by Maggie Marks
The trident was sharp and shiny. But a drowned carried the trident, not Luna!
As it released its weapon, Mason dove—just in time. The trident zipped over his head, tunneling through the water. But seconds later, the drowned was holding another trident.
Mason darted left and right, like a fish in a net. I can’t get away, he realized. There’s no escape!
He ducked, waiting for the next blast. But it never came.
As the drowned dropped in front of Mason, he saw something sticking out of the mob’s shoulder—Luna’s trident. Then she was tugging Mason’s arm, urging him forward.
What’s the use? he wanted to holler. We’re outnumbered!
But she didn’t want him to fight. Luna pointed at the trident in Mason’s hand and then motioned for him to throw it—away from the drowned that were creeping ever closer.
Then Mason remembered: his trident was enchanted with riptide. He’d been using it like a sword instead of like a spear. But if he threw it . . .
He instantly raised his hand and released the trident. As it tunneled through the water, his body lurched forward, following his weapon. He zipped through the water without even swimming. Without a single stroke of his arms or kick of his legs. He was flying!
But wait! he suddenly realized. What about Asher?
As he grabbed his trident, he slowed down—and then whirled around. The drowned had become a writhing mass of green and brown. Was Asher somewhere in the middle of it all?
Mason threw his spear again, aiming carefully to the side of the mobs. His body lurched and he was beside his trident in a flash, searching for Asher.
Luna waved to get his attention and then pointed. Asher was behind a pillar, backing away from a drowned. He raised his pickaxe, but the weapon looked so small!
Before Asher could attack—or be attacked—Mason swam toward him and grabbed his hand. He glanced back at Luna, who nodded, as if to say, Go! I’ll be right behind you.
So with his other arm, Mason threw his trident—fast and far away. He held tight to Asher’s hand, taking his brother with him as they zoomed after the trident. Again and again he threw his weapon, following it home.
He glanced back only once, hoping Luna would be behind them. But all he could see was the endless ocean. Dark murky water stretched out for miles.
Will the drowned follow us home? Mason wondered. Or . . . are they already there?
“I’ve never seen so many,” said Luna as she wrung out her hair by the furnace. “Well, not since . . . last time.”
By “last time,” Mason knew just what she meant. The last time the drowned had overtaken the village. The last time Luna had seen her parents alive. He swallowed hard.
He and Asher had made it home safely, and then waited for what felt like hours for Luna to show up, too. They’d beaten the drowned back home. But Mason knew the mobs would show up soon. He could feel it, like a tentacle of dread wrapping around his body, making it hard to breathe.
“Are you dry yet?” he asked Asher, who sat huddled near the furnace.
His brother nodded, but his teeth were chattering. “If we’d f-finished the conduit,” he said, “the drowned w-wouldn’t come here. They’d s-stay away.”
“I know,” said Mason. “You did your best. But you can’t finish it without the heart of the sea.”
As he reached for another block of dried kelp to add to the furnace, he saw how low the supply had gotten. “We should stock up on fuel,” he said. “Just in case.”
Luna nodded. “Good idea. I have plenty at my house. I can bring some food back, too.”
As she stood to leave, Mason felt his stomach twist. He hated to see Luna go. If the drowned did show up, he and Asher would need her help fighting them off.
“Let me check our food supply first,” he told her. He crossed the room toward the chest. As he lifted the lid, his shoulders slumped. Two cooked cod fillets rested next to a single bunch of fresh kelp.
Not good, thought Mason. If he and Asher still lived above ground, they’d have potatoes. Loaves of bread. Mushroom stew. But down here, they relied on fresh fish and kelp.
So that’s it, he realized. I have to let Luna go out for more food.
He handed her a helmet and followed her out of the furnace room. But as soon as Luna reached the glass-walled living room, she stopped.
“What is it?” asked Mason. “Did you forget something?”
She raised a finger to her lips and pulled him forward.
The living room, which was usually filled with light, felt dark and shadowy. But why?
