by Lisa McMann
Alex laughed, forgetting to be quiet, then covered his mouth. “Sorry,” he whispered.
Kaylee hopped to see out the porthole, then pointed to the ladder. “Let’s go back up,” she whispered.
One at a time they climbed the ladder up two levels, staying low on the top deck so they would remain hidden from the gorillas. They kept their voices quiet.
Alex explained to Kaylee that Artimé was a magical land. He told her that he placed the glass shields on the ground with magic, and showed her a couple of little spells, like tapping his notebook to produce a pencil. She didn’t believe it at first, but then Alex used the preserve spell on the ship’s logs, and she marveled as the spell seeped over each page. Once the spell was complete, the brittle pages were flexible and protected from further damage.
“They’re waterproof now too,” said Alex, “so when we jump into the water, they’ll be fine.”
“That’s fantastic,” Kaylee said, turning the books over and admiring them. She glanced over her shoulder to check the sun’s location, but it was hidden behind the mountainous side of the island. “They should start moving upland fairly soon. I’ll let you know when it’s safe to jump.”
Aaron wore a perplexed look. “Why did you live up there in the tree at the top of the mountain when you could’ve lived here on this ship?” Aaron asked. “I mean, it’s falling apart, but you’d be safe if you repaired it. And we could have picked you up from here in the first place instead of messing with the vine and the cliff.”
“Two very important reasons,” Kaylee said. She stretched out on her back and grimaced as her spine popped. “Oof,” she said. “That was from the ride down the waterfall. My body has taken a beating on this island, let me tell ya.” She twisted her back until she was satisfied.
“Anyway,” she continued, “why didn’t I just live on this boat? One, this ship is too far away from the river. I needed to be able to get water safely. Plus the water is a lot cleaner up at the top because the gorillas, um, spend time in it down at this end, if you know what I mean. And two, food. There’s nothing but grass and weeds down here, and a herd of wild pigs, but I haven’t been able to catch them and I don’t have any way of cooking them. I’m sort of a vegetarian now, I guess,” she said thoughtfully.
The others didn’t know what the term meant, but they could guess, and they didn’t want to interrupt.
Kaylee looked at her deteriorating clothing and scars all over her arms and legs from various cuts, scratches, and bug bites. “It’s been rough,” she said softly. “Really rough. I . . . For a while there I started to feel myself slipping away. Losing my mind, I mean.” She ran her hand over her arm, wiping away a bit of caked mud from the underside.
Aaron watched her. “How did you manage to hold on?” he asked in a quiet voice.
“I’m used to being alone,” Kaylee said. “I’ve trained for it. And I told myself every morning that I just had to get through one day, and surely someone would come tomorrow. . . .” She swallowed hard. “Making the vine rope helped. It gave me something to work for.”
Aaron felt a wave of emotion sweep through him, though he wasn’t sure why. All he knew was that he understood being alone.
“Getting back to my story,” Kaylee continued, “I lived in this ship for a couple of days when my sailboat first sank out there, and then when I got deliriously thirsty, I made a run for the river. While I was there, the gorillas caught sight of some weird creature floating off the north shore—”
“Ah yes, I bet that was Pan, the coiled water dragon,” Sky said.
“She rules the sea,” added Alex.
Aaron looked mystified.
“Okaaay,” Kaylee went on. “And I ran up there to see if I could find food. I found a lot of it, actually. Bird eggs, wild raspberries, mushrooms, and cattails by the mouth of the waterfall. When the gorillas came back, I got cornered, so I climbed to the top of the tallest tree. They tried to get me, and for whatever reason, I started singing, because I couldn’t think of anything else to do to save myself. And they liked it. They made a pet out of me.”
“A pet,” Alex repeated. “And they let you live up in your little cage at the top of the tree.”
“Exactly. They didn’t hurt me. They got a little aggressive when they wanted me to sing, so I learned quickly to start doing that before any tree shaking began.”
“And you said they sleep up there?” Sky asked.
