Desperate Measures (6 page)

C
arter slid through the swamp one step at a time, keeping low in the water. His head was still covered with a makeshift hood of the moss, and he probably looked like something out of a scary movie, he thought. Or better yet, he'd look like nothing at all and blend right into the bog around him.

The whole idea was to stay as far from any of the Nukula as he could manage. It reminded him of something Dad had said before, about getting downfield in a game.
Go where the other guys aren't.
It was so simple, but so true.

Of course, it was a whole lot easier when the other
team wasn't practically invisible in the dark. But it was something to think about, anyway.

“CARTER, IF YOU CAN HEAR ME . . .” Jane started up again. This time, she was off to his left.

“CARTER!” Buzz yelled from farther off. “HEAD TOWARD VANESSA!”

“OVER HERE! CARTER!” Vanessa's voice followed theirs. “THE ENTRANCE TO THE TUNNEL IS BETWEEN THE ROOTS OF A BIG TREE.”

He could hear them talking to each other, too.

“How long should we do this?” Buzz asked from wherever he was.

“I don't know,” Jane called back. “As long as we can. Carter wouldn't give up on us, and we can't give up on him.”

It was a bizarre feeling to know they were right there, yet to stay perfectly still. Everything in him wanted to jump up and race over to Jane.

Instead, he waited like a statue for several minutes until the one Nukula boy he could spot had moved on. Then Carter pointed himself east again and continued toward the far side of the deep pool.

Finally, straight ahead, he saw it. The water gave way to a muddy shore, and beyond that, a tree sat with a large rock wedged between its roots. That had to be it.

As he moved into the shallower water, he sank down even more, bending his knees at first, then lying flat when he had to. He pulled himself along by his hands now, with only his eyes and the top of his head breaking the surface.

When he couldn't go any farther without standing up, he stopped again. There was just a short patch of open ground between him and the tree he was trying to reach. That meant one more big move, if he could manage to make it without being seen.

But that was a big
if
.

Vanessa's skin prickled when she saw Carter at the water's edge. He was maybe fifty feet off to her left, and less than half that distance from the tunnel entrance.

It was amazing. Jane's plan was actually working!

She turned to face west again, her heart racing. It was too risky to look Carter's way for very long. There was no knowing who was watching who out here.

“Jane? Buzz?” she called out. “I think he's here. I don't want to say too much, but Carter, I can see you. Don't look around. Just keep going. As far as I can tell, you're clear to go. The tree's straight ahead. It's the one with the rock between the roots.”

She cut her eyes over one more time. It was hard to tell in the dim light, but it looked as though Carter was nodding.

“Jane?” she called again. “Buzz? Don't do anything. Just wait.”

“Got it!” Buzz yelled.

“You can do it, Carter!” Jane called back.

But then Vanessa heard a Nukula voice, too. It came out of the dark, closer in than Jane or Buzz.
“Runaka, okolo!”
the boy said.

Then another.
“Betta eh fatzo, tikka-ko, tikka!”

That was followed quickly by splashing and footsteps, all of it coming closer.

“They may have spotted him!” Vanessa reported.
“Carter. Just go! I can't see them, but hurry if you can!”

“HEY! HEY! HEY!” Jane yelled from her place in the bog. “OVER HERE, EVERYONE! OVER HERE!”

“OVER HERE!” Buzz yelled, picking up Jane's cue. It was more important than ever to keep everyone else distracted.

Vanessa held her breath. She watched as Carter came onto his feet and made a low run toward the tunnel entrance. It was too dark to see much, but the others were definitely moving in, and fast.

This was going to be
close.

C
arter's feet slipped over the mud as he tried to get some traction. He stumbled, went down, scrambled back up, and kept moving.

This was it. He'd either make it to the tunnel or he wouldn't.

In a second he'd reached the big rock between the roots of the tree. He threw his arms over the top of it and heaved. The rock pulled away in one fast motion. His exhaustion was nothing. Right now, adrenaline was everything.

Before he could make his next move, another yell came from much closer, this time in Nukula.

