Chasing Danger

by Sara Grant

  I lifted her to her feet. She was exhausted and our pace slowed.

  “Come on,” I told her. “We’ve got to get as far away from here as we can.” I didn’t know if the bombs were on a timer or if someone had to trigger them, or maybe they weren’t bombs after all. I didn’t want to wait around to find out.

  We staggered out of the dining hall. I was half dragging, half carrying Ariadne. We stumbled on to the beach as…

  KABOOM!

  The fiery blast was like a giant’s hand tossing us skyward and then slamming us back to earth. The force crushed my lungs, and for a terrifying second, I couldn’t breathe. When I finally gasped, the air had jagged edges. Fire rained down from the night sky.

  I raised my head to search for Ariadne, but even that slight movement was agony. I spotted a lump in the sand a few feet away. That had to be her. We were the last two to leave the dining hall. I attempted to stand but couldn’t.

  The dining hall was a black mass. Smoked oozed from it over us. Hot sparks peppered my skin. I rolled over and over until I reached Ariadne. Sand gritted every inch of me.

  “Ariadne,” I said, shaking her gently. She didn’t move. Her clothes and hair seemed to be smoking. Ash smouldered on her yellow dress, creating black polka dots. I patted her down, brushing off the fiery embers as quickly as they landed. “Ariadne,” I cried. We needed to keep moving. The building was burning. The fire was spreading. I crawled to my knees. I tried to prop her up, but her lifeless body was heavier than I expected. There was no way I could pick her up.

  I looked around for someone to help me. The hostages were blackened and bruised from the explosion. They looked like zombies staggering to the sea. I waved to the man I’d freed earlier. “Help,” I called weakly.

  He rushed back to us and scooped Ariadne up. We stumbled forward, away from the blast.

  “You are quite the hero,” the man said, when we reached the water’s edge.

  I didn’t feel like it. I shrugged.

  “I think everyone escaped and that was down to your quick thinking,” he said.

  Ariadne began to wriggle in his arms. “Put me down.”

  “Thanks,” I told the guy as he lowered Ariadne to her feet before rushing off to help others.

  A feeling swept over me and took me by surprise. It wasn’t love. I didn’t know her well enough to love her yet, but it was a deep, warm connection that I hadn’t felt for anyone except my dad. I hugged her. Her body stiffened in my arms. I squeezed her tighter but she didn’t move.

  I relaxed my grip when Ariadne moaned. She might really be hurt. “Are you OK?” I asked. Every inch of me was aching. She was way older than me so she must feel a million times worse. I inspected her from head to toe. “What hurts? Is something broken?”

  “I’m fine. Don’t treat me like an old woman.” She dusted herself off and grimaced with pain.

  I wanted to point out the obvious – that she was, in fact, an old woman – but for the first time in my entire life, I didn’t blurt the snarky comment in my head.

  “Thanks,” Ariadne said, patted me on the back, and turned to go. “We need to help the others.”

  And that’s when I lost it.

  “Thanks?” I flipped her around to face me. My clothes were smoking from nearly being blown up. “I’ve travelled halfway around the world and nearly got killed, like, a dozen times trying to save you and all I get is thanks?” I huffed. “At least that’s something. It’s more than you’ve said to me in the past fourteen years.”

  Ariadne stared at me as if I was one of those complex math equations with more letters than numbers.

  “It’s not my fault that Mom’s in prison.” I was shouting now. “Would it kill you to be nice to me? I mean, we don’t know each other, but maybe we could. Why am I being punished for what my mom did? It’s not fair!” I crossed my arms and stamped my foot. Yeah, I was acting like a toddler.

  “What did you say?” Ariadne asked.

  “Yeah, I know my mom’s in prison,” I spat out the words.

  “How?”

  The heat of my anger fizzled away a bit when I realized to answer her question was to admit I’d been digging around in her handbag. Not my finest moment. “That doesn’t matter. What matters is that you hate me, and I haven’t done anything to deserve it. Well, not really.”

  She tried to hide a smirk, which made my anger flare. “What?” I screamed. She was laughing at me, and it hurt – not as much as nearly drowning and being incinerated – but it felt pretty lousy.

