The other kids had little time for Kelan. Even his father was too busy, buried in his paper. He walked along a footpath, kicking a rock. When he looked up and discovered he was standing near the pit of the Gorags, he hurried past and made his way to the pond.
Anna sat on her favorite log, staring blankly into the dark goo. She seemed lost in thought. Now and again, her glance rose to the monstrous tree. A single tear slid down her cheek.
“Anna?”
Anna sniffled. She sighed deeply, sounding so forlorn.
“What’s wrong?” Kelan said.
“I wanna go home,” Anna said. “I’ve been here so long.” She looked up with the saddest eyes. “At least I think I have. It feels like forever.”
“Where’s home?”
Anna sniffled again. Shrugged.
Kelan sat beside her on the log. Wish-wish-wish whistled from the tall grasses behind them. He scanned the ground and found a small flat stone. He held it up. “You ever skip one?”
Anna wiped her little nose. Shook her head.
“Lemme show you,” Kelan said. He stood close to the water—it was eerily still—and with his feet planted squarely, brought his arm back. He flung the stone, and it skipped nine times before a Ribber leapt from the goo and snatched it.“Hey! That’s not fair!”
Anna giggled.
Kelan found another stone and hurled it. It skipped twice before another fish devoured it.
Anna giggled again.
Kelan searched for the perfect rock and found it. He stepped up to the bank.
“Be careful,” Anna said.
Kelan smiled at her. “This one’s going all the way, Anna. This one’s for you.”
The girl sat up, all eyes. A tiny smile inched its way along her face. She began to rock excitedly, her curls with her.
Kelan took aim at the far side of the pond. He whipped the stone as hard as he could. It skipped across the surface. Scores of fish thrashed about trying to snare it.
Anna rose as the stone reached the middle. A colossal fish bubbled to the surface. It looked like a giant shark, its skin rippling with black stripes. With one chilling sweep of its tail fin, it passed the other fish and sank into the depths. There was silence—only the whiiiip whiiiip whiiiip of the skipping stone broke it—for the smaller fish had fled.
Anna moved beside Kelan and grabbed his arm tight.
Kelan saw fear in her tiny eyes. “What’s the matter—”
He saw it. The Sinker was awesome. The ones he had seen were a foot long at most, half the size of the other kinds. But this, this, spanned an impossible six feet, maybe seven. There seemed no end to it. It swam with powerful grace, its huge tail fin flexing to and fro, propelling it in grand, sure strides. Thick stripes gave it the air of a swimming tiger. Nasty little fishy.
Kelan grumbled. It wanted the stone.
He had thrown a perfect toss and would see it through. He screamed at the great fish trying to draw its attention. The thing ignored him. He scooped up a handful of small stones and lofted them into the goop. The fish changed course for a moment, and to his surprise and shock, it leapt from the water.
It was not six, nor seven, nor even eight feet long. It was twelve feet if a foot; its fins spread five feet in their own right. Its head was monstrous. Its jaws dropped like a trap door, snapping at the stone. It had teeth the size of knives.
Kelan shouted at it, again trying to distract it. Its thick skin rolled back over its black licorice eyes, while the grape veins along its face threatened to burst like swelling hoses. Coming down, it made a fantastic splash as it hit the water. A wall of thick milk rolled in waves, striking the shore and painting the Kelan and Anna in chocolaty goo.
Kelan jumped up and pumped a fist into the air. “Yes!”
The stone eluded the fish and struck the far bank. It was stuck in the mud—a trophy—and Kelan would not be denied. Rather than go around the shore, he decided to take the shortest route, taking a step onto the first stone in the pond. It bobbled, but he kept his balance.
“No, Kelan!” Anna shouted. “Go around the shore!”
“I’m fine!” Kelan shouted back. He jumped onto one of the stones that made up the happy-face. And as he was about to leap to the next stone, Anna screamed.