The Darkdeep

by Ally Condie

OPAL

  Faster. Faster.

  Opal and Nico propelled the rowboat across the murky water.

  She had to get away. From the figments, the houseboat, the Darkdeep, all of it.

  They’d abandoned the tunnel entrance and snuck across the island instead. No way was Opal going into the passage. Not with those footprints disappearing inside. The idea of meeting a figment down in the dark underneath the cove was too horrible to contemplate.

  Opal’s oar struck something and a twisted metal object bobbed to the surface. At first she worried she’d hit some new Darkdeepian creature, but then she recognized it. “Nico. Your drone.”

  Emma clicked her tongue. Logan’s face was stricken.

  “I think I can reach.” Opal extended her paddle toward the mangled quadcopter.

  “Forget it,” Nico hissed. “It’s wrecked. Worry about whatever dredged it up from the bottom.”

  Tyler’s voice trembled. “You think—you think it could be the Beast?”

  A splash sounded behind them. Just a fish, Opal told herself. A huge jumping fish. It’s fine.

  “You do worry about the Beast a lot,” Emma whispered. “And the Darkdeep reads minds.”

  “Oh no.” Tyler slumped into the belly of the rowboat. “Please, anything but that.”

  “Relax,” Opal said, trying to sound convincing. “We’re off the island. Whatever figments we just made will have to enjoy their lifespans without us.”

  “But something left,” Tyler shot back, his voice unsteady. “You saw the tracks.”

  “I’m sure it can’t go far.” Opal pulled back on her oar, fighting off the shakes. “I bet it just went a little way down the tunnel and now it’s stuck. Maybe—”

  The boat jolted. Opal almost lost her paddle, catching it a split second before it flopped into the water. They’d hit an old sailboat, covered in seaweed and floating upside down like a bloated fish. Opal could barely read the name painted on its side: Roman Holiday.

  “Roman,” Emma breathed. “That was his first name. The man who died.”

  Debris began floating to the surface all around them. Tangles of netting, a rusted lantern, bits of metal and wood, a picked-clean bone. The last looked anything but human.

  “Faster!” Opal said out loud.

  Nico needed no encouragement. Together they pulled for the cave as quickly as possible.

  With shaking fingers, Opal helped Nico tie off the rowboat. The group scurried up the cliff notches in a mad scramble to get clear of the water. Gathering on the ledge, they eyed the cave mouth, ready to bolt at the slightest noise.

  “Do you think it came all the way through?” Logan asked, voice low.

  “Let’s not stay and find out,” Emma whispered back.

  Phone light blazing, Nico pointed up the path. “Let’s get our bikes. Be careful climbing in the dark. No one wants to fall, believe me.”

  Logan didn’t move. “Then what?”

  “I don’t know.” Opal glanced at the silent, glowering cave. “But I don’t want to sit here thinking it over.”

  “Me neither.” Emma started up the path, Tyler and Logan on her heels. Opal was about to follow when she heard a huge splash below the ledge. Wood cracked and splintered.

  “The boat,” Nico hissed. “Something’s destroying it!”

  “Go!” Opal whispered. “Now!”

  The group raced to the top, not daring to look back. Opal grabbed her bike and switched on its headlight. Could they out-pedal whatever might be chasing them? She led out, pumping her feet furiously. Before she’d gone twenty yards, Opal spotted deep scores in the grass.

  Torn earth. Mangled bushes. Snapped branches. Opal rode along a trail of destruction aimed directly at Timbers.

  She thought of the footprints in the mud.

  Something left the island ahead of us.

  Where was it now?

  Opal’s tires slid out. She crashed sideways, her elbow and knee taking the brunt of the fall. Opal gritted her teeth as the others skidded to a stop. Emma dismounted and crouched beside her. “Are you all right?”

  “I think so.” Opal felt dazed and sharpened at the same time. Her body throbbed, and she was wet from whatever she’d landed on.

  Nico, Logan, and Tyler walked their bikes closer.

  “What is that stuff?” Logan said.

  “Huh?” Opal clicked on her phone light.

  A silver ooze coated the ground. Opal was covered in it.

  “Careful.” Opal watched as blood from her knee mixed with the silvery muck. “No one touch me until we know what we’re dealing with.”

