Moonfin (32 page)

“Are you okay?” asked Xili, looking concerned. “You have been through so much the last few days.”

“Uh, yes, I'm fine—just thought I saw something.”

Lizzy cast her gaze along the ocean landscape. She
did
see it … some sort of structures … strange tree-like beings moving about … a valley full of lights, like a city—not the ordinary seafloor.

She shook her head. “It all looks the same. It's nothing,” she mumbled, wondering if maybe … had she finally glimpsed the Great Deep? It was too short a look to know for sure.

Xili smiled at her knowingly. “Goodbye, little one, we will see each other again soon.

She left and joined the others to care for Moonfin and swim her away from the island. Lizzy headed back to the beach, feeling relieved that Moonfin was free from Krell after so many years in captivity, hoping she would forget this painful time of being trapped and tortured by him and his horrible lab grunts. Swimming up to the beach, she joined Kai and Jeff as they prepared to hunker down for one more night on Otter Island, where strange things happen, and nothing is as it seems.

Kai passed around some chips.

“Good thing these are packaged in cello bags—pretty water-tight, I'd say.” She dumped the rest of their food rations onto the sand to see what had survived the ride out of the sea cave.

“First chance I get, I'm eating a bucket of onion rings with a gallon of ketchup,” said Jeff hungrily.

“Where are they taking Moonfin?” Kai asked Lizzy.

“Xili said to the deepest ocean canyons where Krell will never be able to find her,” answered Lizzy. She yawned and plopped backward into the sand. All this Glimmruyn changing back and forth was getting exhausting.

“If I were Krell, I wouldn't be going out on a boat to look for her anytime soon. There isn't a vessel she couldn't snap with a flick of her fin,” snickered Jeff.

“How'd you know my gum would dissolve Moonfin's chain?” said Kai.

“I guessed. Iddo said I needed sap from the chicle tree—it's the stuff gum's made out of.”

“Oh, like in Chiclet chewing gum?”

“Yeah, but he said ‘like it.' Most gum today is made from polyisobutylene, a man-made rubber. I figured it was worth a shot.”

The shining moon rose into the sky. Jeff built a fire and put rocks along the edge to warm them for the chilly night ahead. Kai wondered what Lizzy had discovered when she found the Sundancer moored on the beach of the underground sea.

“Any clues leading to Brandon?” she asked gingerly.

“Naw, no sign of him or the crew. At first I thought Moonfin had escaped from her prison and sunk the ship, but now I know it wasn't her fault. Dr. Krell and Lee, and probably Mrs. Gates, had something to do with his disappearance.”

“Sorry, Liz,” said Kai, long-faced. “I know how much you wanted to find out what happened to him.”

“Yeah,” she wiped a tear from her cheek, “I won't give up looking.”
Especially after what Moonfin said to her.

They buried themselves in the sand, tucking a warm rock near their feet, and fell fast asleep. Lizzy tossed and turned throughout the night. Finding the Sundancer trapped on the hidden sea without her brother or his crew was heartbreaking, and she almost forgot all about setting Moonfin free altogether. She awoke many times in the night in a struggle with her own soul: Iddo was right—the human and Glimmruyn within her battled it out, but it was Moonfin that saved her from giving into the hatred. She wept silent tears because, in that one moment, she almost used her powers to destroy, when she knew deep in her heart she was created to heal, and this caused her great pain.

During her darkest hour of the night, a voice spoke in her dreams: “
Lizzy … I'm sorry
,” it said. Then she felt a tickly, wet
snooort!
right next to her cheek.

Bolting upright, she peered feverishly into the pitch-blackness. The ocean roared as it crashed close to their camp, the trees rustled softly in the breeze, and she couldn't be sure, but she thought she saw the backside of a bear scuttling into the thick forest behind her.

“Crazy bear,” she whispered and dozed off to sleep again.

The early morning light broke along the white shores and black cliffs of Otter Island when Captain Quinn arrived with his fishing trawler. He didn't have any trouble finding Lizzy, Jeff, and Kai since the island was mostly lava rock cliffs, with only a few beaches scattered here and there. He also had a strange bubble trail in front of his boat leading him right to them.
Imagine that
.

Still, Lizzy wondered how Captain Quinn even knew to come out looking for them in the first place.

“Jello,” he said reluctantly with a slight gleam in his eyes.

“Excuse me?”

“Let's just say crazy Bill knows a whole lot more about this island than we give him credit for.”

He paused and looked out over the ocean.

“When you didn't come home Friday night after your aquarium shifts, Mr. Walden became upset and agitated. Kept goin' on and on about this place”—he nodded toward the island—“I decided to come check it out on a hunch. Glad I did—don't know what you kids were thinkin' to come all the way out here on your own!” He took in a gravelly breath. “I'm happy yer safe, but expect a heap of trouble when we dock! The whole town has been lookin' for you three.”

“But Captain Quinn, we saw the Sundancer,” gushed Lizzy. She thought he'd like to know this bit of happy news.

His weathered face brightened. “You did, now! Where is she?”

“Been captured in some undersea cave, stuck in the sand … and she looked as good as the day she left the harbor,” Lizzy said bracingly.

“I'll be! Brandon and the crew—?” Her eyes answered his question before her words had a chance to.

