“She’s not into bad boys, Mike.” Jack grabbed Mike’s arm with one hand. “Let me stress that your so-called “best friend” isn’t interested.”
“Oh, brother.” I slapped Jack’s arm and let out a loud huff. Since when does he get to screen my potential boyfriends? There was no way I was off limits, unless I decided it was going to be that way. “Stop it, Jack. I’m a big girl, and I can make my own decisions.” I thought maybe I didn’t sound convincing enough, because Jack didn’t seem to react. But I knew being angry with him wasn’t going to help. I took a deep breath, trying to calm down. Jack’s intentions were good, and he meant well. He was only trying to protect me from a guy who could possibly break my heart. But I can handle things myself. I’m sevenTEEN, not seven.
Mike’s gaze fell to Jack’s hand. “It’s her choice to make.” He flung off his arm.
“Any particular reason why you’re hitting on our friend?” asked Jack, clenching his jaw.
Mike met my eyes and smiled. “Not only is she hot, but she gets me.”
“Yeah, and how many times did you practice that line in the mirror?” retorted Jack.
Hearing those words out of Mike’s mouth sent a jolt through me. Wow. He actually thinks I’m hot…and I do get him. Few people did. Jack was as thrilled over this news as he would be jumping out of a plane without a parachute. So, flattered as I was by Mike’s admission, I decided it was best to change the subject. I linked my arms between the two of them, squinted in the direction Mike pointed, and said, “Yeah. Let’s go check those trees out.”
The height reminded me of our redwood forests back home. I found the blue color of the leaves odd, but even stranger, the tree trunks had foot-long, cone-shaped protrusions sticking out of their bark. The trunk almost looked like a Hercules-club tree I had seen once on a trip to Louisiana.
Mike pushed past giant green leaves with dark red blotches and scanned the jungle. “Hear that noise? And I’m not talking about the river.”
The roar of a waterfall echoed in my ears. “Yeah, sounds like a waterfall is close by.”
Jack picked up a blue leaf and held it up to the sunlight. “There’s no autumn in the rainforest. None of this makes any sense.”
“You’re telling me.” I sat down and leaned against a moss-covered log.
Mike laid his head in my lap, twirling a thick blade of grass between his fingers.
I glanced down at him. “Comfy?” I giggled as I brushed a piece of hair from Mike’s cheek. I couldn’t get over how smooth his skin felt, how much I liked caressing his face.
Mike grinned, knowing he had me hook, line, and sinker.
I began to fantasize about our relationship. Can we really be girlfriend-boyfriend? Better yet, will he ask me to the Prom? Ooh, I’ll dazzle those snotty Barbie girls with one of my mom’s designer dresses, just like at Mike’s party. Okay, so they’re from a secondhand shop, but no one can tell, right? And I know...I could even arrange my long hair in some elaborate up-do loaded with tiny curls, because bouncing curls are all the rage when it comes to up-dos. I grinned at the thought of it.
Jack met my gaze and frowned. “You know, I’m having a hard time accepting any of this.” He sat down on a fallen log across from me.
Mike seemed to think Jack was just talking about the oddities surrounding them in that strange place, but I knew better. I blew out a breath as I stood and looked at Jack. I was still angry, and we could have cut the tension with a knife. As far as I was concerned, Jack needed to get over it. One day, I’d find the nerve to tell him so, but until then, I’d just have to smile and force the thoughts to the back of my mind, pretending everything was all right.
“You know, we could climb one of these trees, using these cone-looking things.” I put my hand on one of the protrusions. “They’re sort of like hand- and footholds, like on a rock-climbing wall. They could get us up to the lower branches, and then we could get a better view of the island.” Squealing monkeys scrambled above me from limb to limb, branches snapping beneath their feet, sending blue leaves sailing in the air. “I hope you’re not scared of those little guys,” I said.
The problem wasn’t the monkeys, but heights. Jack was deadly afraid of them. Jack jumped to his feet and walked to the strange tree. He stepped on one of the cones protruding from the trunk and bounced a little too eagerly, as if he had something to prove. Maybe it was a guy thing. He tried several more protrusions. “I think they’ll hold our weight. Great idea, Casey!”