  “But you’re hurt.” Emma’s fingers flexed uselessly. “That slime is all over you.”

  Opal stumbled to her feet. “I’m okay. I can ride.” She felt blood trickle down her elbow. She knew it was blood because it felt nice and warm. Was it weird that her blood felt nice? Did I hit my head?

  “I’ll take the lead,” Nico said. The others surrounded Opal, letting her ride in the middle. Her bike creaked and groaned. She dripped bloody ooze onto the grass.

  “Almost there,” Logan called from behind her.

  “You got this,” Tyler added.

  They topped the last hill overlooking Main Street. Opal glanced left at Overlook Row. She could go home, curl up in bed, and pretend none of this ever happened.

  But beneath the streetlights downtown, Opal saw strange shapes gathering.

  One growled, dropping to all fours.

  Another hissed darkly, a sibilant, seeking sound.

  Opal smelled something decayed. Her skin tingled with static electricity.

  The largest shadow reached up a huge, hairy arm. Teeth flashed yellow-white in the moonlight as it gripped a radish festival banner and tore it down, the fabric crumpling like an autumn leaf.

  Opal accepted the awful truth.

  Figments had invaded Timbers.

  PART FOUR

  THE DARKDEEP

  25

  NICO

  “We’re in trouble,” Nico breathed.

  The figments had gathered at the heart of sleeping Timbers. Nico had no idea what would happen if anyone walked by on a late-night stroll. There was no explaining this away.

  In a single glance Nico spotted a werewolf, a Sasquatch, a Power Ranger, some sort of silver-oozing snake-man, and a floating, wispy fairy. How had they escaped the island? How are we supposed to stop them?

  Nico and the others stood with their bikes on the hill overlooking town. Tyler pressed a palm to his forehead. “Okay, this is officially above our pay grade. Let’s call Sheriff Ritchie.”

  “And tell him what?” Nico countered. “That imaginary beings are trashing town square?”

  “Nico, what else can we do?” Tyler pointed in exasperation. “There’s a freaking monster riot on Main Street.”

  “The sheriff’s office is two towns over.” Emma hugged her body tight. “These creatures might disappear before the deputies arrive, and then we’d be busted for pranking.”

  “Pranking?” Logan let his bike drop to the dirt. “Those things are destroying the park!”

  It was true. The Sasquatch walked to a bench and kicked it over, then sniffed the underside. The snake-man had slithered into the fountain, oozing silver all over the stonework. The werewolf tossed its head and unleashed a piercing howl, which set dogs barking a dozen blocks away.

  Nico’s heart pounded. He’d always feared werewolves, but did this one spring from his mind? Or had someone else created it? If so, how?

  “Did we make these?” Emma asked quietly. “When we all went in together?”

  “Maybe.” Opal set her own bike down. “It doesn’t matter. We need to lure them away somehow. We can’t let anyone else see this, or everything is ruined.”

  “Lure them away.” Tyler stared at Opal, speaking in a flat voice. “As in, intentionally get their attention, in hopes that they’ll chase us.”

  “They’re destroying the festival decorations! It’s supposed to start tom
orrow.”

  Nico watched the chaos with sick fascination. The Power Ranger was methodically side-kicking a stage support, causing the whole structure to slump. The fairy was zipping around in circles, wand-blasting the statue of Timbers’ founder, Edward Nantes.

  Opal seemed ready to burst. “This is our fault. We have to fix it.”

  Nico scratched his cheek, thinking furiously. “I’ll ride straight through the group of figments, then cut back toward the hills. Maybe they’ll follow me.”

  Logan scoffed. “That might get one or two, but all of them? We need something bigger.”

  Emma’s face lit up. “The festival is planning fireworks, right?”

  Logan nodded. “Compliments of Nantes Timber Company.”

  “Then they must be here already.” Emma grabbed Nico’s arm. “We could send a couple of riders to get the figments’ attention. Then someone could set rockets off up here to draw them out of town.”

  “I know where the fireworks are!” Opal pointed at the stage. The fairy floated close beside it, tittering gleefully as the Power Ranger continued whacking at supports. “They’re in a storage container behind the stage. I heard Mr. Murphy telling my mom the other day!”

