The Sabotage Read online

  “It’s not your fault,” he said.

  “How are you?” she asked.

  “I’ve been better,” he answered, and gave a grim smile.

  Between Jane’s bloody chin and the bites all over Buzz’s skin, they were all looking as beat-up as ever. But everyone seemed to have their minds on one thing now.

  Chizo had taken the raft. Their hard-earned advantage was gone. They were farther behind now than they’d been at the start. And with the wind at Chizo’s back, and the raft getting him straight across the bay while all the others went the long way around on foot, he would be able to come out of this ahead of the entire pack, or at least near the front.

  There was no knowing where the other teams were by now, but it was clear to Vanessa that she, Carter, Jane, Buzz, and Mima were in last place. And if they didn’t finish Raku Nau on time, there would be no getting off the island. No getting rescued. No going home.

  It was an unacceptable thought. It wasn’t even an option, Vanessa knew. There was no way they could let this stop them. They could tell Ani what Chizo had done, but by then it would be too late.

  Besides, even Ani himself had said the competition was to be won “by any means necessary.” Was this what he meant—by cheating and stealing?

  Carter kicked at the ground several times. “I hate that kid! I really do!”

  “What now?” Jane asked, pressing in close. All four of the siblings huddled together on the shore while Mima stayed in the water up to her waist.

  “We have two choices,” Buzz said. “We can start walking or we can start swimming.”

  “I say we swim,” Carter said.

  Vanessa didn’t speak right away. It would be a scary-long swim for them, but it would also be a significant shortcut compared to going on foot.

  She ran through the pros and cons in her mind. Buzz wasn’t a fast swimmer, but then again, none of them had eaten. It was hard to know how much they could do in the water at this point. The cut on Carter’s hand seemed mostly healed. That was a good thing. And while Jane was probably the strongest swimmer in the family, she also looked the most frightened at the idea of crossing the bay that way.

  “There has to be a reason the others didn’t swim it,” Jane said.

  “I don’t think we have a choice,” Buzz said, and nobody argued with that. “At least I’ll get some more time in the salt water. That’s got to be good for these bites.” He had barely stopped itching since he’d reached the water.

  “Mima! What do you think?” Vanessa asked. “Swim across?” She pointed to the water and made stroking motions with her arms.

  “Or go around?” Jane asked, and pointed in a wide arc to indicate the curved shoreline inside the bay.

  “Tazo,” Mima answered simply. There was no discussion for her. Without another word, she turned to face the water, dove, and started across.

  “I guess tazo means ‘swim’,” Jane said nervously.

  It didn’t matter anymore. The decision had been made. Mima had stuck with them this far, and she’d just done more than any of them to save Buzz. They owed her everything.

  No way they could turn their backs on her now.

  Carter was first into the water behind Mima. It was colder than he’d expected, and the lack of fuel in his belly made it worse. Every temperature change here seemed to pass through him like wind through a screen door.

  They’d swum in the ocean dozens of times back on Nowhere Island. Still, it never got easier. This wasn’t open water, but the bay was wide enough to get some significant chop from the winds off the Pacific. The waves here were relentless, pushing them up and pulling them down, over and over.

  To make matters worse, every time Carter lifted his head, he could see Chizo increasing his lead. There was no contest. Before they’d even put a dent in the swim ahead of them, Chizo was long gone.

  The other question was whether Chizo had a plan for hooking up with his team, or if Raku Nau had already turned into an individual competition. It was hard to imagine Chizo as the loyal type. Eventually, each of the Nukula runners would have to figure out how to secure one of the sixteen seccu for him- or herself. It was just a matter of when.

  But it was different for Carter, Vanessa, Jane, and Buzz. They had to make sure each one of them earned a necklace. Ani had said those who finished Raku Nau were treated to a celebration on the eastern side of the island, just beyond Cloud Ridge. It was the only spot where the ocean-bound currents were passable, and the only place where they’d have a shot at escaping.

