by S.A. Bodeen
Leo’s gaze shifted from Sarah to Marco. “I’ll let one go.”
“My dad!” Sarah grabbed Marco’s shirt. “It has to be my dad! He knows more. He can help.”
Marco swallowed and tightened his grip on the tube. He didn’t trust Leo to follow through even if they did have the progenitor. This might be his one chance to get Nacho back, and he was going to take it, even though it meant lying. “My brother. Unfreeze him and I’ll give you the progenitor.”
7
“No!” Sarah grabbed for the tube in Marco’s hands.
“Sarah, don’t!” He elbowed her aside.
She fell in the sand. “Why do you get to decide? I want my dad!” Sarah jumped back up. Why did Marco have to be so selfish? He only got his way because he had the weapon.
And Leonis. Stupid alien liar. He could have unfrozen her dad at any time.
“Let’s go.” Marco pointed the tube at the entrance.
Leo went first.
Marco shot a look at Sarah.
She scowled and brushed by him.
But he grabbed her arm and whispered, “We can see how he does it and maybe get your dad out too.”
“Let go.” Sarah yanked her arm out of his grip and stomped down the stone corridor after Leo. She didn’t believe that Marco had that in mind when he chose Nacho. Not at all. He only said it so she wouldn’t be mad. Well, surprise. It didn’t work. She felt stupid that she hadn’t thought of the chest first. Of trying to convince Leo it was his missing whatchamacallit.
But she would think of something else. No way was she leaving there without her dad. Unfrozen.
They reached the cavern, which was bright as day. The sight of the modules, and the knowledge of their purpose, sent a shiver down Sarah’s spine. She ran ahead and stopped at the module that contained her dad. One look at the tan legs and the khaki shorts and the polo shirt told her nothing had changed. Except that the fog on his glasses was rapidly freezing over.
She set a hand on the glass and whispered, “I’ll get you out first. They don’t know it, but I will.” She whirled around. “Leo. Why did you freeze my dad instead of keeping him prisoner like Cash?”
Leo seemed a bit taken aback and didn’t answer right away.
Marco frowned. “Yeah, why did you?”
Leo’s eyes went to the ceiling. “The atmosphere in my ship, in here, is different from that of your Earth.”
Marco shot a glance at Sarah. “We’re breathing fine.”
“For now.” Leo dropped his gaze. “I don’t know what prolonged exposure will do. It was safer to freeze your father than—”
“It would be safer to just let him go!” Sarah’s hands turned to fists.
Marco held up his palm at her. “You’re not helping.”
Sarah crossed her arms and glared at him.
Marco said to Leo, “Cash was here longer. Nothing’s wrong with her.”
Leo didn’t answer.
“Right?” asked Marco. “Nothing’s wrong with Cash, is there?”
Leo ignored him and held a hand over the keypad on Ahab’s module.
“I thought you were going to unfreeze his brother,” said Sarah.
Leo said, “I will. But I haven’t done this before. It might be better to practice on the dog in case something goes wrong.”
Sarah didn’t want to know all the things that could go wrong. She also didn’t want anything to happen to Ahab. “Can’t you practice on another animal?” She swept her hand to her side toward the other modules.
Leo shook his head. “Those modules were filled a while ago. The freezing process is complete in less than an Earth day. After that…”
Sarah’s stomach clenched. “What? What happens?”
“The modules remain locked until they reach my planet.”
Her gaze shot back to her frozen father. “Then you have to let him out!”
“We have a deal.” Leo told Marco, “I’ll practice on the dog. Then I’ll let your brother go.” He glanced at Sarah. “You’ll get your father back once I have the progenitor.”
Sarah’s throat grew thick and tears welled up. How did this happen? She had gone from being annoyed by new brothers to worrying about her dad being taken by aliens. When Leo found out the chest from the Moonflight wasn’t what he needed, that Marco lied, the alien would go back on the deal before her dad was freed. She wanted her dad out now. She didn’t want him to end up on Leo’s planet.