  “It’ll be locked,” Nico pointed out. “They’re not going to leave fireworks lying around where anyone could get to them.”

  “It might not be,” Opal said hopefully. “This is Timbers.”

  “Great.” Tyler hung his head in resignation. “So we need a distraction to get our hands on the distraction.”

  “I have an idea.” Logan glanced at Nico. “How much time do we have?”

  Nico shrugged helplessly. “Until someone wakes up and notices a team of monsters demolishing the downtown. Why?”

  Logan ignored him and turned to Opal. “I need your help. Come on.”

  Nico cringed at all the noise the figments were making. He, Tyler, and Emma were in an alley twenty yards away from town square. The creatures were still occupied with breaking things and pulling radish signs down from street posts—or, in the Sasquatch’s case, pulling down the street posts themselves. Nico worried the sound might carry to the residential streets a few blocks away.

  “This is nuts,” Tyler whispered. “Look at them!”

  The Power Ranger and the snake-man had started wrestling in the fountain. The fairy was now using its wand to split things in half, like a fire hydrant, which had earned the figment an unexpected dousing.

  “What’s taking so long?” Nico grumbled for the third time.

  Tyler lifted his palms to the sky.

  “I cannot believe I can’t film this,” Emma muttered, pacing in nervous circles. “Hollywood has nothing on the Darkdeep. I’d be world famous as a special effects master.”

  “Until you had to explain how it worked,” Tyler said.

  Nico heard the purr of an engine. He spun to see two sets of headlights approaching at a slow roll. Logan popped off the lead ATV. “Okay, we’re ready,” he called.

  “Took you long enough,” Nico grumbled, but low and to himself. Was he jealous Opal got to ride the other four-wheeler? Maybe a little.

  “Everyone clear on the plan?” Logan asked. Though it was hard to see in the headlights’ glare, Nico thought he heard a smile in Logan’s voice. He’s looking forward to this.

  Logan hoisted a bolt cutter. “I brought this just in case.”

  “Good idea.” Nico said. He and Emma picked up their bikes. Tyler hopped on the second four-wheeler behind Opal. “I like calm, smooth rides,” he whispered. “Remember that turtles win all the races.”

  Opal reached back and patted his leg. “Those aren’t rabbits out there, Ty.”

  “Don’t be late,” Nico warned, voice firm.

  “Don’t be slow.” Logan slapped down his visor.

  Nico didn’t bother to respond. He thrust a fist out at Emma, who bumped it with her own. “You sure you want to do this?” Nico asked.

  Emma surprised him by laughing. “Um, yeah. When will I get to be monster bait again?”

  Nico chuckled. “That’s one way of looking at it.”

  They pedaled around the corner, then silently sped toward town square.

  The Sasquatch saw them first. It was sitting on the sidewalk, pounding a mailbox into a metal pancake as Nico rolled by. “Hey, Harry. How’s the weather?”

  The Sasquatch roared and stood, lumbering after them. Nico and Emma picked up speed, popping onto the sidewalk that bordered the square. Emma blew a kiss at the snake-man. It dropped the Power Ranger and started to follow, but Nico and Emma reached the next corner and turned, racing toward the stage.

  “Keep moving!” Nico shouted. They passed behind the platform, drawing a squeal from the fairy and a growl from the werewolf. The fairy’s glowing eyes narrowed. Something sizzled past Nico’s ear. A bush in front of him burst into cinders.

  “Tinker Bell is shooting at us!” Emma yelled. She was glued to Nico’s back tire as they tore down to the next corner and turned again, completing half the circuit.

  Nico glanced back. The snake-man and werewolf were chasing them, but the fairy had lost interest. It kept lighting more bushes on fire. The Power Ranger charged ahead to cut them off before they could turn again.

  “Stop!” Nico slammed on his brakes. Emma jerked to a halt beside him. “We won’t make it all the way around. Hang tight a second.”

  Nico tried not to panic as the figments converged. Then he heard rumbling engines as the ATVs rolled behind the stage with their lights doused. Three shadows dragged a box from the storage container and began lashing it to the lead four-wheeler. Come on come on come on.

