‘Ariel is better than me,’ said her brother, grinning. They shook hands and congratulated each other.
‘So what do we do with it?’ Zak said.
‘We can’t leave it here, it might lead them straight to us,’ I said. ‘We need to get rid of it.’
‘That sounds like a job for me,’ Ariel said. She handed her bow to Zak as she pulled the arrows out of the spython’s head. She heaved the robot over her shoulder. ‘I’ll take this over to the other side of the island, lead them on a wild goose chase for us,’ she laughed as she walked off into the jungle.
I followed Zak back inside, wriggling in through the leaves surrounding the hidden cave’s entrance, folding the solar charger away and carefully zipping up the secure mobile inside my jacket. I was hugely impressed by Ariel’s and Zak’s talents, and was very glad they were on my team.
3:54 pm
Boges finally called me back later that afternoon as I lay outside getting some fresh air, hidden by a large tree. ‘Man, that file you emailed me—the Mordred key? I opened it on one of my throw-out rebuilt laptops, in case it melted my system or something. And I’m telling you, dude, I don’t like the look of it at all.’
‘Tell me!’ I urged. ‘What is it? We need to know.’
‘I’d tell you if I could. It’s heavily encrypted. I’ve never seen script like it before. I mean that. I’ve already talked with SI-6 about it. They’re scratching their heads, too. They’ve sent the file to their top IT cipher department to see if they can crack it. I found a few helpful things, though. Not promising anything at this stage but I might be able to hack into Damien’s email.’
‘That might help with the encrypted file,’ I said doubtfully. ‘I’d really like to know what it’s all about.’
‘Relax, Cal. One of the greatest minds in history is working on it.’
‘You, Boges?’
‘That would be correct, dude.’
‘Ryan’s about to move to the next level—the Zenith team. And I’ve found out that this toplevel group learn close quarters combat skills. But what for?’
‘Good question,’ said Boges.
I went on to tell him about everything I’d seen in the lab.
Boges was silent for a while. ‘Don’t know what that’s all about,’ he finally said. ‘What were the six letters at the top of that paper?’
‘MAC-UID,’ I quoted.
‘Well, now you’re talking,’ said Boges. ‘Finally something I understand. MAC is short for Media Access Control, and that might explain some of the names and numbers, too. The Media Access Control is an electronic address allocated to every electronic device. They all have a unique ID, and that’s what UID means.’
‘So those strings of names and numbers are the identifying markers for things like mobiles and computers? That sort of thing?’
‘Right. You got it.’ Boges said.
‘And I took one of the Biosurge pellets,’ I said. ‘We need to get it analysed, find out what these so-called natural vitamins are all about.’
‘I know a bloke in the chemistry department at the uni,’ said Boges. ‘I could ask him to run it through a chemical analysis and find out what’s actually in it.’
‘I have to get it to you first,’ I said. ‘I don’t really know how long I’m going to be on the island.’ I thought about the winking cubes. ‘I heard Damien say something about the cubes, that they’d moved. He called them modbots.’
‘Did you say modbots?’ Boges asked.
‘That’s right,’ I said.
‘Do you know what that means?’ Boges said.
‘No, Boges, but I’ll bet you do.’
‘It’s short for “modular robots”,’ said Boges. ‘A lot of work’s being done in that area at the moment. Modbots are a bit like a kid’s toy blocks, but with brains. They come in different shapes and sizes and can be grouped together into different formations.’
I told him about the heavy, rover-type vehicle that I’d bumped into, and asked him about the screen on the dashboard.
‘That sounds like the sort of big robotic machine they use in mining,’ said Boges. ‘Could explain how some of the tunnels were made. The screen might have radar capability. Miners use it to see minerals behind a rock face.’
‘The screen did show me the rock face in front of the machine but some of the pixels were moving. What do you make of that, Boges? Oh man, and I forgot to tell you about the eyes! There were five, all different colours… hey, Boges? Are you still there?’
