The Neptune Challenge

by Polly Holyoke

  :There’re so many of them,: I say, shivers going down my back.

  Watching the shredders circle the tank endlessly, I become mesmerized. If they notice us, they give no sign of it. Their arms, with clawlike hands, drift at their sides while their strong legs power them smoothly through the water. Even though their bodies appear mostly human, their elongated heads, cold gray eyes, and bristling teeth are all shark.

  No wonder Kuron’s kids call them “sharkheads.”

  :They never stop swimming, do they?: Tobin looks as mesmerized as I am.

  :I guess they’re like real sharks, and they have to keep moving to survive. Or maybe they’re looking for food,: I say, remembering the hunger of the first shredders we encountered. When I look away from the tank, I notice one of the surveillance cameras swivels to focus on us.

  :How human are they? Can you tell when you read their minds?:

  I raise my hand and touch the glass, concentrating on a shredder passing by the window. Its mind feels alien and strange.

  Moments later, a burning, vibrating pain shoots up my arm and fills my body. I try to pull my hand away from the glass, but I can’t. Instead I jerk and twist helplessly as more waves of pain vibrate through me.

  :Nere? Crud, they must be shocking you. She gets the message!: Tobin waves and yells at a nearby com-screen, even though he knows the keepers can’t hear his thoughts.

  Abruptly, the pain stops and I curl into a ball, every nerve in my body jangling and tingling. Still, out of the corner of my eye, I can see a keeper on the screen. It’s the guy with the red scar above his eye. And he’s laughing at me.

  :We gotta get you away from this tank.: Tobin grabs my arm and tows me down the corridor. My mouth tastes like iron. I must have bitten my tongue.

  Tobin stops when he’s towed me well away from the tank. :Let me see your hand,: he says, and I hold it out to him. I’m embarrassed that it’s shaking. He takes it between his own and inspects it carefully. His touch is firm and warm, and gradually my shaking eases.

  :It’s a little red,: he declares, :but I think it’s fine. How d’you feel?:

  :Mostly just mad now. The tank must have some sort of security system built into it, and I think that keeper deliberately shocked me with it.:

  :I’m starting to hate those guys as much as they hate us.:

  :I hate this entire place,: I say with a shudder as I glance at a nearby camera.

  :Let’s head back. It’s almost time for dinner anyway. What’d you sense about the shredders’ minds?: Tobin asks me as we head for the mess hall.

  I wonder if he’s trying to distract me from what just happened. I’d almost rather think about deadly shark mutates than keepers who laugh when they hurt us.

  :The shredders don’t have language,: I reply to Tobin’s question, :not like us. I think they just feel, and what they’re feeling now is hunger. They’re angry, too. That emotion is distant and ice cold, not like the way we’d feel it, but it’s strong just the same.:

  :No wonder they tear other creatures apart,: Tobin says.

  :How many do you think there were in that tank?: I meet Tobin’s steady gaze.

  :At least a hundred.:

  So Kuron could send a hundred hungry shredders after us when we try to escape. That’s not news I look forward to telling the rest of our team.

  WHEN WE REACH the mess hall, Dai and Wasp aren’t there, which is fine by me. This time when the shark crew attacks their food, I follow Sunny and Shadow’s example and look away, trying to concentrate on talking to the kids closest to me. I’m still jumpy from being shocked, and it’s hard not to stare at the two cameras in the room that constantly track us.

  I notice that the shark crew rarely speaks to the rest of Kuron’s kids, and vice versa. It’s like there’re two separate cliques here.

  After we finish eating, the shark crew heads out, except for Mako. He lingers after the rest, sending me sideways glances, the muscles twitching around his right eye again. Quickly I fill in my team on what we saw and what happened at the shredder tank.

  :I’d like to give those keepers a big zap,: Ree says angrily when I finish.

  :Yeah, me too,: I admit, thinking of the guy who laughed after he shocked me.

  :So, you wanna come see my greenhouse now?: Mako sidles closer and finally meets my gaze.

  :Maybe,: I reply, thinking fast. He looks so hopeful that I’m torn. Mako reminds me of Robry and the way he can get excited and eager about things. But I can’t forget the moment Mako almost bit Tobin.

