Sebastian did as he was told.
“We’re landing in Seoul, South Korea. We’re changing planes. I’m going to need you to be as helpful as possible, yes? We can’t have you causing us any trouble, okay?”
Sebastian nodded. Why would he be any trouble? He was the least troublesome person he knew. And that included Sam Dunsmore, who had won the Least Troublesome Student award three times in a row now at school.*1
Lurch!
Mr. M was flung back into his seat. Oh. Oh, wait. Sebastian now recalled his train of thought from before. Wasn’t he supposed to escape? Wasn’t that the plan he’d made? He really oughtn’t to have made that “not causing any trouble” promise just now.
Then again, it had been a week of breaking rules and being inappropriate. And surely promises to kidnappers were meant to be broken. In fact, he now marveled that Mr. M would want him to make a promise in the first place. Surely the man knew that Sebastian was under no obligation to keep it. This was an every-man-for-himself situation. Every boy for himself too, for that matter.
Lurch!
Ding!*2
The door to the cockpit flew open, and Mr. K with the melted face staggered out, stumbling to a seat at the front of the plane. But not without giving Sebastian one of his trademark glares.
Sebastian wondered if they’d all taken a class in glaring or if maybe that was why they’d each gotten the job. For their glaring skills.
Suddenly he felt his head spin and his ears pop. Sebastian glanced out the window and expected to see more of that same blackness of water he’d become so familiar with. But wait. He could now see some lights of a city in the far distance. He pressed his face against the glass to see directly below them and could make out the dotted lights of a runway. Well, that was good, at least. It didn’t make him feel any safer, but he liked that no one below was in danger of a plane landing on top of them or anything.
He took in a deep breath and tried to calm himself.
Don’t throw up, don’t throw up.
Lurch!
The air pressure in the cabin was heavy. It almost felt like someone had his head between their hands and was squeezing. Hard. The lights of the airport were flying past now in a blur. He could tell the plane was getting lower and lower. It had to be slowing down for landing, but the proximity to objects flying by the window and not just blackness made the speed they were traveling at seem so much faster than before. Sebastian took quick stock of his surroundings. They hadn’t had the usual safety instructions before taking off. He didn’t know where the emergency exits were! He suddenly felt compelled to find out. Finding out was both rash and rational, considering the circumstances. He unbuckled his seat belt and stood.
“What do you think you’re doing?” shouted Mr. K from the front of the plane.
Sebastian tottered forward and found that the exit nearest him was one row away. He didn’t care that Mr. I had turned in his seat and was staring at him. Nor that Mr. M shouted out, “The ding! The ding happened! You can’t ignore the ding!”
Sebastian stumbled up a row and fell into the chair beside the exit. The presence of the red lever that opened the door was like a lifesaver. Not even like a lifesaver. It actually was one. He felt so much better.
“Your seat belt!” said Mr. M, and Sebastian nodded. He quickly did up his new seat belt.
Lurch!
The world outside his window was almost parallel to them now. They were almost there.
“Brace yourself,” said Mr. M from across the aisle.
Once more taking Mr. M’s instructions to heart, Sebastian placed a hand on each armrest and pushed himself down into his seat as hard as he could.
He stared out the window in the door. He stared at the red lever. He thought about Evie for a moment. Then about Myrtle. Then he thought about his parents and if he’d ever see them again. About his brother and sister. About Arthur, his cousin and best friend. Then he thought about Alistair. About him being Evie’s only family now that she was an orphan, the only child of two people who had passed away a few years earlier. About how before she’d discovered he was alive, she hadn’t had anyone. What was it like to not have a family?
Then he thought about himself. About maybe not making it. About all the adventures he had never had because he had never known he’d wanted to have them. How unfair it was that just as he was starting to learn about himself in ways he had never expected, it was going to be all over. How maybe thrilling things weren’t so thrilling if they stopped being. If they ended. Abruptly. Painfully.
Lurch!
Thud!
Sebastian’s head snapped back, and his teeth knocked hard against each other as the plane made contact with the ground. It was amazing just how hard ground could be, when you thought about it. Way harder than air, that was for sure.
The plane raced forward while slowing down at the same time. The rush of sound that greeted the landing, of tires on cement and air whooshing past, and the one remaining engine overheating, was intensely terrifying. It was only as they slowed further that Sebastian realized how quiet everything was inside the plane itself. Not a sound from any of the Mr.’s. Not a sound from the pilot. Possibly, like Sebastian, they were all listening to the frantic thudding of their hearts, their elevated breathing rate. Possibly they too were thinking about themselves and adventures and things that they hadn’t done. Like maybe getting Sebastian somewhere and making him decipher a mysterious map.
Or something.
The plane slowed down to the point where it felt as if they were in a car, casually driving around the tarmac. Sebastian saw the airport, not so far off—curved, sleek, and modern, almost like a large alien spaceship had landed and decided to just stick around. A few larger planes sat quietly at their gates, waiting for their passengers. The bright lights illuminated the inside of the building, creating a tiny movie in the distance as small people-shaped silhouettes passed by the windows. Sebastian wondered if those people had seen them land, had seen the drama. If it had even looked dramatic from where they were standing.
