No Survivors (6 page)

“No sssssurvivors!”

The whispered words seemed to be carried on the tossing waves.

A tall wave crashed over April—and she heard the words again.
“No sssssurvivors.”

Were the whispers in the wind? Or did April hear them in her mind?

She didn't have time to think about it.

Her muscles locked.

Terror froze her body.

I'm going to drown.

Another wave battered her. It felt like a brick wall as it smacked her hard.

Stunned, April fell against the rocks.

This time, though, she wasn't pulled back into the water. She felt a hard, solid surface beneath her.

The waves have pushed me onto shore, she realized.

Gasping, choking, she turned. She was on the blue
rocks. She could feel the cold shimmering off them.

“No sssssurvivors!”
Another whisper, so close to her ear.

And then April heard shouts.

And saw Kristen running across the beach to her. Pam was behind her.

Was the race over already? Had Pam won it?

“April—are you okay?” Kristen called.

April tried to answer but choked up water. She sputtered and coughed. She felt as if she'd never get all the water out of her lungs.

Then Kristen was kneeling on the rocks, helping her up and off the rocks. April's legs felt shaky as she stepped onto the soft sand.

“April, what happened?” Kristen asked. “Everyone else finished the race.”

“Yeah, where were you?” Pam demanded.

“I—I don't know.” April dropped to her knees, shivering, dazed. “I guess I got caught in some kind of weird current. I—I couldn't swim out of it.”

She raised her eyes to Pam.

Here she is again. Whenever something strange happens, she's always right there.

She turned and saw other kids running toward them along the shore. “April—are you okay?” Ronni called.

“Yes, I'm fine—now!” April shouted back.

“Kendra and I tied,” Pam said, frowning.

April stared at her. “You didn't win?”

Pam shook her head unhappily. “You know how much I hate ties,” she muttered. She glared at Kendra, who was running across the rocks to them.

April felt a chill.

Pam was staring at Kendra as if seeing her worst enemy. But all Kendra did was keep Pam from winning the swim race.

I know Pam likes to compete, April thought. But she is taking it a little too far.

Kids gathered around April. Mira and Blake came running over. “What happened? We saw you struggling.”

“Some kind of weird current,” April muttered. “I'm fine now. Really.”

No, that is a lie. I'm not fine, she thought.

April still felt dizzy. She could feel the powerful waves battering her, pushing her one way, then the other.

They all began to walk back to the Academy Village.

Those waves weren't natural. They attacked only me, April thought. For everyone else, the water was as gentle as a bathtub.

She stepped up to Kristen and whispered in her ear. “No more excuses. You and me—we're going exploring. At the rock caves. After lunch. Okay?”

Kristen's face tightened with fear. Then she nodded. “Okay,” she whispered back. She swallowed hard. “I hope they don't light two torches for
us
tonight.”

At lunch, Donald Marks announced a free afternoon for everyone. “The camera crew is waiting for a piece of equipment to arrive,” he told them. “Until it does, you can all relax and enjoy the island.”

April and Kristen exchanged glances. “Perfect,” April said.

The sun was high overhead as they set out for the rock hills. The air felt heavy and wet. Waves of heat rose up from the sandy ground.

Kristen pulled a red and white baseball cap over her head. She sighed. “Wow, it's blistering hot today. Everyone else will probably stay in the water.”

She wore yellow short shorts and a sleeveless white T-shirt. Her shoulders were pink, sunburned from the morning swim race.

Their sandals crunched over the yellow sand. April stepped over a large crab shell. A strong, fishy aroma swept over her from the ocean.

She gazed out at the water. The waves were low
and gentle again, splashing softly against the shore.

The sand ended where the rocks began. April felt the cool air floating up from the rocks.

She gazed to the top of the hill—but had to shield her eyes from the glare of sunlight.

What is waiting for us up there? she wondered.

Kristen mopped her forehead with the back of her arm. “We forgot to bring water,” she said. “I'm boiling hot.”

