by Holly Hook
Janelle’s stomach lurched. An hour? That was it?
“I tried to tell you all we needed to fuel up,” Mr. Deville said, pacing up and down the narrow hallway. “We’re going to have to fight.”
“I’ll help,” Gary said. He marched over to stand beside her, determination shining in his eyes.
His presence made her stomach loosen up a bit. She was on a boat with several Tempests who actually knew how to use their powers. Among them was--
A wind whistled outside, then roared. Camellia was sending it at the fishing boat. It might work for a while. But Andrina had to be able to fight back, so this might not last.
“I’ve got to go up there and help,” she said.
“No,” her father said. “You don’t know how to fight yet. You have something more important to do.”
“But Leslie—“
“We’ll protect her. Now go lay on the cot and close your eyes.”
Her father was right. She had to do that. But after that, she’d join the fight. Leslie was still sitting in the booth, silent and pale. Her friend’s life depended on this. Maybe Gary’s did too, and her father’s and her uncle’s.
“Go, Janelle. I’ve got your back,” Gary said. He stood in the doorway, blocking her way outside.
Janelle sucked in a deep breath as she sat on the cot. She had to relax. It might not be possible, but she had to try.
Her father seemed to have read her mind. He took Gary’s place and leaned down towards her. He popped open a drawer, which held a silver cassette player and several batteries.
“Dad?” So he’d known about Operation Reckoning, too. There was no other way he would’ve prepped this on the way here. It softened her anger towards him a bit. It had to be why he’d taken her away the day she was born. Maybe he had been hiding all this from her for her own good. It would have been better not to know anything before she dove into the ocean, after all. At least then, she wouldn’t have run away and gotten into this mess.
But she wouldn’t have known Gary. She wouldn’t have brought her father and her uncle back together. Maybe all this was worth it after all.
Maybe she could forgive him for all this after all.
He shoved a cassette in with a click. “My mother can only hold them off for so long. We’re outnumbered. We’ve got to get this done before she catches up." He turned his gaze to her, the grays in his eyes serious. "And then when they get here, you jump overboard. It’s the only way.”
Jump overboard. There was no getting out of the transformation now. She might as well not do it Andrina’s way, then. A strange sense of peace settled over her. It would be over soon, and might not be as bad as she'd dreaded, as long as this worked at removing the other recording from her mind.
The pillow crinkled under her head as she settled into it. Now for the hard part: drifting off. “Okay. Ready.”
“Close your eyes and breathe deeply,” her dad said. His voice trembled. He wasn’t sure about this. That really made her feel better.
Janelle did, but her pulse still raced in her ears. Breathe, Janelle. Control yourself. But the wind still roared outside and Deon started cussing. Leslie asked in a squeaky voice if she was going to die. Gary told her that he didn’t know.
“Quiet up there!” her father yelled. “Leslie, we’ll protect you. Gary, go tell Deon to shut up.” He let out a breath and lowered his voice. “Think of something happy, Janelle. The time we volunteered at the soup kitchen. Your sixteenth birthday party. Anything.”
Darkness swam inside her eyelids. She brought up the image of herself, Leslie, and their friends at the skating rink. The stuffed killer whale coming out of the claw machine. Her mother, leading her around the yard to pick up Easter eggs. Sanity. Normal things. Her heart slowed a little. She forced her breath to slow.
Click. A gentle hiss added to the whistling of the wind outside. Her father’s soothing, soft voice floated out of the cassette player. “Janelle, relax and listen to me. Take a deep breath.”
She did. Her father stood and stepped away. Would this even work? She wasn’t going to sleep, that was for sure. Andrina had played her message on her for hours. This one might have to play even longer to erase that.
But they had nothing else. She’d better try it.
“That’s it. Breathe out. Let all your tension go out with your breath. You are calm and in control of yourself.”
Janelle let her weight sag into the cot and let the whistling of the wind fade into the background like it didn’t matter. Maybe this would work after all.
“Incoming!” Mr. Deville yelled.
Janelle came to with a start and sat straight up. The roaring stopped as if someone had choked off the wind.
A jolt ran through the boat. The tape player flew off the counter slid down the hallway towards Gary. Everything tilted. Her stomach dropped. Janelle toppled from the cot and slammed against the cabinets. Pain raged through her shoulder as she cried out. Boxes of crackers and pasta rained down to the floor feet from her. “What is this?”