And, as much as she tried to shove the feeling down, Sarah wanted her dad to be there for Yvonna, who maybe needed him just as much as she did.
Sarah brushed away a tear.
No, she needed to stop thinking about them. She needed to focus on what was best for her. She didn’t want to be left alone. And it was clear that, without her dad, she was.
Marco was only out for himself and Nacho and their mom. She almost told Leo that Marco was a liar, that the chest was just something stupid Marco had found. But she wanted Marco to go through with the betrayal. It was exactly what she needed. Because, as soon as her dad was unfrozen, she would tell him how Marco had chosen Nacho over him. And once they were all off the island, she would never have to see the Murillo family again.
Marco moved closer. “Let’s go. Do this.”
Sarah sniffled and wiped her eyes. Was Marco trying to watch Leo’s every move, to see what he did so he could copy it? Had he been telling her the truth?
Maybe she believed him, maybe she didn’t.
Leo’s hand went over the keypad. Slowly, it morphed to a hand with webbing between the fingers. He pressed it onto the keypad.
Sarah frowned. “Why didn’t you need webbed hands in the cabin, for the other screen?”
Leo said, “That simpler technology only requires a touch. These have an identity component. I must be myself—my real self—when I touch it.”
Sarah’s heart sank. If webbed hands were a necessity, they had no chance of repeating his movements.
The glass front slid open.
Hssssssssssss.
Goose bumps raced up Sarah’s arms and the sudden chill sent a shiver through her entire body. She held a hand out at arm’s length. Invisible in the thick fog.
Something furry and cold brushed against her bare legs.
She screeched.
The mist cleared instantly.
“Ahab!” Sarah set a hand on the dog’s head. “Are you okay?”
As if to answer, Ahab jumped up, put his paws on her shoulders, and licked the tears off her face.
Sarah gently pushed him down and brushed off the bits of ice clinging to his fur. “Good boy.” She was glad to have at least one ally back.
Marco said, “Now my brother.”
Sarah watched, helpless. If only there was something she could do to help her dad.
Leo stepped to the front of Nacho’s module and settled his webbed hand on the control panel.
Again, the glass panel slid open.
Hssssssssssss.
Sarah held tight to Ahab’s collar as the mist enveloped them. Ahab whined. “It’s okay, boy.”
A few seconds later, the mist was gone.
Nacho stood there in his purple shirt and khaki shorts, bits of white on the very tips of his brown hair. He blinked. A few flecks of frost flew from his eyelashes. “What happened?”
Marco threw his arms around his little brother.
A new wave of tears hit Sarah. She wanted to have her dad’s arms around her. She dropped her hold on Ahab and ran to the module that contained her dad, pounding on the glass with both fists. “Let him out!”
Marco grabbed her arm. “Sarah, we’ll get him out.”
She whirled around. “I want him out now.”
“No!” Leo hadn’t raised his voice before, and they all turned to look at him.
Nacho asked, “Who is that?”
Sarah narrowed her eyes at the alien boy. “His name is Leo. He’s the Curator that Cash told us about.”
Nacho stepped over to Sarah and st
ared inside the module that housed John Robinson. “Your dad’s frozen?”
Marco said, “So were you. Don’t you remember?”
Nacho shook his head. “I was on the beach and Ahab ran ahead of me, around the corner. He barked and then he squealed. And then nothing. So I ran toward him and then suddenly I was all wrapped up in some kind of spider’s web and couldn’t move and then…” He frowned. “Wait a second. Why were you hugging me?”
Marco set a hand on Nacho’s head. “Because I’m glad to see you.”
“Since when?” asked Nacho.
Marco grinned. “Since I like you better when you aren’t an ice cube.”
“That is so awesome for you both.” Sarah glared at him.
Nacho asked, “Can we get your dad out now?”
“No.” Sarah glanced at Marco. “Leo won’t let him out.”
“Why not?” asked Nacho.
Leo crossed his arms. “Because we have a deal.”
