Charley. I sucked as an island guide. I’d left her twice now.
“You’d better tell her.” Natalie’s eyes narrowed. “And I mean now. She needs to know.”
“I know. I was just giving her some time. To, you know, get adjusted.”
Natalie sighed. “There is no time. You know that.” She paused, then hit me with a hard Nat stare. “If you don’t tell Charley, I will.”
CHAPTER
16
CHARLEY
DAY 13, LATE MORNING
The boy named Rives led Rory away, steering him by the shoulder. Lips pursed, Rory looked like a mad blowfish, or maybe it was just his sunburn.
As I turned, Thad reappeared by my side.
“I think I need a new island guide,” I teased. His face kind of fell. “Kidding,” I said. “Is Natalie okay?”
“She misses Kevin.”
“I figured.” Then I remembered something. “Hey, what did Miguel show you?”
“A cow bone.”
“A cow bone,” I repeated. “Why?”
“I had to bury it.”
“Okayyy,” I said. “Did something bad happen to the cow? I mean, obviously the cow died. But was it bad?”
“Actually, no. The cow fell off a cliff. Everyone had steak for dinner.” Thad grinned.
“Huh.” I didn’t know what else to say.
I looked around the beach. The surfers had come in. I recognizedone as Jason, the curly-haired kid who’d accused me of stealing Kevin’s clothes. The boys had stopped throwing their coconut football; the group around the fire had split up. Anticipation hung in the air as thick and heavy as Atlanta humidity in August.
And then it hit me: it was nearly noon.
“Is everyone looking for a gate?” I asked. “An exit gate?”
“Yeah.” Thad’s eyes roamed the beach. “They always come at noon, but that’s all we know. They pop up anywhere, but never the same spot two days in a row.” He ran his hand through his hair, clearly frustrated. “It sucks. Like trying to hit the lottery.”
I noticed no one watched the ocean.
“Do they ever come from the water?” I asked.
“Nope. Just across land.” Tension rolled off Thad in waves.
Heesham stood closest to us, about twenty feet away. Sabine stood near Heesham, her eyes as busy as Thad’s. Two other boys—one I recognized as Miguel—stood at the tree line; others were fanned to the right. Just as Natalie walked out from the trees with Li, the wind stalled, the sun felt hotter, and everything happened at once.
The sand at Sabine’s heels melted. Shimmering sand rose into the air behind her, then the sand fell, leaving wavering, iridescent air stretching over her head. Recalling the gate that brought Rory, I immediately saw the difference. This gate was like the ones in the red rock field: more translucent, less reflective—more like glass than a mirror, and this gate rose from the ground, whereas Rory’s gate had popped midair and dropped. This gate was an outbound. And it was right behind Sabine.
The gate was still rising when Heesham shouted, “Sabine! Run!”
Other voices: “Li! Gate!” It was a chorus. “Li! Li!”