“Thanks,” I answered with a wide grin. “Now, let’s climb this bad boy.”
* * *
Shafts of glimmering sunlight penetrated the jungle canopy. I had no idea what time it was, but I felt as if I’d been on the island for days already. I hoped that climbing the tree would provide us with a more helpful view of the landscape so we could figure out where the heck we were. My attention drifted upward and landed on Mike’s toned calf muscles as he began his ascent.
“Careful!” he called down. “Some of these cones are rotted out.”
“Thanks for the heads-up, bro,” said Jack.
“Why don’t you wait here?” I touched Jack’s arm to get his attention. As much as he thought he could climb that tree, he’d be more comfortable with his feet planted on the ground. Heights just weren’t his thing. He shook his head, but I tightened my grip to silence him before he started to disagree. “I’ll go up there, okay? And, uh, when I get back down, we’ll describe everything to you.”
“We’ll? You’re going up there with him?” Jack shot a glare in Mike’s direction, causing me to sigh inwardly. “Do you think that’s such a great idea?”
I shook my head. It wasn’t like I had a choice. I couldn’t climb up alone, and Jack would probably freak out halfway up, and then we’d have to figure out a way to get him back down. Jack would just have to deal with it. “Get a grip, Jack. Whatcha think we’re gonna do? Make out on a branch? Mike may be open to the idea, but breaking my leg and hobbling around through the jungle on crutches we’ve gotta make with knotty sticks isn’t my idea of fun.” I tried to make it sound like a joke, but my heart sped up in my chest, excited at the prospect of being alone with my could-be boyfriend, if only for a while.
Jack blinked and then quickly turned away, but I didn’t miss the betrayed look in his eyes, and I felt a twinge of guilt for taking such a tone with him. Jack was only concerned for me. He didn’t want to stand by and see me hook up with somebody who had such a bad reputation.
“Listen…” I took a deep breath and waited until he turned to face me. “Jack, all I want is to find a way out of this place. Don’t worry so much.” I pinched Jack’s cheek, and he smiled, but it seemed fake, as if it was plastered there to fool me. If that was the intent of it, it failed miserably.
“Just be cautious. Every girl’s chasing Mike, TV star and champion surfer. Maybe Mr. Cool is bored with getting anybody his heart desires, and now he wants a challenge, like trying to date his best friend.”
“That’s not true, Jack!” Mike shouted down. “You’re sooo not my type.”
Jack snorted. “Eavesdropping? What, you afraid I’ll sway her?”
I couldn’t believe the nerve of Jack, claiming that Mike only wanted me because he was bored and needed a challenge. I was sure Mike would never risk our friendship for a summer romance, some kind of conquest. I assumed that maybe Mike’s relationships didn’t work because he never bothered to become friends with the girls he dated. But Mike and I had known each other since the day we were born. We’d spent countless hours talking about everything from school and our future to our dreams, and I was sure we knew everything about each other. I convinced myself that our relationship would be different because it had a stronger foundation.
Clearly disgusted, Jack shook his head. “Is that your only comeback, Mike? A joke? You should be angry at what I just said. Why aren’t you even trying to convince me—or even Casey—that she means more than anything to you? You should be yelling at me, telling me
how you’ll never treat her like the others and how this isn’t a game to you, because she’s special and the most wonderful thing in your life! That’s what I’d be doing if…oh, never mind.”
Mike stretched his arms out and gripped another cone-like handhold. There was still a leisurely smile plastered on his face, but something crossed his perfect features. It was either annoyance or stubbornness or a little of both, but whatever it was, I couldn’t quite place it.
“I don’t have to explain myself to you,” said Mike. “Last time I checked, you weren’t exactly in a long-lasting relationship either. There’s nothing wrong with kissing a few frogs to find the princess.” He placed his foot on the next protrusion and pulled up his body weight.
“A few?” asked Jack. “You kissed the entire pond, moved over to the stream, then the river, and finally the lake.”
I was beginning to feel insulted. I grabbed Jack’s arm and asked in a sad tone, “What’s so wrong with me that you think he couldn’t actually like me for me?”
