by Mirren Hogan
“For a couple of superheroes like us, it’ll be a piece of cake.” Cake was fragile and easily smooshed. Maybe not the best analogy.
Using the crowbar to help him balance, Flynn started over. Under any other circumstances, this would have been a rush. At the moment however, he just hoped that they’d get across alive.
“This had better work . . . ” Makani started to follow Flynn over. Halfway across, she stopped and yelped, “Son of a bitch!”
Flynn froze. “You okay?”
“I broke a nail,” she growled.
He snorted softly and willed his heart to restart. “Well, if that’s the worst that happens— “
She muttered something in reply which he didn’t quite hear but suspected there was a swear word or two involved. Taking a breath, he renewed his concentration and continued, pausing only to glance down.
A shadow appeared from the cave’s entrance and passed under the falls into the lake before circling and going back inside. “We’d better hurry.” He doubled his pace until they reached a point directly above the gaping mouth of the cave. He turned his crowbar vertically, resting one end against the stone beside them, and waited for her to get into place.
“On three?” They’d be lucky if this worked and didn’t kill them.
She did the same thing with her crowbar below his, and steadied her footing. “Okay . . . one . . . two . . . ”
“Three.” In unison, they brought their crowbars down hard. The vibrations went through Flynn like a struck bell. The rock started to rumble and shift. He looked at Makani, his eyes wide as the ground fell away beneath their feet.
CHAPTER 16
Falling—with the boulder they’d knocked loose, coming down with them.
There was a good chance one or both of them would be crushed. Not a good thing.
Definitely not a good thing. Makani tucked her legs and arms in, throwing the crowbar as far behind her as possible. Tumbling, she spotted a flash of color that was probably Flynn, and hoped he’d gone off the high dive board a few times in school.
The rocks tumbled and crashed into the water, making an enormous splash that sent a wave roaring over the shore. They effectively covered the cave mouth, cutting off any chance the Mo’o might have had to escape.
It took a long moment for Makani to right herself and swim to the surface. Who knew the pond was so deep? When she broke the water, she gasped and shouted, “Flynn! Where are you!?” She scrubbed at her eyes, trying to clear the water and silt that the rockslide had kicked up.
Silence.
And then Flynn’s head broke the surface. He snorted water from his nose and gasped for breath. “Makani?” He glanced around frantically, wiping water from his eyes. He relaxed visibly when he saw her. “Are you okay?” he asked, paddling toward her.
“I think so! Come on, get out of the water!” She started swimming for the bank closest to them. Her first priority was to get them onto dry land. She tugged his hand once, as she watched a ribbon of red disperse behind Flynn. “Ugh, you’re bleeding! You can get lepto!” Or eaten by a giant lizard. She was fairly sure it was behind the rockslide, but didn’t quite stop to look, just yet.
Making it to the bank, Makani grabbed for Flynn’s arm and started looking him over for injuries. “Your arm is pretty messed up . . . ”
He glanced at it. “It’s fine, just a scratch. I think a small rock hit me on the arm just before I hit the water. It was probably just a pebble. Did it work?” He looked back over his shoulder. The cave mouth was almost entirely obscured by boulders and smaller rocks. “Manny is going to be pissed that we lost two crowbars.”
“Really? That’s what you’re worried about?” She laughed a touch hysterically but held him close for a second. From the rock pile, a soft hissing and jostling of the top-most boulders indicated the lizard was trapped beneath. That was a relief, considering how much trouble they’d gone through to get it there.
“We should go. Park Services will be out to investigate.” She took his hand and started them back out the way they came. For her part, Makani was surprised to be alive and in one piece. She was more than glad Flynn was relatively unharmed, as well. He’d probably have a hell of a scar to show for this misadventure. Another one.
“Do you still want to stay the night?” He squeezed her hand, only letting her go when they reached the truck.
“I think we’d better.” She opened the doors and sat down heavily in the driver’s seat. “I’m too tired to drive all the way back.”
