The Neptune Challenge

by Polly Holyoke

  :OW, YOU LITTLE FREAK! I can’t believe you shot me. I’m gonna make you pay for this.:

  :I got him from behind. Nere, Robry, go!: Mako shouts on a private send. :If Sham can still swim, he’s gonna chase me first. I’ll lead him away from your route out.:

  :Make sure he doesn’t catch you,: I tell Mako.

  :He won’t, not with a spear dart through his thigh,: Mako replies. Then I hear him call out to Sham, :Hey, you big moron, I’m back this way.:

  :Help me pull Tobin,: Robry says breathlessly to me. :We can’t get separated in here.:

  I sense Tobin stiffen in pain as we grab him, but he doesn’t say a word as we sprint away from Sham for the door.

  :Left, and then a right, and then another right,: I hear Robry murmuring to himself as he leads us through the dark. I can’t believe he has any idea where we are. I hear Mako taunting Sham again, and Sham swearing angrily as he tries to chase him.

  :One more left should do it,: Robry declares.

  Seconds later, we turn left again and swim hard until I hear Robry’s hand smack into a wall. :The door’s gotta be around here somewhere.:

  I risk using my watch for a half second to scan the wall. :There’s the door handle.: I almost sob with relief. I twist the lever, and moments later, we burst into the corridor. I check both directions for shredders, but the hallway’s clear for the moment.

  :Kalli, Ree, where are you guys?:

  :We’re in Entry Bay Two, waiting for you. No one else is here yet.:

  :Don’t wait for us. This is an order. Go find the Sea Rangers. We’ll follow you as soon as we can.:

  :’Kay, but we’ll be right outside. Call us if you need help,: Ree replies. :Rad’s with us.:

  At least two of my team are safe now. Robry and I sprint down the corridor, pulling Tobin along as fast as we can. I hope Mako’s going to be okay, too.

  Dai dashes out from a corridor on our left. The right side of his face looks swollen, and there’s a makeshift bandage wrapped around his forearm.

  :You guys all right?: he asks.

  :Yeah. Sham came after us, but Mako hid us in the Maze and shot him in the leg,: I reply.

  :Did you get the c-plankton?:

  :This is crammed full of the stuff.: I pat my quiver.

  There’s motion on my right, and suddenly Mako’s swimming beside me.

  :Sham’s not too happy with me right now,: he tells us with a shaky grin. :My spear dart won’t kill him, but he’s gonna have to stop and patch himself up, and that should slow him down some.:

  :Nice job, bro,: Dai says.

  :I’m glad shark beat whale this time,: I tell Mako.

  :Yeah, me too.:

  :Let me and Mako take Tobin. We’ll go faster,: Dai says, and we transfer Tobin over to Dai and Mako as gently as we can. We still jostle Tobin’s hand and he groans.

  :Just keep going,: Tobin urges us.

  :Hang in there,: Robry tells him. :We’ll have you to a medic soon.:

  As we kick as fast as we can for the entry bay, I say to Dai, :I was surprised you came back. I thought you were furious with me.:

  :I wasn’t too thrilled to see you with Tobin, but you did hand me a good excuse to go storming off and lead Wasp away while the Sea Rangers set their mines.:

  :You really want them to destroy Atlantea? This is your father’s dream.:

  :They can bring it down around his ears. My dad wanted to help the world, but he’s too warped and twisted now to help anyone. I have to make sure you’ll be safe from him…and I have to prove to you that I want to be different.:

  :What about Wasp, Whitey, and Sham?:

  :They’re just too violent for Safety Harbor. I hope I’m not, also,: he adds darkly.

  Seconds later, we reach Entry Bay Two. A small sub is moored along the bay’s southern side. Kuron glares at us through its large porthole. He’s wearing a full wetsuit, and I shudder when I see anger in every line of his taut body. Dai freezes when he spots his father. Then he squares his shoulders and swims on into the bay.

  Wasp kneels on the deck next to a torn and bleeding Ocho. Whitey hovers behind them, a loaded speargun in his hand. His face looks strained. Sunny and Shadow are working over Ocho feverishly. I wince when I see he’s missing at least one of his arms, and Sunny has a bandage tied around her leg.

  I sense Whitey is fighting to keep himself under control, and in his cold way, he’s sorry for hurting Ocho.

