The Reckless Rescue

by Adrienne Kress

  “The beach?” Ruby asked as Catherine and Evie stood.

  “Sure,” said Catherine.

  They crossed the street, not needing to look both ways because no one was coming, and made their way onto the wooden boardwalk. They started to walk north along the shore. Evie couldn’t help but gaze out at the water as they did.

  “What do you know about Benedict?” asked Catherine.

  “I know he’s a professor. I know he wanted to photograph the volcano,” replied Ruby. Evie glanced at her, and there was a look in Ruby’s eyes that made Evie think something had been left unsaid.

  Catherine seemed to think so too. “What else?”

  Ruby was quiet for a moment. Then: “I know he and my father knew each other from before. I know…something about a team he used to work for.”

  “Work with,” corrected Catherine. She said it again, only this time more quietly, to herself. “Work with.”

  “With,” repeated Ruby. “I don’t remember the name; it was a tongue twister. I just remember that there were five of them.”

  “The Filipendulous Five,” said Catherine.

  “That’s it! Yes, that’s the name.” Ruby looked at Catherine, who kept her eyes trained forward. And Evie looked at Ruby and then back to Catherine. She wondered what Catherine was looking at. She kind of thought it likely wasn’t the boardwalk or the dark green trees. It probably wasn’t something even in the present. A memory, maybe, instead.

  “I’m one of them,” said Catherine. “Was one of them.”

  “Oh. Oh, wow,” said Ruby softly.

  “And we really need to talk to Benedict because he’s in trouble!” blurted out Evie. Now Evie knew exactly what Catherine was looking at, because Catherine had turned her head and was staring at Evie hard. “Sorry. It’s just…it’s true.”

  It was, it was true. It might be true. If the men were on their way to find him. But even if it wasn’t true right this instant, it would become true in time. They needed his piece of the map.

  “Why? What’s going on?” asked Ruby.

  Catherine shook her head. “I’ve taken a big enough risk as it is; I can’t share that information with you. Not yet.”

  “You want to speak to my dad,” said Ruby.

  “I do.”

  “I can’t promise he’ll be helpful. He has really isolated himself lately.” Evie saw the sadness in Ruby’s face and felt sorry for her.

  “It’s a start. We know you can’t guarantee anything.”

  Ruby nodded. “I can take you there this afternoon.”

  They stopped walking then and gazed out into the water. “Thank you,” said Catherine.

  “Yes! Thank you so much!” added Evie. This was good. It was a small step. Besides, once they met with Thom, surely he’d understand and want to help them out. They weren’t just tourists or anything. They were on a serious mission! Lifesaving, even, possibly. “Hey, is that a dolphin?” she asked, just then noticing a gray smudge quite a ways out to sea.

  She pointed, and both women squinted to look. Then Ruby sighed. It was a hard sigh, a frustrated sigh. Almost angry, even. “No. No, that’s not a dolphin. That’s Steve.”

  “Who’s Steve?” asked Evie.

  “Steve is the great white shark that’s been stalking our cove for the last two weeks.”

  Evie instinctively took a step backward even though they were very far away from it and on land, of course.

  “Yeah, he showed up about eighteen days ago and hasn’t left,” continued Ruby. “Had to shut down the beach, and word’s got out. It was like someone closed an invisible door on us. No tourists, no hotel bookings. If this lasts much longer, the town’s going to be in a lot of trouble.”

  “It’s quite unusual that he’s just sticking around like this,” said Catherine. And with quite the opposite instinct from Evie, she took a step forward. “I wonder what he’s looking for.”

  “We don’t know. A marine biologist went to check him out and said he looks fed and healthy. Maybe he just likes it here. I hope not. I hope he gets tired soon.”

  Evie watched Catherine stare intently at the creature. Even though she didn’t think Catherine was actually capable of talking to animals, since that wasn’t a thing people could do, she remembered how effortlessly Catherine had communicated with the pig in the teeny hat and the other animals in the rather eccentric and scatterbrained Hubert’s room at the Society headquarters. And then of course there was that huge snake at the zoo….