  Tobin contacts me on a private send. :I don’t think it’s a good idea. Dai didn’t want you to go with Mako, and he must have had a reason. It might have something to do with the kid almost taking my arm off when I touched him.:

  :So I’ll make sure I don’t touch him,: I argue. :If we ever want to get out of here, we need to start making allies.:

  :Mako’s not a good ally for anyone. There’s something really wrong with him.:

  :I promise I’ll be careful.:

  :Here’s a better idea,: Tobin says, looking obstinate. :Hey, Mako, would it be okay if I came along, too? I’d really like to see your plants.:

  Mako jumps when Tobin speaks to him. Then he looks from Tobin to me, never quite meeting our eyes, his tic more noticeable than ever.

  :I just want to take her,: Mako says and starts pulling at his hair.

  :That’s okay,: I say. :Maybe Tobin can come next time. I’d love to go see your greenhouse right now.:

  Tobin scowls at me. :Contact me if you have any problems,: he says on another private send, :and I’ll get Shadow to take me there.:

  :I’ll be fine,: I tell Tobin. I hope I’m right.

  As Mako leads me toward the landward side of the fortress, I’m careful to keep my distance from him. He swims so quickly, I have problems reading all the door plaques we pass, but I do see one labeled MARINE CHEMISTRY LAB, which looks promising. After he takes me up to a dry-deck access, I climb out of the water and look around cautiously.

  Dry Deck One looks remarkably like the submerged ones, with long gray corridors that seem to stretch forever. It’s very clean and new, and the lighting here is low enough that I don’t have to squint. Once again, we don’t see anyone, but I do notice a surveillance camera that pivots silently as we pass it.

  :Um, Mako, are you sure it’s okay we’re up here?: I ask him as I glance back at that camera. I really don’t want to get shocked by the keepers again.

  :Oh yeah. I bring Shadow up here all the time.: Mako is almost running as he leads me down the corridor. He stops at a door and throws it open, and I’m engulfed in a wave of warmth and humidity. The damp air is full of the smell of rich dirt and green, growing things. I glance around in amazement. Mako has managed to raise a jungle of plants under grow lights.

  He plunges into his greenhouse, walking under small palm trees and humming happily to himself.

  I follow him more slowly, taking the time to peer at tiny purple violets and lush plants I’ve only seen in pictures. Burying my nose in the soft petals of a pale pink rose, I inhale its sweet scent. Next I come to a small fountain flowing into a pool with mosses and dozens of soft green ferns growing along its edges. The water’s trickling seems happy compared to the endless, ominous silence of Atlantea.

  I’m gazing at a lavender orchid with beautiful gold spots when Mako approaches me shyly.

  “Do you like my greenhouse?” he asks, his big gray eyes alight with eagerness.

  “I love it. Mako, this place is really beautiful.”

  “Thanks,” he says. For the first time, he meets my gaze for more than a few moments, and his tic has disappeared.

  “Where did all these plants come from?”

  “The bossman brings me back specimens from places he’s traveled. Sometimes they die, but I’ve gotten better at looking them up and figuring out what they need to be happy here.”

  As Mako surveys his plants, his expression becomes determined. “Someday I want to see all the places
these plants came from.”

  “But those red cedars and hemlocks grow on shore just a half mile from here,” I say, gesturing to some young trees that look like a miniature grove from our coastline.

  “I know, but I’ve only seen them from the water. I’ve never been able to walk under them, touch them, or smell them. I haven’t ever lived on land.”

  “Mako, how long have you been with the bossman?”

  “For as long as I can remember. We used to live in a smaller lab, and then we came here when I turned nine.” That fits with what Sunny told us earlier.

  “Did you know your parents?”

  Mako’s expression turns wistful, and he looks away, plucking a dead blossom from a plant. “Not really. But sometimes in my dreams I see this woman with long brown hair the same color as mine. We live someplace green, surrounded by plants like these. When I’m with her, I feel happy.” Mako sends me a sideways look. “I think maybe she was my mother. I wonder all the time if she’s still alive, and if the bossman knows where she is.”

  “Have you ever asked him?”

  Mako’s mouth twists. “I asked him once, and he shocked me so hard, he knocked me out. I’ve never asked about my mother again.”