“It will be cooler in the caves,” April replied.

Kristen grabbed her arm. “We're going
into
the caves? Are you sure we should? Maybe we should just explore
outside
the caves.”

“Don't chicken out on me now,” April pleaded. “We have to find Marlin. That's the whole reason we came back to this awful island, remember?”

Kristen squeezed her sunburned shoulder. “I came for a tan,” she joked.

April gave her a half smile. She knew Kristen believed her. But even Kristen didn't seem to take the witch completely seriously. Even Kristen didn't seem to realize how much danger they were in.

Leaning forward, they began to climb. Despite the hot sunshine beating down on them, the blue rocks were slippery and wet and icy cold.

“These sandals keep sliding,” April complained. “I should have worn my sneakers.”

Somewhere above them, a seagull uttered a loud squawk.

April raised her eyes and saw the bird flapping close over their heads. It opened its beak in another hoarse squawk.

“It's trying to tell us something,” Kristen moaned. “That's bird talk for
stay away.”

The climb became steeper. Sweat rolled down April's forehead. She brushed back her bangs and mopped her forehead. The rocks scared her. There was something evil in them, she could feel it.

“Almost there,” she muttered. She could see the black opening of a cave at the top where the rocks leveled off.

They were nearly to the top when April heard the scuff of footsteps on the rocks.

Startled, she let out a gasp.

And a voice behind them shouted,
“Ah-ha! There you are!”

Both girls spun around.

And stared openmouthed at Pam, trotting up the steep rock hill.

She was wearing khaki shorts and a bright blue midriff top. She had a matching blue bandanna tied over her hair. “There you are!” she called again.

April realized her heart was racing. “Pam, you—you scared us!” she called breathlessly.

Pam stepped up beside them. She loosened the bandanna and let her blond hair fall free behind her shoulders.

“Where are you going?” she demanded. “What is it with you two? You have some kind of exclusive club? How come you never invite me to come along?”

April narrowed her eyes at Pam. Why did she follow us? she wondered.

Is she jealous of my friendship with Kristen? Is that her problem? Or is it something else—something connected to all the creepy things that are happening?

“April and I are going exploring,” Kristen answered finally. She pointed to the cave opening cut into the rocks. “In there.”

Pam turned to the cave. “You're joking. You're going in that cave?”

“We're really interested in caves,” April said. She tried to keep her voice casual. “Since we have the afternoon free, we thought we'd take a look.”

Pam tilted her head, frowning at April. She pressed her hands against her waist. “Yeah, right.” She rolled her eyes. “How come you never told me you were interested in caves before?”

April let out a long sigh. Maybe it would be easier if she were honest with Pam.

“Listen, Pam,” she said. “It's too hard to explain, okay? The first time Kristen and I were here, some strange things happened. We thought we saw someone up here. And so we came up here to find out if we—”

“Oooh—gross!” Pam interrupted.

She leaned over and pointed down at the rock surface. “That is totally sick.”

April saw the seagull's body first. It lay on its side, legs straight out, feathers stiff.

She gasped when she saw the bird's head. It was a few feet from the body.

The eyes were open. Purple veins trailed out from the torn, blood-soaked neck.

She turned away. “Yuck.”

“What kind of a creature could tear a bird's head off like that?” Kristen muttered.

April felt a chill at the back of her neck. “Maybe a creature that lives in that cave.”

Pam took a step back. “You sure you still want to go exploring in there today? It's so hot. How about we head to the beach?”

“You don't understand—” April started to say. And then her voice caught in her throat as she saw a flash of blue.

She recognized the blue cloak, flying behind the woman as she ran.

The woman darted out from the cave and headed to the other side of the hill.

“It—it's her!” Kristen gasped.

To April's shock, Pam took off. Her shoes pounded the rocks as she ran full-speed after the woman.

“Pam?” April called.

Her arms flying at her sides, Pam chased after the woman.

She grabbed the blue cloak from behind.

