He edged forward. “Opal, what is it?”
She didn’t answer, pointing at the soft mud in front of the tunnel.
Massive footprints led inside.
They didn’t come back out.
24
OPAL
Faster.Faster.
Opal and Nico propelled the rowboat across the murky water.
She had to get away. From the figments, the houseboat, the Darkdeep, all of it.
They’d abandoned the tunnel entrance and snuck across the island instead. No way was Opal going into the passage. Not with those footprints disappearing inside. The idea of meeting a figment down in the dark underneath the cove was too horrible to contemplate.
Opal’s oar struck something and a twisted metal object bobbed to the surface. At first she worried she’d hit some new Darkdeepian creature, but then she recognized it. “Nico. Your drone.”
Emma clicked her tongue. Logan’s face was stricken.
“I think I can reach.” Opal extended her paddle toward the mangled quadcopter.
“Forget it,” Nico hissed. “It’s wrecked. Worry about whatever dredged it up from the bottom.”
Tyler’s voice trembled. “You think—you think it could be the Beast?”
A splash sounded behind them.Just a fish, Opal told herself.A huge jumping fish. It’s fine.
“Youdoworry about the Beast a lot,” Emma whispered. “And the Darkdeep reads minds.”
“Oh no.” Tyler slumped into the belly of the rowboat. “Please, anything but that.”
“Relax,” Opal said, trying to sound convincing. “We’re off the island. Whatever figments we just made will have to enjoy their lifespans without us.”
“Butsomethingleft,” Tyler shot back, his voice unsteady. “You saw the tracks.”
“I’m sure it can’t go far.” Opal pulled back on her oar, fighting off the shakes. “I bet it just went a little way down the tunnel and now it’s stuck. Maybe—”
The boat jolted. Opal almost lost her paddle, catching it a split second before it flopped into the water. They’d hit an old sailboat, covered in seaweed and floating upside down like a bloated fish. Opal could barely read the name painted on its side:Roman Holiday.
“Roman,” Emma breathed. “That was his first name. The man who died.”
Debris began floating to the surface all around them.Tangles of netting, a rusted lantern, bits of metal and wood, a picked-clean bone. The last looked anything but human.
“Faster!” Opal said out loud.
Nico needed no encouragement. Together they pulled for the cave as quickly as possible.
With shaking fingers, Opal helped Nico tie off the rowboat. The group scurried up the cliff notches in a mad scramble to get clear of the water. Gathering on the ledge, they eyed the cave mouth, ready to bolt at the slightest noise.
“Do you think it came all the way through?” Logan asked, voice low.
“Let’s not stay and find out,” Emma whispered back.
Phone light blazing, Nico pointed up the path. “Let’s get our bikes. Be careful climbing in the dark. No one wants to fall, believe me.”