Jack’s voice became somber and soft. “Absolutely nothing. It’s not you. It’s Mike. He can’t stay faithful to anyone. I just don’t want to see you upset when things turn sour, ’cause that’d kill me more than anything.”
I wouldn’t allow myself to get hurt like all the others. I wondered why Jack couldn’t accept the fact that Mike might actually like me. I swallowed past the lump in my throat. “So are you staying or coming with us?” I flashed him a look, but it hurt too much to let my gaze linger.
“I’m going with you. This is something I need to see for myself. My dad taught me how to deal with panic attacks. Just let me go up last. That way I can come back down if it gets too bad.” Jack drew in a deep breath. “I’m going to get over this stupid phobia one way or another. One day, I want to fly a fighter jet, just like my dad did.”
For a moment, I just looked at him in shock. Jack had always avoided situations that involved heights. I couldn’t quite shake off the feeling that he was just trying to prove something, but I wasn’t sure what that could be. Still, I was proud of his determination to face his phobia head-on. Smiling, I rubbed his shoulder. “If you need to come down, it’ll be okay.”
Jack gritted his teeth and stared at the ground.
“You can do this, Jack,” I said.
He glanced at my hand on his shoulder for a second before smiling and saying, “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
“Anytime,” I said. “Okay. So let’s go.” The bark felt cold and smooth to the touch as I grabbed hold of a cone-like protrusion and lifted myself up. Somewhere behind me, Jack groaned, but I knew it wasn’t from exhaustion. “Don’t look down!” I yelled, but I got no answer.
One by one, we shimmied up the trunk until we reached the blue leaves. I stopped to take a deep breath and then continued clambering upward, branch by branch, until my arms felt sore and my legs threatened to buckle underneath me from the effort. I climbed as far as I could until the small limbs became too thin to support my weight.
The dense rainforest stretched over high mountains as far as I could see. A soft breeze blew over the colorful canopy of autumn, rustling leaves on the high tops. I had to remind myself that it wasn’t October, but my eyes couldn’t deny the dazzling display of color splashed across the jungle—colors like turquoise that shouldn’t even exist in fall.
I yelled down to Jack, “Are you doing okay?”
“I’m right behind you.”
Holding on to the trunk, I gazed down at the breathtaking view in stunned silence. I cupped my hand over my eyes to shield them from the glaring suns. Just over the treetops, a waterfall cascaded from a mountain into a lake of blue water, the water shimmering like glass.
Mike’s voice came from behind me. “Isn’t this awesome?” His hand slid across my waist as he reached for a branch to hang on to. His warm breath caressed my cheek.
I smiled with a nod, trying to calm my suddenly racing heart. “I’m going to paint it when we get back home, using every single color on my palette. The view’s just…incredible.” I turned and smiled at him—a shy smile that I hoped wouldn’t give away my nervousness.
When Mike gazed into my eyes, my heart melted. Always knowing just what to say to a girl, Mike leaned close and whispered into my ear, “But no view is more incredible than the one I’m looking at this very moment.”
I beamed at Mike as my gaze wandered toward his biceps bulging against the short sleeves of his t-shirt. Guys my age usually didn’t come with such muscle definition—or at least not the ones I’d dated so far. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach as I watched him cling to the opposite branch. He was such a hottie, and judging from the leisurely smile on his face, he knew that all too well. I winked and said, “The view I’m looking at isn’t bad either.” I couldn’t believe the words just slipped out of my mouth. Mortified, I turned away, but Mike’s attention shifted to Jack, as if he hadn’t heard.
“Hey, you okay?” called Mike.
Oh, gosh! Jack! He was fine only a moment ago. I glanced down at the pale figure drawing in deep, ragged breaths, sweating like he’d just run a marathon. He closed his eyes and didn’t answer. I knew all Jack needed was a little time, and he hated being fussed over. A few long minutes passed before he slowly looked around.
The wind blew dark strands of hair across my face. I sat straight, leaning against the thick trunk, as I listened to the squeaking and chattering of the jungle animals. “I knew you could beat it, Jack.”
He gave a weak smile back. “I haven’t. I’m just controlling it.”