“Who said you’re driving?”
“You really think you can make it? It’s gonna be like—” she looked at the clock in the dashboard “—after midnight, by the time we get there.”
“Good point.” He slipped into the passenger seat and buckled in. “But I’m driving tomorrow.”
“Oh, of course.” Although Manny would be none the wiser if she drove. Unless he checked the brake pads.
“I suppose we should tell George he can relax for a while,” Flynn remarked.
Makani nodded her agreement. Starting the engine, she brought them onto the main road, and they passed the emergency service vehicles as they went toward the falls. “Some egghead environmentalist had better not insist they open that up . . . ”
“Crap,” he swore. “No, they’ll need an engineer to check it out before they can look at it, much less open it again. Just a wild guess, but that might take a while around here?”
“Bureaucracy works at its best and worst here. It could be years before they do. Besides, there’s less risk of public liability being a problem with the caves being closed.” The world went by in a blur. The adrenaline was taking a long time to wear off, and she kept glancing at Flynn. “Are you sure you’re fine?”
He’d been looking out the window but turned now and looked at her, his eyebrows raised. “Hmm? Oh, yes, I’m okay. I’m just wondering why now? Why here? I suppose it’s just a coincidence that we were sent here, but . . . ” He shrugged.
“I don’t think anything is coincidence, anymore. Not when it comes to this.” She turned them back onto her uncle’s property and parked the truck before resting her head on the steering wheel.
He put an arm around her and leaned against her lightly. “You don’t think there’s some supernatural force behind it, do you? Like a ghost whispering in Manny’s ear?” He spoke lightly, but she could tell he wasn’t really joking.
“We were supposed to come here. But for what? Just for that?” She highly doubted that was all. These things seemed to blow up to massive proportions, like they did back home.
He sagged a little further. “No, I suppose not. Maybe we should be warning Uncle George instead.”
“Probably should, yes. Speak of the old man— “ George came out of his cottage with a can of beer in one hand, and a cigarette in the other. “Uncle, go inside! We need to talk.”
“No can! Your Aunty never let me smoke inside, and I’m not going to change the habit. What you like?” He took a drag and scratched his belly, the picture of contented old age.
“For real, Uncle! Go inside!” Makani slammed the truck door and gently pushed her uncle, snatching the cigarette and throwing it under the house.
“Smart woman,” he muttered, then added something inaudible under his breath.
Makani shook her head and kept ushering her old uncle into the house. He came from a different time, and he had different values. Besides, old people would do what they wanted, when they wanted.
“Okay, okay . . . what you like?” Uncle sat with his beer in his favorite chair.
Flynn flopped down in an ancient armchair, his eyes half shut. Only his white knuckles, gripping the armrests, gave her any sign of his anxiety.
“Uncle . . . what do you know about the Mo’o? And about Rainbow Falls?” She sat down cross-legged in front of the old man, much like she had as a child.
He started slowly. Stories like this always took time. “It’s a lizard. It’s big. It eats people. It started to
live at the cave behind the falls when the goddess Hina left for the moon.” He sipped his beer and sighed.
“Her children stayed, to watch the land. They were human, not full of the mana, the power to launch themselves away with her. They kept the knowledge of the old power, though. They became kahuna, medicine workers, priests and priestesses.” The beer can turned in his hand, and George was lost in thought as the words kept flowing forth. “The knowledge that there was a greater force that drove us remained in their blood. Even when that blood became diluted with other humans, other races.
“But the Mo’o—the Mo’o lived unchanged over the centuries. It learned not to eat much. Just enough to survive. But when one of the people who know the power comes forth, so does the Mo’o. It seeks the one with that power. It wants to feed off them, so it can travel farther away, through the ocean. It can grow bigger, and people would not be able to kill it . . . ”
Makani grabbed his knee, then. “So, it can be killed? We could get rid of it?”
