Trapped (8 page)

Sarah quickly stood and walked away, Ahab beside her. But the retching sounds followed. As did the worry about how they were going to go about finding help for Yvonna. And of course, the biggest worry of all: Would they ever get themselves off the island? She needed her dad and she needed him now. And she would do whatever it took to get him back as soon as possible.

 

12

Marco stayed with his mom until she was asleep, then went to check on the others. Nacho had gone back to the beach to check on Cash and Leo, and from what he could see, his brother and the other two seemed to be getting along. He noticed Sarah, sitting with Ahab under one of the monkey pod trees.

He walked over to her. “My mom's asleep.”

Sarah gazed up at him. “We need to get my dad and we need to get off this island.”

Marco nodded. “I know. I guess telling her the truth about your dad didn't help much.”

Sarah shook her head. “Doesn't matter. She's too sick to help anyway.”

Marco chuckled a little.

Sarah frowned. “It's funny that she's sick?”

“No.” Marco dropped to the ground and sat cross-legged. He rubbed Ahab's neck. “A baby. That's kind of funny.”

“I don't think it's funny.” Sarah scowled. “I don't think any of this is funny.”

All this time Marco had it in the back of his mind that Sarah and John were temporary. If they could survive this trip, get back home, then his mom would admit the whole thing was a mistake. The shipwreck of a trip was an exclamation point to the disaster of a marriage.

But … a baby? A baby was the opposite of temporary.

Marco laughed then, a real laugh.

Sarah raised her eyebrows at him.

He gasped through his laughter, “Don't you get it? I thought this whole mess would tear them apart.”

The corners of Sarah's mouth turned up. “I thought we'd get back and never have to see each other again.”

Marco laughed. “But now. A baby.”

“I'm never getting rid of you.” Sarah laughed. “You know what else totally isn't funny?”

“What?” Marco could barely get the word out.

Sarah bent over, laughing, then finally spit out, “What happens when Leo finds out we don't have his progenitor?” She took a gasping breath. “How will we get my dad out then?”

Marco laughed more. “What if a boat never comes? And we have to live here forever?”

They laughed, neither able to get another word out. Ahab's tail wagged.

Finally, Sarah giggled one more time, then slashed her hand across her neck. “Okay. Done now.” She sighed and set a hand on Ahab's head. “But seriously. What will we do when Leo finds out?”

Marco swallowed. He hadn't really wanted to ask that question; he was afraid of what the answer would be. “We'll have to trick him, somehow.” He glanced at his mom, who was still sleeping. “I guess we sit here and figure it out.”

Sarah pointed. “What's that?”

Marco swiveled in the direction she was pointing. The book he'd carried up from the beach lay in the sand. “Oh, I pulled it off the
Moonflight
. Cash had it.”

Sarah retrieved the book, then plopped back down and started to page through it. Ahab pushed his nose into it, and she gently shoved him aside. “Have you read it?” Then she rolled her eyes. “Oh, right. Dumb question. You don't read.”

“I read.” Marco frowned. “I read your Harry Potter on the plane.”

She raised her eyebrows. “You did?”

He nodded.

She frowned a little. “Why didn't you tell me before?”

“I didn't want you to be right.” Marco shrugged. “Or I guess I didn't want to give you the satisfaction of being right.”

She grinned. “So you liked it?”

“Yeah. But I didn't want you to know that…” He stopped, unsure he trusted her enough to tell her.

“What?”

“I've never been a big reader, but not because I don't like the stories. Reading has always been hard for me.” He swallowed. “It's better than it used to be. It helps if the book is really interesting.”

Sarah sucked on her lower lip for a moment. “I'm sorry that I made such a big deal about you not reading Harry Potter before.”

“Doesn't matter.” Marco smiled. “I plan on borrowing the rest when we get back home. But then you have to watch the movies with me.”

“It's a deal.” Sarah dropped her head back down to read. “So this is actually kind of cool. All these treasures that are supposed to exist, but the people who lost them are the only ones who seem to have ever seen them.”

