by S.A. Bodeen
Sarah’s eyes widened, but Marco didn’t look at her again. Why was he being evasive? Why didn’t he just tell her the truth? But she didn’t have any more time to wonder, because Yvonna winced. “Help me up, quick.”
Marco and Nacho each took an arm and pulled her to her feet. Yvonna took a few rapid, shaky steps, then dropped to her knees and heaved into the bushes.
Sarah stood up and turned away. Her stepmother couldn’t possibly still be seasick, could she? Even food poisoning should have run its course by now, she was pretty sure. She glanced back at them.
Marco bent over his mom and rubbed her back, murmuring something. Suddenly, hot tears stung Sarah’s eyes and she whirled around, moving a few steps away. At the moment, she didn’t have a mother or a father. And she really could have used one, just then. Not a stepmother who was barfing everywhere. She leaned down to pet Ahab. “At least I have you.”
Yvonna called, “Sarah?”
Sarah swung around.
Yvonna was back on her feet, leaning on Marco and Nacho. Yvonna held out a hand to Sarah. “Sweetie, are you okay?”
Sarah closed the gap in seconds and flung her arms around her stepmother’s waist. “Don’t die!”
Yvonna’s arms circled Sarah, one hand slipping up to stroke her hair. She chuckled slightly. “That’s not going to happen.”
Sarah wanted to say so much. How she’d seen her own mom get sick, throwing up much of the time. She didn’t see how Yvonna could possibly know she wouldn’t die. “But what’s wrong with you?” She stepped back, wiping tears from her face with one hand.
Marco took his mom’s arm. “You should sit back down.”
He and Nacho led her back to the blanket, and when she was once again lying down, she looked from Sarah to Marco to Nacho. “I promise, I’m not dying. I’ve had this before.” She shrugged a bit. “Twice, in fact.”
Nacho asked, “And you got better?”
Yvonna laughed weakly. She rubbed Nacho’s hair and took Sarah’s hand. “You three are going to have a little brother or sister.”
Sarah jerked back her hand.
Marco’s eyes widened. “What?”
Sarah had no words. Seriously? They were shipwrecked, a misguided amphibious alien freeze-dried her dad, and now her stepmother was pregnant? Her knees buckled and she dropped to the sand. Ahab plopped down beside her.
Yvonna covered her mouth. Marco grabbed her arm and pulled her up. She barely made it to the bushes before getting sick again.
When she finished, Sarah asked, “So it’s morning sickness?”
Yvonna sat back down. “More like all day long. With Nacho, I—” She stopped.
Nacho frowned. “What did I do?”
“Oh, sweetie, nothing. It wasn’t your fault.” His mom said, “I ended up dehydrated and had to go to the hospital.” She quickly shook her head. “That won’t happen though.”
Sarah stopped her own train of selfish thoughts. She got to her feet, found the nearest bottle of water, and took it to her stepmother. She wasn’t thrilled by the idea of a baby, but did not relish the thought of being without yet another adult. As much as she didn’t want to admit it, they—she—needed Yvonna. “You should drink.”
Yvonna nodded. “I’ve been trying.”
“What did they do in the hospital?” Marco’s forehead wrinkled, his lips drawn downward.
Sarah realized he was really worried about his mom.
“They gave me IVs.” Yvonna held up the bottle of water. “This will have to do.”
“We have to get off this island.” Sarah met Marco’s gaze. “But first we have to tell you about Dad.” She scooted closer to Yvonna. Marco sat next to his mom, who reached out and squeezed his knee.
Marco said, “We found the cave. The one that Cash told us about.”
“Where is Cash?” asked his mom.
“Down on the beach. But, Mom, everything she told us was true.”
“Except that it wasn’t exactly a cave. Not like the one we all slept in,” said Sarah.
Yvonna frowned. “What exactly was it?” She glanced the way they’d come. “And, Sarah, when’s your dad coming?”
Sarah chewed on the inside of her lip. She had a feeling her stepmother was not going to believe them.
Marco cleared his throat. “It was sort of a spaceship.”
