bought her a purple poncho.
“What do you want to talk to us about, Megan?” I asked.
She crossed her arms. “I want to discuss what happened to us at the zoo. I think I have a right to know, and Uncle Roy won’t tell me anything.” Her tone was defiant, like, “Tell me or else.”
Austin scooted over to make room for her on his log. She sat down next to him and took a deep breath.
“Okay. I knew your family was cursed, and that was why you guys changed into animals,” she said. “But Uncle Roy and I aren’t in your family. So why did we change into animals during that storm?”
I glanced at Austin. His eyes met mine, and he shook his head slightly. We were thinking the same thing. In order for Megan and Mr. Gifford to be changed into animals, they had to be related to either Dunn Nikowski or Gramps. They weren’t related to Gramps. That left Dunn Nikowski. Megan wasn’t going to like hearing she was related to Dunn.
A cool breeze made the leaves flutter around us. Megan shivered. Austin opened his bag and put the purple poncho around Megan’s shoulders.
“Thanks, Austin. What’s the occasion?” She smiled at him, pulling the folds of the poncho closer. She was wearing the shell necklace. It was glowing, as though there was a flashlight behind the shell.
“It’s an early birthday gift,” said Austin. He pointed to the necklace. “Gramps told us about a necklace like this. You’ve heard the story, right?”
Megan shook her head. “No, I haven’t.”
“When Dunn was bitten by the Komodo, a medicine woman put a necklace like this one around his neck,” said Austin. “It was supposed to help Dunn heal so he and Gramps could find another pink Komodo. She said they would also have the strength of three animals to help them. But if Gramps and Dunn didn’t find a pink Komodo and return it to the people, the blessing would become a curse. They and their descendants could become animals for the rest of their lives.”
“According to Gramps, the necklace was made of beads,” I added. “It had a shell pendant,
painted with a picture of a pink Komodo.”
Megan swallowed. “Just like this one.” She pointed to the pink Komodo on the shell.
I licked my lips. “Here’s the thing, Megan. That might be the very same necklace.”
Megan stared at the ground, her expression troubled. Then she looked up at me. “But all that was years and years ago.”
“You said your grandmother sent it to you,” I said. “Could you ask her where she got it?”
“I can’t. I don’t know how to find her.”
I sat down on the log next to her. “After Gramps left on his ship, Dunn stayed on the island for a long time. He must have known your grandmother. I think he must have given her the necklace.”
Megan’s eyes were wide. “You think Dunn Nikowski gave my grandmother this necklace?”
“There’s only one way to find out,” said Austin. “You could ask her. Do you think she’s still alive?”
Megan picked up a twig and began breaking little pieces of it. “Yes, she’s still alive. She lives far away, on an island somewhere. I don’t even know where it is.”
“May I see the necklace?” I asked.
Megan lifted the necklace around her hair and handed it to me.
When the necklace touched my hand, I felt something strange. A kind of buzz flowed from it, as though the necklace could hum—as if power were flowing from the necklace into my hand and up my arm. The shell still glowed and now began to blink on and off. I moved the necklace to my other hand and the same thing happened. It felt like those little toys that zap when you touch them. I handed it back to Megan, glad to be rid of it.
“It just started to glow this week, said Megan. “But I’ve never seen it blink like that. Were you doing anything to it, Luke?”
“No. It just did that on its own.” This was becoming a real mystery.
Austin held out his hand, and Megan placed the necklace on his palm. He frowned. The shell wasn’t glowing the way it had when I held it. Austin felt something, though. I could tell by the look on his face that something happened when he touched it.
“What did you feel?” I asked.
Austin’s brow wrinkled. I could almost see his brain cells hopping to attention. He closed his eyes. He sat still for so long I wondered if he’d gone to sleep.