“Like what kind of treasures?” asked Marco.

Sarah set a finger on a page. “Well, like the Ark of the Covenant from the Bible for one.”

“Like in that old Indiana Jones movie?” asked Marco.

Sarah nodded. “But it's supposed to be real. And it's in Ethiopia.”

Marco had had enough of having to believe things that seemed impossible. He was done for the day. He dropped to his side and rested his head on his arm. He yawned and shut his eyes as he heard another page turn.

Sarah said, “Here's another one. Some samurai sword that is supposed to be magic.”

Another page flipped.

Marco was so tired he began to doze off.

Sarah kept talking. “Here's a tribe that claims they were visited by aliens. The aliens gave them a gift, but treasure hunters stole it and it's never been seen again.…”

Silence. No more pages.

“Marco.”

He sighed. “What?”

“Get this. The tribe says the aliens were mermaids—and mermen.”

Marco's eyes snapped open. “Did you say mermaids?”

Sarah pointed. “Does that look familiar to you?”

Marco sat up and grabbed the book from Sarah. A black-and-white drawing filled the two-page spread. A wooden box, with intricate drawings and ancient lettering. Lettering he had seen before.

His eyes locked with Sarah's. She quickly jumped up and ran over to the chest from the
Moonflight
. She yanked the towel off just as Marco got there, Ahab panting at his side.

His heart began to pound. “Oh,
wow
.”

The two stood there, gazes shifting between the drawing and the chest.

They were the same.

Marco hesitated. Or did he only
wish
they were the same? He asked Sarah, “It's the same, right?”

“It's
definitely
the same.” Sarah had a funny look on her face. “I think Cash saw it before. I think this is what the bad guy on her boat was looking for. He, or someone else, stole it from the tribe in Africa and brought it here. He had to leave it when he was rescued. But then he didn't recognize the island because of what Leo and his grandfather did.”

Marco swallowed. “Do you know what this means?”

Sarah smiled. “You weren't lying to Leo at all. This is the other half of the progenitor. Leo can make what he needs to fill the containers and
let my dad go
!”

 

13

Sarah grabbed Marco's arm. “We have to show Leo.”

“I'll go get them.” Marco ran off toward the others.

Sarah grinned and hugged Ahab as her head swam with possibilities. “We can get my dad out!” Then they could help Leo fill the containers. Then maybe he could use the progenitor to make them a boat and they could all go home.

Nacho and Leo jogged toward her, as Marco slowly led Cash behind them. Sarah asked her, “Are you okay?”

Cash shrugged. “I'm a little freaked out right now after what he showed me.”

Nacho asked, “You could see?”

Cash nodded. “Like it was a dream or something, inside my head. And—”

“What?” asked Sarah.

“I understand a little bit why he did it,” said Cash. “But I'm still mad.”

Leo looked uncomfortable.

Sarah told him, “We have something for you.” She stepped aside.

Leo's eyes narrowed as he leaned forward and ran his fingers over the carved symbols on the chest. “This is my language.”

“Is it the progenitor?” asked Marco.

“I don't know.” Leo dropped to his knees beside the chest, peering closely. He rested one webbed hand on the top. “We must open it.”

Marco said, “I tried before. No luck.”

Leo's lips moved slightly as he looked at the words.

Sarah whispered, “Is he reading it?”

Leo looked up at her. “I can hear you.”

Sarah shrugged. “Sorry, just wondered.”

“What's happening?” asked Cash.

Sarah said, “The chest from the boat. We think it might be what Leo's looking for.”

Leo said, “It's my language, but an earlier version of it. It's not easy.”

“Do you know what it says?” asked Nacho.

Leo shook his head. “Not yet. I think the words might be some kind of directions.”

“Directions to what?” asked Marco.

“Directions on how to open it.” Leo went back to running his fingers over the carvings.

Nacho said, “Maybe we should leave him alone.” He took Cash's elbow. “Let's go see how the fire is.”