“Yes . . . it’s flesh and blood and nightmares. Those things can all be destroyed.” George stood up slowly and started for the fridge. “But it would take mana, the power, to do it. It would take more than one person, too.” His eyes travelled over Flynn, before leaving for the kitchen. “And probably not before those people draw more nightmares to themselves.”
Flynn’s eyes opened all the way. “Did he just suggest that you’re related to a goddess?” His brow creased. “Can I have next week’s big lottery numbers then?” Always the jokester in the times when things were too bizarre to comprehend or easily accept.
“We don’t have the lottery here . . . ” Makani was too distracted to really process what was going on. This was getting too weird. “Uncle . . . we can barely trace our roots back through immigration, let alone before 1800. Where did you get this story?”
“My grandmother,” Uncle George said simply, settling back into his chair. “And she got it from her grandmother. And her grandmother before that. Makani— “ He sighed and rubbed his hands over his weathered face. “There are things we don’t want our children and grandchildren to know, because we think it’s unnecessary. But this was wrong. You should have known. Your mother should have known so we could protect you.”
“But—why? It’s not like this is really real . . . ” And yet, they’d just trapped a giant lizard in a cave. She wondered at all of the pills she’d taken and the doctors she’d seen over the years. What a drain on the healthcare system and her parents’ income. If only they’d known the things Makani had seen weren’t just in her head. “This is too weird!” She stood up and walked outside.
She didn’t realize Flynn had followed her until he put his arms around her from behind, pulling her to his chest. “So, what are you thinking? It’s pretty strange, but is it really that much more bizarre than anything else we’ve been through or seen? Or done?”
“I’m thinking—that you’re probably not real, either. That I’m probably stuck in a white jacket in a padded room somewhere, and this is all the fantasy of a sick mind.” She leaned back, wondering how Flynn could feel so warm and real, if he was just a figment of her imagination. It was enough to bring tears to her eyes.
“That would save me a fortune on my student loan.” He kissed her hair. “I can pinch you if you like, so you know you’re not dreaming?” Just in case, he pinched her rear.
Makani squirmed in his arms and gave a begrudging laugh. “Hey! Figment! Stop!” he grabbed his hands and held them tight. She leaned back into his chest and sighed. “Why us? What did we do to deserve this?”
“I don’t know. What do you think he meant by, what did he call it? Mana? What has that got to do with you?”
“How do I explain it? It’s everything, it’s the energy force that animates nature. It’s nature, itself. In this context, that Uncle’s talking about, it’s the things we call ‘supernatural.’ “ She stopped and thought for a long moment, watching the last of the sunset. “If he means I know exactly what it is or how it works, he’s gotta be kidding.”
“And yet, wherever we go, supernatural beings appear and try to kill us. Either they’re drawn to you or me or both. Or it’s the most bizarre coincidence in history.” His tone indicated what he thought about that last bit.
“But that begs the question: what do you have to do with this?” She turned around and looked up at Flynn. “You’ve never set foot on this island before this trip, right?”
He shook his head. “Not this island. Not Oahu either. Maybe I have nothing to do with this. You said you didn’t think us coming here was a coincidence. Maybe we need to speak to Manny?” He spoke gently, evidently mindful that he might be casting aspersions on a friend of hers.
“Yeah, that might be a good idea. We can make it back by midnight if we get gas and leave now.” Much as Makani didn’t like the idea of being on the road late at night, that might be the smartest course of action. Questions needed answering, and Uncle George was probably safer without them around.
He sighed. “Okay, but I’m driving. You can rest on the way. I have a feeling you’ll need it.”
“You’re just as tired as I am . . . ” But that was a very weak protest. She was so tired, she just wanted to curl up and close her eyes. Maybe she would wake up in her room, and everything would be back to normal? Maybe Flynn was sleeping in the other bedroom, and they hadn’t gone on that stupid hike through the karst?
“I’ll go and start the truck while you say goodbye.” He let her go and stepped back, only to step forward again, put his arms around her and kiss her soundly. “Don’t take too long.” He released her again and walked away, toward where she’d parked the truck not an hour earlier.
