CHAPTER 5

For the second time that day, Jane stumbled onto the shore of the new island. She dropped to her knees in the wet sand, heaving to catch her breath.

It was clear now that they weren’t going to paddle some log into the open water. She was a good swimmer, but none of them were a match for these tides. The ocean itself was enough to keep them prisoner here. And the chances of ever seeing their parents again seemed to be dimming by the minute.

All at once, a shadow darkened the ground around her.

“Qui êtes-vous?” a deep voice said.

Jane spun around and fell back. She looked up at the outline of someone towering over her—then heard her brother nearby.

“Hey! What are you doing?” Carter shouted.

The tall stranger spun in Carter’s direction. His face caught the sun, and Jane saw that he was a fully grown-up man. This was the first adult they’d found in this place.

“You speak English,” the man said. His heavily accented voice was calm, even as Carter rushed toward them.

“Don’t touch my little sister!”

The man caught Carter’s wrist and stepped back, quickly letting go again. As he did, Carter lurched right past him and landed on the sand next to Jane. Buzz and Vanessa were just steps away. They knelt close together, looking unsure of what to do next.

“Do not be afraid,” the new stranger said. His huge hand enclosed Jane’s as he helped her off the ground.

Jane pulled away and moved quickly to stand with Vanessa and Buzz. Carter jumped up, too, fists at his sides.

“Who are you?” Vanessa demanded.

“I am Ani,” he said simply.

His clothes were like the others on the island. A tan animal skin was wrapped around his middle, with woven braids of leaves and straw hanging on either side. He was thin, but muscled like an athlete. And he had a large tattoo around his shoulders, in a pattern of rectangles that formed a keyhole shape on his chest.

“You must come with me,” he said. “Off the beach.”

“We can’t! There was a plane!” Vanessa said.

“Yes, I know,” he said.

“Our parents might have been up there! Can you help us? Please?” Buzz asked.

“First, you must come with me,” the man told them. “Right away.”

“You don’t understand!” Carter told him.

“I am afraid it is you who do not understand.”

Everything happened quickly then. The man strode forward, erasing the distance between them. Jane turned to run, but it was too late. In one fast motion, he’d wrapped an arm around her middle and scooped her off the ground.

The next thing Jane knew, he was running with her toward the woods.

“Carter!” she screamed. “Buzz! Vanessa! Help me!”

“Don’t let him get away!” Buzz yelled.

They ran after the stranger—Ani, he’d called himself—but he was far faster than any of them, including Carter. He carried Jane under one arm as though she didn’t weigh anything at all. Jane screamed again, and reached for them, squirming to get free. It was a helpless feeling for Buzz, watching the gap between them grow. If this guy made it into the woods, he was going to be even harder to catch, if not impossible.

But then, as the man reached the first line of trees, he stopped. He turned around to face them, gently set Jane down in the shade, and held her by the shoulder until Carter, Vanessa, and Buzz were there.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Carter said, snatching Jane away.

“Forgive me. I knew you would have to follow if I took her,” Ani told them. He knelt down then and looked Jane in the eye. “I meant you no harm. I needed only to get you away from the shore.”

“What for?” Buzz demanded. He was more angry than scared now. “And where’s our boat?”

“Your boat has been taken,” Ani said.

“What?” Carter blurted.

“It was not safe to leave it on the beach.”

“What do you mean, not safe?” Buzz asked.

“Not safe for who?” Vanessa asked.

Ani took his time answering. Everything he told them seemed to be carefully considered.

“The tides are not passable in that direction,” he said, pointing toward the horizon. “You would have died trying.”

“It’s our boat! You didn’t have any right to take it!” Vanessa shouted at him.

Ani gave her a stern look. It was the first sign of emotion Buzz had seen on his face.

“You are welcome here,” he told them, “but it is not for you to say how the Nukula conduct themselves. You are in their home.”

“The Nukula?” Jane echoed in a small voice. “I read all about the South Pacific before we ever came here. I’ve never heard of them.”

“That is because they do not want you to have heard of them,” Ani said. “The Nukula are a private people.”

“Do any of the others speak English?” Jane asked.

“No,” he said, offering no further explanation.

“What’s this island called?” Jane asked. She always asked a lot of questions when she was nervous. It was a habit Buzz had noticed a long time ago. For Jane, information was security.

“The island has no name,” Ani told her. “Not to the Nukula. They have no desire to be known by the outside world. That is why your bright yellow boat had to be removed from the shore.”

“Well, where is it now?” Vanessa asked.

“That, I do not know,” Ani said, and gestured into the woods. “Come, please. There is much to discuss back at the village.”

Buzz felt at a loss for words. On Nowhere Island, the decisions about what to do next were always up to them. Here, it was turning into something even harder. How were they supposed to deal with all of this?

“We’re not going anywhere until you tell us what’s going on,” Carter said. “Are you going to help us get out of here, or not?”

This time, Ani didn’t pause. He pushed into the brush, leading the way toward the village.

“That is what I am trying to do,” he called back. “Now come. There is no other choice.”