“Well, you’re doing great,” I said.
Jack nodded. “Thanks. See anything yet?”
“I can’t see behind us ’cause there’s way too many leaves blocking our view. We’ll have to climb over there and take a look in a minute. But so far, straight ahead of us, all I see is just jungle, a big lake, and that waterfall we heard.”
“Dude! Do you see that?” asked Mike. “Something really big’s swimming out there in the lake. I think it’s diving for fish.”
I focused my gaze. It looked like a huge, raptor-like bird gliding through the water, but something seemed off. The creature reminded me of a giant plucked turkey with a long crest on top of its head. “Weird, huh?”
“Yeah, the entire head is bald. Shouldn’t it have feathers? What the heck is it?” Mike leaned forward on the branch and glanced down. “Hey, Jack, get your butt over here! We need an encyclopedia.”
“Yeah, very funny.” Jack sounded annoyed, but his huge smile said it all. He was proud to have his smarts going for him. “I’m trying to make out the species. Maybe it’s a turkey vulture? Those guys are the biggest birds around.”
Mike pushed aside some leaves and squinted. “Okay. That’s one ugly bird.”
Jack craned his neck. “Maybe it’s a California condor. They have the largest wingspan of any bird in North America.”
I glanced up, meeting his nervous gaze. “Where are the feathers?”
“Maybe the bird’s sick and lost them all,” said Jack.
Mike’s brows arched before he shifted his gaze back to the bird. “Jack, it has a freakin’ horn.”
My breath caught in my throat as my mind raced. Jack was in denial again, just like with the twin suns. Since when is there a bird covered with glossy brown skin? It looked more like some kind of cold-blooded vertebrate that had been extinct for millions of years. Am I seeing things? I began to think that maybe I’d swallowed too much saltwater and was hallucinating from being dehydrated. I squeezed my eyes shut and then opened them as realization hit. I gripped Jack’s arm tightly, my nails digging into his skin. “It’s a reptile—like the ones hanging down from the ceiling at the Museum of Natural History.”
“Impossible.” Jack shook his head vehemently. He could be so stubborn at times, always probing and questioning. “Don’t even think about it, Casey.” He closed his eyes and then opened them again, staring at the odd creature. “A pterosaur? I don’t think so.
Those died out millions of years ago.”
I couldn’t explain it, but I knew what I was seeing. “I’m telling you, it’s exactly like the ones at the museum,” I insisted. “With only one big difference.”
Jack’s gaze narrowed. “What’s that?”
Terror gripped me. “This one’s alive!” I watched in horror as two giant bat-like wings unfolded in slow motion and lifted up into a V formation, like a vulture basking in the sun. Shaking Jack’s shoulder, I yelled, “See? I told you!”
Jack’s mouth gaped open.
“Casey’s right, man.” I could hear the panic in Mike’s voice even through my racing heart drumming in my ears. He pointed down. “I say that thing’s a dead ringer for a…uh, I can’t remember the name, but I know the one in the museum looks exactly like this one, only a lot deader.”
“It’s called a pterodactyl.” I wrinkled my brow as I pondered. Could this flying monster have somehow survived extinction?
With a splash, the monster scooped up a fish in its claws like some modern-day pelican. It had to have a huge appetite because the fish must have been at least the size of Mike or Jack.
I couldn’t stop staring at the squirming fish with its creepy characteristics: big black eyes the size of a baseball, sharp teeth, and the body of an eel. I turned to Jack. “Okay, hotshot, explain this. Your condor or vulture or whatever it is just caught a live fish. You know they only eat dead, rotting stuff, right?”
Jack didn’t answer, but a look of fear lingered in his eyes.
I just shook my head again. Surely the creature was no condor because the word “huge” didn’t even do it justice. The aerial predator resembled a small airplane—a living, breathing airplane. Its gargantuan size and pointed wings almost reminded me of the mythical dragon on the pages of one of my childhood picture books.
The pterodactyl suddenly flipped the enormous fish high into the air, threw its head back, and swallowed its lunch head-first.
Trapped in the Hollow Earth Novelette Series Omnibus Edition (Books 1 - 4) Page 11
