D. MacHale - SYLO

“We only travel at night, and keep the lights out,” Sleeper said. “During the day we’re hidden beneath the canopy. Besides, we won’t be here long.”

We stepped into the forest to see an elaborate camp filled with small tents. There were no campfires to give them away. Instead there were multiple containers stacked everywhere for storing food. Dozens of camp chairs were scattered about. Most were empty because it was so late, but there were still plenty of people awake and talking in hushed tones.

Calling this a camp for guerilla fighters seemed silly, considering that the people didn’t look anything like hardened revolutionaries. It seemed more like a campground for parents who wanted to get away for the weekend. All that was missing was the beer. The only sign it was something more ominous was that most of them carried guns.

“What’s the point?” I asked. “I mean, you’re not really planning some kind of revolution, are you?”

“Depends on your definition of revolution,” Mr. Sleeper said and kept walking.

As we moved through the campground, we kept getting suspicious glares from the people we passed. There were no smiles or waves or words of welcome. These people were living on the edge—and they were scared. I recognized a few more faces, but there were just as many people I had never seen before.

Mr. Sleeper led us to the largest tent in the campground. Inside were several portable picnic tables. It could have been a food tent, or a meeting hall. The only light came from shielded camp lanterns that were hooded to keep the light contained.

“Take a load off,” Mr. Sleeper said.

Tori and I sat at one table, Kent and Olivia at another. Feit sat by himself.

“We’re not kidding ourselves here,” Mr. Sleeper said. “We have no hope of bullying SYLO off the island. But we can make ourselves heard.”

“How?” I asked. “They’re an army. You guys…aren’t.”

“We’re going to kidnap Granger,” Mr. Sleeper said as nonchalantly as if he had said, “Pass the salt.”

None of us reacted. I think we might have been in shock. I know I was.

“Why?” Tori finally asked.

“To force their hand. You know as well as I do that we’re isolated here on Pemberwick. Nobody on the outside knows what’s happening. They haven’t since the day communications were cut. We figure that if we can pull in SYLO’s most important player, somebody somewhere will finally listen to us.”

“But there’s no guarantee of that,” I argued. “Even if you get Granger—and I’m not so sure you can—we’d still be cut off. Nobody outside of Pemberwick would even know.”

“Exactly. That’s why we wouldn’t keep him here,” Sleeper said with a satisfied smile. “The plan is to bring him to the mainland. We’ve got a half dozen speedboats ready to make the run. We’d send them all at once so they won’t know which one’s got Granger. Once we get to the mainland, we can parade him in front of every camera we can find and let the world know what he’s been doing here.”

“Awesome,” Kent said. “I can’t wait to see that guy squirm in front of TV lights.”

I wanted to tell Mr. Sleeper what a crazy plan that was, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized it wasn’t much different from what Quinn, Tori, and I tried to do. We wanted to get to a radio or TV station to blow the whistle on SYLO and that was exactly what Mr. Sleeper was planning. The only difference was that he wanted to do it armed with some serious evidence. Granger.

Tori must have been reading my mind because she looked at me and said, “It’s not bad.”

“Where are the boats?” I asked.

“Out here on Chinicook. Hidden in Crescent Bay. It was a hell of a risk getting them out here at night, but we pulled it off.”

My mind raced—and it had nothing to do with the Ruby.

“Is there a plan to get him?” I asked. “I mean, sneaking a couple of people out of that compound is one thing. Breaking in and nabbing the boss is a whole ’nother ball game.”

“We’ve got a lot of people on our side,” Mr. Sleeper said. “Out here and on the inside.”

“Prisoners?” Tori asked.

“That’s how we smuggled in the Ruby. SYLO doesn’t know who is innocent and who they have to be afraid of. People have sacrificed themselves just to get inside. We have total surprise on our side. And something else too.”

Sleeper nodded to Feit. Feit walked to the side of the tent where a tarp was stretched over a bulky object. He grabbed one end of the tarp and yanked it off to reveal eight clear plastic containers, each the size of a cooler—and each packed solid with the Ruby.

“Oh, man,” I exclaimed and jumped to my feet. I couldn’t help myself. Seeing that much of the deadly substance was a shock.

“It’s like making a deal with the devil,” Mr. Sleeper said ominously. “But if used properly, it’ll give us the advantage we need to get Granger, bring him to the mainland, and end this nightmare.”

“I like it,” Kent said enthusiastically.

“Shut up, Kent,” I snapped.

Kent was ready to jump at me but thought better of it and backed off.

“Let me make one thing clear,” Mr. Sleeper said. “I’m only telling you this so you know what’s been going on. You all are not going to be part of the operation. You’ve been through too much as it is.”

“You get no arguments from me,” Kent said.

I shot him a dirty look but he avoided eye contact.

“When?” I asked.

“Tomorrow night. There’s no telling how long we can keep Chinicook a secret so we have to move fast. One last thing we need before we move is something from the three of you.”

“Anything,” Kent said quickly, but I didn’t think that extended to him taking the Ruby.

“You’ve been inside the compound,” he said. “We need maps and any other information you can give us about how it all works. Hopefully between the three of you, we can get a good idea of what we’ll be faced with.”

“What about me?” Olivia asked. “How can I help?”

Kent took her hand and kissed it. “You’ve already done your part by getting us out here.”

Tori rolled her eyes and said, “I think I just threw up a little in my mouth.”

Olivia ignored the cut.

There was so much to digest. What had started out as the search for answers about a mysterious virus had become something far bigger.

“There’s something else,” I said. “Have you seen those flying shadows?”

“We have,” Mr. Sleeper said. “We think they have something to do with SYLO.”

He looked at Feit, as if expecting him to add something.

“They do,” Feit said. “I don’t know what kind of aircraft they are, but they’re SYLO all right.”

“How do you know?” I asked.

“Two weeks ago I was supposed to get a shipment of the Ruby. I got a call to be out on the bluffs on the east side of the island at midnight. I drove out there and saw this shadow fly by—and it exploded. Scared the hell out of me so I just took off.”

“And the next day a boatload of the stuff washed up on shore, along with the wreckage,” Mr. Sleeper added.

“And killed my horses,” Tori said.

“The pickup truck,” I said. “The one we saw on the bluffs. That was you?”

Feit nodded. “I didn’t think anybody saw me.”

“But that doesn’t explain what the shadows are, or what they’re doing,” Tori said. “There was a dogfight over the mainland. If those shadow planes were SYLO, who were they fighting? And why? Planes were blown out of the sky. People died.”

“Quinn died,” I said.

“What?” Olivia exclaimed. “Quinn is dead?”

Tori ignored her and said, “Even if you get Granger and make it to the mainland, what are you going to find there? Whatever SYLO is doing, it’s not just about Pemberwick.”