  :It got pretty ugly back in Entry Bay One,: Dai tells me on a private send. :Whitey bit Ocho, and then a sharkhead ripped off his injured arm. Whitey got himself together, and once we shot enough of the sharkheads, they turned on one another, and we slipped away. Whitey and Wasp must have overheard me telling the rest of us to meet up here, and wanted Shadow and Sunny to help Ocho.:

  :Ochy, I’m so sorry,: I hear Wasp say, tears in her voice. :I never meant for you to get hurt.:

  :I know,: Ocho says. He reaches up one of his unhurt arms to touch her cheek. But then his eyes roll back in his head, and his hand slips from her face as he passes out.

  Her face stricken, Wasp looks up at Shadow. :You have to save him,: she says. :Please, I don’t want him to die.:

  :He’s going to bleed out unless we can get him to their medics,: Shadow says sternly and motions to us. :There’s no one left here who can help him.:

  Wasp glances at the sub. Kuron has vanished from the window. She draws in a deep breath. :Then take Ochy and go,: she says. :I don’t care what the bossman says.:

  Shadow looks away from Wasp and meets my gaze, her eyes full of concern.

  :Good luck, Nere,: she says as she and Sunny gently pick up Ocho. Moments later, they swim out of the bay, towing Ocho between them.

  Once they’re safely away, I realize that Whitey is staring at me malevolently, his loaded speargun pointed right at my gut.

  :Robry and Tobin, you guys should go, too, if Whitey will let you,: I tell them.

  :Yeah, go on and get out,: Whitey growls. :We never wanted any of you here. It’s all about the Neptune princess now. She’s the one who messed with Ice’s head.:

  Robry shoots me a worried look.

  :You’ve got to get Tobin to a medic,: I say quickly. I’m dying to pass Robry my spear-dart quiver, but I’m afraid to draw too much attention to it.

  :W-we can’t leave you here,: Tobin protests, his eyes glazed with pain.

  :Dai and Mako will look out for me. Go!:

  Robry doesn’t waste another second. He grabs Tobin, and an instant later, the two of them disappear over the deck’s edge into the sea.

  “Mako, Dai, and Nere, drop your spearguns now,” I hear a familiar male voice through my ear receivers. “Whitey, if she so much as twitches after she puts her weapon down, shoot the Hanson girl.”

  I turn, shivers tracing down my back. Kuron is hovering by his sub in full dive gear. Through his wide dive mask, I can see his expression is cold and set.

  :WE’D BETTER DO what my dad wants,: Dai says reluctantly.

  I lay my speargun on the deck, and Mako and Dai do the same. Wasp is still gazing after Ocho, but abruptly, she seems to remember herself.

  :This is all your fault.: She turns on me, her mental voice tight. :Just because you came here to get that stupid c-plankton, everything’s ruined.:

  The moment she says c-plankton, I can’t help picturing the canisters I’m carrying. I try to guard my thoughts, but when her eyes narrow, I know I’m a second too late.

  :So you found it after all, and now you’re planning to take it to your daddy. Isn’t that sweet?: she says coldly, and quickly keys the com-pad on her wrist. I’m almost certain she’s telling Kuron about the c-plankton.

  I watch his face, and I can tell the moment he’s read her message on the tiny screen built into his mask. His brows draw together and his dark eyes focus on me.

  “Drop that quiver now, or I will tell Whitey to shoot you in the heart this instant.”

  The frozen menace in Kuron’s tone makes me tremble. When Dai de
liberately swims between Whitey and me, Kuron’s expression tightens.

  Swiftly, I unsling the heavy quiver and lay it on the deck. I don’t want to give Whitey an excuse to shoot either of us.

  “Nere Hanson, how dare you try to steal my wife’s research?” Kuron’s voice is controlled, but I hear the anger vibrating in it. “You, Mako, and my son must be punished for defying me. And Whitey and Wasp, you two have disappointed me as well by letting the other Neptune subjects escape.” He reaches for a small square device on his dive belt.

  :Nere, cover your ears!: Dai cries.

  I see Wasp pale, and she, Mako, and Whitey clap their hands over their ears. Before I can cover my own, Kuron pushes a button on the device.

  Instantly, pulses of sound fill my brain. They are so loud and piercing that they feel like they’re going to tear my head apart. I cover my ears, but that doesn’t help. The sound builds until I’m afraid my eardrums are going to explode.

