Elemental (8 page)

CHAPTER 14

I
woke at first light, bones aching, elbows and knees itching. Alice had thrown her blanket over me, but the wind had picked up and the air felt damp. It wasn't cold, but I shivered anyway.

I heard shuffling beside me. Griffin stared at the dense mist swirling over the sound, even though there was nothing to see. When he realized I was awake, he smiled.

You. All right,
I signed, unable to hide my relief that he'd emerged from his shell.

He nodded unconvincingly.
All right
.

“We couldn't sleep,” came a voice from behind me: Rose. She wrapped her arms tightly around her brother and didn't look at me. “They're gathering on Pond Island.”

Alice nodded. “Yes, but it'll be difficult for them to cross the bridge. That narrow plank is dangerous in strong winds. We'll have time to react.” She spoke gently, reassuringly. I'd never heard her talk to Rose like that before.

The blurred outline of the sun peeked over the trees on Hatteras Island. The mist began to burn off and I could make out the tiny silhouettes on Pond Island. But there weren't four of them anymore. “That's got to be a dozen men, at least.”

“Fifteen,” said Alice without looking.

“I'm hungry,” complained Dennis, teeth chattering. “Can we eat now?”

Alice pulled a small bundle from her bag: a cloth containing the remaining nuts and berries. There wasn't much. “There are a few pawpaws in the shelter too.”

Dennis dove in. Rose licked her lips, but she didn't take any. She just stroked her brother's hair as juice dripped down his chin.

I couldn't eat either—not if Rose wasn't going to. But maybe we could do something about that now that Griffin was feeling better.
Need. Food,
I signed.

Griffin stared at his hands.
Difficult
.

That much was true. Like Alice, his element—earth—had never blossomed the way it was supposed to. On a good day, he'd find root vegetables hidden just below the surface of the ground. On a bad day, nothing at all. But what other choice did we have? What was the point in hiding from the pirates only to starve? Anyway, I knew everyone saw him as a weak link. This would remind them that he had an element too.

Please,
I signed.

Griffin looked at the meager offering of berries and nuts, and at Dennis as he gobbled them down.
All right. I. Look.

I wanted him to eat too. He hadn't touched food in two days. His skin was sallow, cheeks pressed against his teeth. But he didn't seem hungry. Or maybe he just couldn't face eating yet. Perhaps he wasn't fully recovered after all. If so, it was touching that he was willing to search for food for everyone else.

“Why are the pirates here?” I asked. I signed for Griffin too. Even if he was just pretending to feel better, involving him in the discussion might distract him from the nightmare of the previous days.

“I've been thinking about that,” said Rose. She paused a moment to find the right signs. “Maybe it's all an accident. Maybe the pirates got caught in the storm and this was the nearest land.”

“Then why not just lower anchor and move on later? Why destroy our colony?”

“They probably wanted to steal our possessions. They've done it before.”

“No,” said Alice. She leaned forward and, like Rose, concentrated on finding the correct signs. “I saw the remains of the cabins. There was more than timber there. I think they destroyed the contents too.”

I mulled this over. I was certain the pirates' landing wasn't an accident, but I couldn't say why.

Flags,
signed Griffin.
Flags
.

It took me a moment to catch on, but then I understood. “The ship's flags!” Suddenly my mind was racing. I pictured us all on the beach, and Griffin sitting atop the dune, staring into the distance. I thought he'd been too overwhelmed to notice what was happening around him. Instead, he'd been watching the ship as closely as any of us.

“What about the flags?” asked Rose.

I struggled to sign and speak at the same time. “They were switching from yellow to black as they sailed away. Think: If the pirates had been flying a black flag when they arrived, the Guardians would have begun the contingency plan. But they didn't. So it must've been yellow. And if it was yellow, then the pirates clearly planned this. It was no accident at all.”

There was silence after that. It was a lot to process, the thought that we'd been carefully targeted.

Rose cleared her throat. “You're sure they have our parents on board?”

I glanced at Alice and nodded. “Yes. Ananias and Eleanor too. When they left us at the shelter, they wouldn't have known the pirates were on Hatteras. They'd have been captured as soon as they got there.”

“So why'd the pirates leave without
us
?” Dennis's voice was small, barely more than a whisper. “The Guardians must've told them we're here. They wouldn't have come back otherwise.”

