“I-I … th-thought you were…” I stuttered. I remembered seeing his lifeless body hit the ground.

Ariadne brushed past me. “Artie!” She hugged him. “I thought you were…”

“No, I’m fine,” he said, and kissed Ariadne on the top of her head. “They knocked me unconscious and stuffed me in the office closet. The explosion jolted me awake. What’s most important is that you – everyone – is OK.”

Then he tilted Ariadne’s face to his. Argh! I cringed. He wasn’t going to… Yep, he was. Artie kissed my grandma. Love Late in Life.

“Um, guys…” I started, but I didn’t want to disturb old-people love.

Was everyone OK? I assumed Mackenzie had made it back to her bungalow, but I didn’t know for sure. It was the perfect excuse to get the heck out of here. “I’m going to find Mackenzie and let her know this is all over.” Ariadne and Artie’s faces were still smushed together. Yuck! That was definitely my cue to exit.

“Wait!” Ariadne yelled at me. She took one step and then collapsed on to the sand. Artie swept her up in his arms and carried her over to me. They looked like some weird Disney movie poster: Cinderella and Prince Charming Anniversary Special: where are they after 50 years?

“Are you sure it’s safe?” Ariadne asked.

“Luke said he and the waiters captured some of the bad guys and the others escaped in boats,” I reminded her.

“Yes, but can we be sure?” Ariadne wasn’t going to drop this.

“You should stay here. I’ll go check on Mackenzie,” Artie said, and lowered Ariadne back on to the sand.

“Shouldn’t you send for help or search for bad guys or help the injured or something?” Basically anything but bug me.

“She’s right,” Ariadne said. “I’ll corral everyone and help those who have been injured. Artie, you send someone for help. Charlotte, you go and check on––”

“No,” he said too forcefully. We looked at him in surprise. “I’ll check on Mackenzie. Then I’ll send for help. Charlotte, you can help Ariadne.” Artie dismissed me. “You need to leave this to the adults.”

I hated snakes and snotty cheerleaders, I couldn’t stand bullies, and I definitely didn’t like anything grape flavoured. But what I hated more than anything in the universe was being underestimated. I wanted to tell him everything this fourteen-year-old had done while he was taking a nap in the closet, but that would have wasted too much time. “I’m going to find Mackenzie.”

I stormed off and didn’t look back.

My feet pounded the sand and then the wooden planks of the pier. One thought was being hammered into my brain with each step: my mom is a murderer. I now understood why Dad had protected me from the truth for so long.

“Mackenzie!” I called when I reached her bungalow. I didn’t wait for a reply. I barged in. The door had already been ripped from its hinges. “Mackenzie!” I screamed and skidded to a stop when I saw the state of her room. Fragments of her computers, the satellite phone, her clothes and furniture were all that remained. The moonlight created abstract shadows over the wreckage of Mackenzie’s life. It was like stepping into an abstract black and white painting. I spun in a slow circle afraid to move in my bare feet.

I jumped when I heard a sound even though it was as quiet as a tiptoe on carpet. Where was it coming from? I heard it again. This time I was able to pinpoint the noise. It sounded like a sniff, and it was coming from the closet – the perfect hiding place.

What if it was one of the missing pirates? More likely it was my overactive imagination. But I wasn’t about to take any chances. I snatched up the desk lamp, which was missing its shade and bulb. I held it high as I flung open the door.

A body toppled out.

Mackenzie’s body.

I dropped the lamp and reached for her but she scampered away. She was sobbing.

“Mackenzie,” I whispered and slowly closed the distance between us. “It’s me. It’s Chase. Are you OK?” What a stupid thing to say! She obviously wasn’t. “You’re safe now.”

“Everything’s ruined…” she muttered, indicating the fragments of her technology. “I tried … I couldn’t … then … the explosion?”

“Everyone made it out,” I said as I helped her to her feet.

“I thought you were…”

“Everyone’s fine.”

“So it’s over?” she asked.

“Yeah.” We hugged for I don’t know how long. It’s the kind of hug I’d wanted from Ariadne. Then I remembered. “Why did you leave me at the boat dock?”

I tried to pull away but she held me tighter. “I thought I could call for help or get my computers working.”

I ripped myself free. “That’s a lie.” I’d been lied to enough. It was written all over her face. She wasn’t telling me everything. “You said you were sorry, as if it was your fault. What did you mean?” She had conveniently run away and was safe in her bungalow when the bombs exploded. “You aren’t working with the pirates, are you?”

“You’ve got it wrong.” She backed up. “I thought they were after me.”

“What? Why?”

My question was answered not by Mackenzie but by a masked man as he charged up the ladder and on to the deck. He shoved me aside. I crashed into the closet. Pain radiated from every point of impact. I collapsed on to the floor. I was dazed and couldn’t make sense of what was happening. The man didn’t hesitate – he went straight for Mackenzie. She dashed on to the deck, but there was nowhere to run. The man lifted her off her feet as if she were weightless. She flailed her arms and legs like a turtle flipped on its shell. She was whacking the bad guy and screaming at the top of her lungs.

I stumbled to my feet and charged at the man, fists flying. My blows bounced off his muscles. I ran at him, then landed a kick right in the middle of his back, which gave Mackenzie the opportunity she needed. She broke free and staggered back inside. I swept her behind me.

The man glared at us. Mackenzie and I were pumped up and ready to fight but the man stood there and laughed. I lunged to shut the sliding-glass deck door that separated us. I fumbled with the lock. “Run!” I screamed at Mackenzie. She bolted towards the front door with me at her heels.

She screamed when she realized the door was being blocked by another masked man.

CRASH!

The deck door shattered behind us. We were trapped. Mackenzie and I stood back-to-back, ready to put up the fight of our lives.

“Mackenzie,” the masked man from the deck said, “you are coming with us.”

How did they know her name?

“I don’t want to hurt two girls, but I will,” the other man echoed from behind me.

I clutched Mackenzie’s hand. “I’m not letting them take you,” I told her.

She squeezed back.

Both men walked towards us. I punched and kicked as hard as I could, and Mackenzie was doing the same. But these guys had muscles as big as my head. They brushed our attacks aside. One scooped me up and pinned my arms to my side. I wriggled, elbowed and kicked, but he held me fast. The other guy lifted Mackenzie as if she was a bride and he was going to carry her across the threshold.

“We are taking Mackenzie and there’s nothing you can do to stop us,” my captor barked at me.

A sob burst from my lips. I was so angry.

“Mackenzie!” I called. She locked eyes with me. I’ve never ever seen anyone so terrified in my life. I shrieked in complete and utter frustration. I tried to think of something, anything I could do, but we were overpowered.

I watched in horror as the man tossed her off the deck. My screams were drowned out by the splash of her body into the lagoon.