“I think I let it go out,” said Cash.

“Then I'll build us a new one,” said Nacho.

Marco said, “I'm going to check on my mom.”

Sarah and Ahab followed him the short distance to where Yvonna lay on the blanket.

Marco knelt beside her. “Mom?”

Her eyes opened and she smiled. “Help me sit up?”

Sarah went to her other side and held her elbow. They pulled until she was upright. Yvonna hugged her knees and set her head sideways on them. “Is John back yet?”

“No,” said Marco.

Since hearing about the baby, Sarah had been thinking so many things. For one, it was like Marco said, they could no longer expect they would be going their separate ways. A baby was something that brought families together, not split them apart. And if Yvonna was only after her dad's money, she wouldn't be happy about having a baby.

Sarah had to admit that maybe she was wrong about Yvonna. Maybe her dad had found someone to love who truly loved him back.

Sarah didn't want to worry Yvonna about her dad until they had to. So she said, “He'll be back soon.” She picked up the bottle of water that lay beside her. “A drink?”

Yvonna nodded and took a swig from the bottle. Her hair was damp, loose tendrils of it stuck down around her glistening, sweaty face. “I'm so hot.”

Marco asked, “Do you want to go in the water?”

Sarah shook her head and widened her eyes at him. They couldn't let her go in the water, not without knowing where that sharkodile was. “I could bring you some. To soak your feet in.” Of course, that meant she had to go in the water. But she would do it.

Yvonna shook her head. “No. I think I just want to lie down again.”

“Are you feeling any better?” asked Marco.

Sarah hoped she would say yes.

Instead, her stepmother set a hand on her forehead. “I'm so dizzy.” Marco quickly helped her lie down. By the time she fell asleep, Sarah realized they would have to add getting help for her to the list of everything else on their list of impossible tasks.

Marco whispered, “She's not getting better. She needs an IV or some kind of hydration she can keep down.”

Nacho came over. “Leo thinks he figured out how to open the chest.”

Sarah exchanged a glance with Marco. She hoped that the progenitor was in the chest so that she could get her dad back. And then, perhaps, they could escape the island and get help for Yvonna.

Marco trudged over to the chest.

Sarah wondered why he wasn't more excited. If, as they all hoped, the progenitor was truly in there, then Leo could get home. And, before he left, he would set her dad free.

All good things, in her opinion. But maybe Marco was just really worried about his mom.

Sarah hoped there was something in that chest to be able to help Yvonna. She told Leo, “Go ahead. Open it!”

Leo looked around at all of them. “I need you to look away.”

“Why?” asked Nacho.

Leo didn't answer at first.

“I feel like you're not telling us something,” said Marco.

Leo shrugged. “I don't actually know if you can look at it or not. I just blurred it in the memory in case it would harm you in some way.”

He
had
been protecting them. They hadn't given him a lot of reason to trust them, yet he truly seemed to be concerned for their well-being. Sarah reached out and touched his arm. “Thanks. For caring about us.”

Leo said, “So, maybe you all should turn away. Until I see what's in here.”

Marco crossed his arms and looked into the distance.

Cash said, “What I don't get is how this chest, if it is what Leo needs, ended up on this island?”

Marco said, “I hauled it off the
Moonflight
. I don't know where the captain got it.”

Sarah blurted out, “Leo!”

Leo stopped what he was doing.

She said, “You said you traced the other half of the progenitor here, right?”

He nodded. “But it wasn't here.” He set a hand on the chest. “This was not on the island.”

Sarah looked over at Marco. “Captain Norm had been to this island before. We found Ahab's tags, so we
know
he was here before. What if this chest was here and he took it?”

Marco shook his head. “But how did it get here? Someone would have had to steal it and bring it here.”

Sarah said, “According to the book, a lot of those treasures get stolen and sold within a few days. The thieves only want the money they can get for the treasure most of the time.”

Marco said, “So someone could have bought it from the thieves and transported it.”

Leo said, “But why would they leave it here? When someone else could just take it and—”