The plane got slower and slower.
The plane stopped.
Ding!
Sebastian glanced up. The little seat belt light was off: Hey, guys! Guess what. Just letting y’all know it’s safe to undo your seat belts now!
So he did.
“That was…something,” said Mr. M. He sounded relieved. Probably was relieved.
Sebastian felt it too. He stared at the red emergency lever. Grateful he hadn’t needed to use it. Not really sure he would have known what to do if he had had to. He leaned forward and read the little safety illustration stuck to the door. It gave step-by-step instructions.
“This is your captain speaking. Well, we’re alive. So that’s something.”
We’re alive.
“Kid, what are you doing?” Mr. K called from his seat in the front. Sebastian glanced up and saw the melted man stand and squint at him.
“Nothing.” Which was not entirely true—he had been reading—but it didn’t seem the moment to be so specific.
“You shouldn’t have stood up like that,” said Mr. M, unfastening his seat belt and stretching. “That was dangerous.”
“Forget dangerous. Kid’s gotta learn how to take orders. I’m tired of these rebellious youths who think they don’t need to listen to authority,” replied Mr. K.
Sebastian laughed.
“What was that?” asked Mr. K, his voice low and ominous. He took a step into the aisle.
“Oh, nothing. It’s just funny,” replied Sebastian.
“What is?” asked Mr. M, who sounded sincerely curious.
Sebastian was too overwhelmed, too exhilarated, and too alive to care if his words were a little disrespectful. “You guys thinking I don’t listen to authority and everything. That’s so not me.”
; “Until now,” growled Mr. K.
“Well, I guess,” said Sebastian thoughtfully. “Now that I think about it. I mean, what is ‘authority,’ anyway? Can one just be authoritative, or does one earn authority from others? You guys are scary, totally, and have weapons and can hurt me. But do I respect your authority? Do I think you have any authority over me? It’s more like you guys are bullies than authority figures, really…when you think about it.”
When you think about it.
“Okay, it’s time to shut up now,” said Mr. K.
Sebastian stood. He looked at Mr. K, who was halfway down the aisle, making his way toward Sebastian; at Mr. M sitting a row back, furrowing his one eyebrow. He couldn’t see Mr. I, but he imagined that he would be giving the usual death glare from behind those mirrored glasses.
“No.”
“I gave you an order, kid.”
“I know you did. And I don’t care.”
“Sit down and shut up.”
“Or maybe…,” said Sebastian calmly, “this.”
He turned quickly, wrenched down the red lever, and pushed as hard as he could. The emergency door flew open.
*1 A total popularity contest and not remotely accurate, in Sebastian’s humble opinion.
*2 Or, Hey, guys, just an FYI here: Maybe you want to do that whole seat belt thing just about now? No pressure or anything, though.
“No! Absolutely not!”
“It’s madness!”
“No! No, no, no, no!”
The board members—aside from Myrtle—were on their feet, shouting at each other. Which Evie found both overwhelming and odd, since they were in agreement.
“It wasn’t his fault!” said Catherine loudly. She too was on her feet, pleading with the board members.
“He’s irresponsible!”
“A menace!”
“A disgrace to the profession of explorer!”
“That’s not true!” Evie’s little voice rang out above the fray, and everyone was silent then. “That’s not true. What happened twenty years ago was an accident. I don’t know how you can support Benedict or Catherine but not my grandfather.” She was out of breath but wasn’t sure why.
Llewellyn Tracy looked at her hard. “I don’t trust Catherine or Benedict. But I like them better.”
“Oh, well, then let’s only help out likable people. It’s okay if someone we aren’t personally fond of dies because—because—” Evie was white-hot with rage and stammered, not able to complete her thought. “This isn’t fair. You don’t even know him. You only know what happened, and you blame him because he was their leader. But I think it’s noble that he took on the blame for the tsunami. Especially when everyone’s to blame. They were all in the submarine. They all agreed to fire at the rock wall.” She looked at Catherine for help, then realized that the timing of the look made it seem like she was accusing Catherine of something bad, and that wasn’t her intention at all.
But Catherine nodded, accepting the accusation. “Everyone was to blame,” she said, taking over for Evie. “And everyone was banned from the society. And either you help everyone or you help no one. You can’t pick and choose. Not with this.” She spoke calmly and with poise. Towering over the table as she was, she looked quite formidable.
Everyone slowly took their seats again, each person lost in their own thoughts.
“We need to discuss this,” said Lady Trill, and she leaned in to talk with Llewellyn Tracy and the Hopper in enthusiastic whispers.
Evie was getting tired. She and Catherine didn’t need permission from anyone to rescue Sebastian, Benedict, and her grandfather. She could do it with or without them. But with them would be better. With them, she and Catherine would have a fully funded expedition. Money, while annoying and tedious, was awfully helpful. How she wished she had some of her own! Then she wouldn’t have to try to convince a group of people that her grandfather wasn’t some horrible monster and that he was worth saving. Nobody should ever have to make such an argument in the first place. Not about their own family.
The only family she had left.