“Not a sign of 'em. But Captain, I don't think we should say anything. If Dr. Krell—” she broke off, seeing his knowing look: He didn't trust Krell in the slightest.

“Aye, you're right. If Brandon is still alive, and we cause a commotion, it'll put a spotlight on the island and give Dr. Krell a reason to act. Best we sit on this awhile,” he said, mustering a cheerful grin. Finding the Sundancer in one piece blew a little hope back in the sails of both their hearts.

Captain Quinn trudged up to the wheelhouse. Kai sighed deeply: she doubted anyone at her house had noticed her missing.

Jeff turned a glowering face toward Lizzy.

“Okay, spit it out. How come you have a map on your hand and can breathe underwater?” He had been waiting to ask her that for the last twenty-four hours.

Lizzy gasped, eyebrows mega-arched.

Kai jumped in with, “Yeah, we're supposed to be your best friends, and you heard Captain Quinn, the whole town's been looking for us. I'm not facing the Committee Against Gross Excitement without knowing all the details,” she snapped.

Lizzy looked from one accusing face to the other. This is it. The truth. She would have to confront it one way or the other. She trembled at their harsh stares.

What would they think?

She took a long, shuddering breath and said, “I am called a Glimmruyn … they are the Waterpeople we've been talking about,” she said slowly, feeling that she might puke at any moment.

Long silence. They waited.

Lizzy took a long gulp and continued, “A Glimmruyn translated means ‘Lightsong.' We live in the waters of Blowing Prawn and care for all the animals and plants.” She halted and looked over at the both of them tremulously, face white as a sheet.

“Do you believe
any
of this?”

“Not really—no—uh-uh,” said Jeff at once.

“But the last time we didn't believe you, you were really telling the truth. So we'll listen,” said Kai.

“Yeah, can't be any weirder than the purple goo-pits or Frog Mountain, can it?” chuckled Jeff, softening a little.

Feeling encouraged, Lizzy began at the beginning and told them everything: events they already knew, and all the ones they didn't. She didn't leave out any detail, including how she was strategically placed on shore when she was two years old and adopted by the Grapes, filling in all the blanks, and letting Jeff and Kai ask all the questions they wanted. She finished telling her story and looked over to see if she still had friends. They smiled at her, and not in the way they did before when they thought she was bonkers.

“I-I was too afraid to tell you at first … but I can't help who I am…. I wouldn't blame you if you never spoke to me again.” She hung her head.

Jeff and Kai exchanged quick glances. They'd talked about Lizzy's strange behavior when she wasn't around, and as crazy as it all sounded, it did make sense out of everything that had been happening this summer.

Kai gave her a nudge.

“Oh
puh-leeze
, Lizzy, do you think you're the only person who doesn't quite fit in? Look at Jeff—he wears way too much plaid,” said Kai, a slight curl playing on her lips.

“
What
? I do not! You still sleep with your baby blanket and—”

“Guys …”

“
No, I don't
,” said Kai, shaking her head from side to side.

“Guys …”

“Yes, you do. I've seen it,” said Jeff, nodding his head up and down in a head-bobbing battle with Kai.

“Seen it? What do you mean by that, you creeper—”

“At the sixth-grade beach campout last year, it fell out of your bag—”

“GUYS!” Lizzy shouted. They turned to look at her, and all three burst out laughing.

“We're almost home.”

The mainland came into clear view. Kai considered what awaited them when they got back.

“Okay—I guess I believe you.”

“Yeah, me too,” said Jeff.

And that was that.

Chapter 21
QRRRRRB

N
ight lights splashed star-ripples along the shores of Blowing Prawn Beach. A lone seagull huddled on a piece of driftwood, teetering on a single leg, one eye fixed toward the water's edge where a little curly-haired girl kicked at the salty foam with her bare feet.

Lizzy turned over buried shells with her toes, unearthing the intriguing ones that might fit in with her growing collection. She used to look for the perfect seashells without cracks or bumps, but realized there was no such thing. It was their deeply embedded flaws that made them so beautiful and unique. She piled the sandy treasures into her wet pocket.

Gentle voices were heard in the churning waters.

“How did your parents take it?” said Xilinx, springing up from the waves.

“We're pretty much grounded for, like, a year. They think we went over for a joyride to explore the island, which is off limits to the public. That's a trespassing violation.”

“Nothing else?”

“Dr. Krell didn't press charges, if that's what you mean.”

Lizzy rubbed the markings on her hand, which always tingled when she came near water.

“He never actually saw us there, and no one can prove we were there either—except Mrs. Gates, who seems to be missing right now … and Lee the Snircher eel, who can't squeal on account of being gobbled by Moonfin. It's all being covered up, and Krell's acting like nothing happened. I guess he doesn't want to draw attention to the island.”

“He is devious.” Xili's water-fountain body burbled in constant motion. “Be ever so careful, Lizzy. You unraveled years of his twisted work, and he will not easily forget.”

“So, how's Iddo doing? I haven't seen him in a while.”

“You can take a swim now and ask him yourself,” she said sprightly.

“Naw, some other time—I like the feeling of sand between my toes today. So he's okay?”

Xili nodded. “You got to him in time. If Dr. Krell had given him more injections, it would have been too late. We were able to reverse the effects.”

Lizzy kicked at the waves.

“Xili, I want to ask you something.”