The Neptune Challenge Read online

  We crowd around Robry. I’m relieved that the surveillance camera in the corner of my room is set at the wrong angle to cover the computer monitor. Along with the others, I begin to read:

  I’m now convinced that I have to add more subjects with marine adaptations to my program. I need them to help to build the new order under the waves that I, and my son after me, will lead. If we kill the adult staff supervising them, these young specimens will naturally look to me for shelter and safety. I expect some losses on both sides, as my shark mutates are regrettably imprecise weapons.

  I will give the subjects at Atlantea the option of joining this attack as a test of their loyalty to me. Those who will not participate will be eliminated….

  We stare at one another in horror.

  :He’s talking about us and Safety Harbor, sí?: Ree says uncertainly.

  :Yeah, he is,: Robry says. :There’s even a chart of Safety Harbor right below this entry.:

  :But how can he expect us to attack our own friends and our own home?: Kalli cries.

  :Now I know this hombre is completely loco,: Ree says, shaking her head.

  :Do you think the other kids know about this?: I ask my team.

  :I can’t believe Shadow or Sunny or Rad would have anything to do with attacking Safety Harbor unless Kuron forced them,: Kalli replies.

  :I can’t, either, but I bet Whitey, Sham, and Wasp would go on a raid like this in a heartbeat,: Tobin says.

  :Does Dai know about this?: Ree asks me the question I think we’re all wondering.

  :I don’t know, but we have to assume for now that he does,: I force myself to reply calmly, even though my heart feels like it’s about to shatter. :I’ve got to send one of the dolphins back to Safety Harbor to warn everyone. Does Kuron say when he’s planning this attack?:

  :At the highest tide this month,: Robry responds. :He’s planning on taking his sub inside the perimeter, and he’s worried about grounding it in some of the shallower areas of the colony.:

  :When’s the next king tide?: I ask him, trying to hide my panic.

  :I’ll check,: he says, his fingers racing over the keyboard. He stops after he pulls up the tide table. When he looks away from the screen again, his eyes are wide and worried. :The next one will be exactly four days from now.:

  A cold wave of dread rushes over me. :That means we have less than four days left to find the c-plankton and figure out a way to disable these collars.:

  I can tell everyone on my team is as stunned by Kuron’s log entry as I am. We talk briefly about Kuron’s plans and decide to redouble our efforts tomorrow to find the c-plankton.

  We all jump when a keeper pounds on my door. Curfew begins in ten minutes. Their faces grim, my friends leave my room.

  The keeper, though, stays by my door and stares at me. I can just make out the red scar over his eye. It’s the same man who shocked me at the shredder tank. As the moment stretches into forever, I consider touching his mind, but I don’t want to know what he’s thinking. The hatred radiating from him is clear enough. At last, he closes the door and locks it.

  Letting go a shaky breath, I call Sokya and Densil and explain to them what we just found out. Densil agrees to swim as fast as he can back to Safety Harbor to warn my father through Bria.

  :Be careful,: I tell him. It’s dangerous when a dolphin swims alone without a pod to protect it.

  :I am always careful,: Densil says and breaks off contact. I look out into the twilight sea, hoping he’ll be safe.

  :You need to be careful, too, Sokya,: I say.

  :I will be fine. I swim with the big dolphin,: Sokya assures me. I do feel a little better knowing she’s with Ton.

  Taking a deep breath, I lean forward and rest my forehead against the cold window glass. Now that everyone’s gone, I can stop trying to be brave. I wish Dad was here. He’d know what to do. I just want to go home. But I can’t go back to my old home down south, and my new home’s in danger. And Ran Kuron is going to “eliminate” my friends and me if we don’t agree to attack Safety Harbor.

  Wrapping my arms around myself, I burst into tears.

  My dad’s colony has so few real defenses. I keep picturing starving shredders storming through the bubble wall and attacking kids, dolphins, and helper staff. I can see the shark crew helping Kuron, but would Dai really be a part of it? He’s such an amazing fighter, he’d be like an army in himself.