‘Hey… Cal. Hello? You there?… breaking up.’
‘That’s not me,’ I said. ‘There’s been some earth tremors happening on the island.’
‘Cal—be careful… could be… volcano…’
‘We’d kinda worked that out, Boges.’
‘I think… but you don’t need to… out of there… don’t panic, volcanoes sometimes behave like that for months before they finally…’
Then I lost him completely as the line went dead. ‘There’s some serious atmospheric interference happening,’ I explained to the others as I came back inside the cave.
I pulled out the brochure from the lab that I’d shoved in my pocket. ‘Have a look at this.’ The others crowded round to see.
Sophie read aloud over my shoulder, ‘“Thoroughgood Robotics—automated mining capabilities. Search and rescue applications over multiple terrains.” What does that mean?’
On the cover of the brochure was the name of the author—Dr Jeffrey Thoroughgood, PhD.
‘I’ve heard of him,’ said Sophie, ‘He’s Damien’s brother. Mrs Clayton told me he’s an amazing robotics designer and engineer. He’s practically a billionaire. He donated this place—gave away this whole island—so that kids could have somewhere to chill out for a while.’
‘That would explain why I overheard Hamish saying that Jeffrey would be pleased with the modbots. Maybe he was talking about some kind of experiment that Jeffrey was working on?’
I continued reading aloud, ‘“Thoroughgood Robotics supplies state-of-the-art radar-equipped rovers for mining that can also be used to locate and dig out people trapped in disaster areas. Thoroughgood Robotics can supply modular robotic systems for any terrain which will help in search and rescue operations across many situations—from earthquake searches to mining accidents. Our designs can assist in digging underneath and photographing under collapsed buildings or caved-in mine systems. The uses to which our flexible robotic systems can be put are only limited by the human imagination. You’ve got a problem? Thoroughgood Robotics multi-application modular robots offer you the solution!”’
‘So where is he when we need him?’ joked Zak. ‘Maybe he could help us with a few solutions!’
‘Sophie’s dad told me that he’s been sick recently, and that’s why Damien has been running the place,’ I said.
‘Well, I guess those camera snakes would be helpful after an earthquake,’ Zak said. ‘You can imagine them sliding into crevices and finding people trapped under rubble and sending back information so rescuers could get to them quickly.’
‘I bumped into one of his mining machines just near the laboratory,’ I said. ‘That could explain why there are so many tunnels down there. Looks like Jeffrey has been using his improved automated digging and cutting implements to create more of those tunnels under the mountain. And it explains the spythons, too. Jeffrey must have been using Shadow Island like a field laboratory, digging tunnels with his robot digger and testing his search and rescue pythons.’
‘They’re not doing search and rescue now,’ Ariel said. ‘They’re spying—sending back information to whoever is monitoring the security screens in Damien’s office.’
‘Hamish,’ I said, thinking of the burly, bristle-headed guy with the broad shoulders and the piercing grey eyes. ‘He’s his second-in-command.’
‘Hamish and Damien served in the army together,’ said Ariel. ‘Hamish told me ages ago that he owes his life to Damien.’
‘No wonder they�
��re so tight,’ I said.
I flipped through the rest of the brochure. ‘Well, there’s nothing in here about holographic eyes.’
11:00 pm
I tried calling SI-6 using the secure satellite phone that BB had given me. I had no luck. Bad weather, earth tremors—whatever was preventing the connection, the result was the same.
We were on our own.
DAY 38
53 days to go…
Katz Cave
6:35 am
With just a hint of pink light along the horizon, I crept out of the cave to have a look at the volcano. I could see a thin line of smoke snaking up into the sky. All appeared still. The birds didn’t seem worried by it. They were as noisy as ever—screeching parrots and other tuneful songsters created a musical racket in the treetops as heavy drops of water splashed down from the forest cloud above.
Maybe there wasn’t anything to worry about after all. The tremors had stopped in the last few days and there was no other sign that anything else was going to happen up at the volcano’s summit.