  I curl into a ball as wave after wave of agony radiates through my head.

  Just when I’m sure I can’t stand the pain a second longer, it vanishes. I stay curled up, panting and gasping and wondering if the pain is going to come again. I open my eyes and look around. Wasp is uncurling herself and looking just as white and shaken as I feel.

  :W-what was that?: I ask Dai, but he’s angrily keying his com-pad. Whitey, I realize with a sinking heart, appears to have recovered the quickest from those sonic pulses and once again has his speargun trained on the three of us.

  :The bossman triggered a sonic emitter on his sub,: Mako answers me bitterly. :We call it ‘the Screamer.’ Originally he designed it to drive orcas away from his research sites, and then he realized it was a great way to punish us, too.:

  “Now I have your full attention,” Kuron declares, “I’m returning to my sub through the smaller airlock. You will follow me inside through the larger airlock immediately, or I will punish you again.”

  Kuron swims for a small round hatch at the bottom of the sub and disappears inside. Dai glances at the edge of the entry deck.

  :Don’t even think about trying to make a break for it, bro,: Whitey warns him. :I’d shoot you in the leg to keep you from going, and then your princess wouldn’t have anyone but Twitchy here to look out for her.:

  After a long, tense moment, Wasp sends us a malicious smile, swims to a large round hatch at the base of the sub, and enters the airlock first. Dai takes my hand and follows her, careful to keep himself between us. Mako follows me, and Whitey brings up the rear with his loaded speargun.

  The airlock is about eight feet long. Inside it looks like a big, round steel pipe with a heavy, watertight door at each end. Whitey swings the outer door closed and seals it shut. The space is small and tight, particularly with five kids filling it. But this is no time for a panic attack. I force myself to take long, steady breaths. I miss Tobin and his humming, but at least the airlock is well lit. Dai squeezes my hand.

  :My dad can’t use the sonic emitter on us in here,: Dai tries to reassure me. :That’s mounted on the outside of his sub.:

  Moments later, the water begins to drain away as pumps push air into the chamber. The pumps stop when the water is sloshing around Dai’s shoulders and my neck.

  “We figured this out years ago,” Dai explains. “If my dad really wants to talk to me, this is one of the few ways I can still breathe, talk, and hear him at the same time.”

  Kuron appears at the window in the middle of the airlock. His expression is still cold, but I can sense the waves of fury radiating from him.

  “You’ve removed your collars.” His deep voice issues clearly from a nearby speaker. “How did this happen?”

  “Rad threw the kill switch,” Dai replies. “And though I doubt his life matters to you, he managed to survive your nasty little experiment.”

  “So he cared enough about the rest of you to risk his life,” Kuron muses. “I thought he was so unremarkable. There’s little in the boy’s psychological profile to suggest he would be capable of such sacrifice.”

  “I guess that just goes to show how useless your profiles are,” Dai taunts him.

  The moment Rad reached for the kill switch replays itself in my mind. “If you’d taken the time to get to know him,” I retort, “you’d know how remarkable Rad is. He’s one of the kindest and bravest of all your kids.”

  Kuron looks at me as if I’m some kind of insect. “Wasp is right. This Hanson girl is a dangerous instigator.”

  “Sir, when we returned just now,” Wasp interjects, “Dai was about to run away with her to her father’s colony.”

  “Is this true?” For the first time, Kuron appears startled.

  “Absolutely,” Dai flings at him.

  “You would leave me and everything I’ve built for you here?” The surprise in Kuron’s eyes is quickly replaced by rage again. “You’re my perfect prototype. The others all have defects, but in you, I finally succeeded in creating the ideal human to rule the ocean.”

  “I’ve got some news for you, Dad,” Dai drawls. “I’m not perfect and I really don’t want to rule anything. I’m leaving now with Nere and her friends, and I’m not coming back.”

  “You dare to defy me?”

  “Not us, sir,” Wasp breaks in. “Whitey and me, we’re with you all the way.”

  I do not like the way this conversation’s going. Suddenly, I remember the Sea Rangers and their mines. Reaching out to Rohan, I say, :We could really use a diversion to help us get out of here. Could you blow the mines on the landward side of the fortress right now?:

  :You got it. We’ll set those off, but they shouldn’t put you in any danger,: Rohan responds immediately.