I took a deep breath. “The pirates only came back after they saw us. Maybe the Guardians didn't tell them we were left behind because it's
us
the pirates are after.”

Dennis lifted a berry to his mouth, but then lowered it again. “Why? What have we got?” He stared at his lap. “Anyway, I don't believe you. Our parents would never leave us all alone.”

“They didn't,” I reminded him. “They thought Guardian Lora was here.”

Rose furrowed her brow. “Ananias would have told the Guardians what happened to Lora.”

I pictured my brother and Eleanor crossing the dunes as the pirates torched our cabins. “What if they never got the chance? Maybe the Guardians had already been taken onto the ship.”

Dennis seemed to be on the verge of tears now. Rose pulled him closer. “What are we going to do when they come for us?” she asked.

“Hide. There must be four miles of island each way to the north and south.”

“No hiding,” said Alice. “They'll find us, even if it takes them days. And I don't think we have enough food to outlast them.” She flicked hair from her eyes. In the morning's first rays, they matched the sky—almost translucent. “No. We'll use the boats to get away.”

Rose raised her bandaged hands. “I don't think canoes are an option.”

“I'm talking about sailboats, not canoes. There are two in a boathouse southwest of here. I want to see if they're seaworthy.”

“You found two sailboats? When were you planning on telling us?”

“Thom already knows.”

Rose's eyes narrowed, but remained fixed on Alice. “I see. And if the boats sail, then what?”

“I'm not sure. But I figure as long as we can sail, we can escape.”

“Escape where?”

“I don't know, all right? But we don't stand a chance on foot, so if you want to see your parents again, I suggest you start thinking.”

“And what are the rest of us supposed to do while you're checking out these mysterious boats?”

“Griffin's looking for food,” I said quickly, playing peacemaker. “It'd be really helpful if you could make sure the water canisters are full. And Dennis should stay here and keep watch. You all right with that?” I asked him.

He nodded.

“Good. Just remember: If the pirates begin to cross, shout real loud.”

For the first time all morning, Rose looked at me. “And what about you? What'll you be doing?”

Before I could reply, Alice shifted position and her fingertip brushed across my leg. It seemed accidental, but my face flared at her touch.

Alice stood. She was at least three inches taller than Rose. “Thom's coming with me,” she said. “I thought you knew.”

CHAPTER 15

W
e left Skeleton Town and passed from grass to marsh. Once we entered the woods it was almost impossible to know that we were on an island. If not for the sun, I'd have had no idea what direction we were running in.

“We won't be able to hear Dennis from here,” I said.

Alice didn't slow down. “Don't worry. We won't be gone long.”

I did worry, though. Just as I worried about Dennis, alone in the lookout. If there was one person who couldn't afford to fall asleep, it was Dennis. Not only that, but I'd forgotten to give him my binoculars—they still hung from a cord around my neck.

We emerged from the woods onto a cracked road, narrower than the ones in Skeleton Town. In the distance I saw water again, and the Plague-ridden mainland beyond. As we followed the road, I spotted something else as well: dirty wooden planks peeking through suffocating foliage. It had to be the boathouse.

“Hard to believe it's still here,” said Alice, reading my thoughts. “The bushes are probably all that's holding it up.”

We pushed branches aside as we rounded the old building. At the front, a battered wooden dock led inside the boathouse. Two sailboats leaned against the rear wall, smothered in canvas sheets. Even from several yards away I could see that they were tethered with strong rope and expert knots. Whoever stowed them had been far more interested in preserving the boats than using them.

A cloud of dust filled the air as we untied the knots and pulled off the covers. What lay beneath was unlike any sailboat I'd seen. The hull was bone white and rock hard. The mast seemed to be made from an extraordinarily long piece of thick metal. The Guardians had shared metal nails and cutlery with us, but never anything like this.

Alice raised an eyebrow and rapped her knuckles against the mast. The sound resonated even after she stopped. “Incredible, isn't it?”

I nodded. Whoever the Skeleton Town colonists had been, their inventions were the stuff of dreams.

I knocked the mast as well. It felt hard against my knuckles. I wrapped my fingers around it. It was cool to the touch and perfectly smooth.

Alice gripped it too and tried to shake it. It didn't move at all. But the mast felt different now, as if energy was running through my palm. It wasn't even an uncomfortable sensation, just strange. I breathed quicker, gripped tighter.