Yvonna rolled her eyes. “Okay. Fine.” She called out weakly, “John! Very funny. You can come out now.”
Sarah said, “We’re serious.”
Yvonna shook her head. “I know you’re trying to pass the time and have some fun, but I really feel lousy and I just need John to be here right now.” She clapped her hand over her mouth and tried to stand up, but collapsed on her side instead and vomited in the sand beside the blanket.
Sarah quickly stood and walked away, Ahab beside her. But the retching sounds followed. As did the worry about how they were going to go about finding help for Yvonna. And of course, the biggest worry of all: Would they ever get themselves off the island? She needed her dad and she needed him now. And she would do whatever it took to get him back as soon as possible.
12
Marco stayed with his mom until she was asleep, then went to check on the others. Nacho had gone back to the beach to check on Cash and Leo, and from what he could see, his brother and the other two seemed to be getting along. He noticed Sarah, sitting with Ahab under one of the monkey pod trees.
He walked over to her. “My mom’s asleep.”
Sarah gazed up at him. “We need to get my dad and we need to get off this island.”
Marco nodded. “I know. I guess telling her the truth about your dad didn’t help much.”
Sarah shook her head. “Doesn’t matter. She’s too sick to help anyway.”
Marco chuckled a little.
Sarah frowned. “It’s funny that she’s sick?”
“No.” Marco dropped to the ground and sat cross-legged. He rubbed Ahab’s neck. “A baby. That’s kind of funny.”
“I don’t think it’s funny.” Sarah scowled. “I don’t think any of this is funny.”
All this time Marco had it in the back of his mind that Sarah and John were temporary. If they could survive this trip, get back home, then his mom would admit the whole thing was a mistake. The shipwreck of a trip was an exclamation point to the disaster of a marriage.
But … a baby? A baby was the opposite of temporary.
Marco laughed then, a real laugh.
Sarah raised her eyebrows at him.
He gasped through his laughter, “Don’t you get it? I thought this whole mess would tear them apart.”
The corners of Sarah’s mouth turned up. “I thought we’d get back and never have to see each other again.”
Marco laughed. “But now. A baby.”
“I’m never getting rid of you.” Sarah laughed. “You know what else totally isn’t funny?”
“What?” Marco could barely get the word out.
Sarah bent over, laughing, then finally spit out, “What happens when Leo finds out we don’t have his progenitor?” She took a gasping breath. “How will we get my dad out then?”
Marco laughed more. “What if a boat never comes? And we have to live here forever?”
They laughed, neither able to get another word out. Ahab’s tail wagged.
Finally, Sarah giggled one more time, then slashed her hand across her neck. “Okay. Done now.” She sighed and set a hand on Ahab’s head. “But seriously. What will we do when Leo finds out?”
Marco swallowed. He hadn’t really wanted to ask that question; he was afraid of what the answer would be. “We’ll have to trick him, somehow.” He glanced at his mom, who was still sleeping. “I guess we sit here and figure it out.”
Sarah pointed. “What’s that?”
Marco swiveled in the direction she was pointing. The book he’d carried up from the beach lay in the sand. “Oh, I pulled it off the Moonflight. Cash had it.”
Sarah retrieved the book, then
plopped back down and started to page through it. Ahab pushed his nose into it, and she gently shoved him aside. “Have you read it?” Then she rolled her eyes. “Oh, right. Dumb question. You don’t read.”
“I read.” Marco frowned. “I read your Harry Potter on the plane.”
She raised her eyebrows. “You did?”
He nodded.
She frowned a little. “Why didn’t you tell me before?”
“I didn’t want you to be right.” Marco shrugged. “Or I guess I didn’t want to give you the satisfaction of being right.”
She grinned. “So you liked it?”
“Yeah. But I didn’t want you to know that…” He stopped, unsure he trusted her enough to tell her.
“What?”
“I’ve never been a big reader, but not because I don’t like the stories. Reading has always been hard for me.” He swallowed. “It’s better than it used to be. It helps if the book is really interesting.”