  “Nico,” Emma said in a trembling voice. “I think we’d better go.”

  Emma was right. The Power Ranger stalked toward them along the sidewalk, while the snake-man and werewolf were coming across the grass. The murderous fairy whizzed in from the other side, its tiny wand sparkling with menace.

  “New plan,” Nico blurted. “We go down the middle and pedal for the hills.”

  The ATVs drove off. The Power Ranger was less than ten yards away and closing.

  “Now, Emma!” They shot forward like corks from a champagne bottle, hurtling directly through the park. We can shoot the gap between Werewolf and Snake-man. We can make it!

  Emma pedaled feverishly beside Nico. The werewolf howled and leaped, its claws swiping an inch from Nico’s throat. Emma ducked under the snake-man’s lashing bite and suddenly they were through. Snarling, the figments spun and gave chase.

  Nico smiled fiercely. They’d done it! They’d broken free and gotten the creatures’ attention. He slowed to a coast, reveling in the taste of victory.

  But he’d forgotten about Bigfoot.

  The Sasquatch stepped directly into their path, causing both bikes to swerve. Emma kept upright and managed to shoot past, but Nico toppled over the curb and crashed.

  “Nico!” Emma started to brake. Nico rolled to his feet and waved her onward.

  “Go!” he shouted. “Set off the fireworks!”

  Emma began pumping her feet twice as hard. “We’ll distract them. Hold on!”

  Nico spun to find the Sasquatch glaring down at him with intelligent eyes. It picked up Nico’s bike and tossed it aside, thundering a roar. Then the figment stomped the pavement, chest heaving, giant hands flexing in what seemed like frustration.

  Nico felt an odd tug at his heart. Though huge and terrifying, the creature carried a nobility its anger couldn’t mask. The Sasquatch glanced back at the other figments, who were racing closer by the second, and let out another growl.

  It’s confused. It doesn’t belong here.

  Nico wished the Sasquatch hadn’t been conjured to this dark street. It should be roaming the hills like in the legends, he thought. Not trapped in a place it doesn’t understand.

  Nico felt sorry for it.

  The creature tilted its head, then stepped forward and grabbed Nico by his sweatshirt, lifting him to eye level. Nico couldn’t b
reathe. He reached out a shaking hand and patted the Sasquatch’s wrist. “S-sorry, big guy. Please d-don’t kill me.”

  Bigfoot vanished. Nico dropped to the pavement like a water balloon.

  He shook his head, unable to believe his luck. The figment had disappeared an instant before it could kill him. Or had he done something? If so, Nico couldn’t say what. Another howl split the night, driving everything else from his brain. Nico ran for his bike, mounted, and pushed away just as the other figments arrived.

  In the sky above the hill, red-and-white starbursts exploded, lighting up the night. The remaining figments stopped as if poleaxed, then rushed toward the fireworks, ignoring Nico as he swerved down a side street and pedaled away.

  As windows opened and doors slammed, with shouts of “Fire!” carrying up the block, Nico coasted away from the anarchy on Main Street.

  He’d done enough for one night.

  26

  OPAL

  “It’s aftermath,” Opal said softly. “Aftermath everywhere.”

  She picked up a radish banner. The grinning vegetable was torn in half. Deep furrows crisscrossed the square’s formerly manicured lawn. The stage sagged in the middle. Bent and broken lampposts littered the block.

  Townspeople walked around in a daze. Mr. Murphy stood by the fountain, head bowed as he surveyed the damage. Principal Kisner was sweeping up pools of broken glass.

  “Who would do this?” Opal’s mother asked, a catch in her voice.

  Opal didn’t answer. What would do this was the real question. She glanced at the muddy ATV tracks leading into the hills. Could they trace those back to Logan?

  “It’s awful,” Opal said, and meant it. Even though the festival was super cheesy, people had worked hard on it. And in a blink, overnight, everything had been ruined.

  “Vandals,” Mrs. Walsh spat, scowling at a crumpled stop sign. “With some kind of heavy equipment to steal the fireworks.” She glanced at Opal. “You said you were with friends after school yesterday.”

  “Uh-huh.” Opal began to sweat. What if her mom discovered she’d snuck out?

  “Who were they? Do I know their parents?”