“Runaka! Betzo aztet! Runaka looko!”

“CARTER, WATCH OUT!” Vanessa shouted.

He froze. Should he keep going? Try to disappear into the tunnel? Run back to the swamp?

“OVER HERE!” Buzz yelled. “OVER HERE!” He was trying to keep up the diversion, but it was too late.

Carter turned to see several shadows closing in. He bent his knees and put his hands up, ready to tackle his way out of this if he had to. But before any of the others could get there, a vine loop dropped into his field of vision. He noticed it at the same moment it slipped around his head.

Carter reached up to snatch the vine off, too late. It already had him, and pulled up tight under his chin.

Someone dropped from a branch overhead. The slack in the vine went even tighter, and nearly yanked Carter off his feet. Whoever it was hit the ground behind him and snaked both arms around his shoulders. The loop tightened again, cutting into his windpipe.

Carter's first thought was
Chizo
. But it couldn't be. Or could it?

He twisted around trying to see just as his attacker threw him to the ground—but not before he got a glimpse of her face.

It was Mima.

Jane was rushing back toward the shallow water when she saw it happen. Mima dropped from the tree, holding one end of a vine. The other end looped over the limb she'd left behind and back down to where it had Carter by the neck.

Mima landed on him and brought him up with both hands around his shoulders. There was a fast tussle, even as all of the others closed in from several directions.

“CARTER!” Jane screamed. She didn't stop as she ran out of the water and right to him, squeezing through the group to get to her brother.

“FAH!”
Mima reached out with one hand and knocked Jane straight back.

Jane stumbled and fell hard in the mud. The shock of the hit was as strong as anything she'd felt since coming to this place. Her mind reeled, trying to make sense of what was happening. Did Mima think she was someone else?

Buzz and Vanessa were there now, too. Several Nukula were trying to take Carter for themselves, but Mima was having none of it. She screeched at them all, and slashed at the air with her stone knife in a warning. It brought the chaos to a fast standstill, and everyone backed up.

“Carter!” Jane tried again from where she stood.

Carter didn't move. He couldn't. When he tried to turn toward Jane, he coughed and gagged. Mima had drawn up the slack in the vine, keeping herself between him and everyone else. Now she turned and cut the vine with two quick swipes of the knife, freeing it from the branch above.

“You're still choking him!” Vanessa screamed. But it didn't do any good. Every step in Carter's direction only made things worse. Mima seemed like a trapped animal, wild-eyed and unpredictable. This wasn't the
same Mima they'd known all during
Raku Nau
, Jane thought. Not anymore.

Something very strange—and very wrong—was going on.

Buzz took a step toward Mima with both hands held out to show he meant no harm. It was all beyond confusing. “Mima, what are you doing? Please, listen!” he said.

“Fah!”
she shouted again.
No!

“Be careful!” Vanessa called out, just as Mima lunged and Buzz jumped back.

“What's going on?” Carter asked. His voice was weak. He seemed too tired to struggle.

“She wants the blood ring,” Jane said.

“The
what
?” Carter asked.

“It's what they all came for,” Vanessa said. “But Mima! Just listen—”

“She's
not
listening,” Buzz said, and tried again. “Mima, please. You can keep him for now. Take the blood ring, whatever you have to do. Just let us talk to Carter.”

The words spilled out, whether they were doing
any good or not. Maybe she understood his tone, or his gestures, but it didn't matter. She wasn't letting anyone come close.

Instead, she jerked her head in the direction of the tunnel.

“Ekka-ko?
” she asked, looking Jane right in the eye. It meant
This way?
But with the
ko
at the end, it was beyond confusing.
Ko
was for enemies.
Ka
was for friends. That much Buzz knew.

Jane was sobbing as she answered.
“Ah-ka-ah,”
she said, meaning
yes
. “But,
ekka-ka,
Mima.
Ekka-KA
! We're your friends! What are you doing?”

Mima's only response was to shove Carter back between the roots of the tree and toward the tunnel entrance. She never let go of the vine even as Carter half slid, half climbed inside. Not that their brother had the energy to run away, from the look of him.