  “You have a fire inside you like she did,” Ariadne said. “Your mum always knew what she wanted and knew how to get it. She was strong and determined.”

  “I’m not my mom!” I shouted and stomped again – even though I realized she was sort of giving me a compliment. The rest of the hostages were gathering on the beach. The explosion had ignited tiny fires everywhere. Wisps of smoke swirled around us in the sea air.

  “I can see her in your eyes,” Ariadne took a step towards me. “You and your mum seem more alive than everyone else. You emit this energy. You almost glow with it.”

  I shook my head. I wasn’t like that, was I?

  “You saved my life.” She reached up to touch my face, but I flinched. “You saved everyone’s life. And you are right. You deserve more than just my thanks.”

  Then she hugged me. It was what I had been waiting for, but for some weird reason I didn’t feel like hugging back. When you had to beg for it, it lost its meaning.

  She pulled away and whispered, “Maybe you’ll forgive me someday. I should have reached out to you long ago. I thought you’d be better off without me. I was not a good mother. I assumed I would be an equally bad gra––” She stopped herself.

  If she couldn’t say the word, how would she ever be a good one? “I think I deserve to know about my mom.”

  Ariadne nodded and looked anywhere but at me.

  I waited.

  Ariadne wringed her hands. “Soon,” she whispered, but I felt that if I let this moment pass, I might never ever get the chance to know the truth about my mom.

  I shook my head and planted my feet. “Now.”

  Ariadne searched the night sky as if the smoke drifting across would form the words she needed to say. She cleared her throat. “Your mum was thrilled when she got pregnant.” As she spoke her gaze shifted from the sky to me to the ground and back again. “She promised me she’d settle down. She had been in trouble with the law ever since…” Ariadne paused, “for most of her life.” I could tell she was censoring the story. “Her promise came too late. Her past caught up with her, and she was convicted and sent to prison.” She looked me directly in the eyes when she said the next part. “You were born in prison.”

  It was as if another bomb exploded inside me. I bent over and clutched my stomach. I was going to throw up.

  “Your dad took you almost immediately to the States,” Ariadne continued. She paced around me as she spoke. “Your mum was devastated, but she wanted you out of the prison as soon as possible. We agreed that it would be best for you to have a fresh start with no connection to her past.”

  I had no memories of my mother. I’d always assumed I’d gone to live with Dad when I was very young, but Mom and I never had any time to bond. In a strange way I knew that, I felt that, already.

  “She loved you – still loves you – enough to let you have a life without her.” Tears sprinkled Ariadne’s cheeks. So she did have feelings.

  I was born in prison. That thought would not sink in. No matter how many times I repeated it in my head, it smacked me and then bounced off like a big rubber ball. There was only one more thing that I desperately wanted to know and not know. “What did she do?”

  Ariadne took a deep breath. “She was convicted of multiple homicides.”

  Multiple! I couldn’t speak. I knew she’d done something pretty horrible. They didn’t keep you in prison for fourteen years for shoplifting. Maybe she’d accidently killed someone while savin
g kittens from a burning building, or shot a bad guy who was robbing a bank.

  I wanted to ask about Mom’s crimes, but I couldn’t make myself say: who did she kill and why did she kill them? Kill wasn’t a word that I wanted to link to the woman who gave birth to me.

  “She was sentenced to life in prison,” Ariadne continued. “Her parole was recently denied so she’s going to be in there for a little while longer.”

  I wanted her to stop talking. That was enough information. More than enough. After everything that had happened today, this was the scariest. I thought I wanted to know everything about my mom, but now I wasn’t so sure. I was the daughter of a murderer. I was scared of myself and what was in my DNA.

  Ariadne opened her arms for a hug. I bolted. I didn’t look where I was going; I just wanted to run away from everything as fast as I could.

  Smack!

  I charged right into someone, nearly knocking us both to the ground. I stumbled backwards but kept myself from falling. Dazed from the impact, I looked up at the guy who was dusting himself off. I recognized his over-gelled hair, his pressed white shirt and khaki trousers. But it couldn’t be. Was I hallucinating? Was it a ghost? Maybe the shock of the explosion mixed with the blast of info about my mom had finally caused me to crack.

