How much could one girl take? I was stranded in creature-infested water in the middle of the night with pirates attacking by land and eels by sea. I was completely and utterly alone, and completely and utterly terrified. I trod water and watched Mackenzie swim her weird doggy paddle away. Her plan made sense, but I didn’t have to like it. I’d felt safer with her by my side.

Ahead of me was a curtain of darkness. When I was on the seaplane flying here, I noticed the miles and miles of sea that separated the islands. If I veered off course, I could be lost at sea for ever – and what was worse, Ariadne, Mackenzie and everyone on the island would be at the mercy of those horrible men.

I channelled my fears and doubts and started to swim. I didn’t have a choice, not really. The pirates would probably return soon. I kept my head above water. When I thought about being attacked by eels and sharks and sea monsters, I swam faster.

When I reached a Jet Ski, I latched on to its bumper. I was floating nearly parallel with the dining hall. I hid behind the Jet Ski and floated along. The lights were blazing in the dining hall. Guests were tied in clusters to the posts spaced equally throughout. Ariadne was easy to spot with her short silvery hair and frilly yellow dress. One of those other women might be a princess, and if so, she was in greater danger. I had no way to warn her.

I was scared and exhausted, but I wasn’t tied up and helpless. I had the chance to do something. They didn’t. I climbed on to the Jet Ski. I pressed myself flat to the seat and studied the island. My head was exploding with questions. Where were the patrols? Had the men finished ransacking the bungalows? If so, where were they and what were they doing? Were they hunting for a princess? If they heard me, would they come after me? Could they shoot me from this distance? Could they capture me before I reached the other island?

I wasn’t the best student, but I had never been at such a loss for answers. If this was Rescue 101, I’d have failed already.

I noticed a few men on top of the dining hall. They were attaching something to each post. I slipped off the Jet Ski and paddled closer, towing it behind me so I was camouflaged by its shadow. I inched closer and closer. I squinted to get a better look.

They were placing things the size of shoeboxes with flickering lights on the roof. That didn’t make any sense. Why would they put electronic equipment on the roof of the dining hall – especially when they’d gathered the hostages there?

The answer zapped me like lightning. I knew what they were doing with terrifying certainty…

The pirates had no intention of leaving any witnesses. This wasn’t going to end peacefully. Those shoeboxes were BOMBS!

Racing off to another island was no longer an option. Mackenzie had been right. We needed multiple strategies. I hoped Mackenzie had made it to her bungalow and was calling, texting, messaging and sending SOS smoke signals. I had to save Ariadne and the rest of the hostages. Right. Freaking. Now.

I tried to add up the bad guys. Two were ransacking the bungalows. Those could be the same two men who were patrolling the island or the two men planting the bombs. I saw at least two pirates guarding the hostages. Another masked man was ushering someone from the office back to the dining room. There was at least one other person in the office making transactions. The bottom line was … I was outnumbered.

Then, for once, my brain spat out this perfect thought: I was outnumbered, but together we – the staff and guests – outnumbered them. I calculated the safest and quickest way to the dining hall. I couldn’t believe I was running towards danger. Sure, I was a bit of daredevil on my bike, but if a stunt went wrong, I broke bones. If this went wrong, I could be dead – and worse yet, others could be killed. I glanced up at the blinking bombs. If I did nothing, the hostages were going to die. I couldn’t let that happen.

I swam in the shelter of the Jet Ski for as long as I thought was safe, then I swam underwater to shore. I surfaced exactly where I’d hoped, near the yoga studio. I half swam, half crawled to the water’s edge. I was going to have to make a break from the beach to the landscaping around the dining hall. I studied the movement of the pirates. It was a risk no matter when I made a run for it. How was it possible that those people’s lives depended on me? ME?!

I quashed every instinct that was telling me to swim away or hide. I could do this. I had to do this. My dad was a hero. Maybe I could be a hero too. But then I remembered the other half of my gene pool. My mom was a criminal, and she got caught. How could two such opposite genes exist in one person? I didn’t feel half bad, but maybe I was. I guessed this would be the real test to see if I was more like my mother or my father.

I made a few false starts – darting on to the beach and then seeing one of the pirates looking my way and diving back into the sea. If they spotted me, it was game over.

I picked my moment and dive-bombed the shrubbery and plastered myself to the sandy ground. I waited for any sign that they’d seen me. I slowly lifted my head to check. The scene hadn’t changed. This close I could see that the hostages were bound with plastic zip ties. I would need to cut people’s wrists free.

On the outskirts of the dining room, not far from where I was, I saw the cabinet where the silverware was kept. I remembered Luke bringing me a clean knife from there after I’d dropped mine. If I was lucky, the knives would be sharp enough to cut through the bands. But how was I going to reach the cabinet without being seen? I needed more than luck. I needed a miracle.

Or a distraction.

A miracle in the shape of a cat sauntered into the dining hall. It wove its way among the hostages. It could help me create a distraction. I searched for something to throw. I dug three pebbles from the sand.

“Sorry,” I whispered as I lobbed one pebble at the cat and the other at Ariadne as carefully and softly as I could.

EYEOW! The cat screeched when the pebble hit its back and darted away.

“What was that?” one pirate shouted.

“It’s a cat, you idiot!” The other pirate laughed.

As the pair watched the cat, I raised myself above the shrubbery. My pebble must have reached Ariadne because she was alert and looking around. I tossed another pebble. It landed a few feet away from her. She followed its trajectory and locked eyes with me. When we first met, I found it hard to believe that she was sixty-nine years old. She seemed to have aged in only a few hours. I could see every second of those years on her face now.

I pointed to my chest and then to the cabinet and hoped somehow she understood. I wished we’d had years together – not only because we might have developed grandmother–granddaughter telepathy, but also because I was afraid that we might never have the chance.

I dipped back down and kept my eyes glued to Ariadne. Her body slumped forward. She twitched and twitched again. She began to wail.

Oh no! Something was wrong with her. She was an old woman. The stress of this had been too much for her. My grandma was having a heart attack.

I flinched when she cried out in pain.

“Something’s wrong with Ariadne,” the guy next to her shouted.

Ariadne moaned, “Help me. Please.”

Did I just kill my grandma?