The Reckless Rescue

by Adrienne Kress

  “That was great!” said Yejun, panting a bit.

  “The fans will love it!” added Toy.

  “I must agree. It is a great idea, and once perfected—” started Suwon, approaching the group.

  “Let’s perform it tonight!” Kwan interrupted with a big charming grin. “We can practice all afternoon and get a really good routine down. Besides, it’ll be a great way to end the tour.”

  Suwon looked at him for a moment, then looked at Sebastian, who tried to grin just as charmingly but was pretty sure it looked more like he had gas or something. Finally Suwon sighed.

  “Okay,” he said. “Okay. As a way of introducing the latest Lost Boy. Okay. But then we have a lot of practice to do before the next album if we are to make this drumming idea work.”

  Sebastian nodded, wholeheartedly agreeing even though he had no intention of joining the band. If in theory he was to join it, far more practice indeed was required. He thought for a moment, and then watched as Suwon approached the boys, looking pleased as they enthusiastically thanked him. It was weird. Despite his need to control everyone and everything, Suwon was actually surprisingly open to suggestions. Sebastian now started to wonder: Was Kwan really afraid of telling him the truth, or was it more that Kwan was afraid of the truth itself? Of leaving the band, of leaving his family?

  You’re still being kept prisoner, reminded Sebastian’s brain.

  Right. Yes. Right. Focus, Sebastian, focus.

  He made eye contact with Kwan, who winked at him.

  Sebastian tried to wink back and did a strange sort of blink instead.

  He could do this. He would do this. Tonight he was going home.

  No snack could have willed Evie to sleep that night. There was really nothing except maybe some kind of a sleeping pill that would have done it. Her adrenaline was surging fast, and she lay awake all night, staring up at the ceiling, waiting for the dawn. She listened as the waves crashed against the shore, as a car rumbled loudly past, and as the birds started to wake up and sing.* Eventually she sensed the light, and not knowing what else to do and feeling antsy just lying there still, she got dressed quickly and ran downstairs and outside, carefully avoiding even looking in the direction of the basement door.

  She stood on the front veranda and stared in front of her. Sunrise over the sea. A fine line of light blue rising and turning whiter and whiter, until the sun popped up its head and yawned, spreading brilliant orange across the horizon. Maybe not sleeping had its perks. She sat down on a step and kept watching. The air was cool, but she could sense it warming up fast. It was going to be another hot day. Perfect for swimming. If only she was allowed to be a tourist and not a girl on a rescue mission. If only also there wasn’t Steve out there in the dark depths…

  Steve.

  Evie leaned forward for a moment, placing her elbows on her knees and resting her chin in her hands.

  Steve.

  Steve the great white shark.

  Stalking the sea.

  She stood up in a rush of energy and looked back toward the door of the inn. It was still so early, and yet…yet surely this was exactly the kind of thing Catherine wanted to hear about. Surely this was the kind of thing you woke up the animal expert of the former Filipendulous Five for.

  Evie turned back and looked at the sea once more. There, so much closer than she’d expected, right in the middle of the cove itself, was a dark fin silhouetted against the sunrise. It glided along the surface and then disappeared for a moment.

  A sign. It had to be.

  Evie swung open the door to the inn and ran upstairs. She skidded to a stop in front of Catherine’s room and banged on her door hard. Harder, really, than she had anticipated, but clearly she was not entirely in control of her body right now.

  She stood impatiently waiting and placed an ear to the door to see if she could hear any rustling, any movement at all.

  And then she fell into Catherine’s room.

  “What the…?” said the sleepy explorer as Evie staggered upright. Catherine had opened the door so quickly that Evie hadn’t had a chance to correct her balance, and now she was blinking a few times from the shock.

  “Hey, Catherine,” said Evie, then stopped. She found herself suddenly unsure what to say next.

  “What’s going on? Are you okay?” Catherine looked deeply concerned, and Evie immediately felt guilty for waking her so abruptly.

  “Oh, I’m fine, I’m fine. I, uh, watched the sunrise!”

