Peter Lerangis - Lost in Babylon

“Really?” Marco cocked his head. “So you risked everything and went to the States? For me? Wow. I guess you’re right, I do owe you an explanation …”

“We’re all ears,” Aly said. “Start from Rhodes.”

“Yeah … that hotel room …” Marco said. “It was hot, the TV shows were all in Greek, Cass was asleep. All I wanted to do was take a break. You know, hop on the old Loculus, maybe scare a few goats and come right back—”

“Goats?” I said. “Cass was in a coma!”

“Dumbest thing I ever did. I know,” Marco said. “I’m a moron. I admit it. But it gets worse. So I’m flying around, and I get distracted by this little island called Nísyros. Looks like a volcano from the air, hot girls on the beach, you know. I swoop in close, make people scream. Fun times. Only when I get back, Cass isn’t in the room anymore. I panic. But you guys are probably already flying away. I figure, great, you’ve abandoned me.”

“Did you actually say ‘hot girls’?” Aly said, her face curdling with disdain.

“So I figure I’ll race you back,” Marco went on. “But how do I get back to the island of the KI Geeks? It’s halfway between nowhere and the Bermuda Triangle. And then I hear something. This voice. And here’s where it gets complicated. And awesome.” He paused, looking around.

“Ahoy, there!” came Professor Bhegad’s voice. Fiddle was pushing him down a sandy path, about forty yards away.

“ He’s here?” Marco said, looking confused. “Wait. Four Karai peeps?”

“This is a big deal— that’s why they’re here!” Aly said. “You could have died, Marco. Or been abducted by the Massa. Besides, aren’t you due for a treatment?”

“I don’t need treatments,” Marco said, his voice rushed and agitated.

“This is no joke, Marco, you could die,” Cass reminded him.

“We need to take you back,” Aly said, glancing around. “Where’s the flight Loculus?”

“I had to hide it. People here saw me flying. There was a crowd with cameras.” Marco reached out, gathered us into a huddle, and spoke fast. “I screwed up and I owe you all big-time. But I’ll make it worthwhile, I promise. Look, there’s some stuff I have to show you, okay? I’ve been here awhile, and I’ve found out some amazing things. Like … hold for it … Loculus Number Two.”

My jaw dropped. “You found it already?”

“Not exactly, but I know where it is. Interested? I thought so.” Marco began running toward the river, and of course we followed.

He paused by the bank. Heat shimmered off the water and dragonflies flitted along the surface. Near the opposite bank, a boat floated around a bend with two people lying lazily, their fishing rods slack. “It’s there,” Marco said.

“In that boat?” Cass said.

“No, there— in the water,” Marco replied. “You’re Selects, just like me. Can’t you feel it? You know, that weird music thing that Jack talks about?”

Aly scrunched her eyes. “No …”

The music.

I’d felt it in the center of Mount Onyx, when I found the Heptakiklos. It wasn’t a song, really, not even a sound that you heard through your ears. It was a kind of full-body thrum, as if my nerves themselves were being played by invisible fingers like a harp.

Somehow, I was always the one who felt this most intensely. But right now it was only a suggestion, barely a tickle. It surprised me that Marco felt it, too.

Marco smiled. “No offense, Brother Jack, but you’re not the only one who senses this stuff. It’s in there, guaranteed. The closer you get, the more you feel it.”

“You went into the water to find it?” Cass asked.

Marco nodded. His face was glowing with excitement. “Yup. I haven’t located it yet, but what I found down there will blow your mind. For real. I’m not even going to try to explain. Trust me. You have to see it.”

Cass’s blotchy face was turning a uniform shade of white. “I—I’m happy to wait here. Swimming and I don’t really get along.”

“I’ll hold on to you, brother,” Marco said, taking his arm.

Professor Bhegad’s voice shouted from behind us: “My boy—come here, this wheelchair doesn’t do well on wet sand!” He was close to the bottom now. His wheelchair wasn’t liking the dry sand, either.

Cass struggled to wrench himself away. “We can’t just jump in, Marco! We have to clear this. You may be cool about breaking the rules, but you know the KI.”

“Why are you worried about them?” Marco asked.

“Uh, maybe because they’re the ones in charge of our lives?” Aly said.

Marco groaned. “They’ll require a chaperone, or an official KI submarine, whatever. That’ll take the fun out of it. We’ll do this fast, I promise. You will thank me!”

I stepped closer to the water. Toward the sound. An hour ago we had no Loculi, and now we have a chance at two. Two of seven.

But I stopped short. Bhegad was shouting now. Freaking out. Completely confused by what was going on. Why we were standing by the bank of a river, looking like we were about to go for a swim? Were we nuts?

I stepped back, shaking my head. We needed the KI’s support. Marco’s flight was a huge complication. A good plan was better than chaos. Just because the Song of the Heptakiklos beckoned, I didn’t mean we had to listen right this instant. “Just give me a couple of seconds, Marco,” I said.

As I turned toward Bhegad and the others, I felt a vise-like hand land on my shoulder. And I was flying back toward the water.

“Banzaaiiiiii!” Marco had us all in his grip, our feet off the ground. “Take a deep breath, hang on—and most of all, trust me!”

We had no choice. Together, we fell into the darkness of the Euphrates.

weed-choked muck.

No wonder Marco couldn’t find the second Loculus. You couldn’t see three feet in front of your nose.

As I swam, trying to keep up with him, noodle-like shapes slimed my face. Marco was holding tight to Cass. The fluorescent strip on Cass’s backpack flashed occasionally in the dim ribbons of light that somehow broke through the water. I was getting colder by the second. With my clothes and shoes, I felt heavy like a whale.

Down … down … how far was this thing? It was practically black now. The light was way too far over our heads.

As far down as you go, you will need an equal amount of air to swim back up. It’s what I learned in summer camp. I learned to sense when I was half spent. And I was way past that. Already my head felt light and my heart seemed about to explode.

Marco wasn’t slowing a bit. Aly banged me on the shoulder. She was gesturing, urging me to go back up with her. I knew she was right. Marco was going to kill us. How far were we supposed to go? What exactly were we going to see—and where?

Ahead of me, Marco had stopped swimming. He still held tight to Cass, who was now hanging limply in the water. The two of them were silhouetted by a weird, dull yellow glow below them.

As I swam toward them, I realized I was gaining speed. An undertow .

I tried to pull back but I couldn’t. The glow was intensifying, looming closer. It was a circle of bright tiles with a center of solid black. In front of me, Marco seemed to be changing shape—blowing out to an amorphous humanoid blob, then shrinking to clam-size.

What’s going on?

My head snapped back, and suddenly I was surging into the black hole as if sprung by a giant rubber band.