  Was Catherine thinking of taking a swim and having a little chat? No, that was too much risk, surely, even for her. Besides, they didn’t have time for that.

  “Look, I’ve got to get back to the inn,” said Ruby, glancing at her watch. “Let’s meet in the foyer around two and I’ll take you to Dad.”

  Catherine nodded. “Thank you.”

  Ruby smiled in reply, and gave Evie a smile as well. Then she turned and made her way up the boardwalk and back toward the inn.

  “Well, that’s good, uh, that she’s going to…help…us….” Evie slowly stopped speaking when she noticed that Catherine wasn’t really listening. In fact, she was walking away from her onto the sand. Evie tried to catch up as the explorer stepped down to the edge of the water. The wind was still pretty strong, but the waves had calmed down a bit. Small ones broke against the shore, leaving a foamy trail upon their retreat. Evie didn’t want to get too close. She wasn’t sure exactly how close to shore sharks swam.

  “Great white sharks are fascinating creatures. Mostly because we still know so little about them. They also have such unfortunate reputations. They so rarely attack humans, and when they do, it is even rarer that the attacks are fatal,” said Catherine in a kind of soft low voice. It almost sounded dreamy.

  “Well, but they are really scary-looking. They’re huge, with these dark black eyes, and they have big teeth, so I mean, I get it,” said Evie. Oh boy, how she got it.

  “They have blue eyes when you see one close up. Looks can be deceiving.”

  Evie watched as the fin vanished beneath the surface. All that remained was the bright blue before her. It seemed so welcoming that she wanted to run right in and splash around. But lurking beneath the surface…Looks indeed could be deceiving. “But I mean, this shark’s been stalking the beach, lying in wait for some unsuspecting surfer or at least local fish. It seems pretty cold-blooded to me.” She really didn’t get how Catherine couldn’t understand this.

  “Actually, great whites are endotherms.”

  Evie turned and looked at her. Catherine’s short red hair was dancing in the wind, flying out behind her, then across her face, obscuring it, then out again. “What?”

  “These kinds of sharks. They’re partially warm-blooded.”

  “Oh, well, I just meant cold-blooded sort of more metaphorically…like they’re stone-cold killers, but…okay…that’s kind of interesting.” Evie had forgotten that Catherine wasn’t too up on sayings and rhetorical devices.

  “They aren’t, though. They’re just like the rest of us: animals trying to survive.”

  Evie didn’t have anything else to say at the moment. She appreciated what Catherine was saying and knew deep down she was right. But that didn’t make Evie feel any less scared and, certainly when the fin popped up much closer than last time, didn’t make her rush away from the waterline any less quickly.

  Catherine, of course, stayed in place.

  “Hey,” called Evie from farther up the beach now, “so, could I have my grandfather’s letter again? I was thinking maybe I could have a closer look at it while we wait to meet back up with Ruby.”

  Catherine turned around and looked back at her. She nodded and walked up to Evie, handing her the letter. Then, without saying anything, she returned to her spot at the edge of the water.

  Evie thought it was probably best
to leave Catherine alone at this point. Sometimes conversation and other people weren’t wanted. And that was okay.

  So she held the letter close, shielding it from the wind, and made her way back up the beach toward the inn.

  As he did most things in his life, Sebastian also slept with great efficiency. Typically when his head hit the pillow, he immediately fell into a deep slumber. He went through the appropriate number of REM cycles before he woke up—just before his alarm clock went off—feeling refreshed and ready to face the day.*1 So it was no small surprise when Sebastian found himself being shaken quite hard out of what was the deepest part of the REM cycle into a state of not sleeping. That is to say, when Kwan shook him to wake him up.

  “What? What’s going on?” asked Sebastian groggily. The world around him was hazy. His eyes wouldn’t quite open wide enough to see beyond their lashes.