  “Who looked after you in the lab?”

  “Keepers watched us. Some were nicer than others,” he says, his right eye starting to twitch again.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Just that some were nice, and some were mean to us,” he says, and he starts pulling at his hair. “Can I tell you about my plants now? I’d really like to tell you about my plants.”

  “Sure,” I say quickly, remembering Tobin’s worries about Mako.

  “This is one of my favorites,” he says, pointing to an ugly, scraggly cactus. “It’s called a Night-blooming Cereus. Once a year it produces these beautiful, big white blossoms, but they only last for a few hours.”

  He tells me about the moment he came to the greenhouse at just the right time to see his cactus bloom, and the sweet scent it produced. He liked both so much, he had Sunny tattoo a cereus blossom on his cheek. As he talks, I’m relieved to see him stop yanking at his hair. His tic soon disappears again, too.

  He shows me other plants he’s made thrive here. As he talks, I realize Mako loves them all.

  But after twenty minutes or so, I start to pant, and the heat is making me dizzy. “Mako, I’m sorry, but I need to head back to the water soon. Don’t you?”

  “Nah, I can stay out longer than anyone else. But I’ll come and make sure you get back to your room okay. Ice’d kill me if I let something happen to you. You always gotta be back inside there by nine anyway.”

  “Sunny told us the sharkhead patrols start up then. She also told us that once in a while the keepers make mistakes with the partitions.”

  “I think they do it when they’re mad at us,” Mako says, his eye starting to twitch again. “Whitey and Sham, they break a lot of stuff, and the keepers don’t like having to fix things. Or if one of those guys gives the keepers a tough time at a meal, then suddenly the partitions don’t work so good.”

  “Mako,” I say, my stomach clenching, “what really happens if the partitions don’t work so well?”

  “I’m so fast, I can outswim the sharkheads easy, but the other kids, they gotta stay and fight ’em.”

  “Do they always win?”

  “No, they don’t always win,” he says, and the pain I hear in his voice makes me want to cry for him. He crosses his arms and begins to rock silently.

  I clear my throat. “I’m so sorry I made you sad, but I have to go back now. I’m sure I can find my way. You stay with your plants.”

  Mako doesn’t reply. Doubting he’s even heard me, I leave and shut his greenhouse’s door quietly. The cold lens of the camera tracks me again as I stride down the long hall and dive back into the cool water.

  I’ve just made it to the first corridor intersection when I hear Mako call my name and see him racing after me. He cuts through the water as fast as a real mako shark, which are like the racehorses of the sea.

  I feel bad when he catches up and I see that his face is twitching again. We don’t say much as we work our way back through the maze of gray hallways to my room, and we pass the marine chemistry lab I saw earlier. I’ll definitely have to come back this way as soon as I can to check it out.

  Mako opens my door for me and then floats beside it looking uncomfortable. I think I could have found my way back on my own, but I’m grateful for Mako’s company.

  :Thanks again for letting me see your plants.:

  :You’re welcome. Nere, please d-don’t be too mad at Ice,: Mako says in a rush. :He didn’t have any choice about lying to you guys, and I think he really likes you.:

  I stare at Mako, my thoughts all tangled up like an abandoned fishing net. Does Dai really like me? He sure hasn’t acted like it since I got here, and I’m not sure if I like him anymore. How can I like someone I’m not even certain I know?

  Then Mako closes the door, and the outside bolt slides home.

  I’m locked in again.

  I have to think about something else besides how small and tight my room feels all of a sudden. Taking deep breaths, I swim over to the window and stare out into the artificially lit sea. Mentally, I reach out to Dai. Once again, I feel only muffled blankness, so Wasp is still blocking us.

  I sigh, gazing at the milky-green ocean. I would have liked to ask Dai some questions about his friend Mako. As angry as I am with Dai, I still miss him.

  THE FEEL OF THE cold collar around my neck keeps me awake for hours, the heavy weight of it pressing on me. I feel more closed in and trapped than ever. I keep telling myself that the collar is only supposed to zap me if I break the rules, but I can’t help expecting it to shock me again.

  It seems like I’ve just fallen asleep when Shadow knocks on my door to take me to breakfast.