  “Artie?”

  “I-I … th-thought you were…” I stuttered. I remembered seeing his lifeless body hit the ground.

  Ariadne brushed past me. “Artie!” She hugged him. “I thought you were…”

  “No, I’m fine,” he said, and kissed Ariadne on the top of her head. “They knocked me unconscious and stuffed me in the office closet. The explosion jolted me awake. What’s most important is that you – everyone – is OK.”

  Then he tilted Ariadne’s face to his. Argh! I cringed. He wasn’t going to… Yep, he was. Artie kissed my grandma. Love Late in Life.

  “Um, guys…” I started, but I didn’t want to disturb old-people love.

  Was everyone OK? I assumed Mackenzie had made it back to her bungalow, but I didn’t know for sure. It was the perfect excuse to get the heck out of here. “I’m going to find Mackenzie and let her know this is all over.” Ariadne and Artie’s faces were still smushed together. Yuck! That was definitely my cue to exit.

  “Wait!” Ariadne yelled at me. She took one step and then collapsed on to the sand. Artie swept her up in his arms and carried her over to me. They looked like some weird Disney movie poster: Cinderella and Prince Charming Anniversary Special: where are they after 50 years?

  “Are you sure it’s safe?” Ariadne asked.

  “Luke said he and the waiters captured some of the bad guys and the others escaped in boats,” I reminded her.

  “Yes, but can we be sure?” Ariadne wasn’t going to drop this.

  “You should stay here. I’ll go check on Mackenzie,” Artie said, and lowered Ariadne back on to the sand.

  “Shouldn’t you send for help or search for bad guys or help the injured or something?” Basically anything but bug me.

  “She’s right,” Ariadne said. “I’ll corral everyone and help those who have been injured. Artie, you send someone for help. Charlotte, you go and check on––”

  “No,” he said too forcefully. We looked at him in surprise. “I’ll check on Mackenzie. Then I’ll send for help. Charlotte, you can help Ariadne.” Artie dismissed me. “You need to leave this to the adults.”

  I hated snakes and snotty cheerleaders, I couldn’t stand bullies, and I definitely didn’t like anything grape flavoured. But what I hated more than anything in the universe was being underestimated. I wanted to tell him everything this fourteen-year-old had done while he was taking a nap in the closet, but that would have wasted too much time. “I’m going to find Mackenzie.”

  I stormed off and didn’t look back.

  My feet pounded the sand and then the wooden planks of the pier. One thought was being hammered into my brain with each step: my mom is a murderer. I now understood why Dad had protected me from the truth for so long.

  “Mackenzie!” I called when I reached her bungalow. I didn’t wait for a reply. I barged in. The door had already been ripped from its hinges. “Mackenzie!” I screamed and skidded to a stop when I saw the state of her room. Fragments of her computers, the satellite phone, her clothes and furniture were all that remained. The moonlight created abstract shadows over the wreckage of Mackenzie’s life. It was like stepping into an abstract black and white painting. I spun in a slow circle afraid to move in my bare feet.

  I jumped when I heard a sound even though it was as quiet as a tiptoe on carpet. Where was it coming from? I heard it again. This time I was able to pinpoint the noise. It sounded like a sniff, and it was coming from the closet – the perfect hiding place.

  What if it was one of the missing pirates? More likely it was my overactive imagination. But I wasn’t about to take any chances. I snatched up the desk lamp, which was missing its shade and bulb. I held it high as I flung open the door.

  A body toppled out.

  Mackenzie’s body.

  I dropped the lamp and reached for her but she scampered away. She was sobbing.

  “Mackenzie,” I whispered and slowly closed the distance between us. “It’s me. It’s Chase. Are you OK?” What a stupid thing to say! She obviously wasn’t. “You’re safe now.”

  “Everything’s ruined…” she muttered, indicating the fragments of her technology. “I tried … I couldn’t … then … the explosion?”

  “Everyone made it out,” I said as I helped her to her feet.