  :Nere, what’s wrong? Are you hurt?:

  I twist around in surprise. As if my thoughts had summoned him, Dai is floating inside my door, his expression worried. The image of the shredders, the shark crew, and Dai attacking Safety Harbor is still vivid in my mind. Hastily, I raise my mental shields, but I can tell from the shift in his expression that I’m too late to keep him from reading me.

  His face cold, he swims farther into my room. :So, my father’s planning to attack Safety Harbor, and you think I might be in on it. I guess that doesn’t surprise me. He’s capable of unleashing his sharkheads on a colony of innocent kids, and you obviously believe I’d help him. How’d you find this out?:

  I just stare at him, shielding my thoughts as tightly as I can.

  Dai’s mouth twists. :Not going to tell me, are you? I bet I can guess. Somehow Robry hacked into his personal files. Ocho’s going to be impressed. He’s been trying to break into them for years.:

  :Why are you here?:

  :It doesn’t matter now.: Dai just looks at me. When I reach out and try to read him, I sense waves of anger and hurt leaking through his shields.

  :So you wouldn’t help your father,: I say miserably. :I—I didn’t really think you would.:

  :But for a moment, you thought I might. That’s what counts. Good night, Nere.: He leaves and locks my door quietly behind him.

  Dai doesn’t appear at breakfast, which is almost as tense as dinner was the night before. The shark crew continues to glare at us, and I’m relieved when we get through our classes without a fight. The moment school is over, Tobin and I head off to search for the c-plankton in a far section of the fortress.

  :If we promised to join him, do you think Kuron would buy it?: I ask Tobin as we swim quickly down a long corridor.

  :We’d have to say the right things,: Tobin replies, :like how much we love Atlantea and want to be a part of his program. He’s such a megalomaniac, I think he just might believe us.:

  :I’m afraid Wasp could tell we were lying, though.:

  All at once, the red alarm lights along each corridor begin to flash, and a shrill siren rips through the water.

  I jump and glance up and down the corridor. :I really hope some shredders didn’t get loose.: We don’t even have dive knives to protect ourselves.

  :Hey, Nere,: Ree calls me a moment later. :I think Kalli and I just set off an alarm. We found a big lab, and I opened a drawer in a cabinet, and the next moment, all these lights were flashing like crazy. I closed the drawer and we got out of there muy fast.:

  :Did anyone see you guys?:

  :Well, no one was in the lab, but maybe someone saw me on a camera.:

  :Head back to your room, but try to look like you’re not hurrying. We’ll meet you there.:

  Tobin and I say little as we swim swiftly through the stark corridors, and I call Robry and tell him to meet us in Ree’s room. Finally someone shuts down the alarm, which was making my head ring. By the time we get back, Ree, Kalli, and Robry are already there.

  :I’m really sorry, boss,: Ree says the instant she sees me. :I swear there weren’t any prohibited area signs on the door to that lab.:

  :It’s okay. We had to start taking some chances.:

  :That lab looked promising, too,: Kalli says. :There were all kinds of tanks growing stuff in there. I’d like to go back and check it out.:

  Seconds later, Sham storms in, his broad, flat face flushed with anger.

  :Nice job, morons. The bossman got back just in time to hear the alarms, and he’s mad at everyone now. He wants to see us in his conference room pronto.:r />
  My team and I exchange worried glances.

  :Yeah, you guys should be worried,: Sham gloats. :The keepers know you set off the alarm, and when the bossman finds out, someone’s gonna get fried big-time.:

  :Lay off them, Sham,: Rad says. He and Shadow float in the doorway, faces tight.

  :Sure thing, sparkhead. Just thought your Neptune buddies ought to know what’s coming.: Sending us a nasty, toothy smile, Sham leaves the room.

  :Guess we’d better go,: I say and kick for the door, touching Ree’s shoulder as I pass her. :It’s going to be okay.: But I wish my words didn’t sound so hollow.

  As we swim for the conference room, the rest of Kuron’s kids join us, all except Dai. I keep looking down the various corridors we pass, hoping he’ll show up.

  :Dai’s not here,: Shadow tells me on a private send. I wonder, not for the first time, if Shadow is a strong hereditary telepath, too.