  “Time to get up! Breakfast, then workout!” said Kwan with a perky smile. Sebastian sat up slowly on his sofa, still in a daze, marveling at how downright chipper Kwan seemed. And chipper was not a thing Sebastian normally marveled at people being.

  “What time is it?” asked Sebastian, rubbing his eyes, then opening them wide and blinking a few times.

  “Eight a.m.,” replied Kwan. He was staring into his closet at the most impressive collection of sneakers Sebastian had ever seen. He had pairs in every color imaginable and also some in colors that weren’t. They were stacked neatly row above row, like in a shoe store. Could one even wear that many shoes in a lifetime? Well, yes, probably, but it was still a lot of shoes. After an intense moment Kwan said, “Aha!” and with pleasure grabbed a pair of white-and-orange sneakers and sat down to put them on.

  “Eight a.m. That’s not so early,” said Sebastian, more to himself. Why was he so tired, then?

  “True. I bet you have a pretty bad case of jet lag, though,” replied Kwan, tying his shoes and then bounding to standing.

  Jet lag. Huh. Sebastian had never experienced that before. Then again, he’d never traveled outside his time zone before, so it made sense. Was jet lag part of exploring? If so, that definitely went on the con side of his mental pros-and-cons list.

  “You ready?” asked Kwan. And seeing as Sebastian was still wearing his clothes from yesterday, seeing as his kidnappers hadn’t given him a chance to pack before his kidnapping, Sebastian nodded. “Great! Come on! We don’t want to be late.”

  Of course, Sebastian’s nod had been to what he’d thought was the question “Are you ready to call home?” It had not, in fact, been a nod in response to whether he was prepared for the rigorous routine he was about to be thrust into. Which was what he had inadvertently said yes to.

  It seemed that the Lost Boys had a very tight schedule that had to be maintained. Sebastian wasn’t surprised. To become a top musical group, you need to put in the work. He was more than a little impressed, watching as they quickly ate breakfast before going to the gym located down the hall, one as large as the gym in Sebastian’s school. All five of the boys seemed wide awake and ready for work.

  “Impressive,” said Sebastian to Suwon as the two of them stood to the side and watched.

  “They’re good boys. Hard workers,” replied Suwon with a smile.

  “They really are,” agreed Sebastian. Then after a pause he said, “Uh, Suwon, about the phone…”

  Suwon waved off his request. “Not now. Later!” He stepped forward and shouted something at the boys, who promptly put down the equipment they were working with and ran to the corner of the room. They stood in a line one behind the other, and then one by one they each performed a series of flips across the room. Of course Toy was the most skillful, able to revolve two, even three times, whereas the others could only do one. Still Sebastian was in awe of all of them. Watching them, he realized that, evidently, gravity was only a suggestion.

  Then it was off to the schoolroom, and Sebastian once again asked after a phone but this time was completely ignored. This second refusal created a knot in his stomach as he sat at one of the desks toward the back of the room, marveling at the same time that this was what it looked like from the back of the room, compared to his usual spot up front. He stared down at the sheet of paper in front of him. It really did seem that these boys never used computers. They didn’t appear to have any access to the Internet, actually. All their lessons were done on paper, though in this case it made sense. On the sheet in front of him were some relatively straightforward equations to solve, and though he was feeling more than a little antsy about his general situation, Sebastian nonetheless solved them quickly and with pleasure. That was a thing he’d always liked about math. It was a universal language.

  “Well done!” said Suwon after he’d read over Sebastian’s answers.

  Sebastian couldn’t help but smile at that. “Thank you!” Now that Suwon was pleased with him, he gave it yet another go: “I was thinking maybe while they all worked on history I could call my parents?”

  Suwon continued to stare at the paper. “You’re very smart. Very smart. And you get along well with the others.” He looked up at Sebastian thoughtfully.

  “I guess so, yeah,” replied Sebastian. That doesn’t actually answer my question, though. The knot in his stomach tightened even more.