Sarah sucked on her lower lip for a moment. “I’m sorry that I made such a big deal about you not reading Harry Potter before.”
“Doesn’t matter.” Marco smiled. “I plan on borrowing the rest when we get back home. But then you have to watch the movies with me.”
“It’s a deal.” Sarah dropped her head back down to read. “So this is actually kind of cool. All these treasures that are supposed to exist, but the people who lost them are the only ones who seem to have ever seen them.”
“Like what kind of treasures?” asked Marco.
Sarah set a finger on a page. “Well, like the Ark of the Covenant from the Bible for one.”
“Like in that old Indiana Jones movie?” asked Marco.
Sarah nodded. “But it’s supposed to be real. And it’s in Ethiopia.”
Marco had had enough of having to believe things that seemed impossible. He was done for the day. He dropped to his side and rested his head on his arm. He yawned and shut his eyes as he heard another page turn.
Sarah said, “Here’s another one. Some samurai sword that is supposed to be magic.”
Another page flipped.
Marco was so tired he began to doze off.
Sarah kept talking. “Here’s a tribe that claims they were visited by aliens. The aliens gave them a gift, but treasure hunters stole it and it’s never been seen again.…”
Silence. No more pages.
“Marco.”
He sighed. “What?”
“Get this. The tribe says the aliens were mermaids—and mermen.”
Marco’s eyes snapped open. “Did you say mermaids?”
Sarah pointed. “Does that look familiar to you?”
Marco sat up and grabbed the book from Sarah. A black-and-white drawing filled the two-page spread. A wooden box, with intricate drawings and ancient lettering. Lettering he had seen before.
His eyes locked with Sarah’s. She quickly jumped up and ran over to the chest from the Moonflight. She yanked the towel off just as Marco got there, Ahab panting at his side.
His heart began to pound. “Oh, wow.”
The two stood there, gazes shifting between the drawing and the chest.
They were the same.
Marco hesitated. Or did he only wish they were the same? He asked Sarah, “It’s the same, right?”
“It’s definitely the same.” Sarah had a funny look on her face. “I think Cash saw it before. I think this is what the bad guy on her boat was looking for. He, or someone else, stole it from the tribe in Africa and brought it here. He had to leave it when he was rescued. But then he didn’t recognize the island because of what Leo and his grandfather did.”
Marco swallowed. “Do you know what this means?”
Sarah smiled. “You weren’t lying to Leo at all. This is the other half of the progenitor. Leo can make what he needs to fill the containers and let my dad go!”
13
Sarah grabbed Marco’s arm. “We have to show Leo.”
“I’ll go get them.” Marco ran off toward the others.
Sarah grinned and hugged Ahab as her head swam with possibilities. “We can get my dad out!” Then they could help Leo fill the containers. Then maybe he could use the progenitor to make them a boat and they could all go home.
Nacho and Leo jogged toward her, as Marco slowly led Cash behind them. Sarah asked her, “Are you okay?”
Cash shrugged. “I’m a little freaked out right now after what he showed me.”
Nacho asked, “You could see?”
Cash nodded. “Like it was a dream or something, inside my head. And—”
“What?” asked Sarah.
“I understand a little bit why he did it,” said Cash. “But I’m still mad.”
Leo looked uncomfortable.
Sarah told him, “We have something for you.” She stepped aside.
Leo’s eyes narrowed as he leaned forward and ran his fingers over the carved symbols on the chest. “This is my language.”
“Is it the progenitor?” asked Marco.
“I don’t know.” Leo dropped to his knees beside the chest, peering closely. He rested one webbed hand on the top. “We must open it.”
Marco said, “I tried before. No luck.”
Leo’s lips moved slightly as he looked at the words.
Sarah whispered, “Is he reading it?”
Leo looked up at her. “I can hear you.”
Sarah shrugged. “Sorry, just wondered.”
“What’s happening?” asked Cash.
Sarah said, “The chest from the boat. We think it might be what Leo’s looking for.”
Leo said, “It’s my language, but an earlier version of it. It’s not easy.”