As soon as he'd disappeared into the tunnel, Mima dropped in behind Carter. She didn't try to stop anyone from following. Buzz, Jane, and Vanessa hurried right after them, into the dark, along with several of the other Nukula. Aboveground, one of the
other runners had already started working up a fire, hopefully for a torch they could all use.

Meanwhile, Carter was Mima's prisoner, and there was nothing they could do about it. The most they could hope for now was to try to stay as close as possible for the trip back to the eastern shore.

After that, it was anyone's
guess.

T
he return trip through the tunnel was more confusing than anything Buzz had experienced since their shipwreck on Nowhere Island. The small space filled up with bodies and voices in the dark, as half the group felt their way along behind Mima and Carter.

Soon, several of the others showed up with torches to light the way. Buzz had never seen any flint or fire starters on the island. Not like on the survival shows he used to watch. But he
had
seen Nukula of every age start a fire with a vine and a stick about as easily as starting a lawn mower. It was amazing how quickly they were able to light up the tunnel.

Still, the light was their only relief. Everything else was a crazy scramble, competing with the others to get near the front. From the sound of the Nukulas' voices, it seemed as though they were all kissing up to Mima. She was going to wear the blood ring now, after all.

Or maybe they were actually congratulating her. It was hard to tell without understanding the language. But nobody was trying to take Carter from her anymore. It seemed as though
Ohzooka
was officially over.

Soon, the return trip turned into a run, and it got even harder to keep up. All Buzz, Jane, and Vanessa could do was shout to their brother from a distance. There was no time for making a new plan, no time for anything but trying to stay with the group.

“Carter, are you okay?” Buzz called out.

“I'm . . . okay!” Carter called back. But he didn't
sound
okay. He sounded like the running was all he could manage. After that, Buzz and the girls stopped trying to get him to talk. It was awful, not being able to help him or even hear his voice.

Fortunately, the run back was quick. Sooner than Buzz would have thought possible, they reached the ladder below the guard hut near the encampment. Mima pushed Carter up first and went right behind him, still holding the vine like a leash. Everyone else pushed and jostled to be the next ones out. The group streamed up through the hole in the ground, with Buzz and Vanessa somewhere in the middle.

As soon as Buzz was outside, he turned back to look for Jane. He'd lost her in the shuffle to get out.

“Buzz! Vanessa! Over here!” Jane yelled.

He turned again and looked up the trail toward the main clearing. Jane was there, waving them on. She'd already squeezed through ahead of them.

“Why am I even surprised?” he asked as they hurried after her. Jane knew how to use her size as an advantage, that was for sure. She could slip through practically anything unnoticed.

“What do we do now?” she asked as they all continued up the trail.

“What I want to know is what Mima's thinking,” Vanessa said. “I don't get it.”

“You don't?” Jane asked. “She's making herself a leader in the tribe, that's what.”

“But she wouldn't even have a
seccu
if it wasn't for Carter!” Vanessa said.

“I'm not excusing it, I'm just explaining,” Jane said. “At least it's her and not someone else.”

“It sure sounds like you're excusing it,” Vanessa said.

“Shut up, you guys,” Buzz said. It was nearly impossible not to lose patience, but they couldn't afford that right now. The only solution was to keep their eyes open and see what they could make out of whatever happened next.

The drums started up as Mima led the procession out of the woods and into the clearing, dragging Carter along beside her. Vanessa watched from several yards back while he stumbled along, still trying to keep pace.

The feast had begun without them. The roasting boar from before now lay, half-carved, on a stone pile, keeping warm by the flames. People sat in groups,
spread out around several smaller blazes in the clearing.

Laki alone sat by the main fire, nearest the meat. He had a leaf bundle open on his knee, feeding himself with his hands, when he looked up and saw them coming.

People jumped to their feet and came closer as Mima brought Carter straight to the chief. Vanessa felt Jane's fingers intertwine with her own. Buzz stood close on the other side. There was no sign of Ani so far, and they watched, waiting to see what would happen.

