by Holly Hook
So that was why Leslie got stuck in the freezer.
Andrina had been counting on them to come here after Leslie. She'd let them. Now they were trapped in here.
And coldness took away a Tempest’s powers and strength.
“Charge the door!” Gary shouted, pushing against Janelle and slapping Joey on the back.
Joey rammed his body against it. The door flew out an inch—enough to reveal a mountain of storage boxes on the other side—and slammed shut again. More thumps sounded as Andrina and Kevin stacked more of them in front of their exit, preventing their escape. The cold had already sapped most of Joey's strength.
“Let me try!” Janelle squeezed around Joey and rammed her shoulder into the door. This time it didn’t budge. The cold had done its work on her while she was untying Leslie.
Gary joined her at the door. “Push!”
Still the door didn’t move, and muffled thumps continued as the boxes built up on the other side. They were trapped, in a prison within a prison.
“Stop struggling, Janelle!” Andrina shouted from somewhere on the other side of them. “I was afraid you'd misbehave. You've given me no choice but to make sure you're manageable when I come for you in the morning.”
“No!” Janelle rammed her body into the door again. Nothing. Andrina and Kevin had sealed them in. “I don't want anything to do with your Operation!”
Footsteps headed away from them, growing fainter and fainter until they disappeared. Andrina's ears were closed on her, and would never open.
Silence fell. Janelle stared at the pits on the steel door as the cold of the giant fridge soaked into her skin and stole away her last hope of escape.
“Well,” Joey said, shrugging, “at least we have something to eat in here.”
Janelle didn’t feel like eating, not after her last meal had knocked her out. Instead, she snuggled up to Gary for warmth. He wrapped his arm around her and held her tight. But this time, he didn’t speak. There was nothing left for either of them to say.
She'd be taking her dive into the ocean at dawn, full of that poisonous nightmare that would kill thousands. Even if she saw her father again, she could never face him. Not after the mistakes she'd made.
Hours passed. What time was it? She was too wired, too scared to close her eyes. Gary wrapped his arm around her and held her close. He didn't say much. What could he say? He couldn't reassure her, because he didn't lie.
But his presence was enough. That was all she needed right now. That, and the fact that her best friend didn't hate her after all.
Leslie ate several slices of cheese as she recovered from her bout in the freezer. “I’m so sorry, Janelle. I didn’t mean to make you feel like crap,” she said between bites, like she had seven times before. “You’ve got to feel bad enough. I would have never thought there was more to hurricanes than just a bunch of random stuff happening in the atmosphere.” She unwrapped another slice of cheese. “That Kevin guy showed me his powers on the boat. He was able to make the water choppy and made a wind kick up so bad I nearly fell off. I thought he was going to kill me. He said he’d go back and murder my mom if I didn’t cooperate with him. I wanted to yell for security at the airport, but I was so scared.”
“It’s okay,” Janelle said, wrapping her fingers in the fabric of her shirt, feeling for what Leslie must have gone through during her abduction. “If it was just a few degrees warmer in here, we could just walk out.”
Leslie fiddled with the plastic cheese wrapper, which crinkled in her hands. “I can’t believe I’m sitting in here with walking, talking hurricanes. What other disasters are running around as people? Earthquakes? Tornadoes? Snowstorms?”
“Don’t know,” said Gary, working at opening a cup of applesauce. “If there’s any others, they keep to themselves. We haven’t run into each other.”
Joey cleared his throat. “That could change after Andrina releases her video. Who knows what's going to come out of that?”
A fresh spike of terror ran through her as she remembered. Leslie might be okay with them being friends, but would Andrina kill her when the Operation started? Janelle wouldn't be here to protect her. Gary and Joey would help, but they might not be able to keep her safe for long.
Thump.
Janelle’s heart leaped as she sprang to her feet.
Thump. Louder this time.
Dawn had come. Andrina had returned. She was clearing the boxes away to drag her down to the water.
She stood no chance this time. Heart thudding, she seized the cold metal of the closest shelf and braced herself for the worst.
“Janelle.” A soft female voice floated through the door.
“Get to the back. We’ll try to hold her off,” Gary said, pushing her back and standing near the door. Joey joined him.
“Janelle. I know you’re in there. Answer me.”
This wasn’t Andrina. There was warmth in this voice.
The handle twisted slowly, and the door came open.
The yellow-orange light of the basement poured into the room, framing Camellia in her navy blue suit. “Come with me, all of you, before Andrina comes down here. We don't have much time. Janelle, I need to speak to you.”
Janelle’s legs carried her towards the woman—and her grandmother—as if they’d lost the will to resist this nightmare any longer. She’d killed hundreds of people, too. She couldn’t be much better than Andrina.
But she was letting them out of here.
Camellia rested her hand on Janelle’s back as soon as everyone had left the fridge. She’d figured out what she hadn't known back at the school, then. She walked, pulling Janelle along with her.
“Janelle.” She let out a slow breath. “I believe that you’re my granddaughter and the child that Andrina told us all was stillborn. What’s your father’s name?”
“Lucas. He told me about you already,” she said, studying the floor. Should she be grateful? Scared? Neither? This was awkward enough.