  “Great,” said Catherine, sitting down on her bed. It was only then that Evie noticed her pajamas, flannel bottoms and a tank top, both covered in drawings of lions, tigers, and bears. Oh my, thought Evie, those are pretty cool-looking.

  “I’m so sorry for waking you, but I suddenly realized something and I thought you should know,” said Evie, starting to pace around the room, trying to release some of the energy she was feeling.

  “Okay…”

  “I think I know why Steve is hanging out in the cove!” she said.

  “Yes?”

  “Yes! I think he is looking for his kid. Or his niece or nephew. Or maybe a smallish younger sister, perhaps,” added Evie, realizing she wasn’t any kind of shark expert. It was just that she knew that the shark in the basement was way smaller than the average-sized great white, so it probably wasn’t an adult.

  “What are you talking about?” asked Catherine with a sigh. She reached up and pinched the bridge of her nose with her fingers.

  “There’s a little shark in the basement, and I think maybe that the little shark is related to the big shark.”

  At that, Catherine finally made eye contact. She stared at Evie hard. And for a long time. She was clearly processing the information she’d just been given. Evie wondered about the kind of conclusions she was drawing, the thoughts she had about the whole situation.

  Finally Catherine spoke. “What?”

  Evie sighed hard. “Last night I got up to try to find the kitchen because I was hungry. I went through the basement door, and I didn’t find the kitchen. Instead I found a shark in a tank. It had these sharp pointy teeth and was thrashing around. It scared me half to death. Anyway, this morning I got up and saw Steve swimming outside, and suddenly I put two and two together. You yourself said it was odd for a shark to just stake out a cove for this long. And I think this is why. He’s looking for his…relative.” Evie didn’t feel like making up another hypothetical list of possible relations.

  Catherine rose and then sat down again. She looked at Evie. “There’s a shark in the basement.”

  “Yes!”

  Catherine sighed. “Evie, that’s not possible. You can’t keep a shark in a basement. Not a great white, that’s for sure. They need to swim all the time. Not one has lasted in captivity longer than sixteen days. And also, they’re huge.” Despite what Catherine was saying, Evie didn’t think Catherine sounded 100 percent like she didn’t believe her. That was good at least.

  “Well, it wasn’t huge. It was little. Like I said. I mean, it felt huge at the time because it surprised me, but it wasn’t. It was little. Littler, at least.” Why was she explaining when she could simply show Catherine? “Please just come with me!” It really made the most sense. Seeing is believing. At least, that’s what she’d heard someone say once.

  Catherine nodded and quickly changed into her usual khaki pants, boots, and tan shirt. Then she followed Evie down to the foyer. Erik was standing behind the desk and smiled at them as they approached. And then watched as they walked right by him.

  “Uh…you aren’t allowed back here,” he said with surprise as Evie completely ignored him and opened the door. She turned on the light and walked with purpose down the stairs, Catherine at her heels, and Erik behind her. “Seriously, mates, you can’t be down there. It’s dangerous.”

  “Yeah?” asked Evie, wh
ipping around and reaching for the string. “Or maybe you’re hiding something you don’t want us to see!” With that, she pulled on the string and smiled in triumph.

  “It’s more just a safety issue. There’s a lot of old junk down here,” explained Erik after the lights came on.

  Evie furrowed her eyebrows. Why was no one else reacting like she had to the shark?

  “Okay, so where is it?” asked Catherine, placing her hands on her hips.

  What? Evie spun around. The giant tank was gone. And so was the shark. Evie rushed over to the spot, as if maybe she was standing at an odd angle that made the tank invisible. Or…something.

  Nothing.

  She looked around. Not even a squished dead fish on the floor. She looked at Catherine. “I swear,” she said, her voice shaking a little. “I swear there was a shark in here. Last night. It was here.”

  Catherine looked at her funny and then looked at Erik. “Sorry about that. We’ll get out of here,” she said. She turned back to Evie. “Come on, Evie. Time for some breakfast.”

