The Neptune Challenge

by Polly Holyoke

  :What are those guys into?: I jerk my head toward Whitey and Sham.

  :Well, they haven’t graduated from the basic program yet, but they’re both seriously into military weaponry.:

  :How about Mako?:

  Mako jumps at the mention of his name, but he’s too shy to look at me.

  Shadow glances up from her computer, and her cool expression warms a little. :Mako’s crazy about plants. He has a big greenhouse up on the first dry deck. He can stay out of the water longer than the rest of us, so he’s been able to make it amazing.:

  :I’d like to see it sometime,: I say. I miss green, growing things.

  :Really?: Mako’s face lights up and he finally meets my gaze. :Maybe I can show it to you later.:

  For the first time all morning, Dai looks at me. He frowns and shakes his head. Is he trying to warn me not to go to Mako’s greenhouse? Right now I really don’t care what Dai wants or thinks.

  :Sounds great,: I say, and Dai scowls at me before he focuses on his computer screen again.

  :Nere, you’d better stop talking, or you’ll never finish the first four levels of this test program before lunch,: Wasp says coldly. :Then you just might not get anything to eat.:

  I could think of worse punishments, but I shove that thought away before Wasp can read it. After I answer two math problems, I reach out to my friends on a private send.

  :Robry, what do you think these tests are for?:

  :I’m guessing they’re intelligence and aptitude tests.:

  :Do you think we should do our best on them?: Ree asks.

  :You can always try to answer incorrectly and look even more stupid than you obviously are,: Wasp interrupts us, :but if the bossman finds out, he won’t be happy.:

  :Didn’t anyone tell you it’s rude to listen in on private conversations?: Ree frowns at Wasp. :You’re really starting to get on my nerves, chica.:

  :How dare you speak to me that way?: Wasp spins away from her computer and starts toward Ree, tugging off one of her gloves.

  Before I can react, Rad darts in front of Ree and crosses his arms. :Hey, chill,: he says to Wasp. :It’s Ree’s first day and she doesn’t know how things work around here.:

  :I can teach her right now,: Wasp snarls and raises her right hand. Small pale tentacles wave on her fingertips.

  Rad uncrosses his arms. :You try to sting her, and I’ll give you such a jolt, your hair will curl.: His tone is light, but his face is deadly serious.

  :Is this the way it’s going to be?: Wasp asks him, a furious glint in her strange amber eyes.

  :The bossman doesn’t want them hurt,: Rad replies steadily. :That’s the way it’s going to be.:

  After a long moment, Wasp lowers her hand. :I’m not going to forget this, either of you,: she says like a curse. She turns away and storms out of the lab.

  I let go of my pent-up breath.

  :Whew,: Ree says to Rad. :Guess I owe you one.:

  :Nah,: Rad replies. :You don’t owe me nothin’, but you don’t want to cross Wasp again. She can make you crab bait in about one minute with those stingers on her fingers.:

  Moments later, Sham starts pounding on his keyboard.

  :I don’t give a squid what two x plus fifteen equals!: His mental shout is so strong that it makes my head ring. :Why does anyone with half a brain care what x equals?:

  :Cool it, bro.: Whitey speaks up for the first time. His mental tone is cold and distant. :A keeper’s gonna zap you for sure.:

  :The keepers can freakin’ well zap me if they want to. I’m not doing any more of these dumb algebra problems.:

  As Sham raises his hand to pound the keyboard again, his whole body convulses for a long, terrible moment. Sick to my stomach, I glance at my friends. They look as horrified as I feel.

  :Whitey warned you,: Rad says, shaking his head.

  I reach out to scan Sham’s thoughts. He’s furious he got zapped, but he’s more embarrassed that he doesn’t understand his math problems. I almost feel sorry for him until he growls at Rad, :Keep your mouth shut, sparkhead, or I’ll rip your head off.:

  I shiver as I retreat hastily from Sham’s angry mind. I think he meant that threat.

  :Touch me,: Rad retorts, :and I’ll fry your eyeballs out of their—:

  :Everyone, the bossman’s back,: Wasp says, interrupting Rad. I twist about to see she’s hovering by the door, looking way too eager. :He wants to see us all, right now, in his private conference room.:

  I swallow hard and glance at Dai. He meets my gaze, his eyes unreadable.