“Most of them. All night, a few always right at the foot of the tree. After the first few days, whenever the coast was clear, I got down for a bit to get food and water. I also started to make a vine hammock so I could sleep in the tree without stressing about falling out. For the first few days I figured I was going to die at any moment.”
“I’ve felt like that before on a raft in the sea,” Sky murmured. “It’s a terrible feeling.”
“Yes,” Kaylee said. “But I got the hang of it eventually. Pardon the pun, ha-ha.”
Aaron didn’t know what a pun was, but the other two laughed.
“I started making the rope several months ago once I realized I had to do something to keep my sanity, and the cliff offered me the best chance of escape. I can see all the way around the island from up there in case a ship came by. I was really hoping the rope thing would work, but the stinking gorillas are wicked smart and they foiled it. They basically just pulled me up and put me back in my tree cage, which I knew they would do. They heard you out by the beach—that was smart, by the way, to draw them out to sea. Can you believe it? Gorillas are not usually swimmers, but these guys are not normal. Anyway, once you came on land, they saw you and took off to eat you.”
She took a breath. “Whew. So plan B was in place. I never wanted to do what we ended up doing today, let me tell you, but there was no other choice.” She rubbed her backside. “My board is not made for waterfalls.”
Alex nodded toward it on the deck nearby. “Is that part of your sailboat?”
“Nope,” said Kaylee. “The sailboat sank, but I grabbed this as we were taking on water. It’s a surfboard. Haven’t you ever seen one?”
Alex shook his head. “It just floats, like a raft?”
“Yes,” said Kaylee. “You ride on it. I usually stand up when I’m on an ocean with big waves, but that method doesn’t work very well on a river, so after I jumped I had to lie down and paddle it.”
There were so many unfamiliar things Kaylee was telling them, and Alex and Sky had tons of questions about where the girl came from, but the gorillas were beginning to move. Kaylee held a finger to her lips and pointed.
They all watched in silence for about twenty minutes as the gorillas lumbered away and began climbing the mountain.
“Stay quiet now,” Kaylee warned. “We can continue this conversation once we make it to the boat.”
Back to Artimé
Once most of the gorillas had retreated and were on their way up the mountain, Sky brought Kaylee to the sea-side end of the ship and introduced Spike. As soon as Kaylee got used to the fact that Spike was a talking magical creature, she had no qualms about jumping twenty feet into the ocean below and riding on Spike’s back to the boat.
“Stay quiet,” Kaylee warned the others before she jumped. “Any noise will bring the gorillas thundering back here.”
Sky nodded. She counted down, and she and Kaylee jumped first so Aaron could see what was expected of him. He had so little experience with the sea that his fears were enormous, especially after nearly drowning. He didn’t complain or try to get out of it, though. He was just more quiet than usual.
Alex knew Aaron was scared to death, and he actually felt a little sorry for his brother. They stood at the railing and watched the girls jump, and looked on as Spike swam under them and popped them out of the water so they were sitting on her back. Spike immediately sped out to the boat, which the boys could barely make out in the moonlight, and they saw the girls climbing on board.
Aaron’s hands were clammy by the time Spike retu
rned, and his legs shook as the brothers climbed over the railing and hung on.
“I won’t let you drown,” Alex said quietly.
“I wouldn’t blame you if you did,” Aaron said. “But I appreciate it.”
Alex took his brother’s arm. “We’ll jump together on three,” he said. “Take a deep breath as I’m counting and hold your nose. It’ll be over before you know it.”
Aaron swallowed hard and nodded. He was panting from fear, which made it hard to take a deep breath, but as Alex counted to three, he did the best he could. He closed his eyes and plugged his nose, and soon his stomach was flipping and he was screaming and falling and then he was plunging underwater, not stopping. His nose came unplugged and he panicked, his arms and legs flailing, and then he felt Alex pulling him up. From below, he felt the huge back of the whale beneath him, lifting him above the water. He choked and coughed, flailing face-first on the whale’s back and trying to hold on to her smooth skin for dear life.