  Seconds later, I feel the airlock shake.

  “Sir, they’re detonating the mines I warned you about,” Wasp cries, “and she told them to do it.”

  “But they can’t strike against me,” Kuron says wrathfully. “Don’t they understand? My son and I are the future of the sea. We are the future of the world.”

  I stare at him in disbelief. Is Kuron really such an egomaniac that he can’t believe his fortress is under attack?

  “We’re not the future of anything,” Dai says, shaking his head. “You’re crazy and I’m a half-shark mutate who’s almost as dangerous as those sharkheads you created.”

  “How dare you speak to me this way? She’s the reason you’ve become even more stubborn and intractable.” Kuron points at me, his expression wild. Another wave of mines detonates, knocking Kuron off his feet and making the airlock shake so much that the water inside it slaps our shoulders and faces.

  “I—I have to save the research in my lab.” Kuron staggers to his feet, looking agitated. He hurries away from the window. “Leave this airlock, kill the Hanson girl, and seize my son,” he calls back to Whitey and Wasp.

  “With pleasure,” Whitey says. His hard, slate gaze is focused on me.

  “Dad, you can’t go to your lab,” Dai cries out. “They’re about to bring the whole place down!” But Kuron doesn’t hesitate, and moments later, he vanishes into the control room of his sub.

  “Looks like your daddy doesn’t care about what you have to say anymore,” Wasp goads Dai as Whitey opens the door to the airlock. He motions us out but keeps his speargun trained on me as Wasp closes the door again.

  Everything seems to be moving in slow motion. I feel numb from my lips to my toes. Are they really about to kill me?

  :Dai?: I reach out with my mind, but I touch only blankness.

  Wasp sends me an evil smile. Clearly she’s blocking us again. Seconds later, the sub roars out of the bay, buffeting us with currents generated by its propellers. Whitey raises his speargun to his shoulder, tracking me carefully despite the currents. Mako stays close by my side. I glance at my quiver. It’s lying on top of our spearguns, just a few feet away.

  Wasp swims toward me with her tentacle-covered fingers spread wide. I sense Dai can’t decide whether to protect me from Whitey or from Wasp.
<
br />   All of a sudden, the lights in the bay flicker and die. The Sea Rangers must have just blown the main generators.

  Instantly, I dive to the deck. A spear dart burns across the top of my shoulder. I flinch but still manage to grab the quiver. A strong hand grasps my own, and Dai pulls me out of the bay and into the sea.

  :Bro, I’m not going to let you leave with her!: Whitey roars.

  :Then you’re going to have to kill us both,: Dai yells as he tows me away from Atlantea, his legs kicking incredibly fast. When the lights went out, Wasp must have been distracted enough to drop her mental block, because I can hear Dai clearly now.

  :I smell blood. Whitey get you with the speargun?: Dai asks me.

  :Yeah.:

  :Is it bad?:

  :It looks like a graze.: Now that we’re out in the water below the fortress, I can see again.

  :At least he has to reload now.:

  Out of the corner of my eye, I see a blur of gray hurtling toward me. I forgot about Mako and the fact that I’m bleeding. Instinctively, I raise my right hand to ward him off. A second later, I hear a terrible thud as Dai throws Mako away from me.

  :Stop it, Mako. You’re not an animal!: Dai shouts.

  Mako flashes around to face us.

  :I wasn’t gonna hurt her, Ice. I was gonna help you protect her.: The stricken expression on Mako’s face tears at me.

  Hastily I lower my arm. :I’m sorry, Mako, I should’ve known.:

  :But you didn’t and Ice didn’t. I’m not an animal.:

  With a determined look, he turns back toward the bay. Whitey charges out, his speargun loaded. There’s no sign of Wasp yet, but I know she can’t be far behind.

  Mako launches himself straight at Whitey.

  :No, Mako!: I cry.

  :Go on, Ice, you and Nere get outta here,: he calls to us.

  Whitey fires at him, but Mako twists out of the path of the speeding dart just in time. He strikes Whitey’s face with both of his fists and then flashes away before Whitey can grab him.

  :We can’t leave Mako to fight Whitey all by himself,: I shout at Dai.

  :I’ll circle back to help him, but I want you out of here first.: Dai starts towing me away from the fortress again. Bright flashes flare in the distance, and deep thunder from the Sea Rangers’ mines rumbles through the water.