  But that was never going to happen unless all four of them finished.

  No—not four, Carter thought. Five. They had to make sure Mima got her own seccu, too. For them, it was going to be a team effort all the way to the end.

  As he lifted his head again to check on the others, Carter heard someone shouting. It was Jane. He stopped swimming and came upright, treading in place.

  “I have a cramp!” Jane yelled, about ten yards behind him. She reached down to grab her leg, dropped beneath the surface, and then popped up again.

  Vanessa and Buzz were coming behind, but Carter got to her first. He held her up as best he could, with an arm around her middle. At the same time, he took in an unexpected mouthful of salt water. It burned his throat as some went down. The rest, he spit out.

  “How much farther do you think it is?” Jane asked. She looked around, probably searching for something to grab on to. If this were a swimming pool, there would be a sidewall, or a shallow end to swim toward. But there was nothing here. They should have brought a piece of driftwood, or anything buoyant, Carter realized. None of them had been thinking clearly. The lack of food, water, and real sleep was taking its toll—not just on their bodies, but on their minds, as well.

  “You can do this!” he said. Over the last two weeks, Jane had been braver than Carter ever would have guessed she could be. But right now, he could see the panic taking hold. Her eyebrows knitted together, and her mouth quivered as she fought back the tears.

  “Carter . . . I don’t know if I can make it,” she said.

  “You have to,” he said. “Somebody has to tell Mom and Dad the story.”

  “What?” she asked, confused.

  “You heard me,” he said. If he couldn’t get through to Jane with sheer encouragement, then he’d give her a task. Something she knew she could do. A reason to survive. “You’re keeping track of all this, right?” he said. “With your journals and stuff?”

  Jane didn’t respond. It was hard to tell what she was thinking, and it didn’t matter anyway. There was nothing else to say. They had a long way to go, and his little sister had every reason to be scared. But he couldn’t afford to let her know that.

  “Come on, Jane. You just have to keep moving,” he said. “Turn on your back.”

  There wasn’t even room for sympathy right now. Talking wasn’t going to get them anywhere. He hooked his arm in with hers like they’d done before—and like he could see Vanessa had already done with Buzz. Pairing up was another good idea he should have thought of before they left the shore. Only Mima swam alone now, a good fifty feet ahead of them.

  Soon, they were moving again, on their backs. Carter kicked for both of them while Jane rested next to him. In a way, it was easier to swim like this. Watching the sky was less frustrating than facing the shore, which never seemed to get any closer.

  Even then, though, the wide blue expanse overhead quickly reminded Carter of something else they needed: a rescue plane. The last plane they’d seen had passed right over the island, and over the camouflage barrier that hid the Nukula village from view. Maybe it had carried their parents and maybe it hadn’t, but one thing was for sure: Mom and Dad weren’t going to give up looking for them.

  “We’re getting closer!” Vanessa shouted, loud enough for Carter to hear. Jane’s breathing was still shallow, but she had be
gun to kick alongside him.

  “What did . . . she say?” Jane panted out.

  “Just keep kicking,” Carter told her. “Don’t talk.”

  Jane only nodded, to show she understood. Vanessa was trying to be encouraging, but one glance to the east showed Carter that they still had an impossibly long way to swim. It was hard not to wonder if they’d made a mistake, choosing to go this way.

  But there was no turning back now—and no guarantee they’d get there, either.

  As the fatigue took hold, all four siblings linked up and swam abreast on their backs. Jane took Vanessa’s free arm with her own, and they moved like a human raft now, taking turns—kicking and resting, kicking and resting. Nobody spoke anymore. It was as though the effort of getting there was the only thing that existed.

  That, and the wishing for it to be over.

  Mima stayed ahead the whole time, swimming for a while, then treading water and looking back before continuing on. It was amazing how calm she stayed, watching them without ever moving closer to help. It may have meant she didn’t think they were in real trouble. Or maybe it was a mark of respect. Or both. Raku Nau was supposed to prove worthiness among the Nukula. Maybe Mima was allowing them to do just that.