The woman let out a hoarse cry as Pam tackled her around the waist.

Dropped her to the ground.

Pam landed hard on the woman's back.

“At last!” Pam screamed. “At last! I've caught you, Mother!”

April felt her jaw drop in disbelief. Pam just called the woman in the blue cloak
Mother!

April remembered the first time she was on the island. The woman in the blue cloak, leaning over her, sucking her breath. The woman had asked, “What scares you the most, daughter?”

April knew
she
wasn't the witch's daughter. Was it possible that Pam was?

The woman wrestled free of Pam's grip and struggled to her feet.

April and Kristen stood frozen in place. Despite the burning sun, April suddenly felt cold all over.

Breathing hard, Pam raised herself to her knees.

Wiping dust off her cloak, the woman turned slowly.

April let out another cry when she saw her face.

The woman had scraggly gray hair, parted in the middle and falling to her shoulders. She had small, dark eyes under a broad forehead.

She reached a hand to her long, craggy nose—and pulled it off.

A fake.

Even from a distance, April could see that her pointed chin was a fake too.

“You captured the old witch—did ye, dearies?” she shouted in a phony, shrill voice. Then she opened her mouth in a long cornball cackle.

“She—she's an actress!” April said to Kristen.

Kristen nodded. “A fake.”

The woman laughed. “A fake? No way!” she replied in her real voice. “I'm the Wicked Witch of the West. Don't you recognize me, girls?”

April turned to Pam. “Why did you say that to her?” she demanded. “Why did you call her
Mother?”

Pam stood up and fixed the bandanna in her hair. “Donald Marks told me to,” she replied.

April stared at her. “Excuse me?”

“He told me to follow you,” Pam explained. “He said when the witch came running out of the cave, I should tackle her and shout, ‘At last I've caught you, Mother.” '

“But, I—I don't understand,” April said. “Why?”

“For the cameras,” Pam replied. She was gazing over April's shoulder.

April turned and saw a camera operator hunched in the cave opening. He had a camcorder pointed at them. He was motioning with his free hand for them to keep talking.

“Keep going. This is great!” he called.

Kristen frowned at Pam. “Marks said the cameras weren't shooting today. He said it was a free day for all of us.”

Pam shrugged. “I guess he lied.”

“For a change,” April muttered.

They walked back to the cabins. Pam walked ahead, chatting with the cameraman.

Kristen turned to April. “Even the witch is a fake,” she whispered. “Nothing is real. It's all for TV.”

“That's what Marks
wants
us to think,” April whispered back. “Remember, according to Marks, Marlin is fine.”

Kristen shrugged. “How are we ever going to find out what the truth really is? I mean, I don't understand. Why would Marks want to us think there's a fake witch?”

“Because there's a real witch on island with us, and Marks is helping her. The kids who are disappearing aren't going home. I'm sure of it,” April said. “Marks is trying to throw us off. He's part of the evil.”

Pam spun around to face them. “What are you two whispering about?” she demanded. “Are you talking about me?”

“No. Really,” April replied. “Just talking.”

As they came near the Academy Village, Anthony came running across the sand to greet them. “Have you seen Kendra?” he asked breathlessly.

April shook her head. “No. She wasn't with us.”

“She's missing,” Anthony said. “No one can find her anywhere.”

“Tonight we light a second torch,” Marks announced in his booming, deep voice. “Beside the torch for Clark, we light a new torch for Kendra.”

Mira and Blake raised burning sticks to the torches, and they both burst into flame.

“Now we are eight,” Marks said solemnly. His eyes moved around the circle of kids. “May their lights—side by side—remind us of the dangers of this island. And the dangers we will all face tomorrow.”

April watched the camera crew capturing Marks's words on tape. Marks is enjoying this so much, she thought. He really loves being a TV star.

She shuddered as she stared at the torch flames dancing against the night sky.

What is really happening to those kids? she wondered. And where are the three missing kids from our first trip here?

The next day, she found out the answers.