  :Are we going to be okay?: I ask him swiftly. We’re about to meet a man so twisted that he spliced sea wasp stingers and electric eel genes into these kids before they were born. He created dozens of those terrible shredder creatures. And my father believes he’s crazy.

  :Nere, just remember, he does want you here—: Dai starts to say, and then his next thought disappears before I can read it. Dai sends Wasp a furious look.

  Is my team going to be all right? I mouth the words as clearly as I can at Dai.

  I don’t know, I think he replies, which isn’t exactly reassuring.

  Dai stays right beside me, though, as Wasp leads us through a maze of long corridors lined with doors. I know I should be looking for labs where Kuron might be storing the c-plankton, but we swim too fast, and I’m too frightened.

  Instead, I touch the minds of Kuron’s kids. Most of them dread seeing the bossman again. I can’t read Wasp’s specific thoughts, but she’s the only one who seems to be looking forward to this meeting, which definitely doesn’t make me feel any better.

  At last, Wasp kicks upward to a deck access in the ceiling of Deck Four, the highest of the submerged decks, which means we’re about to surface.

  :Why are we leaving the water?: I ask Sunny.

  :The bossman likes to talk to us face-to-face.:

  :It’s easier on him than it is on us, for sure,: Ocho says glumly.

  One by one, we climb out and stand on the dry deck, but I’m surprised that Whitey and Sham seem to have trouble heaving themselves upright. They look huge and awkward out of the water. Dai climbs out last. His face appears more distant and cold than I’ve ever seen it. Now I understand why they call him Ice.

  :Hang in there, bro,: Whitey says, clasping his shoulder briefly. :Maybe he won’t want to talk to us for long.:

  I look around carefully. We’ve surfaced in the corner of a stark white conference room. At its center is a large white table with a dozen black chairs surrounding it. A tall, handsome, black-haired man stands before a wide plasma screen, and I can’t look away from him.

  He looks just like an older version of Dai.

  I LOOK FROM DAI TO KURON and back again while white-hot anger flares inside me. Kuron is more tan than Dai, but the resemblance between them is too strong to be a coincidence.

  :Dios mío, he’s your dad, isn’t he?: Ree breathes, staring at Dai.

  :I guess there’s another little detail Dai forgot to tell us about himself,: Kalli drawls.

  “Are you speaking to one another?” the man asks in a deep voice, looking irritated. “Wasp, block them, please. It’s rude to leave someone out of the conversation. On the dry decks, you are to use your real speaking voices.”

  I stare at Dai, willing him to look at me, while my thoughts tumble and spin in a painful whirl. His father is the man who had Bria and Robry kidnapped and the same man who created the shredders that almost tore us apart. I can’t believe that after all the dangers we survived together, Dai never told me the truth, that his father was once a part of the Neptune Project just like my own dad. I wonder if Dai feels the least bit sorry for hiding so much from all of us. When Dai finally glances my way, the misery in his eyes doesn’t make me feel any better.

  “I read your new paper on deep-water corals,” Kuron is saying to Dai with a proud smile. “Your research was thorough and your conclusions brilliant.”

  “Thank you, sir.” I sense he’s surprised, but pleased, by his fathe
r’s praise. This is the first time I’ve ever heard Dai’s voice. It’s deeper than I expected, and I’m startled to see his chest is already rising and falling rapidly. Clearly he’s having problems getting enough oxygen, which is weird because he’s only been out of the water for a minute or two. It’s even weirder that his father doesn’t seem to notice how uncomfortable his son is.

  “So you must be Maria, Kallisandra, and Tobin,” Kuron says as he strolls closer and studies each of my team in turn. He’s wearing a simple black suit with a high collar. His gleaming black hair is cut short and styled carefully. He looks more like a successful businessman than a scientist.

  “You look surprised that I know your names. You shouldn’t be. I’ve had access to the Neptune files since the beginning, and I know all about you. Welcome to Atlantea.”

  I square my shoulders and force myself to meet Kuron’s gaze when he stops in front of me. His eyes are a dark, velvety brown, just like Dai’s. According to Dad, this guy’s insane. So far he doesn’t appear crazy, but there is something really frightening about how intense he is.