Over the last week, Ryan had kept me informed about comings and goings at the resort, so I knew that Damien had succeeded in convincing everyone that the runaways were sick and needed urgent attention. I’d even heard some of them calling out to us as they combed the island, begging us to come in for treatment. There was no point trying to convince them that Damien was lying—even if we could persuade them, we’d only be endangering them further. So we hid and we waited.
Every day we could hear search parties being organised over the loudspeakers. From the snatches we heard, it seemed that the counsellors were doing most of the searching, with only a handful of resort kids rostered on at any one time.
So he gets them to help search but does it in shifts so they can still have fun and not suspect too much. That’s clever, makes sure they don’t get sick of it all and want to leave, I thought.
The searchers had been surprisingly persistent, though. We’d had no choice but to lay low and wait for their zealousness to wear off.
We focused our energies on working out our next move and trying to fix the satellite phone which had stopped working several days before. In between his training sessions and reward excursions, Ryan had managed to find some tools in a resort storeroom and Zak had been tinkering with it since. I cursed the broken phone but Zak seemed glad to have something to occupy his time.
Back inside the cave, I squatted on one of the cartons as the rescue plans I’d been thinking about crystallised in my mind.
‘OK,’ I said, looking at Zak and Ariel who were opening tins of baked beans and biscuits for breakfast. Sophie had just come back from the creek where we washed when we were sure it was safe from spying eyes, and pulled up a crate to join us.
‘I think we need to take a chance out in the jungle. It seems like maybe the searchers are getting a bit half-hearted now. I think it’s best if Zak and I go out to Delta 11. We don’t know what state that prisoner might be in. We need to get him out of that prison and off the outcrop.’
‘So we need to figure out how to get the key,’ Zak said. ‘And then get ourselves out to Delta 11?’
Two problems. My mind raced to solve them. One at a time, I reminded myself.
‘The key to Delta 11 is in Damien’s office. I saw it there. We’ll have to risk another trip into the resort for the key or get Ryan to sneak back in. But in the meantime, we’ll talk to the prisoner and find out how he’s doing. BB might have to fly in medical supplies if necessary. As for getting over there, we’ll need to “borrow” the little boat with the outboard. But it won’t be easy doing that without getting caught. Especially now.’
‘I’ve got a better idea,’ said Zak. ‘Come with me.’
Curious, I followed Zak out of the cave and some distance away, through thick jungle to a very narrow crevasse in the rock, so narrow that he could barely squeeze through. But soon he was backing out, hauling something. I hurried over to give him a hand and as it came out, I soon realised what it was—a wide, flat construction, like wooden flooring, securely held together by strong ropes.
‘A raft! Awesome!’
‘We made it ages ago,’ Zak explained. ‘We’ve even tried to launch it a couple of times, but, without the right tools to make oars, it was too hard to row.’
‘We could use the oars from the outboard,’ I said excitedly. ‘Damien and Hamish would notice the boat missing, but I think we can get away with taking the oars.’
‘We’ll all need to help get it down to the shoreline and then hide it there so we’re ready to go over to the outcrop,’ Zak said.
We hauled the raft, mostly on its edge, through the undergrowth and vines of Shadow Island. We used the strong rope attached to the raft to drag it through cleared areas, carrying it in other places.
‘Thank goodness it’s mostly downhill,’ puffed Sophie as we paused for a rest.
‘I hope we’re not making too much noise,’ I said. ‘What we need is one of those tropical downpours.’
As if by magic, thunder rumbled overhead and a tropical rainstorm exploded around us, the rain falling straight down, heavy and loud. Despite everything, it made me laugh.
‘Hey, Cal! You never told us you were a rainmaker!’ Sophie grinned.
The hammering rain gave us just the cover we needed as we bullied and shoved, pushed and lifted the large raft all the way down to the shoreline. We emerged from the undergrowth, drenched and dripping with sweat and rain. The southern tip of the island hid us from the large mooring cavern around the corner and the resort buildings further north, but we’d still have to be vigilant, there were counsellors searching everywhere.