Mason stepped around Luna and instantly froze.
The clear glass walls were lined with mobs. The drowned pressed their mottled faces to the glass, peering in with their ice-cold eyes. One of the mobs began to bang on the glass.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Each blast rattled the glass.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Mason’s heart pounded in his ears.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
“What is that?” Asher cried, racing into the room. He stopped short. “Uh-oh.”
“Uh-oh is right,” whispered Luna. “We’re in trouble now.”
Mason had never heard Luna use those words before. “What do we do?” he asked.
She shrugged. “We wait,” she said. “We hope they go away on their own. Before . . .”
“Before what?” asked Asher.
“Before we run out of food,” she said. “Or fuel. Or water.”
Mason nearly laughed out loud. “We’re surrounded by water,” he said. But Luna was right. How would they bring any water inside to drink? How could they step outside—without getting attacked?
Thump. Thump. Thump.
As the walls shook, Mason held his breath, hoping the walls he had built were strong enough. His throat tightened with worry.
“Let’s go back to the furnace room,” he said, trying to hold his voice steady. “Maybe if they can’t see us, the drowned will go away.” What he really meant was, Maybe if I can’t see them, I’ll be able to breathe again.
As they headed back toward the furnace, Mason reached for another block of dried kelp, hoping that a blazing fire would raise their spirits. But his hand froze mid-reach. There was only one block left. They were going to need it later.
They waited for what felt like hours—till the drowned finally stopped banging on the glass. Till quiet filled the house.
“I think they’re gone,” Asher whispered. “I’m going to go check.”
As he hopped up from his chair, Mason grabbed the back of his shirt. “Wait! I’ll go with you.” He felt Luna close behind, too, as they tiptoed down the hall.
Darkness had fallen. Had the drowned swam toward the water’s surface, hoping to find new prey?
Mason scanned the glass, waiting for his eyes to adjust. At first, he saw nothing—nothing but a clump of sea grass waving side to side in the water. Then he saw two pricks of light.
He watched them bobble closer. The blue flecks grew wider, till they were pressed against the glass. And then Mason knew.
The drowned were coming back.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
When Luna cried out, Mason whirled around. “It’s alright!” he said. “They can’t get to us.”
But Luna wasn’t looking at the drowned. She was looking down. She pointed toward the sea grass on the other side of the glass.
Except now that Mason looked again, he saw more clearly. It wasn’t sea grass at all.
It was tentacles. The tentacles of a squid.
Edward was on the other side of the glass, trying to get in.
Away from the drowned.
CHAPTER 8
“Will the drowned hurt Edward?”
Asher knelt near the window, reaching for the squid as if trying to help him step through the glass.
Luna answered quickly, her voice tight. “I don’t know. But they attack baby turtles, so . . . he’s not safe out there.”
Edward’s eyes widened,
as if he had heard her. He raised another tentacle and pressed it to the glass, holding on for dear life.
“That’s it,” said Luna. “I’m going out to get him.” She was already pulling on her boots.
“I’ll go with you!” said Asher.
“No you won’t,” said Mason, pulling him back. He cared about Edward, but he cared about Asher way more.
Luna nodded. “Mason’s right. I’ve got this. You just stay by the door, ready for me to hand Edward over. Got it?”
When Asher finally agreed, Mason blew out a breath of relief.
Luna tightened her helmet and reached for her trident. Then she stepped out through the first door, flinging it shut behind her.
Mason waited to hear the sound of the second door opening, and then he counted down from ten. Ten, nine, eight . . . The sponge mat would be soaking up the water now. Seven, six, five . . . Was Luna alright? He fought the urge to run to the window to see. Four, three, two . . . He flung the door open, letting just a little bit of water gush inside.
Asher followed him into the flush entrance. Then they shut the door to the living room and waited for Luna’s knock on the outer door.
“C’mon!” cried Mason. “Where is she?”
When Asher reached for the handle, Mason swatted his hand away. “Not yet. Wait till she knocks.”
But would she ever knock?