  “And you must be Nere Hanson.” He smiles at me, revealing perfect white teeth. “I know your parents well. I was sorry to hear about your mother,” he adds, his smile fading. “She was a brilliant mind. Your father is hardly in her league. He demonstrates it every day with his stubborn refusal to join forces with me as I build a new order under the waves. I’m glad you’re here.”

  All at once, he frowns and reaches out to touch my neck. Tobin starts for my side, but Ocho grabs his arms and holds him back.

  “She’s not collared yet.” The sudden rage in Kuron makes me flinch. Now I have no doubt that he was in the sub when the shredders attacked us. I’ve sensed his fury before. Kuron looks away from me to stare at Wasp and Dai. “I left express orders that they should all be collared the moment they were captured.” He bites out the words. I see the others pale.

  “We would have collared them, but Dai didn’t want us to,” Wasp says in a high, girlish voice.

  “You don’t need to collar them,” Dai says, panting hard now, but he still meets his father’s gaze. “We’ll keep a close eye on them. They won’t escape.”

  “You’ll keep a close eye on them, will you?” Kuron snarls. “The way you all kept an eye on Bria? Ordinarily I’d trust my son’s word, but when it comes to this Hanson girl, Wasp tells me I shouldn’t trust you at all.”

  “You can…trust me on this….” Dai gets out between pants. “And Wasp won’t let me speak to Nere. She blocks us all the time.”

  “Is this true?” Kuron turns on Wasp, looking angrier than ever.

  Her pale skin turns even paler. “I don’t block them all the time.”

  “I know Ice has been trying to talk to Nere, but Wasp w-won’t let him,” Mako speaks up bravely, his eye twitching nonstop.

  Wasp shoots him an evil look.

  Kuron turns back to me, and instantly his angry expression disappears. “I want our new friends to feel welcome and happy here,” he says with a gracious smile, almost as if his furious outburst a moment ago never took place. “I want Nere and my son to be able to talk to each other all they wish, and I want our Neptune guests collared within the next hour. This meeting is over.”

  Kuron strides out the closest door. I stare after him, totally creeped out.

  I glance back at Dai. He’s staggering toward the water, but his eyes roll back in his head and he collapses before he can reach it. Whitey and Sham quickly drag him the rest of the way. His lips are actually turning blue.

  :W-what’s wrong with him?: I ask Shadow as the other boys throw Dai back into the water. They jump in and make sure his head stays below the surface.

  :His lungs don’t work as well as ours do in the air. They have too many gill filaments, which is why Dai is so fast and strong in the water.:

  Shadow raises her fathomless eyes to me. :So basically he almost suffocates every time his father wants to talk to him up here.:

  Shuddering, I slip back into the water. Kuron’s kids cluster around Dai. His chest continues to heave as his lungs fight to reoxygenate his body.

  :I’m fine now,: he tells the rest and waves them away irritably.

  :We love you, too, big guy,: Ocho tells him with a grin, but I can tell they’re all relieved as Dai’s color improves and he begins to breathe more normally.

  :Come on, we gotta take them to the lab and get them collared,: Whitey says.

  :I wouldn’t miss this show for the world,: Wasp adds with one of her awful smiles.

  Wasp and Whitey lead off, and my team and I have no choice but to follow. We swim close together. From their tight expressions, my friends are clearly as scared as I am.

  :Should we try to fight them?: Ree asks us on a private send. I’m miserably aware that Wasp’s probably eavesdropping on everything we’re saying.

  :I don’t think so. There are nine of them and five of us,: Tobin replies. :I have a bad feeling that either Whitey or Sham alone could tear us apart if they wanted to.:

  :We don’t have any choice,: I decide. :We have to go along with this and hope we can figure out a way to disable the collars later.:

  Wasp halts in front of a door clearly marked CORRECTIONAL EQUIPMENT.

  :Your bossman’s sure got a way with words.: Tobin shakes his head.

  :He does, doesn’t he?: Wasp sounds proud of the man who created her.

  Whitey opens the door and waves us inside. My arms and legs feel shaky as I force myself to swim forward first. The dim lighting inside automatically brightens, and I’m relieved that nothing looks like it’s meant to inflict punishment. Instead, the room contains one large worktable, two computer stations, and several white cabinets full of drawers and cupboards.