‘It’d be best to hide it down here,’ Zak said, looking around for a suitable place. There really wasn’t anywhere to conceal it along the rocky coastline. I looked around, wondering if we’d have to haul the raft back up into the undergrowth somewhere, when I noticed a long piece of driftwood beyond the rocks, half-submerged in the water. It was wedged fast between two jagged rocks and had been there so long that it was covered in dozens of barnacles and lumpy seaweed.
‘Let’s hide it in plain sight,’ I said. ‘We can tie one end of the rope tight around this jammed log and let the raft drift out beyond the rocks. No-one will notice it.’
I secured the rope with the strong double clove hitch that my father had taught me, and together we managed to wrangle the raft out beyond the surrounding jagged rocks in the water. It drifted lazily on the swell and when I went back to check the rope around the log, seaweed had already drifted around it so that it was almost invisible. I was satisfied with our plan.
Shadow Island Jungle
8:42 am
The rain had stopped as suddenly as it began and we rested for a while, dozing in the undergrowth. Over the still air, the sound of voices began to drift towards us.
‘More search parties,’ sighed Sophie. We silently looked at each other and nodded. Time to go. We fell into single file as Ariel led us back to our hide-out. No-one spoke as we crept along like jungle ninjas.
Once we were safely back in the cave, I shared the rest of my plan with the others. ‘Tomorrow, when everyone is spread out on the mountain looking for us again, we’ll sneak inside and try to find the prisoners locked up down there. We’ll go to the cave where the submersible and the motorboat are moored so Zak and I can pinch the oars from the motorboat. The search parties should miss us because you guys will be inside the mountain, and Zak and I will be on the raft headed for Delta 11. Sophie and Ariel, you two take the master key and search for those prisoners. I know you both have some idea of the layout inside the mountain and Sophie, you remember roughly where you were held?’
She nodded.
‘We know there are at least two tunnels that open onto the big mooring cave, including the one that runs past the underground dining room—search that one first. If we’re lucky, there may be other rooms down there that we missed before. That master key is our most precious possess
ion. Whatever you do, don’t let them find that. Swallow it if you have to!’
‘Hopefully it won’t come to that!’ Sophie smiled.
‘Don’t worry,’ said Ariel. ‘We won’t let you down. Promise.’
DAY 39
52 days to go…
9:02 am
We were ready. From the resort, we could hear the loudspeakers organising that day’s search and rescue operation. What a load of bull, I thought. Damien was keeping up the pretence that the runaways were ‘sick’ and that he was organising some sort of mercy operation, and all along he was simply plotting to capture them.
We all hurried south, on our way to the mooring cave and its opening into the tunnels of the mountain. No matter how many times I’d made this mad scramble across the rocks, it still seemed hard and made me a bit fearful.
It was Sophie’s turn to wear the stinger suit, but fortunately, the sea wasn’t too wild around the opening of the cave and we were all able to get inside without getting drenched.
‘Good luck, girls,’ I said to Sophie and Ariel, and Zak gave his sister a quick hug. We watched them vanish into the darkness of the tunnel opposite.
‘I’m going to take a look at that boat,’ Zak said, pointing to the submersible. ‘You never know, maybe we can use it to leave when we’ve got everyone together.’
‘I’ll go for the oars.’ I crept towards the motorboat that was bobbing on its rope. I jumped down and grabbed the oars, steadying the little boat with my legs, and then lifting the oars out onto the ledge.
Zak came back shaking his head. ‘No go,’ he sighed, ‘there’s a serious electronic padlock on the controls, we’d need the code.’
‘Damn, that’s a pity. Good thinking, though. Let’s get going,’ I said. I’d never noticed any security cameras underground, but I wasn’t taking any chances and the quicker we were out of there, the better.
Hunted Page 4