“You did it,” Alex said from behind him. He climbed up next to Aaron and put his hand on Aaron’s back. “You’re not going to fall off. It’s a whale. It’s huge. Open your eyes and look.”
Aaron opened his eyes and saw the expanse of whale on which he was riding. He coughed a bit more and then cautiously pushed himself up to sitting. Soon the whale was moving, and before long they were coming up alongside the white boat.
“That wasn’t so bad,” Aaron admitted.
Sky and Kaylee reached out to help him climb into the boat.
“Glad we girls went first,” Kaylee said. “That impressive scream of yours woke some gorillas, I’m sure. Listen.”
They heard the now-familiar rumble.
“It wasn’t intentional,” Aaron said.
Kaylee looked askance at him. “You’re awfully serious,” she said.
“Oh, he’s from Quill,” Alex said, toweling himself off and preparing to direct them home. “You’ll understand eventually.”
“Is that how you Unwanteds talk about us?” Aaron asked.
“Wow, unwanteds?” Kaylee said. “That’s not very nice.”
Alex held up a hand. “It’s okay. It’s not what you think. Well, I mean, it is, but we Unwanteds wear our title like a badge of honor because we were sent to our deaths and survived.”
“Whoa,” Kaylee said. “So clearly I’m not the only one with a near-death experience. This is probably a ho-hum sort of day for you. That explains a lot, actually.”
“Ho-hum?” Sky asked.
“Casual,” Kaylee said. “Ordinary.”
Sky nodded. “Sadly, risking our lives has become a little too ordinary lately.”
Kaylee looked nervous. “Maybe I’m better off with the gorillas after all,” she said.
“Don’t worry,” said Sky. “We’ll keep you safe in the mansion.”
“Is there soap?”
“Oh yes,” Sky said. “You’re in for a treat.”
Alex commanded the boat to go to Artimé with no further stops, and they set off around the south side of the island. Kaylee grew silent and watched it go by as they moved past the come-back sign and the rise of land and the tree at the top where she had lived for so long. “I can’t believe I’m finally out of there. I was really starting to think I’d never . . . make it. . . .” Kaylee pressed her hand over her eyes and choked back a sob. “Ugh. Sorry,” she said. “I am just all over the place emotional about this—seeing the island from the water again. Knowing I’m safe.”
Alex gave her a friendly one-arm side hug. “Nobody here is going to make fun of you for crying—we’re all pretty good at it.” He gave Aaron a warning glance, but Aaron’s gaze was elsewhere.
With the boat running itself and Spike keeping watch at their side, Alex ducked into the little cabin to get some food. He came out with his hands full and with Charlie at his side.
“Charlie,” he said, “you did a great job saving yourself and the boat from the gorillas. Did you meet Kaylee?”
The gargoyle nodded, and his gray stone cheeks blushed pink. He ducked behind Alex’s leg.
Alex grinned. “Any news from home?”
The gargoyle signed for a moment while Alex and Sky looked on.
“Storm?” Alex guessed, looking at Sky.
“Yep. The dust squalls in Quill are getting stronger,” Sky said.
“Okay,” Alex said. He looked at Charlie. “Tell Matilda to let Claire know that we should be home by tomorrow night.”
Charlie gave three thumbs up and disappeared.
“You all continue to surprise me,” Kaylee said. “A living gargoyle. What else have you got?”
“Just wait,” Aaron warned. “The scary ones are back on their island.”
“They’re not scary if you’re on Artimé’s side,” Sky pointed out.
“Which I guess I am, now,” Aaron said. He shook his head and took the food Alex offered him. “Thanks,” he said.
“And that still surprises me,” Alex muttered. He’d rarely heard the word “thanks” from his brother’s lips their entire childhood, and now he’d said it multiple times in the past two days. Ishibashi really did something to him, that was for sure. He started to wonder why he’d even liked Aaron as a child, because Aaron certainly hadn’t treated Alex very nicely. Though there had been times when they were close, especially at night in their bedroom, talking about things they could never talk about in front of anyone. . . .
“Have a seat, Alex,” Sky said gently.