She nodded silently, and started back into the house. Giving Uncle George a quick kiss on the cheek and a promise to be very careful, Makani trotted to the truck and got in. “It’s gonna be a long drive.”
“Yes, yes it will.” He flicked on the radio and turned the local station on softly. “Try to rest.” The truck engine thrummed as they pulled back onto the road.
She might have closed her eyes for most of the ride, but Makani was far from sleep. In fact, it seemed like all of the residents of the coffee farm were still awake when they got in.
“Manny! You around?” Makani knocked on the screen door of his house before the man came to the door still dressed for work.
“Hey, thought you were staying at George’s place down Hilo side?”
“So did we, but something came up. Can we talk?” He nodded, and Makani followed him into his house.
The door closed behind them after Flynn followed her in. He stayed off to one side, close enough for her to see out of the corner of her eye, but far enough not to look as though he was trying to interfere.
“While you were gone, something attacked the plantation. Your house, specifically. It looked like a big-ass bird. Someone shot it, but the damn thing flew off. Crazy, yeah?” Manny sat back in a chair, staring out the window, shotgun in his lap.
Makani looked at Flynn, eyes wide. “Yeah—crazy.” Her hands curled into tight fists, and her fear was apparent.
“Chicken?” Flynn asked lightly. “They can get pretty big. Or so I’ve heard. Death chicken come to life perhaps?”
She raised an eyebrow at Flynn but didn’t say anything. Instead, she turned her eyes back to Manny. “Did anyone get hurt? When did this happen?”
“Maybe—couple hours ago? Nobody got hurt, so I guess that’s okay. But we’re gonna have folks keep watch, just in case.” Manny was, if nothing, a practical man.
“That’s probably a good idea.” Although, the fact something had come out of the night, probably looking for them, was very disturbing. The idea one of these people could get hurt was even scarier. “Do you want us to take a turn, Manny?”
Now it was Flynn’s turn to raise his eyebrows. “Yeah, I suppose we should. Everyone else is probably asleep and you have more work tomorrow than we do.” He directed that at Manny.<
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“Actually, I think you should get some rest, too.” She stood up and took the gun from Manny’s lap, checking it over, making sure the barrel was clear. “I got to sleep on the ride home. Remember?”
“I remember. You snored.” The skin around his eyes crinkled slightly as he smiled. “But I’m not leaving you out there alone. I’ll sleep in the morning.”
“Seriously? Flynn . . . can you even shoot a gun?” Makani knew this was a losing battle. In thirty- seven days, they’d managed to be apart for twelve hours. What made her think he was going to be a good boy and go to bed? “And I don’t snore!”
He smiled. “No, you don’t. And I have eyes, so I can watch your back. And I can make coffee, which we need first.”
Opening her mouth to protest, she shook her head in resignation. “Fine. Let’s leave Manny to get some sleep, and we can gear up at our place.” Makani slung the shotgun over her shoulder, and grabbed the box of bullets from the table. “Goodnight, Manny.” She walked to the door, only waiting long enough for Flynn to follow.
CHAPTER 17
Flynn made them both a strong cup of coffee and a cheese sandwich and took it outside to where Makani sat waiting on the verandah. The gun worried him, although it was probably safer than a spray can and lighter. He handed her the coffee, stepped back and breathed in the cool night air. The stars looked huge here, and close. Even the moon looked closer than it did in the city. Given the influence of the moon on nature, that wasn’t a reassuring thought, really.
“Have you seen anything yet?” He sipped his coffee, enjoying the way it almost burnt his mouth. It was strong enough to keep him up all night.
Makani wrapped a hand around her mug and shook her head. “Everyone else went to sleep. After this, we’re gonna ride the perimeter of the fields and make sure it’s secure.”
“Oh joy,” he replied. “I don’t suppose there’s any chance that Manny just saw that seagull?” Since he knew the answer to that question, he asked another. “What do you think it was?”