  Evie stammered and sputtered and then fell silent. There was nothing she could do but nod sadly and follow Catherine back up the stairs, avoiding Erik’s stunned expression. She walked with Catherine out the front door and around the side to where Ruby was just starting to set the tables. Ruby saw them both and smiled broadly.

  “Wow, you guys are early! I guess you’re ready for something to eat.”

  Evie sat down at a table. Her tummy stayed silent. Oh, so now you’re not hungry, thought Evie. Great. Just great.

  * Interestingly, the wake-up song sung by birds in Australia was banned by the bird population in North America for being just way too perky, even for morning birds.

  Sebastian sat on the bus, fiddling with the drumsticks in his bandaged hands. After a full afternoon working on a routine they would never actually perform, his raw fingers had gotten even more roughed up from working the drumsticks, so much so that his left index finger had actually started to bleed. They’d wrapped up the wound and decided they might as well protect the rest of his fingers as well. Now he looked a bit like a boxer, his hands all wrapped up in white. The boys assured him bandages made him look pretty cool, but Sebastian was more worried about whether he’d ever be able to feel anything in the tips of his fingers again. Fortunately, this concern was a distant second to the rushing chaotic feeling of butterflies dive-bombing in his stomach. He was, quite frankly, a bundle of nerves.

  On top of the throbbing fingers and the fear at the thought of trying to escape, he was also just plain physically uncomfortable. The band had insisted that if he was now a Lost Boy, then he should look the part. Kwan had loaned him a black sports jacket that had this sparkle to it under the light. Then Sebastian had borrowed equally sparkly black jeans from Toy. And Ujin had given him a designer T-shirt that really just looked like a plain white T-shirt that had gone through a paper shredder. All of the items were surprisingly tight, and the jacket itched around his neck. But more than that, he was wearing eyeliner. Cheese had carefully applied it to his face, and even though it wasn’t heavy or anything, Sebastian could still feel it on himself, almost as if it was weighing down his eyelids. And he was fairly sure he’d been blinking more than normal ever since it had been applied.

  So yeah, he was physically uncomfortable and mentally uncomfortable. Not only did he need to worry about his imminent escape, about how on earth he was planning to slip out of the stadium, but he had a small slight fear, a tiny independent moth among the butterflies: What if something went wrong?

  “We’ll get you out, don’t worry,” whispered Kwan reassuringly as he sat next to Sebastian, resplendent in his sparkling blue suit.

  Sebastian nodded, listening but not. He glanced up at the bus, where the rest of the band members were lounging and laughing, totally happy and excited to perform. “When are you going to tell Suwon that you’re thinking of leaving?”

  Kwan shook his head and clenched his jaw. “I don’t know. I’m too scared. What if hyung throws me out of the band right away? Out of my home?” asked Kwan, his face forlorn.

  “He won’t! You’re more than just a band member,” said Sebastian, really hoping that it was true.

  “What are you two talking about?”

  Sebastian would have jumped at the sudden presence of Suwon if his pants hadn’t been so tight.

  “Oh, um,” said Kwan, and then he fell silent. Suwon looked at him, puzzled.

  “He’s giving me tips on the drumming. I think I’m going to seriously rock this thing,” said Sebastian. Rock this thing? Was that something that people said? He hoped so.

  Suwon smiled a little tentatively. It was actually rather impressive how many different kinds of smiles the man had available to him. “Well, in time. With more practice. Tonight will be…for fun.” He was trying so hard not to make Sebastian feel bad. It was almost nice of him.

  “Oh yeah, of course. I just think in time I’m going to…rock…this…thing….” Surely, surely, there was a better turn of phrase he could come up with?

  Suwon sighed and leaned back. “You’re really going to enjoy this. The show tonight.” He smiled at Sebastian, who smiled back.

  “Yeah,” added Kwan. “Our concerts are kind of amazing.”