The board members pulled away from their huddle and sat, each one with their hands folded in front of them on the table.
“The board has come to a decision. We will fund this mission, the rescue of Sebastian, Benedict, and, yes, Alistair. But in no way are the Filipendulous Five allowed to be members of the society again. And once this whole operation is over and done with, the team will quietly disappear and stop making a nuisance of themselves,” said Lady Trill.
Evie nodded and looked at Catherine, who sat stone-faced.
“Further to that point, we demand that the map, all five pieces of it plus the key, be destroyed once and for all. So that this nonsense never happens again.” Lady Trill paused for a moment. “We will not, however, destroy the submarine’s orb, as it is a remarkable piece of science. It shall instead be locked up and not be quite as easy to access as it evidently once was.” She looked at Catherine for her response.
It took the explorer a moment before she replied. Then, slowly and with some effort, Catherine said: “Sounds fair. Evie?”
For a moment Evie didn’t understand. It wasn’t really up to her to agree or not agree. She wasn’t a member of the Filipendulous Five. But then: “Oh, yes, the orb. I still have it. It’s on my shelf in my room.” She had managed to protect it even when they’d been chased through the society headquarters by the terrifying men. And even though it had been briefly taken from her by Mr. K, that was hardly her fault. Besides, he’d dropped it after Sebastian had burned the key, and she’d kept it safe since then. She felt more than capable of continuing to do so. But it was okay. She trusted the board, even if she wasn’t entirely sure she liked them.
“Then it’s settled. Let this meeting be adjourned,” said Llewellyn Tracy, standing.
“I second the motion,” said Myrtle, rising as well.
“Motion passed,” said the Hopper, bouncing off his chair. “Now get me out of here. I need some tea.”
In short order the three other board members had left, and Catherine, Myrtle, and Evie, still holding the pig in the teeny hat in her arms, were standing alone in the gloomy boardroom.
“That went well. Relatively,” said Catherine quietly.
“All things are relative,” replied Myrtle. She looked at the redhead and then placed her hand on Catherine’s shoulder. Considering how much higher up her shoulders were than stout Myrtle’s, it was a bit of a stretch.
Catherine gave her a small, sad smile, then turned to Evie. “I guess it’s time to book a flight to Australia. Is your passport up-to-date?”
“It is,” said Evie. “My parents always insisted.” You never knew when it was going to be time for an adventure, her mother would always say. Thinking this made her feel both sad and hopeful. How she missed them.
“Oh, I’ve already booked a flight for the two of you. You’d better get packing. It leaves in three hours,” said Myrtle.
“You booked us a flight?” asked Evie, astonished.
“And a bus from Cairns to Creaky Cove. And you have a reservation in a lovely-sounding little inn called the Outlook,” added Myrtle. Myrtle glanced at the pig. “Of course, you’ll have to leave that behind.” The pig gave a tiny offended snort.
Evie looked down at it. It had been a great comfort, but of course, taking a pig in a teeny hat along on such an adventure didn’t make sense. It would only be in the way. The pig stared up at her, and then, after a moment, its expression changed to one that meant either that it understood the situation or that it was feeling hungry.
Evie looked back to Myrtle, still confused. “But…how were you able to arrange all that?”
“I have some pocket change,” said Myrtle, leading the way to the door. “If the board had said no, I still would have helped you out.
”
“But why? You hate the team more than anyone else does,” said Evie.
“That’s true.”
“Then why?”
Myrtle held the door open for Evie and Catherine, and once they’d passed through, she turned out the light in the boardroom.
“Because it’s the right thing to do.”
A slide inflated immediately after the door handle had been activated, and Sebastian was grateful because he hadn’t even waited to see how far down the ground was before he’d launched himself out through the door. Landing on the rubbery slide had felt almost like a miracle, and it was only then that he had realized how insane he’d been to leap before he looked.
But he didn’t have much time to think about it, and certainly no time to look behind him. He landed at the bottom. The momentum brought him quickly to his feet, and then he was off running. He didn’t know where he was going except toward the warmly lit airport in front of him, toward the glass walls and the large airplanes and the airport workers loading and unloading baggage. He ran as fast as he could, wondering if the three men in black were on his heels or if he looked like some crazy kid running around for no reason. He didn’t really care. All he could think was, if he could lose them in the airport, he could find a flight back home. And all this would be a happy memory, some story he could tell Evie and Catherine when he got home. That time he was kidnapped and taken to South Korea.
He flew past a baggage handler, who stared at him. Then Sebastian ran through the sliding glass doors into the airport. He looked around, and it was at this moment that he finally glanced back. All three of the men were charging him fast, but he was relieved to see that they appeared to have left their weapons on the plane. Considering that airport security was so tight that having a too-big bottle of liquid was considered a threat, Sebastian wasn’t surprised. But he was relieved.
Also he really had to start running again.
So he did. He ran to the left and through a solid-looking door into a service hallway, low and gray but wide enough to drive luggage trucks through. Like the truck that was coming for him right now. Sebastian flattened himself against the wall and watched as the truck sped past. That would hold up the men chasing him for a moment, at the very least.
The Reckless Rescue Page 3