  When the shore finally came within striking distance, Jane felt an overwhelming surge of exhaustion. Her arms went from weak to useless. Every kick became an effort. She pushed on, not even knowing how, until eventually, the water was shallow enough to stand.

  She found herself staggering, then crawling the last few yards onto a short gravel beach, where she collapsed on her stomach. The rocky ground hurt where it pressed into her ribs, but that was nothing compared to the need to stop moving for a while.

  For several minutes, everything seemed gray. Jane lay there with the others, somewhere between sleeping and conscious, not even sure how much time was passing. The idea of getting up and continuing on seemed impossible.

  That was until she remembered how hungry she was. Her stomach felt like an actual hole, right through her middle.

  Vanessa was the first to put it into words—what they were probably all feeling.

  “I need food,” she said. “Like, actually need it.”

  “Yeah,” Carter answered simply.

  The mention alone was enough to get Jane to lift her head. She scanned the beach now, looking for rocks at the water’s edge where snails might have gathered.

  She’d eaten more snails than she could count on Nowhere Island. They all had. But for Jane, they were the worst thing she’d ever tasted—even worse than the live grubs they’d choked down. Still, she thought, she’d be happy for a mouthful of those slimy little things right now—raw or cooked, it didn’t matter.

  Slowly, she sat up. Mima was standing near the edge of the woods, looking ready to keep moving.

  “Mima?” Jane said. “Is there anything we can eat or drink? Fania?” That was “water” in Nukula. “Food?” she asked, motioning to her mouth.

  “Ah-ka-ah,” the girl said, and headed straight up into the jungle.

  “Is she saying ‘Yes, there’s food’?” Buzz asked. “Or ‘Yes, we need to find it’?”

  “Ba-nessa! Car-tare! Jane! Buzz!” Mima barked out. Jane looked over to see her staring at them from just inside the tree line. Her eyes seemed to say, I’m not doing this on my own. Get up and come with me, right now.

  “She ought to coach football,” Carter said as he put out a hand to help Jane up. “It’s like she never stops.”

  But Jane noticed he was smiling when he said it, too.

  Someone has a crush, she thought. Besides, it was true about Mima. Whether or not she was suffering, she always seemed so full of energy.

  Jane looked up into her face now and tried to at least seem like she was ready to go. Some part of her didn’t want to disappoint Mima.

  “You’re in my story,” Jane said. She knew Mima couldn’t understand, but it didn’t matter.

  Instead of an encouraging smile, or any words, Mima curved her hands into two fists, and then curved those inward to knock the flat of her knuckles together twice, all while looking Jane straight in the eye.

  It was hard to know what it meant exactly, but Jane returned the gesture. She closed her hands, curved them in, and knocked her own knuckles together twice. In a strange way, it sent a rush of energy through her—a feeling of connection that told Jane she could do this, too.

  And she knew then that no matter what else happened here, she would never forget Mima as long as she lived.

  Vanessa took a deep breath and stood up to go.

  Right away, she put her hands back down on her knees and ducked her head. The swimming, the hunger, the thirst—they were all taking their toll. Everything seemed to spin around her. Her stomach roared around its own emptiness.

  “You okay?” Carter asked.

  “I’m fine,” she said, and tried to shake it off.

  It was amazing what passed for “fine” in a place like this. If she made a list of all the food she had consumed in the past fifteen days, it wouldn’t fill an index card. Not even double-spaced. Feeling terrible was normal. Barely getting by was a way of life. Not wanting to take another step but taking it anyway was something that happened about a hundred times a day here.

  The demands of “real life” back in Evanston seemed like nothing now. The whole idea of getting up early, going to school, and doing homework sounded easy compared to this.

  Not just easy. More like heaven.

  Vanessa stopped long enough to shake off the thoughts of home. They always just slowed her down. She’d think about home when she got home. In the meantime, she’d think about Raku Nau—and about getting off this island.