Alice let go and the energy stopped. For a moment she seemed confused. Then her expression shifted, like a dark cloud lifting. She stared at me, and I stared right back. Roanoke Island was full of mysteries, and I looked forward to hearing her explain this one. It was clear that she'd caused the energy somehow—it started and stopped with her—but how? Did she even know?

Evidently not, because she seemed as surprised as me. She flushed red too, so I looked away to spare her any embarrassment.

“Come on,” I said. “Let's test the boats.”

We eased the boats across the dock and into the water. Each one took on a little water as it splashed down, but then no more. They were seaworthy.

Alice crouched on the dock, elbows resting on her knees, hands pressed against her cheeks. When she caught me looking at her, she broke out in a wide smile. “It's been eight years.”

It took me a moment to realize what she meant. “Yes. Eight years.”

Back when we were very young, the Guardians had taught us to sail in the four wooden sailboats they'd discovered on Hatteras Island when they first arrived. I'd enjoyed sailing, but only in calm seas. In strong winds I wasn't heavy enough to hold the boat down, so I'd release the rope connected to the mainsail, wasting the most powerful gusts. Alice weighed even less than me, and her arms were so short she could barely hold the rope and tiller at the same time. But she was fearless. She'd rein in the sail and lean out of the boat until the only thing stopping her from falling in was the canvas strap securing her feet. Her hair was longer back then, and sometimes, as the wind dropped, she'd lower it into the water so that it trailed behind her in a blur.

She'd never seemed happier than in those moments. But when Rose and Dennis's grandparents had capsized in the squall, and another boat was lost to a hurricane, everything had changed. From then on, the sailboats were to be used only as fishing vessels, the Guardians had told us. I think they simply didn't want to entrust one of their two remaining boats to a child as anxious as me, or as reckless as Alice.

All along, there had been two more boats just a short distance away.

“Here,” said Alice, rolling a canvas bag toward me. “Now for the sails.”

I leaned back as I opened the bag, braced for more dust. Somehow it was clean. I spread the mainsail across the dock and inspected every part of it, knowing that the smallest tear might render it useless. It was intact. More than that, it seemed almost new.

“This one looks like it's hardly been used,” I said.

“Nor this one. You remember how to rig one of these things?” There was the hint of a challenge in her voice.

“I think I'll work it out.”

Side by side we rigged the boats. I was surprised at how much I remembered of booms and daggerboards, shackles and winches. We worked carefully at first, and then quicker, racing against each other. I knew I'd never win, but at the hint of competition, Alice's eyes took on a delighted glint.

As she leaned forward and raised the mainsail, her vest rode up, revealing a sliver of skin. It was spotless and tan, divided in half by the bumps of her spine. Would it feel the same as the skin on her fingertips?

She turned around so suddenly I didn't have time to look away. “Everything all right?”

I swallowed hard. “Yes.”

She reached for the pendant and twisted it around her fingers playfully. “Nice view, isn't it?”

“Huh?”

She pointed toward the water, and the mainland beyond.

“Oh. Right. Yes.”

She was trying to hide a smile, I could tell. “I want to take the boats out,” she said wistfully. She ran her fingers across the rough canvas, watched it ripple with each touch. When a breath of wind entered the boathouse, the sail fluttered.

I faced the mainland again. I almost convinced myself I might be able to see the Plague-carrying rats that had engulfed the land since before I was born. But to the naked eye it seemed indistinguishable from Roanoke Island: a mixture of trees and tall grass.

Or maybe not. When I raised my binoculars I spied the shell of a small building. It looked wooden, but I couldn't be sure. Bushes had mostly consumed it, but that didn't make it any less remarkable. For the first time, here was evidence that someone had inhabited the mainland.

“You need to see this.” I handed Alice the binoculars. “Look at the far shore.”

She didn't raise the binoculars, but seemed to lock in on the building all the same. “Do you think it was built before or after Skeleton Town?”

“Before, I guess. It's wooden, right? That's got to be easier to come by than stone.”

We stared at this relic of a world we could never know. It was fascinating, but alarming too. Plague to the west. Pirates to the east. How long could we really hope to survive?

Alice's eyes remained locked on the building. Slowly, she raised the binoculars. Then she gasped.

“What is it?”

She pressed the binoculars into my hands. “Check out the right side.”

I located the building again, and followed the greenery to the right. This time I noticed something else. Peeking through were three large letters: CRO.

They looked as though they'd been daubed on with blood.