  :Do I want to know what’s inside all those?: Ree asks nervously, looking at those cabinets.

  :No,: Sunny answers without her usual smile.

  Wasp heads straight for the table, yanks open a drawer, and pulls out five collars just like the ones Kuron’s kids wear.

  :Ochy, make sure all of these collars work properly.:

  Ocho sends us an apologetic look as he heads for one of the computer stations. :If I don’t do this, Wasp will call the keeper staff to do it, and they’ll be angry that they have to suit up in scuba gear. Bad things happen when the keepers are angry.:

  :And since I know you’re considering it:—Wasp sends us a sharp glance—:disabling this computer won’t do you any good after your collars are turned on. Routine commands to our collars are sent from a locked control room high on the top dry deck. Once your collar’s on, you won’t be able to take it off again. Okay, Rad, you’re up.:

  Rad swims forward and picks up two of the five collars.

  :Ochy, send them a test volt,: Wasp orders.

  :But isn’t that going to hurt him?: Ree protests.

  :Nah.: Rad sends her a cocky grin. :Because I can generate electrical currents, the lower voltage from these won’t hurt me. A zap from them feels more like a little tickle.: A second later, he adds, :Yeah, these are working,: and picks up the last three.

  :So, do the collars work on you?: Kalli asked curiously.

  :My collar works all right.: Rad grimaces. :The keepers just have to give me a much bigger jolt. These three are working, too,: he tells Ocho.

  Rad puts the collars back on the table, and we all stare at them.

  :Who wants to be first?: Wasp asks with spiteful enthusiasm.

  :I’ll help Nere with hers.: Dai picks up a collar and swims over to me. I notice him glance at Rad and give a tiny nod.

  :You lunkhead—you shocked me!: Wasp cries shrilly a second later. She starts after Rad, but he’s already halfway across the lab. Moments later, he’s through the door and out of her reach. She hovers in the hallway outside shouting angrily after Rad.

  All of a sudden, I can hear Dai’s voice in my head. I realize he’s speaking to me on a private send while Wasp is too distracted to eavesdrop on us.

  :Ne
re, I’m so sorry about everything. I swear I’ll find a way to help you and the others escape.:

  :Why didn’t you tell us the truth about who you were?:

  :At first, I didn’t care about lying to you. I just cared about making my father happy. Later, after I got to know you, I was afraid you’d look at me the way you’re looking at me now.:

  He reaches out and gently places the collar around my neck. It feels cold and heavy.

  :I wish you’d never come here,: he says.

  :I wish I hadn’t, either.:

  :There’s no point in putting this off.: He takes a deep breath and then pushes the two ends of the collar together. I hear it clasp with an ominous click. I think I feel Dai touch my braid briefly, and then he retreats behind the table.

  :Um, Ree, do you want any help?: Sunny asks after a long, awkward moment.

  :I’ll do my own,: she says stonily. She picks up a collar, slides it around her neck, and presses the heavy clasp shut. Tobin, Robry, and Kalli do the same.

  :We have to test them now. You know that’s the deal,: Wasp says as she swims back into the room and heads for the computer.

  :We’re not letting you anywhere near these controls.: Dai cuts her off and Ocho shifts until they’re floating side by side. I’m surprised by the loathing in Dai’s tone. He seems to hate Wasp even more than the others do.

  :Fine,: Wasp says with a toss of her head. :Just make sure you run a proper test on them, or I’ll tell the bossman.:

  :We have to zap you now,: Ocho warns us. :I’m going to send the lowest voltage I can.:

  :Do we have to raise our hands or something to show we can feel it?: Ree asks. I’m impressed she can talk. I’m so scared, I don’t trust my mental voice.

  Wasp snickers. :That won’t be necessary.:

  Moments later, I understand what she means. I jump when the collar sends a burning jolt that leaves my whole body tingling and quivering.

  Then my friends jump, one after the other, and Whitey, Sham, and Wasp burst out laughing. My team and I stare at one another. Already I hate the thing around my neck. I want to tear it off, and I’m all jittery waiting for the next shock.