Chapter 5

“Seagulls, Annabel! SEAGULLS!” Kaylin screamed, shaking poor Annabel by her sweater. “SEAGULLS, AUAUAUGH! I AM SO HAPPY!”

Elmi and Della were rejoicing also, just in a calmer fashion. After Kaylin finished shaking her with joy, Annabel crawled over to the edge of the boat and stooped her head down as to see better. Just where the water met the sky, there was land. It looked blue from the distance, but Annabel could see it fine with her glasses. “We’re headed towards Fuzz!”

It may have been a mistake to offer more good news after the excitement of seeing seagulls, for when she told her sisters, Kaylin immediately grabbed her and shook her harder and longer than before. “Okay, okay, Kaylin,” Annabel said. “But, you need to settle down before we hit land.

That did not happen. It wasn’t because they wouldn’t settle down, it was because they did not hit land. An hour went by.Just as they were making out the outlines of trees, rocks, and beaches, a large speedboat whizzed in front of them. The big wave it made towered over the Cubs, shadowing half the boat. They shoved over, but Elmi was too late. The wave crashed down hard on the little boat and tipped them all over the bench onto the floor of the boat.

Elmi’s hips and below were soaking wet. “It looks like you-” Kaylin started, trying to hide a laugh. (And doing a bad job) “I DIDN’T PEE MY PANTS! YOU KNOW THAT!” Elmi yelled, her face turning red. “Well, you’re going to smell like…” Kaylin trailed off. She was looking oddly at Annabel.

Annabel looked horror-stricken. The fear in her face made her sisters cringe. When they saw what she was looking at, they cringed harder. The big wave pushed them into the second layer of the barrier. The second layer flows to the place they dread going: Arkk.

Fuzz floated further from view. Every second they floated, they went faster. Momentum built up quickly in the second layer and by dark, Arkk was in sight. Crunch. They hit land. But, this land was not the large island Arkk, it was one of the many small side-islands that are too small to map.

“Okay, guys,” Elmi said, carefully stepping out of the boat. “Not all of these small islands are inhabited, but we still ought to be careful.”

They quietly crept through the bushes and black sand. Elmi heard a stick snap under a foot some way away. “Shh,” she whispered. They were extra careful, but the other creature was not. The creature definitely sounded human from all their steps.

Suddenly, an older looking man appeared from the bushes. From the sound of his scream, he sounded more surprised to see them than they were to see him.