Mason pressed his ear to the door, trying to hear. He might as well have stuck his ear in a nautilus shell. All he heard was the hum of the ocean, a sound so familiar that he could barely hear it at all.
“What’s she doing out there?” cried Asher.
“Hopefully saving a squid,” said Mason. He began to pace, but the room was so small, he could take only two steps before turning around. C’mon, Luna. Knock already!
Then she did—a pounding so loud and furious that Mason jumped. He flung open the door without thinking, without even grabbing his weapon.
The wall of water hit first, and then a tangle of wet tentacles. Luna shoved Edward into Mason’s arms and pushed her way in behind him.
When the outer door slammed shut, Mason felt a tingle of relief run from his head to his toes. But he couldn’t see a thing. He pulled a sticky tentacle off his face.
“Edward, get off me!” he cried, sucking in a mouthful of water.
It took forever to stop coughing. Forever for the water level to slowly sink, and for Edward to slink down to the floor after it.
“He needs water,” said Luna.
“Huh?” asked Mason, trying to wipe the slimy feeling of squid off his face.
“Edward,” she said sadly. “We can keep him safe from the drowned, but he needs water to live. He can’t stay in a dry place for too long.”
“Now you tell me!” said Mason. “So what do we do?”
Edward had plastered himself to the wet sponge at their feet, as if it were the last puddle of water in a dry desert.
“We don’t dry out the sponge, for starters,” said Luna. “And then we put our heads together and try to come up with a way out of this mess.”
Mason sighed as he pushed open the door to the living room. When water spilled in, he didn’t try to mop it up.
As he glanced toward the glass, he did a double take. A curtain of darkness had fallen where the drowned had stood only minutes ago.
“Are they gone?” he asked. “Did you fight them off?”
Luna shook her head. “Edward did,” she said.
“How?” asked Mason, picturing Edward holding eight tiny tridents in his eight long tentacles.
“Ink,” said Luna. “He squirted a cloud of ink—like the stuff you have all over your face right now.”
Asher laughed out loud, pointing. “You do!” he said. “You should see it!”
But Mason didn’t have to look. He’d been inked by Edward before. “Great,” he murmured. “Perfect. Thanks, Edward. Thanks, buddy, old pal.”
He tried to laugh, but it came out more like a squawk.
Because now I’m not just worried about myself and Asher, Mason realized. Now I have to find a way to keep a squid alive, too.
“What day is it?” Asher asked. “I think I’m starving to death.” He flung the back of his hand to his forehead, as if he were about to faint.
“It’s the same day,” Luna said. “And don’t be so dramatic.”
Mason couldn’t blame Asher. It did feel as if they’d been stuck inside for days. His own stomach grumbled in protest. “I think we should eat something,” he finally announced. “Maybe we can split a piece of cod and save the other one for later.”
“Or dry some kelp?” Asher asked hopefully.
Mason shook his head. “We can’t waste fuel by smelting kelp. But you can have some fresh kelp if you’d like.”
Asher wrinkled his nose. “Yeah, no thanks.”
Mason pulled a cod fillet from the supply chest. It looked so small. Had it shrunk since he’d last checked?
As he set the cod on a plate, his mouth watered. He carefully cut the cod into three small pieces, and then slid two of them onto plates for Luna and Asher.
“What about Edward?” Luna asked, as if the squid were sitting right there at the table with them.
Mason sighed—and reached into the supply chest for the last piece of cod. He handed it to Luna, who disappeared into the other room to feed Edward.
Mason ate his cod in a single bite, but instantly, his stomach rumbled for more.
“You sound hungry,” said Asher. “How about some fresh kelp?” He raised an eyebrow and smirked.
Mason sighed again—and reached into the supply chest for a few kelp leaves. As he placed the first piece on his tongue, he nearly gagged. It was so bitter! But he forced himself to chew. “Mmm . . .” he said. “Delicious.”
Asher rolled his eyes. As soon as he looked away, Mason spit the green gob into his napkin. Ew.