The boat righted itself. Cabinet doors slammed back shut. Leslie broke into sobbing somewhere.
“Janelle. Get up. Andrina sent a huge wave right at us.” Gary appeared above her and extended his hand. “I think she’s trying to capsize us so you’ll change. Heck, we all will if she does. She’d like that.”
“Crap.” Janelle stood and let Gary wrap an arm around her, heart hammering. She waited for the wind to start above decks again.
It didn’t. Only an ominous silence had taken its place.
A cold lead seemed to spread through her body. “My grandmother.”
She shot away from Gary and tore past Leslie, who leaned against the wall with her arms folded. Her friend’s whimpers faded behind her as bolted out of the cabin. Janelle wanted to be there for her, and felt invisible ropes trying to pull her back, but at least she knew Leslie was alive and unhurt. On the other hand--
The sun hung over the horizon like the giant red eye of a Cyclops, and the strongest tingle yet swept through Janelle’s body. Something beckoned her closer to the sparkling water. She had to release her power or she was going to go insane…No! Gritting her teeth, she looked away, focusing on a porthole as she ran down the deck. Gary’s footfalls thudded against the deck behind her.
Her dad and uncle crouched down near the railing. Camellia’s slippers stuck out from between them. “You’ll be okay, Mom. Just hang in there. We’ll get this bandaged,” Mr. Deville said.
Bandaged. Not good. Janelle pushed in between them.
Camellia lay against the railing. A crimson trail flowed down the left side of her face from a gash above her temple. “Andrina’s…out of control. Now she’s hurting other Tempests,” she said, looking up at her father with wet eyes. “Forgive me for the arranged marriage, Lucas. I had no idea.” She faced Janelle and blinked away the tears. “You deserve a better mother.”
“Janelle! Get back below decks.” Her dad pointed to the door. “You could get splashed if there’s another wave.”
“Come on. He’s right." Gary took her arm.
The fishing boat was getting closer. Its pulleys stuck up like the spines of some beast. A single figure stood at the front as water parted around it.
“We’ve gotta get her under, too,” Janelle said.
“Then go. You bandage her and don’t come up here again.” A faint growl crept into her father’s voice, growing worse with each word. “I’ll hold them off. I don’t want you to see me like this.”
The gray in her father’s eyes started to swirl and twist around his pupils. No. She didn’t want to see him like that. She turned away.
But not fast enough to miss the water rising above Andrina’s fishing boat.
The breath caught in her throat as she bumped into Gary. A mountain of water rose in front of it, blocking it from view. Another wave. It ro
se and drew closer as if a giant were rolling underwater. Thirty feet high…forty…it would drown the yacht for sure. When that water crashed down she’d…she’d…
Janelle’s legs seemed to have turned to stone. Even Mr. Deville froze, holding his mother up as she pressed a hand to her head. The roar grew louder and filled her ears. Taller. Closer.
Her father stood his ground, facing down the wave. Another wave rose in front of him. The yacht dipped in its wake. Janelle’s stomach rose up into her chest. She scrambled for the railing, something to hold onto.
He raised both arms like he was pushing an invisible wall away. His wave lurched forward, rising as it raced out to meet Andrina’s.
“Janelle, come on!” Mr. Deville broke his paralysis and took her arm with his free hand.
A deafening crash sounded through the air and shook the boat as the two waves met. An explosion of water rose up. Janelle gripped the railing as the boat lurched.
The tingling came back in a rush, and now it was worse. Stronger. Overpowering. Her legs ached to jump over the rail. No! She shook her head to clear out the urge. It refused to let go. She might resist it for another few hours—if she was lucky.
“Joey! Go get the first aid kit,” Mr. Deville ordered as he helped his mother down the stairs and into the cabin. “She hit her head on the rail. Might have a concussion.”
Janelle dashed inside after him and shut the door, standing against it for good measure. But the tingling only got stronger. No, no…she had to get back out there. And do what she had to do. She had to get to the water. Her legs made to turn her around, but…no, Janelle! Losing control…she was losing control. Her knuckles paled as she gripped the windowsill to stop herself.
Gary appeared and clamped his hands down on her shoulders. “Away from the door, Janelle.”