“Good. That saves a lot of explaining.” Camellia glared back at the fridge. “I’m not going along with Andrina anymore. It’s disgusting that she’d lock up her own child like this and lie to me about your death. I don't care if she had to do it to save face. If I’d known what she’d turn into, I never would have pushed my son into marrying her.” A pause. “Not that I’m not happy to have you or anything.”
A painful lump grew in Janelle’s throat. Camellia was no saint, but she'd come down and freed her. Could it be that she'd gained an ally on the side of power?
“It’s okay, Janelle,” she said, guiding her closer to the stairs. “I’m going to take you out to transform. On the way we’ll try to reverse the brainwashing Andrina did, so your natural path is restored, as it should be. I’m sure your father’s voice will work great for that.”
“My father?” She looked up into Camellia’s wrinkled face, but it was serious. She had her dad's eyes, she noticed. And Mr. Deville's eyebrows.
“I got a text from him half an hour ago. He and Hank will be pulling into the lagoon any minute. They sent me to get you, because if they came in they’d be spotted. That’s when I knew you were probably my grandchild. Come on. We’ve got to meet them before someone else does.”
Escape. They were getting out of here. She wouldn’t kill thousands of people. But…“What about Leslie?” Her friend walked behind Gary and Joey, looking small and scared.
“She can come, but only if she swears to keep our secret for the rest of her life,” Camellia said, casting a dark glance towards Leslie. “Do you swear?”
Leslie nodded with vigor. “Of course I do. Who’s going to believe me if I tell, anyway? They’d lock me up and tie me in a straightjacket.”
“Well, I trust you better than Andrina. I don’t like the thought of her blowing our cover to the world,” Camellia said as she walked. “Not all of us stand behind what she's doing.
If the humans find our location they could drop a nuclear bomb on us tomorrow. And without us, the planet would go into chaos.” She patted Janelle on the back. “Let’s move faster. Quietly.”
Camellia’s slippers made faint slapping noises on the floor. She reached the top of the stairs like a woman half her age. Janelle followed her, footfalls of the others echoing behind her. The black pit inside of her disappeared. She shot Gary a smile, which he returned.
The meeting chamber’s doors had both closed. “What time is it?” Janelle asked.
“Almost dawn. We have minutes. Faster.”
Janelle quickened her pace and urged her rubbery legs to go faster. As soon as Andrina found the toppled boxes, she’d send everyone in the complex searching for her, guaranteed. Their escape boat probably wouldn’t make it over the horizon before all four of Andrina’s started to give chase.
Camellia waved them across the entry chamber and its gray swirl on the floor. After pressing her finger to the glowing red pad, the exit door clicked and unlocked.
Janelle stepped out into the round, damp tunnel of the cave. It smelled like freedom. Gary smiled at her, actually smiled. They were both going to escape.
“So your dad came here?” Leslie appeared at her side, the look on her face trying to comprehend. “How did he do that when he doesn’t have a boat? He’s not a sailor. And this island isn’t on any map from what Kevin told me.”
“Save it for later,” Joey put his hand on her back and led her down the tunnel.
Janelle turned the curve after Camellia and let out a breath. A new yacht bearing the Bahamian flag hummed as it moved in between the fishing boat and Andrina’s yacht. Her father and Mr. Deville stood on board, practically glowing under the lights. So it was true.
“Climb aboard, all of you,” Mr. Deville ordered, pointing to the front of the boat.
Janelle climbed over the rail. “Dad!” She launched herself into a hug. She’d never been so glad to see him in her life. "I'm so sorry," she repeated, overcome with emotion and preparing for his lecture on keeping it under control.
But it never came. He simply hugged her back and said, “Come on, honey. We don’t have much time. Come below decks." He released her. "The rest of you make sure that Andrina can’t use those yachts for a while.” He pulled her towards a glass sliding door.
Deon emerged from below decks, face sagging from lack of sleep, and passed them. “I agree with that.”
Janelle followed Leslie and her dad through the sliding door. He released her arm and sat in the booth, lips pursed together. What did she say to him? Where to start? This wasn’t going to be an easy conversation. It seemed like both of them were having that problem. Even Leslie shifted as she pressed her face to a porthole.
Crashes and thumps echoed out in the cave. Deon and the others were getting their revenge on Andrina. Janelle stood frozen, waiting for him to say something, but the air only grew heavier.
Janelle joined her friend at the window, to avoid the uncomfortable conversation a little longer, but the side of Andrina’s yacht blocked her view. She let her forehead rest against the cool glass as she stared at the fishing boat at the end of the dock. It looked like some kind of sleeping cave monster shrouded in the darkness. She wished the others would hurry. Andrina might be heading down to the basement right now.
The crashes stopped outside and seconds later, the sliding door slid open and Deon came through, breathing heavily but smiling. “I think we’re good,” he said. “We just need to--”
A faint ringing sounded through the air.
Janelle backed away from the window. That meant one thing. Andrina had discovered her escape. “Okay. That doesn’t sound good. Let’s go.”