Marco told Leo, “Maybe you should show Nacho what you showed us.”
Leo reached for Nacho’s hand.
Nacho stepped back.
Marco grabbed Nacho’s arm. “Just let him show you.”
Nacho glanced at Sarah.
Sarah nodded.
Still looking skeptical, Nacho let Leo take his hand. The two stood there a moment, eyes closed.
Sarah understood why Marco didn’t believe Leo had shown her anything at first, because Leo and Nacho appeared to do nothing at all.
A moment later, Leo let go of his hand.
Nacho’s eyes opened and grew wide. Then he grinned and shouted, “I knew it!” He jumped up and down a few times, and then stopped to point at Marco. “I told you! I told you.” He put his hands on his hips. “We are so not alone.”
8
Marco didn’t even care about Nacho’s gloating. He was glad to have his brother back. Part of him felt bad about leaving his stepdad frozen, but for the moment, there was nothing he could do about that. And until he could, he would just have to deal with Sarah. He hoped he could come up with a different plan to get the alien to help them before Leo discovered the truth, that he’d lied about the chest. He forced a smile on his face. “We better get going.”
They traipsed out of the cavern and down a stone corridor that quickly led to the beach. The sun felt amazing after the clammy cave, and Marco turned his face skyward for a moment to soak in the warmth.
Sarah trudged at the back.
Marco decided to try to get some answers from Leo. “What is with the weird stuff on this island? There are so many trees that don’t belong. And those freaky animals.”
Nacho looked at Marco and then Leo. “What freaky animals?”
Leo didn’t answer. “It will take too long to explain.”
“Then show us,” said Nacho. “It’ll only take a minute, right?”
Leo stopped and held out his hands. Marco set the tube down and took one, Nacho took the other. He turned and held out his free hand to Sarah. “Leo wants to show us something.”
Sarah scowled at the three boys. Then, she grasped Nacho’s and Marco’s hands, completing the circle and thrusting them into another one of Leo’s memory treks.
The sounds of rushing water greeted them as they stood on the bank of a pool, under a gushing waterfall. Marco recognized it. “We swam here this morning.” But it seemed much longer ago than that.
Around them was nothing but sand. And farther away, a cliff. Marco wondered whether that was where they’d seen the face rock. The day dimmed to night, and above them the stars pressed down. One, brighter than the rest, descended, and landed in the middle of the island.
“My ship,” said Leo.
“Cool!” cried Nacho.
A green mountain grew up around the glowing oblong spaceship, hiding it under the newly minted volcano. “I’ll speed up this next part,” said Leo.
A hum surrounded them, and the night sky quickly swirled overhead, as if on fast-forward. The sun rose and set, the stars whirled above them, countless days and nights raced by.
Marco felt dizzy.
Suddenly, trees of every type—maple, oak, palm, peach—sprouted from the empty ground, and the jungle quickly enclosed the four of them.
Marco could only watch as the days and nights continued to speed by. “What is this?”
Leo said, “Grandfather used his half of the progenitor to speed up the growth. We needed the plants and trees to seed for us to take them back.”
Marco spoke his thoughts aloud. “So that’s why that creep on Cash’s boat didn’t recognize the island. You changed it.”
Leo led them along the bank of the stream and into a clearing.
Before them stood the little cabin they’d seen earlier, only the stairs and porch were pristine and dust-free, the curtains on the windows clean and straight—far from the decrepit place he’d been inside. Marco shivered, remembering the red bird.
Leo said, “We built this. My grandfather wanted me to be off the ship.”
“Had you ever been off the ship before?” asked Marco.
Leo shook his head. “My parents wanted me to have a chance to stand on land in case…” He trailed off.
“In case what?” asked Sarah.
“In case this mission didn’t work and we didn’t make it back home.” Leo waved a hand around. “We lived here. We grew things. Grandfather traveled with the ship to collect every animal species he could. He chose this island as a base because no one ever came here.”