“Do you know what it says?” asked Nacho.
Leo shook his head. “Not yet. I think the words might be some kind of directions.”
“Directions to what?” asked Marco.
“Directions on how to open it.” Leo went back to running his fingers over the carvings.
Nacho said, “Maybe we should leave him alone.” He took Cash’s elbow. “Let’s go see how the fire is.”
“I think I let it go out,” said Cash.
“Then I’ll build us a new one,” said Nacho.
Marco said, “I’m going to check on my mom.”
Sarah and Ahab followed him the short distance to where Yvonna lay on the blanket.
Marco knelt beside her. “Mom?”
Her eyes opened and she smiled. “Help me sit up?”
Sarah went to her other side and held her elbow. They pulled until she was upright. Yvonna hugged her knees and set her head sideways on them. “Is John back yet?”
“No,” said Marco.
Since hearing about the baby, Sarah had been thinking so many things. For one, it was like Marco said, they could no longer expect they would be going their separate ways. A baby was something that brought families together, not split them apart. And if Yvonna was only after her dad’s money, she wouldn’t be happy about having a baby.
Sarah had to admit that maybe she was wrong about Yvonna. Maybe her dad had found someone to love who truly loved him back.
Sarah didn’t want to worry Yvonna about her dad until they had to. So she said, “He’ll be back soon.” She picked up the bottle of water that lay beside her. “A drink?”
Yvonna nodded and took a swig from the bottle. Her hair was damp, loose tendrils of it stuck down around her glistening, sweaty face. “I’m so hot.”
Marco asked, “Do you want to go in the water?”
Sarah shook her head and widened her eyes at him. They couldn’t let her go in the water, not without knowing where that sharkodile was. “I could bring you some. To soak your feet in.” Of course, that meant she had to go in the water. But she would do it.
Yvonna shook her head. “No. I think I just want to lie down again.”
“Are you feeling any better?” asked Marco.
Sarah hoped she would say yes.
Instead, her stepmother set a hand on her
forehead. “I’m so dizzy.” Marco quickly helped her lie down. By the time she fell asleep, Sarah realized they would have to add getting help for her to the list of everything else on their list of impossible tasks.
Marco whispered, “She’s not getting better. She needs an IV or some kind of hydration she can keep down.”
Nacho came over. “Leo thinks he figured out how to open the chest.”
Sarah exchanged a glance with Marco. She hoped that the progenitor was in the chest so that she could get her dad back. And then, perhaps, they could escape the island and get help for Yvonna.
Marco trudged over to the chest.
Sarah wondered why he wasn’t more excited. If, as they all hoped, the progenitor was truly in there, then Leo could get home. And, before he left, he would set her dad free.
All good things, in her opinion. But maybe Marco was just really worried about his mom.
Sarah hoped there was something in that chest to be able to help Yvonna. She told Leo, “Go ahead. Open it!”
Leo looked around at all of them. “I need you to look away.”
“Why?” asked Nacho.
Leo didn’t answer at first.
“I feel like you’re not telling us something,” said Marco.
Leo shrugged. “I don’t actually know if you can look at it or not. I just blurred it in the memory in case it would harm you in some way.”
He had been protecting them. They hadn’t given him a lot of reason to trust them, yet he truly seemed to be concerned for their well-being. Sarah reached out and touched his arm. “Thanks. For caring about us.”
Leo said, “So, maybe you all should turn away. Until I see what’s in here.”
Marco crossed his arms and looked into the distance.
Cash said, “What I don’t get is how this chest, if it is what Leo needs, ended up on this island?”
Marco said, “I hauled it off the Moonflight. I don’t know where the captain got it.”
Sarah blurted out, “Leo!”
Leo stopped what he was doing.
She said, “You said you traced the other half of the progenitor here, right?”
He nodded. “But it wasn’t here.” He set a hand on the chest. “This was not on the island.”
Sarah looked over at Marco. “Captain Norm had been to this island before. We found Ahab’s tags, so we know he was here before. What if this chest was here and he took it?”