  “I’m sure they are,” replied Sebastian, feeling unbelievably awkward sitting squished between the two of them. He was trapped, like he’d been trapped the whole time. It didn’t really matter that he was starting to grow fond of both of them. Yes, even Suwon was becoming less evil than Sebastian had originally thought. But still. It was time. Let this be over soon, please.

  The bus had been flying through the streets of Seoul as fast as when they had been pursued two nights earlier. Sebastian was waiting for it to pull to a stop outside the stadium. The stadium surrounded by fans. Where the band would disembark in a mob of camera flashes and screams, and where Sebastian would just take off, bolt down the street, go in whatever direction, just so long as he could get away. He kept a close watch through the window, absentmindedly tapping the drumsticks against his legs. Then, there it was! Bright lights flooding the street, making the world seem like day. The large sign on the stadium, advertising the Lost Boys in letters ten feet tall both in Korean and English. Swarms of fans entering the building. It was time. It was now!

  And then…

  They turned a corner, and in a flash they were suddenly driving into an underground tunnel. It happened so quickly, it felt almost dreamlike. Truly this entire experience had been dreamlike. He pinched himself on the leg, just in case. But that was silly. Of course he was awake. Unless, that is, in his dream he dreamed he was pinching himself.

  The bus rolled to a stop, and Suwon got up to take charge. Sebastian turned to Kwan. “I thought I’d have a chance to escape,” he whispered fiercely.

  “Yes, certainly—after the concert, when we go and sign autographs by the gate,” replied Kwan, looking at him, confused.

  And that was when Sebastian realized it. All this time he’d been thinking he was only saying he was going to perform. But had he actually communicated that thought to Kwan? He couldn’t remember. It seemed like although they’d shared a plan, they hadn’t shared all the hows and wheres and, most important, whens. Kwan thought Sebastian was actually going to perform. Onstage. In front of thousands.

  “I can’t perform!” squeaked Sebastian as Kwan stood up to follow the other Lost Boys disembarking from the bus.

  “Absolutely you can. The routine is great,” said Kwan with a smile. And then he turned and left the bus. Sebastian sat there for a moment alone. Wondering if maybe he could just hide out and wait till everyone had gone and then run back up the tunnel.

  “Sebastian?” called Suwon, sticking his head back into the bus.

  Sebastian took a deep breath. He was not going to have a panic attack. Not here, not now.
He didn’t have the time. Even though he could feel his breath getting shallow, his pulse rate increasing, he was determined. He closed his eyes for a moment. Breathe in, breathe out. He tried to picture Evie sitting next to him, saying calming words. Saying anything: “I think it sounds like it could be really fun! What an opportunity!” Sebastian smiled, imagining it. Yes, that was a thing she’d say.

  “Sebastian?” Suwon’s voice broke through his imagining, and Sebastian opened his eyes again.

  “I’m…I’m coming,” he said with a gulp. Slowly, as if he was walking on a ship during a storm, Sebastian teetered his way down the bus and to the door. Suwon smiled again at him as he stepped down the stairs and joined the Lost Boys. They had been greeted by a flurry of techies and the stage manager, who started speaking with Suwon in Korean. Then they were ushered quickly down a series of cement tunnels underground, and Sebastian got more and more concerned that escape might not be possible at all, even after the show, that he might actually have to become a Lost Boy. And while the horror of never seeing his family, Evie, or anyone from the Explorers Society again was high, right now the greatest fear of all was I was not made to be a performer. The knots in his stomach tied themselves into one giant über-knot and pulled taut. Maybe he should have simply jumped from the moving bus. He was feeling desperate enough to have tried that.

  As they continued to wend their way through the elaborate labyrinth, Sebastian heard the sound of rumbling, and he stopped short, causing Cheese to crash into him.

  “What’s wrong?” asked Yejun, darting around the two of them and looking back toward Sebastian.

  “I think it’s an earthquake,” Sebastian said. He’d never experienced an earthquake before, but the way the ground was shaking, the little dust particles that were falling from the ceiling, it all seemed to suggest that one was happening right now. And he really couldn’t handle such a thing, not on top of all the other things.