Marco said, “That’s why there are so many trees that don’t belong here.” He wanted to bring up the animals again, but had the feeling Leo would get to that.
Leo nodded. “We’ve been here for over a year, growing different things, making sure we can help them survive on our planet.” He pointed out to sea. “My grandfather and I have been finding everything our planet needs to start again.”
“You mean taking what you need,” said Sarah.
“Yes.” Leo faced Sarah. “But don’t you see? If we can fix our planet, we can help you fix yours. If that time ever comes.”
Sarah and Marco exchanged a glance. Marco wanted to say that things here would never come to that, but realized there was truth to Leo’s words.
Nacho obviously knew it too, because he said, “You mean like climate change. The icebergs are melting. The bees are dying.”
“Well, thanks for that picker upper,” said Sarah.
Nacho shrugged. “Just being honest.” He turned to Leo. “So what happened?”
Leo stared down at his feet. “Growing the plants and trees went well. So did the collection of the animals. But then Grandfather realized he couldn’t find them all.”
Leo’s eyes glittered with tears. “On our ship, each container was already prepared for each species. But when we’d finished, there were still empty containers.”
“What was supposed to go in the empty ones?” Marco’s throat felt thick, and he didn’t want to know the answer.
Leo recited, “The Tasmanian tiger. The passenger pigeon. The Steller’s sea cow. The—”
Nacho interrupted. “Those are all extinct.”
“We figured that out,” said Leo.
“Why didn’t you just go home?” asked Sarah. “You must have hundreds of species.”
“The ship is programmed to take off when those containers are full. And communication between my home ship and here is disrupted by the solar flares of your sun.”
Marco asked, “I thought your technology was advanced.”
“It is,” said Leo. “But our power sources are limited. If we used any more for communication, to overcome the disruption, we’d lose life support. Plus fuel we need to get home. We have no way to tell them that we can’t complete our mission. So Grandfather did the one thing he’d been told not to do.”
“What was that?” asked Sarah.
“He tried to replicate with only half the progenitor.”
Leo released their hands.
Memo
ry over. They were back at the beach.
Leo wandered down to the edge of the water and gazed out onto the waves. The sun was bright, reflecting off the water.
The boy looked so forlorn that Marco felt bad. He picked up the weapon, then went and stood beside Leo. He reached into his pocket and extended his hand out flat, revealing the perfume flacon.
Leo gasped and slowly reached out for it. He took off the top and inhaled. Although Marco didn’t hear them, he knew the words that Leo absorbed. Please come back.
“My mother gave this to me when we left the ship. When I had to leave the cabin so fast, I forgot it.” Leo’s fingers closed around it. “Thank you.”
Sarah joined them. “Why did you have to leave so suddenly?”
Leo said, “There’s one more thing to show you.”
“Are we going to like it?” asked Nacho.
Leo shook his head. “No. Not at all.”
9
Sarah was willing to bet that whatever happened next would not be pleasant to witness.
Ahab barked in the direction of the trees at the edge of the beach.
Sarah dropped to her knees beside him. “You’re fine.”
But the dog began to growl.
Something crashed in the underbrush.
Marco grabbed Sarah and pulled her up. “We need to go!”
Leo and Nacho ran farther down the beach, hugging the tree line. Sarah grabbed Ahab’s collar, but he wouldn’t budge.
Marco said, “Sarah, come on!”
“I’m not leaving him!” She yanked on Ahab’s collar again.
Marco grabbed the dog’s collar too. Finally, Ahab relented and ran with them as they caught up to the other two, who had ducked into the woods.
Leo dodged in between a couple of thick tree trunks. “This way!”
Sarah was nearly breathless when they reached a thick stand of bamboo. Leo slid in and they followed.
Sarah dropped to her knees on the ground, arms around Ahab. The others joined her in the hiding place.
Marco held a finger to his lips.
The crashing continued, growing louder as it neared them.
Sarah’s heart pounded. The boys all had wide eyes, and their chests heaved from their dash off the beach.
All was silent.