Alex startled back to reality and realized he was standing in the middle of the boat holding his dinner. He laughed and sat down.
“Forgive me for inhaling this delicious food,” Kaylee said, “but I can’t seem to get enough of it. I have no idea how you kept this hot on the boat, but I want whatever you’ve got for my next journey.”
“It’s magical,” Alex said. “And there’s more food if you’d like it.”
“I would,” said Kaylee. She fished a rectangular device from her pocket. Its face was glass and cracked quite badly. She held it up. “This is a real long shot, but do you happen to have a cell phone charger?”
The three just looked at her.
Kaylee’s face fell. She sighed and put the device back into her pocket. “It’s waterlogged anyway.” She picked up her food again.
When everyone had finished eating, Kaylee attempted to work through her hair with Sky’s brush, but found that after so long without using one, there was no hope. “I’m going to have to chop it off,” she said. She didn’t seem upset about it.
“I can help with that,” Alex said. He produced a magical scissors that he used for his own hair whenever it got too out of control and handed it to her. Kaylee studied it for a moment, then handed it back. “Will you do the honors?”
Alex shrugged. “Sure.” He took a good look at where the knots in her hair began, then started cutting. Thirty minutes later, Kaylee was peering into a mirror in the cabin, running her fingers through her new short bob and exclaiming with delight. “You could open up a shop!” she said. “How are you so good at this?”
“It’s art,” Alex said. “That’s what I do.”
Finally, when the activity settled, Alex asked Kaylee one of the questions he’d been wondering since they’d first discovered she was the same girl Ishibashi had spoken of.
“So we know you crashed on the Island of Shipwrecks and spent a few days there, and then you actually made it out through the hurricane, right? Only you ended up sinking off the shore of the Island of Graves. What happened?”
Kaylee, now wearing one of Sky’s extra sets of clothes and snuggling under a blanket, shook her head and laughed. “I don’t know why I’m laughing,” she said. “It wasn’t funny then, and it really isn’t now, either, but I guess I can either laugh or cry about it, and I’ve cried enough.
“I managed to make it off Ishibashi’s island during the hour of calm by trying to go with the wind instead of against it, then head over the big waves straight on. Which work
ed, actually, but in the process I hit some rocks. They tore up the sailboat, and it sprang a slow leak that I couldn’t fix. After sailing slowly for a couple of days without sleep so I could keep bailing, I knew my only chance was to try to make it to the nearest island, which just happened to be the Island of Graves. So I pushed myself as hard as I could to get there. In the end, I couldn’t keep up with the leak, so I gave up and untied my surfboard. When the sailboat began to sink, I glided off on the board and watched my boat go down. It was . . . it was really sad. I’d been through so much with that boat. I can’t even . . .” She shook her head and laughed again.
Sky gave the girl a hug. “I’m so sorry. That must have been awful.”
“It was,” said Kaylee, “but I’m still alive. Pushing through this disaster one day at a time.”
“You made it,” said Sky. “I mean, I know our island won’t be home, but I promise it’s scads better than the one we just left.” She hesitated. “I’ve been curious to know where you came from before you ended up at Ishibashi’s island,” Sky asked. “Did you come straight from your . . . your land? How did it happen?”
“Well, it’s sort of complicated,” Kaylee said. “And I guess I’m not exactly sure how to explain it all. But I can tell you that I was in a race, I hit a terrible storm, and suddenly I found myself sailing up a waterfall.”
Kaylee’s Story
You sailed up a waterfall?” Aaron asked, his face etched in doubt.
“Hey, we sailed up a waterfall too!” Sky exclaimed.
“You did what?” Aaron asked, looking incredulous. “I have no idea half the things my brother has done.”
Alex leaned forward. “But did you sail down a waterfall first,” he asked Kaylee, “and then go upside down for a while before going up it?”
Kaylee frowned. “No, just up. I went through a really bad storm first. I was sailing around the world. Youngest competitor ever.” She shook her head.
“We sailed around the world too!” Sky said. “We went past all seven islands.”
Aaron tilted his head. “It’s not nice to brag,” he chided.