  “I thought you were…”

  “Everyone’s fine.”

  “So it’s over?” she asked.

  “Yeah.” We hugged for I don’t know how long. It’s the kind of hug I’d wanted from Ariadne. Then I remembered. “Why did you leave me at the boat dock?”

  I tried to pull away but she held me tighter. “I thought I could call for help or get my computers working.”

  I ripped myself free. “That’s a lie.” I’d been lied to enough. It was written all over her face. She wasn’t telling me everything. “You said you were sorry, as if it was your fault. What did you mean?” She had conveniently run away and was safe in her bungalow when the bombs exploded. “You aren’t working with the pirates, are you?”

  “You’ve got it wrong.” She backed up. “I thought they were after me.”

  “What? Why?”

  My question was answered not by Mackenzie but by a masked man as he charged up the ladder and on to the deck. He shoved me aside. I crashed into the closet. Pain radiated from every point of impact. I collapsed on to the floor. I was dazed and couldn’t make sense of what was happening. The man didn’t hesitate – he went straight for Mackenzie. She dashed on to the deck, but there was nowhere to run. The man lifted her off her feet as if she were weightless. She flailed her arms and legs like a turtle flipped on its shell. She was whacking the bad guy and screaming at the top of her lungs.

  I stumbled to my feet and charged at the man, fists flying. My blows bounced off his muscles. I ran at him, then landed a kick right in the middle of his back, which gave Mackenzie the opportunity she needed. She broke free and staggered back inside. I swept her behind me.

  The man glared at us. Mackenzie and I were pumped up and ready to fight but the man stood there and laughed. I lunged to shut the sliding-glass deck door that separated us. I fumbled with the lock. “Run!” I screamed at Mackenzie. She bolted towards the front door with me at her heels.

  She screamed when she realized the door was being blocked by another masked man.

  CRASH!

  The deck door shattered behind us. We were trapped. Mackenzie and I stood back-to-back, ready to put up the fight of our lives.

  “Mackenzie,” the masked man from the deck said, “you are coming with us.”

  How did they know her name?

  “I don’t want to hurt two girls, but I will,” the other man echoed from behind me.

  I clutche
d Mackenzie’s hand. “I’m not letting them take you,” I told her.

  She squeezed back.

  Both men walked towards us. I punched and kicked as hard as I could, and Mackenzie was doing the same. But these guys had muscles as big as my head. They brushed our attacks aside. One scooped me up and pinned my arms to my side. I wriggled, elbowed and kicked, but he held me fast. The other guy lifted Mackenzie as if she was a bride and he was going to carry her across the threshold.

  “We are taking Mackenzie and there’s nothing you can do to stop us,” my captor barked at me.

  A sob burst from my lips. I was so angry.

  “Mackenzie!” I called. She locked eyes with me. I’ve never ever seen anyone so terrified in my life. I shrieked in complete and utter frustration. I tried to think of something, anything I could do, but we were overpowered.

  I watched in horror as the man tossed her off the deck. My screams were drowned out by the splash of her body into the lagoon.

  “Stop fighting,” the masked man whispered in my ear. “Or I will end you.”

  He struggled to keep hold of me as I squirmed in his grasp. The man who had thrown Mackenzie off the deck calmly walked down the ladder. My captor dumped me on to the floor. The shattered glass from the door and Mackenzie’s computers ground into my skin. I ignored the hundreds of cuts and scrapes as I rolled to all fours, determined to go after Mackenzie.

  He kicked me in the ribs. “Stay down.” I crumpled to the floor in agony.

  As he disappeared down the ladder, I heard an engine roar to life. I crawled through the broken glass to the deck’s edge. I stifled a gasp.

  Two masked men were huddled in the dinghy below me. Mackenzie’s body bobbed face down a few feet away. Was she dead? She couldn’t be dead.

  A fight broke out in the boat. The men were shouting. One even threw a punch.

  “We can’t leave her here like that,” one man screamed and manoeuvred the boat closer to Mackenzie.

  “What does it matter?” the other guy yelled. Was he going to watch her drown?