  :You okay?: she asks. Her face is as still as always, but I see sympathy in her unblinking eyes.

  :Yeah.:

  :You’ll get used to it in time,: she says, her gaze flicking from my face to my collar. :And if you’re careful, they’ll hardly ever zap you.:

  I think she’s trying to make me feel better, but her words don’t really help.

  At breakfast, Sham, Mako, and Whitey wrestle and mess around like nothing happened last night, but the other kids don’t say much. I sense they’re sorry we have to wear collars now, too.

  For some reason, our breakfast is late. After a while, the boys get tired of their wrestling. My heart falls when I see Sham straighten up from pinning Mako, and his gaze focuses on Tobin.

  :That collar looks real pretty on you, Tobin,: Sham says, his eyes gleaming. More and more I can see the killer whale in Sham. Orcas get bored easily, and they hunt in packs.

  :Don’t even go there, Sham,: Shadow says, swimming closer to Tobin.

  :Hey, guys, check this out.: Sham grins at the other boys. :Shadow has a new friend.:

  :I hope I have several new friends,: she replies evenly.

  I glance at Shadow, surprised by her words.

  :Well, I say Tobin’s worse than a spineless jelly if he lets a girl do his talking for him,: Sham taunts him.

  :She doesn’t have to talk for me,: Tobin replies. :What’s on your mind?:

  Sham lunges over the table and floats with his face three inches from Tobin’s, big round teeth bared in a ferocious smile. :Let’s talk about how much I hate your face.:

  Tobin doesn’t flinch, but his skin pales. :That’s not exactly the first thing I wanted to talk about,: he replies, his mental voice amazingly steady, :but we can go there if you really want to.:

  :Oh, yeah, I really want to,: Sham mimics nastily. :I also wanna show you how much we don’t like you here messing with our pod.:

  Kalli, Ree, and I exchange panicked glances. What are we going to do if he goes after Tobin? Sham is HUGE!

  There’s a blur of motion, and Dai’s at the table. He grabs Sham around the waist
and throws him across the room. Before Sham can launch himself at Dai, Whitey grabs his arms.

  :Lay off Tobin,: Dai says, his face deadly serious. :Lay off all the newbies.:

  :Or what?: Sham looks furious enough to tear Dai apart.

  :Or…I’ll have to challenge you to a Power Match again.:

  Sham looks stunned for a second, and then throws his head back and laughs. For some reason, the rest of Kuron’s kids think this is hilarious, and they all crack up, too. Whitey lets go of Sham’s arms. I glance at Sunny and Shadow, reassured to see even they are smiling. Whitey and Mako raise their fists and start chanting, :Power Match, Power Match, Power Match!:

  :Bro, you’re crazy.: Sham shakes his head. :I almost broke your arm last time.:

  :I challenge you to a Power Match right now,: Dai says with a stubborn look I know only too well.

  :It’s your arm,: Sham says with a toothy grin.

  :Whitey, ref us?: Dai asks.

  :Oh, yeah.: Whitey’s mouth lifts in a real smile.

  :Ocho, you’d better tell the keepers to hold up breakfast for another few minutes,: Dai tells him.

  :You got it,: Ocho says and swims to a nearby com-station. A keeper, one I’ve never seen before, appears on the screen.

  I’m startled to see Dai and Sham both lie on the table, their legs spread wide. They reach for each other’s right hand, and I finally understand. A “Power Match” is just an arm wrestling match. But Dai looks so small compared to Sham’s huge bulk.

  :Is he going to break Dai’s arm?: I ask Sunny.

  :Probably not.:

  Sunny’s reply doesn’t really reassure me.

  Whitey gives them the signal to start. Sham’s muscles bunch, and Dai’s arm is slammed backward. Whitey lies alongside both guys so he can call the moment the back of Dai’s hand touches the table. At first, the match looks like it’s going to be over in three seconds, but somehow Sham can’t force Dai’s arm down the last few inches. His broad face contorts with effort, the muscles strain in his massive arm and shoulder, and Sham still can’t pin Dai’s hand.

  Kuron’s kids gather around the two boys, yelling and shouting, making a psychic din so loud my head pounds. Sunny, Rad, Mako, and Ocho all root for Dai, and Wasp roots for Sham along with Whitey.