  And it only got worse as the day continued. The band members went on with their rigorous routine, lunch followed by singing classes, followed by more school, followed by rehearsing various dance routines they seemed to already know inside and out. As all this happened, and Sebastian followed them from room to room, from activity to activity, his stomach knot grew larger and larger. Or maybe it wasn’t that; maybe it was turning into a row of really tight knots. Like when you tie a piece of fabric and it gets wet and is then impossible to untie. The kind of knot that could moor an entire cruise ship to its dock.

  Because no matter how many different tactics Sebastian tried, whether it was being really friendly or more demanding, Suwon just kept ignoring his request to call home. Sebastian was beginning to think that maybe he hadn’t been rescued at all. Maybe he’d only found a new set of kidnappers. And though these seemed very nice and were ridiculously talented, it didn’t make much of a difference. He was being kept from going home. And he didn’t like that; he didn’t like that one bit.

  After dinner the boys were allowed to relax for a couple of hours. They all sat together in the purple plush recreation room playing video games. But while it looked like they were having a very fun time, Sebastian couldn’t participate. He didn’t have the time for fun. What he needed to do was find a way to a phone, to a computer. A nest of carrier pigeons. To something, anything.

  “Come on, play!” insisted Ujin from the floor in front of the TV, for what seemed like the hundredth time.

  “I’m good, thanks,” replied Sebastian with a small forced smile. Ujin shook his head and returned to killing zombies.

  Kwan came over and sat beside Sebastian on the soft squishy couch. “Something’s wrong? What is it?” he asked.

  Sebastian wanted to share all his thoughts with his new friend. He wanted to explain his concerns about Suwon, how weird it was that the band members weren’t allowed phones or even access to the Internet. How this place was starting to feel more like a prison than a safe haven. But he also didn’t really know Kwan. He didn’t know where the boy’s loyalties lay, and if Sebastian was to guess, he’d assume they’d be with the band and Suwon. Sebastian didn’t want to upset Kwan. More than that, he didn’t want Suwon to find out how uncomfortable he was. Sebastian had no idea what the man might do if he found out.

  “Do you like Suwon?” asked Sebastian carefully.

  Kwan laughed. “What’s not to like?”

  “Oh, nothing. It’s just, I was wondering…he’s the only adult here. Your bodyguards and the driver seem to have left and everything, and he’s in charge of you guys, so I guess it’s importan
t you like him,” said Sebastian, feeling a little awkward.

  Kwan reached for the chip bowl. “Huh. Well, I guess that’s true. I do like him. He’s been very good to me.”

  “That’s good,” replied Sebastian, accepting the handful of chips Kwan offered him. “So do you miss having a phone and getting to play on the Internet and stuff?”

  Kwan looked at him funny and then shook his head. “Well, it’s not like we never get to use the Internet. It’s just when we’re on tour or preparing for a concert that Hyung considers the Internet is too distracting. And also…” He stopped.

  “Also what?” asked Sebastian, feeling like he was about to get some kind of answer about Suwon, something important.

  Kwan sighed. “Well, when we first became a band and started to do performances and we started to get popular…”

  “Yes?” Sebastian leaned in.

  “We would go online and see what people were saying about us. And most of the time it was great. Some really great stuff.”

  “Okay?”

  “Yeah, I mean, it is okay. It’s really cool. But…it also can become a bit of a problem.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Yeah. It’s addictive. Reading all these things about yourself, people loving you so much. You want more people to follow you, you want more people to like you, to click buttons, to tell you how amazing you are. And it’s never good enough. You think there’s a point where it will be enough, but there never is. The highs are so high. And then there are the lows….” He paused and sat there, thinking. Then, as if he’d made up his mind about something, he started talking again. “Sometimes people said some really mean things. Hurtful things. Nasty things. People made fun of our music, called us names, and some of us”—Kwan glanced over at Cheese, then lowered his voice—“even got death threats.”

  “Oh!” said Sebastian, shocked. “Oh, I’m sorry.”

  “Yeah, it was bad. And Cheese got really upset. I mean…really, really upset.”