  “Let’s see what we can find to eat,” she said. They still had a long way to go before Cloud Ridge, and they still had to catch up to the other teams. The best way to do that was to put something in their bellies first.

  They moved up into the woods, where Mima had stopped again to wait for them. She pointed at a branch over her head, and Vanessa nearly cried at the sight of several small purple globes hanging in clusters along the limbs.

  “Is that fruit?” Buzz asked.

  “Can we eat it?” Jane asked Mima, pointing to her mouth. “Please say yes. Please . . .”

  “Ah-ka-ah,” Mima answered, returning the gesture. Then she pointed at Carter and flexed her muscles.

  “She’s saying it will make us strong,” Jane said.

  “That’s all I need to hear,” Carter said.

  Mima continued to speak, but in words Vanessa didn’t recognize. Her gestures were confusing, too. Was she saying they should wait, or that they should go ahead and eat?

  Then she turned and darted off into the brush, still calling back as she went.

  “What’s going on?” Buzz said.

  “She’ll be back,” Jane said, and Vanessa knew she was right. If Mima had intended to strike out on her own, she could have done it long ago.

  “Breakfast time!” Carter said. “Jane, come here.”

  Carter put his hands together like a stirrup and leaned over for Jane.

  “Hop up!” he said. Vanessa stood next to him, offering her shoulder for support as Jane rose in Carter’s hands, high enough to reach the fruit on the limb overhead.

  “They’re soft. I don’t know if that’s good or bad,” Jane said. Buzz caught two as they dropped and brought them up to his face.

  “They don’t smell like anything,” he said. “But they’re heavy.”

  The fruits had pocked waxy skin, like a lemon or a lime, but bigger and rounder. It was hard to know if the deep purple color meant they were ripe or not, but there was one way to find out. And Vanessa didn’t imagine that the others were feeling any pickier than she was right now.

  “Should we wait for Mima?” she asked, already knowing
the answer. There was more than enough on the tree for all of them to eat. And they’d waited long enough.

  Buzz ran a thumbnail along the skin of the fruit in his hand. “I think this could be easy to peel,” he said.

  “Or,” Carter said, “we could just do this.”

  He plucked one from the bunch and poked his thumbs right in, pulling it open with a soft wet sound. Inside, the fruit was pale yellow with a small bunch of tan-colored seeds in the middle. The flesh was thick and juicy, like a plum.

  “Go ahead, Jane,” he said, and handed it to her.

  “Why am I going first?” Jane said.

  “Because you’re the bravest,” Buzz said. It was worth a try, anyway. Jane usually couldn’t resist any kind of dare.

  Jane dug her fingers in and pulled off a moist chunk. The juice ran down her hand and over her wrist. She started to lick it off but drew back.

  “It’s really sour,” she said. Then she started to put the piece in her mouth, until her face contorted again and she stopped. Jane had always been the pickiest eater in the group, at home and on Nowhere Island, too.

  “I’ll try it,” Buzz said. He tore his fruit open like Carter had done and scraped a hunk of the flesh loose with his teeth.

  Immediately, he spit the piece out. Not only was the fruit sour beyond anything he’d ever tasted, but it had a kind of dryness that sucked the moisture right off his tongue. It was a bizarre feeling, or flavor. Or both.

  It was incredibly frustrating, too. Here they were with painfully empty bellies and a whole tree full of food that they might have to walk away from. Just getting up into the woods had been a struggle after their long swim.

  “Mima eats these, right?” Vanessa asked. She’d tasted one of the fruits now as well. Carter, too. All four of them looked at each other, mystified.

  “Yeah, well, Mima practically flies through the trees, and we can’t do that, either,” Carter said.

  “Maybe she’s used to them because she lives here,” Buzz ventured.

  “Maybe we just have to get used to it,” Carter said. He tried another bite, but shook his head and spit it out a second time. “No way,” he said. “That is the grossest thing I’ve ever tasted. Seriously. I’d rather eat grubs.”