  :The bossman sent him to deliver a message to your father at Safety Harbor,: she explains. :Dai tried to reach you, but Wasp blocked him. He told me he’d get back here as fast as he could. He didn’t want to go, but we promised him we’d look out for you.:

  My stomach clenches even tighter. I really wish Dai were here. I know he has been looking out for us, and he may be the only one who can reason with his twisted, crazy father.

  All too soon, we reach the deck access where we have to leave the water. One by one, we climb up into Kuron’s conference room.

  I spot him immediately, standing in front of the big plasma screen. He’s dressed in a black suit again, and he’s completely still. His expression appears to be cool and calm, but when I see the muscle ticking in his jaw, I realize he’s furious. When we’re finally all lined up in front of him, he begins to speak.

  “I understand one of our guests trespassed in a prohibited area and set off the alarm,” he declares in a cold, hard voice.

  Ree squares her shoulders. Before I can stop her, she steps forward. “I did, sir, but I didn’t know that lab was off-limits. There wasn’t any sign on the door.”

  “Of course Enviro Lab Three is a ‘prohibited area.’”

  I sense a surge of satisfaction near me, and I whirl to stare at Wasp. “You took the sign down,” I accuse her. Wasp looks so smug, I want to strangle her.

  “Me? You’re crazy. I never break any rules around here,” she says aloud in a sweet, girlish voice, and then mentally she adds, :or when I do, I’m smart enough to not get caught, unlike your idiotic friend Ree.:

  Wasp turns an innocent face to Kuron. “Whether or not there was a sign, why did Ree and Kalli go into that lab in the first place? Were they looking for something?”

  Panic floods me. Wasp must know about our mission. She probably overheard enough of our thoughts to guess why we’re here.

  “Wasp raises a fascinating point,” Kuron says, turning his icy stare on Ree. “Maria, what were you doing in that lab?”

  “I was lost,” Ree replies stonily.

  “Do you always go through drawers when you’re lost?” Wasp retorts.

  “I know you ran with some rough types after your parents died,” Kuron declares, “but I will not tolerate thievery here at Atlantea.”

  “I’m not a thief,” Ree says, her cheeks turning red.

  “Your actions contradict your words.” Kuron shakes his head. “We’re going to punish you for attempted theft. And Kallisandra, you will be punished for ignoring the prohibited sign on the lab door.”

  “There wasn’t any sort of warning sign on that door,” Kalli contradicts him, her voice amazingly steady.

  Desperately, I reach out and touch the minds of the kids standing near us. Most of them don’t want Ree or Kalli hurt. And they all loathe Kuron. Since Wasp is probably about to reveal our mission anyway, maybe it’s time to take a gamble.

  Kuron strides to a nearby computer terminal. I’m sure he’s about to send a command to Ree’s and Kalli’s collars.

  I step forward beside Ree. “Please, sir, don’t punish them. Ree was just following my orders.”

  Kuron stops in his tracks and turns to face me. His dark eyebrows draw together, and the sudden fury in his face is terrifying. I forge ahead anyway. “We d-did come to free Bria and Robry, but we also came to find the c-plankton cultures your brilliant wife created.”

  As I speak, I probe his mind as strongly as I can. I’m hoping my words will make him picture where the c-plankton is stored. Instead I pick up a storm of violent emotion erupting inside him at the mention of his wife: anger, guilt, and regret, along with an image of a beautiful woman with a sad face and long black hair. Then it all vanishes, as if Kuron smothered his emotions entirely.

  Before he can interrupt me, I hurry to explain our real mission to the others. “Idaine Kuron genetically engineered a form of plankton that can absorb huge amounts of carbon dioxide. Our Neptune scientists believe if we can sow enough of this plankton in the oceans around the world, we’ll finally have a real chance to reverse global warming.”

  “It doesn’t matter what happens to the foolish people who persist in trying to survive on land,” Kuron declares impatiently. “Clearly mankind’s destiny lies in the sea.”

  “But if the planet continues to heat, the oceans are in huge trouble, too. Already coral and kelp forests around the world are dying, and phytoplankton is starting to die off, too. The whole foundation of the ocean food chain is in danger.”

  “The oceans have warmed before.” Kuron dismisses my argument with a wave of his hand. “As the most superior species on the planet, we will adapt and make their resources serve us.”