When Luna returned, she was still holding the hunk of fish. “Edward won’t eat,” she said, her face drooping. “I’m really worried about him.”
“I’m really worried about us,” said Mason. “All we have left for food is kelp. How long are the drowned going to hang around?”
Luna shrugged. “I don’t know. But at this rate, they might outlast us—and Edward.” She nibbled nervously on a fingernail. “There’s no other solution. I have to go for help.”
“What?” asked Mason, louder than he’d intended. “You can’t go anywhere. We’re surrounded!” But then curiosity got the better of him. “Besides, who would you go to for help? We’re alone down here!”
Luna shook her head. “Not totally.”
Huh? Mason studied her face for clues. Did she have a friend down here that he didn’t know about?
“Ms. Beacon?” Asher blurted.
“No way,” said Mason, remembering the woman’s cold stare. “She’s no friend.”
He waited for Luna to agree, but she didn’t. “She brews some wicked potions,” said Luna. “I’ll bet she could help us fight the drowned.”
“I’ll bet she has the heart of the sea in her treasure chest,” said Asher. “We could sure use that right about now.”
Luna shot him a glance. “It’s not a treasure chest,” she said. “It’s a loot chest. It’s different.”
Asher stuck out his chin, refusing to listen.
“I don’t want you to go,” Mason said to Luna. “We’ll figure out a different plan. We need to stick together.”
But Luna only shrugged.
When she went to check on Edward, Mason watched her closely. When Luna had her mind set on something, it was tough to talk her out of it.
He followed her into the main room, noticing that the sun had begun to brighten the ocean floor. But the drowned were still outside the window, tall green mobs wiggling like stalks of rotten sea grass. Mason’s stomach clenched. Don’t look at them, he told himself as he quickly crossed the room.
When Luna grabbed her turtle helmet, he blocked her path. “You can’t go!�
� he said, holding up his hand.
Luna pulled her dark hair into a ponytail beneath her helmet. “I’m just letting in some water for Edward,” she said. “I’ll open the door a crack, and I’ve got my trident to keep the drowned out. Don’t worry—I know what I’m doing.”
Mason glanced at the squid. Edward hugged the sponge carpet, which now looked dry as a bone. “Alright,” said Mason. “But just a crack. The drowned are right outside the door.”
Luna nodded and tightened her helmet. Then she stepped out of the living room and into the flush entrance with Edward.
Mason listened for the sound of the outer door clicking open. When it did, he heard water pouring in. And then the slam of the outer door again.
He counted to ten, waiting for the sponge to soak up the water—for Edward to get his fix of the wet stuff. But after ten seconds, and then twenty, and then thirty, Luna still hadn’t come back in.
“Is Edward okay?” Mason hollered through the door.
There was no response. He opened the door an inch, making sure the water level had fallen. Edward had plumped back up again. He blinked contentedly at Mason from his spot on the bloated carpet.
But Luna was nowhere to be found.
CHAPTER 9
“I can’t believe she left us!” cried Mason as he paced the living room, end to end.
Asher stared out the window, as if trying to catch a glimpse of Luna swimming away. But as he looked out, the drowned looked in. One began banging his mottled head against the glass.
Thump, thump, thump.
“Asher, get away from the window,” Mason ordered. He didn’t have to tell his brother twice. Asher took a giant step backward.
“Luna didn’t leave us,” he pointed out. “She’s going for help!”
“Help from a crazy old lady who lives in a cave?” cried Mason. As soon as he’d said the words, he was glad Luna hadn’t heard them. “Well, I don’t know if she’s crazy, but I know she’s not friendly. She practically chased us out of her home.”
Asher nodded. “True. But she was pretty scary. If we’re fighting the drowned, I want her on my side.”
Mason couldn’t argue with that. He started pacing again, until the throng of drowned outside the window began to grow. “Let’s get back to the furnace room,” he said to Asher. “The longer we’re in here, the more riled up the drowned get. It’s better when they can’t see us.”