Laki stayed cross-legged on the ground as Mima pushed Carter down to kneel next to him. She didn't say anything at all. She only reached over to cut the loop from Carter's neck, as though she were dropping him off for Laki.

But Laki stopped her with a hand on her arm. He said something to Mima that Vanessa couldn't hear, and then handed her something. It dropped into her palm and he closed her fingers around it.

The blood ring. That's what it had to be, Vanessa
thought. But Laki had made so little deal out of it. Something seemed off. Maybe it had to do with how the tribe had reacted when he took the ring from Chizo in the first place. Or how Laki had been eating alone when they'd come back.

Whatever was going on, there was a definite feeling in the air that Laki no longer enjoyed the love and support of the Nukula as he had just a few days earlier. Even his face looked different—drawn, and sad, to Vanessa's eyes.

Whatever it was, Mima didn't hesitate. She slipped the ring onto her own little finger while Laki continued to address her. He seemed to be giving some kind of instructions, because Mima picked up the vine next and pulled Carter back onto his feet.

Laki motioned toward the far end of the clearing, beyond the light of the fires.

“What do you think he's saying?” Jane asked at Vanessa's side. Vanessa shook her head. Even with everything that had happened, it felt like some kind of bad dream now. As horrible as the last few weeks had been, they'd always stayed in charge of their own
fate. Now, it was as though everything they'd fought for was being taken away from them, in a whole new way.

A hand landed on her shoulder, and she flinched. It was Ani. The sight of his face flooded her with relief, and she threw her arms around him.

“Ani! What's happening? Please, tell us!” Vanessa said. “Where is Carter going?”

“He will be bound and held for the night,” Ani said. “When the tribe has gone in the morning, the guards will let him out, and he will remain here.”

“Carter!” Jane shouted.

This was exactly what they'd been afraid of. It was all coming so fast.

“When your brother ran off this afternoon, he forfeited his right to return to the village,” Ani said.

“What do you mean, they're holding him?” Vanessa asked. “Where? How?”

“The guards have prepared a sand pit,” Ani said. “They will not hurt him. He will receive food and water. He will be kept there only through the night. But then you will have to say your good-byes.”

“No,” Vanessa said. There was no question to it. Just—
no
.

“We're not letting him go in there,” Buzz said.

Ani looked at them gravely. “I promise you that you have no choice,” he said.

“I'll go with him,” Vanessa said. “Buzz and Jane, you stay.”

“No way!” Jane said.

“That's not going to happen,” Buzz said. “You said it yourself, Vanessa. We're not getting separated again. Not ever.”

“It does not matter,” Ani said. “You three are wearers of the
seccu
. It is not done this way.”

“Fine,” Vanessa said. She reached up, untied the leather cord around her neck, and held out the stone. “Take it.”

She pushed the
seccu
into Ani's hand, then turned toward Laki.

“We're staying wherever our brother is staying,” Vanessa said. Her gaze traveled from Laki, to Ani, to the rest of the tribe as Ani translated quietly for the chief. Everyone was watching. “You can try to stop us,
but it isn't going to work. I don't care what happens anymore. We're not . . . splitting . . . up.”

Her heart was racing, but she wasn't scared. It didn't feel
brave
, either. It was more about doing the only thing she knew to do.

“This is a mistake,” Ani said.

“If it is, then we're all making it together,” Buzz said. He and Jane had already taken off their own
seccu
as well. All three of them walked over to stand with Carter.

“You guys,” Carter mumbled out. “Don't—”

“Shut up,” Vanessa said. “We're staying wherever you are.”

“
Ozo etta mi shinolaka
,” Mima said. Several people laughed nervously.

Vanessa looked into Mima's eyes, searching for some kind of understanding. Mima only stared back, as unblinking as a stone.

“What did she say?” Jane asked.

“She said, ‘Blood runs deep,'” Ani answered. “It means the four of you are a family to the end.”

“Yeah,” Vanessa said, putting out her hands to be tied. “She's right about
that.”