  I remember Dai once said to me that dolphins exist to serve us. Now I know where he picked up some of his attitudes.

  Obviously I’m not getting anywhere convincing his father. “If the seas continue to warm,” I say to the others, “there’ll be nothing left down here but jellyfish, sea slugs, and some tube worms—”

  “Enough of this nonsense,” Kuron says, cutting me off. “I’m tired of this discussion and I’m very disappointed to hear this fruitless mission is why you came to us. Now Maria and Kallisandra will be punished, and then you Neptune subjects have four days to decide. Either you swear to become loyal members of my community here, or I’ll feed you to my shark mutates.” He starts toward the computer panel again.

  My mind is racing faster than a tidal bore. First I’ve got to stop him from shocking Ree and Kalli. Then we’ll decide what to do about his crazy ultimatum.

  “If you have to punish anyone, you should punish me,” I say, fighting to keep my voice steady. “I’m their team leader.”

  Kuron looks at me for a long moment. His eyes are so intense and his face is so cold again, my whole body prickles with dread. “Very well.” He nods and then glances down at his watch.

  “Sir, would you like me to take care of disciplining her?” Wasp asks sweetly.

  “I leave the matter of her punishment in your capable hands, my dear.” Kuron gives her an approving smile before he strides from the room.

  Suddenly I’m short of breath, and it’s not from being out of the water. Wasp hates my guts, and now she’s in charge of punishing me. Oh, Dai, I wish you were here.

  “I-Ice isn’t gonna like this.” Mako is brave enough to speak up.

  “He’s right. If you hurt Nere, you’ll have to deal with Dai when he gets back,” Tobin tells Wasp, sounding fiercer than I’ve ever heard him.

  “I don’t plan on hurting our darling Nere in any physical way.” Wasp smiles unpleasantly at Tobin.

  Then she turns to me, and her smile widens. “You see, I’ve listened in on your thoughts enough to know exactly why you don’t like the room we’ve assigned you. I know you dread the moment the bolt slides home each night. I know you don’t like small, dark places because…you’re claustrophobic.”

  Fear floods through me, leaving me nauseated and shaky.

  “So, Whitey, how should we punish a girl who is severely claustrophobic?” Wasp asks hi
m, clearly savoring every moment.

  “Lock her away in the smallest, darkest closet we can find around here,” he replies promptly.

  “And I already have a perfect one all picked out for her.” Wasp drops her playful act. “Back in the water, everyone,” she orders. She dives in first, and we follow with Sham and Whitey right behind us, joking and snickering.

  My team clusters closely around me as we swim.

  :Nere, you’ll be okay,: Robry tries to reassure me. He’s the only one who knows just how bad my claustrophobia is. :You just gotta think about stuff you like and keep your mind busy.:

  :Thanks, but I’m more worried about you guys,: I reply, fighting to sound cool and calm. :You’ve got to stay out of trouble. Don’t do anything to set off Whitey or the rest of them. Dai should be back in a few days, and I know he’ll look out for you all.: At least I hope he will.

  Wasp halts outside of a door labeled SENSORY DEPRIVATION LAB.

  :Here it is. I’ve been hoping I’d find a way to arrange a stay for you in here.:

  Wasp throws open the door with a flourish. Icy fingers seem to trace down my back as I gaze at her small, dark prison.

  It looks like an empty storage closet, maybe seven feet tall, seven feet deep, and not much wider than the door. There’s a sea toilet built into a small compartment along one side, much like the ones in our rooms. There’s definitely no porthole that looks out into the sea, which is the only thing that keeps me from panicking after they lock me into my room at night.

  I refuse to show Wasp how much this small space freaks me.

  :Looks fine to me,: I tell her coolly.

  :Which is why you’re already starting to shake like a jellyfish,: Sham says gleefully.

  Tobin slips an arm around my shoulder. I can’t help leaning into him. :Nere, you’ll be okay.:

  :Why, I think Tobin wants to go in there with you,: Wasp says. :That’s how worried he is for you.: A crafty look steals over her face. :And that’s a lovely idea, now that I think about it. Are you willing to be shut up in here, too?:

  Tobin nods instantly.