“It’s the fire alarm,” Gary said, gaze darting back and forth. “She must’ve pulled it when she found us gone.”
A hum washed through the boat as Deon started it. The yacht lurched and righted itself as it backed away from the dock. Janelle gripped the windowsill for support. They were out of here.
The dock grew smaller as the boat turned towards the exit. Shadows danced on the walls as figures raced out of the entry tunnel.
Andrina led them in her gray suit. She stopped in front of her ruined yachts, two of which were sinking into the water, and stared after them. Others gathered around her, figures in pajamas and suits. Kevin took off his sunglasses and dropped them to the dock.
Deon steered them through the cave, and a rock wall blocked Andrina and her cronies from view. "I hope I never see you again," Janelle muttered, meaning every word of it down the core of her being.
Gray light surrounded the boat, but it was the most beautiful light she'd ever seen. They were out. They burst out of the cave’s mouth, leaving a trail of foaming water behind them. A faint orange lined the horizon to the east.
Joey sighed in relief and Leslie sagged against a folding closet door. Mr. Deville collapsed into the booth, chest heaving.
Gary moved over, wrapping his arm around her as if to hold her up. “You okay?” His hazel eyes were just as gorgeous now, maybe even more so. It seemed that some of the darkness inside him had cleared up, leaving a glow in its place. A horrible chapter of his life had passed.
Janelle couldn’t get her quivering knees to stop. Had Camellia waited five more minutes to bail her out, she never would have made it off Alara. Well, not in the way she wanted. She faced the woman she’d feared and hated yesterday. “Thank you.”
Camellia gave her a weak smile. “No problem. I’ll have to take you out shopping sometime. I missed a lot of years with you. Things could have been a lot different."
Footsteps approached and her father’s warm breath blew against the back of her neck. Gary let go and he pulled her close. “Janelle, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you anything. Most of this is my fault.”
“It’s okay. I’m not mad. I understand why you did it,” she said, hoping to end the Big Awkward Conversation now. She didn’t want to discuss Andrina or the fact that the mother from her photo had been a lie. The pain inside her needed to heal a bit first. “Where did you get this boat?”
“One of Deon’s human friends let us borrow it. We made the guy think we were going to miss some fishing trip we’d planned for years, so he felt sorry for us.” His tone dropped. “We need to talk more about the family thing later. You see, with Andrina being your biological mother, there’s an implication that I've had no choice but to prepare you for since you were very young.”
There. He’d confirmed the worst. Janelle couldn’t stop the words. “You lied about Mom."
He gave her a pat on the arm. “Tina was your mother, Janelle. Not biologically, but your mother, and the only real mother you ever had. We met when I moved you up to Michigan. She loved you and wanted to raise you as her own. And do you know what?”
“What?”
“Your mother knew what we were. And she didn't care.”
“She didn't?” Janelle looked up at him, thunderstruck. “You're not lying about that?”
Her father didn't look away or fiddle with his sleeve or do any of the things he'd done back in Florida. “No. I'm not.”
He was telling the truth this time. Janelle let a smile creep onto her face. A horrible darkness inside her thinned, and--
“Faster!” Joey ran up the yacht’s hallway, glasses crooked on his face. He stopped next to Gary. “They’re coming out of the cave right now. Doesn’t look good.”
“How far back? How many on board?” Her father released her and disappeared down the hall, every inch commanding and serious. “I thought we made that impossible.”
“I don’t know. A mile? It’s too dark to see.” Joey pressed his face against the glass.
Janelle and Gary joined him. She pressed her cheek against the porthole, praying that he was wrong.
“Uh, oh,” Gary said.
Joey wasn't wro
ng.
A yellow searchlight glowed near the base of the conical island.
They had forgotten to destroy the fishing boat.
A hand took her arm—Mr. Deville’s. “Come on. We’ve got to remove the brainwashing. This could be the last chance. Then if Andrina gets you, you won’t do what she wants.”
He was right.
“And how?” Janelle’s voice came out higher than usual. “I can’t exactly sleep right now. This isn’t too relaxing.”
“She’s right,” Camellia said. “Hypnosis can’t work when you’re all tense. Here, I’ll go see if I can slow that other boat down. That’ll help if they’re farther behind us. Hank, you get the tapes ready.” She yanked the sliding door open and disappeared outside.
Her father reappeared in the hallway. “Deon!” he shouted. “Full power on this thing! We’re maybe half a mile ahead of them.”
Deon shouted something back. Something about the tone of his voice made Janelle’s stomach turn. It didn’t sound good.
“What did he say?” she asked her father.
His lips pursed together. “Nothing. Come back to the cot here. We’ve got this under control. Just lie down and try to relax.”
“Something’s going on. Tell me!”
Her dad wiped the sweat from his forehead. “Janelle, please.”
“Tell me.” A smoldering anger rose up through her chest and spilled down into her fists, clenching them into tight balls. She wasn’t going to be lied to. Not anymore.
Her father sighed. “It was a long journey here and we couldn’t gas up at Alara because the alarm went off. The yacht’s almost out of fuel. They’ll overtake us within an hour.”
Chapter Eighteen