Even his grip did nothing to stop it. “Let go of me!” Janelle thrashed against his grip. A breeze whipped through the inside of the cabin, blowing papers off a nearby table and swirling them in the air.
“Hold her down,” Camellia said from somewhere.
Janelle broke loose, bolting for the door, eager to make this stop. Footfalls thudded behind her. She yanked the door open so hard it squealed and came off its track.
“Get back inside!” Her teacher squeezed into the doorway, pushing her back. “Come back to the cot and I’ll find the tape player.”
Something about his voice made her stop. The tingle melted away and the breeze died.
Janelle let out a huge breath and a croak. That had been way too close. “This urge. How do I make it stop?”
“You don’t.” Mr. Deville’s gray eyes widened as he stared down at her. “It only goes away after you change. I’ll make sure you don’t go anywhere for the time being.” He pushed her back to the cot. “Time’s shorter than ever.”
Another crash sounded outside. The yacht trembled in the shockwave, and it was worse this time. Her father had blocked another one of Andrina’s waves, but he was losing. She was getting closer every second.
Leslie backed into the booth as they passed. “Janelle, your eyes didn’t look right a minute ago. Are you okay?”
“Fine.” Big lie.
Mr. Deville bent over to snatch the tape player and a loose battery. “Alright. Let’s pray this thing still works.”
“Hank.” Deon’s voice cut through the air as the hum of the boat faded and died. He appeared in a doorway to the front. “We’re in some deep crap, my friend. You up for a fight?”
Janelle’s stomach lurched. There was no way to do this in time now.
Her teacher sighed. “We’re out of fuel, aren’t we?”
Out of fuel. And out of luck.
Deon wiped his palms on his pants and ran out the sliding door. “Lucas! We’re coming out to back you up!”
“I’m out of commission,” Camellia said, dabbing a towel to her head. Joey leaned over her, but she waved him away. “You go. I can hold this myself.”
Gary headed for the doorway after Joey, stopped, and turned to face her. His chest heaved up and down as he spoke. “Janelle, I have to say—”
“Go!” Camellia yelled.
Gary followed the others outside as another crash rattled the boat. He grabbed the railing to keep from going overboard.
“Careful!” she yelled out after him. Her stomach ached and her limbs turned into rubber. God, what if he got hurt out there? Or worse? And it would all be because of her.
A sob started creeping up in her throat. If she wound up doing what Andrina wanted, she wouldn’t deserve him, anyway. She wouldn’t deserve anything. She’d be a mass murderer. A monster.
Leslie hugged her knees in the booth, eyes big as she breathed shallow with a wheezing sound. Janelle wished she could give her a hug, but what good would it do?
“What now?” she asked instead.
“You’re not going anywhere after that display you just gave us,” Camellia said, folding the bloody towel and pressing it against her face again. “Sit next to me, would you? It’s not like you can do anything about the brainwashing with all this fighting going on. There’s always a chance we could drive them off and have you listen to the tape in a while.” Her tone didn’t sound too hopeful. “And you won’t be any good to Gary out there, especially if you go overboard.”
Janelle forced herself to sit and tune out the shouting, crashing, and roaring going on somewhere on the deck. It was the hardest thing she’d ever done. Gary was out there, fighting. Fighting for her, while she couldn’t even help. She was in here, worthless. But Camellia was right. She’d just end up overboard if she went out there, and Gary wouldn’t want that. And this might be her last moment of sanity.
Leslie whimpered as a loud bang sounded outside.
“Don’t worry. We’ll get through this,” Janelle told her.
Another bang. Another whimper.
A metallic smell invaded her nostrils—Camellia’s blood. Janelle winced and made to help her hold the towel up.
“Oh, don’t feel sorry for me.” Camellia held up an arm. “I’m not a nice woman. I killed hundreds of people and ruined lives, and I enjoyed it. And some of this is my doing.”
Her doing? If she hadn’t busted them out of the freezer, Andrina would’ve had her already. “You…you got me off Alara,” Janelle stuttered.
Nothing from Camellia. The old woman leaned back and rested her head on the wall. Even Leslie had gone quiet.
The calm before the storm, Janelle thought.
The wind outside died. Then there came a new noise: the hum of a motor and the parting of water. It only meant one thing.
Andrina had arrived.
Chapter Nineteen
