“What’s that?” asked Sarah.
Leo spoke up. “The object we saw orbiting Sirius.”
Marco nodded. “And it wasn’t photographed until 1970. But the tribe knew about it long before then.” He met Leo’s gaze.
Leo smiled a little. “Because they had been told by my people.”
Something nagged at Marco, some other detail from the show that he couldn’t quite remember, something even odder than the rest. He wished Nacho were there. His brother would know.
Sarah asked Leo, “But that was it? They told the tribe some stuff and went back home?”
“Not exactly. My people were on a mission.”
Sarah glanced at Marco, who asked, “What kind of mission?”
“Our planet is very similar to Earth,” said Leo.
“You already showed me that.” Sarah looked down at the sand.
Marco wondered if she had the same weird feeling about Leo that he did. Because the boy was obviously on some kind of mission himself.
Leo said, “Your planet has limited resources. Which your people are beginning to realize.”
Sarah said, “Nacho explained to me about the exoplanets.” She bit her lip. “He would be excited to learn that it’s all true. But he’s not here.”
Marco frowned. His little brother was there, just not able to walk or talk or be with them, because he was frozen. His frustration bubbled up. “Can you get to it? Tell us why my brother is frozen and you can’t let him out?”
Leo glanced over at Marco and sidled away from him slightly. “The history of my people is getting to it.” He reached up and wiped sweat off his face, then took a deep breath. “This is what you may find hard to believe. Because your civilization isn’t there yet. But my people created the progenitor.”
“What’s that?” asked Sarah.
“It allowed us to replicate whatever we wanted.” Leo walked down toward the water. He took off his shoes and let a wave lap up over his feet.
Sarah followed him. “You probably shouldn’t get that close to the water.”
Marco caught up too. “I don’t get it. You can just make whatever you want? Like the grilled cheese?”
Leo backed away from the water a bit and stepped back into his shoes. “The food center on my ship was created from the same technology.”
Sarah asked, “What else could you replicate besides food?”
Leo shrugged. “Objects. Plants. Animals. Whatever we chose.”
Marco thought out loud, “So it’s like a 3-D printer.”
“Only times like a million!” added Sarah. “How cool is that.”
“There were problems.” Leo scratched his head. “It was so much power and caused fights over who should control it. Eventually, the leaders decided it was too much power for anyone to have. So they split it in two.”
Sarah snapped her fingers. “You left half on Earth.”
Leo smiled at her. “Yes. We entrusted the tribe with it.”
“But why give it to them?” asked Marco. “I mean, seven hundred years ago there were other more advanced civilizations.”
“But we weren’t seeking the most advanced.” Leo held up a finger. “Do you know one of the most important pillars of that tribal society?”
Marco shrugged.
“Harmony.” Leo explained, “The power to create walks hand in hand with the power to destroy. We needed a hiding place for half of the progenitor. But not just to keep it safe. To keep your planet safe from its powers. In the wrong hands, it could be a weapon.” Leo looked down at his feet. “As we learned.”
“Is that what happened on your planet?” asked Marco.
Leo lifted his chin. “Yes. Until then my society had been content, peaceful, and harmonious. But the creation of the progenitor caused a rift. One that could not be fixed.”
“What happened?” asked Sarah.
Goose bumps rose on Marco’s arms as Leo reached for their hands. “This is one of the parts you aren’t going to like.”
5
Afraid of what she was going to see, Sarah closed her eyes and focused on her hand in Leo’s. At first his touch had seemed weird—she didn’t go around holding hands with boys, especially not alien boys—but now she found it comforting, especially given his warning. At least she knew that she had only to let go in order to stop the memory and return to the beach.
A cool wind blew into her face. She opened her eyes. They stood on the same green hill on Leo’s planet as before, overlooking the same body of water. The scene was calm and serene. In the distance, the buildings loomed, like they had earlier.
Leo told Marco, “This is my planet.”
“Looks like Earth,” said Marco.
Sarah didn’t understand. “It’s the same as before.”
“Wait.” Leo sighed.
An intense light burst across the entire sky, like a camera flash, only so ablaze that Sarah had to scrunch her eyes shut. The fiery stream was followed by a roar, and then a furnace blast of heat.
Sarah shoved her face in her elbow and shouted over the roar, “I’m scared!”
“It can’t hurt us!” shouted Leo.
She opened her eyes.
A gigantic cloud of smoke climbed over the city, brilliant streaks of yellow and red shooting through. The formation ascended rapidly, folding over and over, like cake batter in a mixer. Her jaw dropped as the cloud continued to rise, reaching miles into the sky until the sides spilled over.
Sarah’s hands trembled and her stomach clenched. She knew what that thing was. A mushroom cloud.
Her mother’s grandparents, Sarah’s great-grandparents, had been children in Japan in 1945. Just last year her dad told Sarah the stories, about Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the ghastly horrors caused by an atomic bomb. But, before now, she had only seen the gruesome pictures.
Sarah wished the moment could be unseen, a wish she knew couldn’t ever come true.
She lowered her eyes to the water.
Leo let go of their hands.
They were back on the sand.
Marco shook his head. “Your people built a bomb too.”
Sarah glanced at Marco. She hadn’t suspected that he would even know about things like nuclear weapons. There was probably a lot more to him than she had ever realized.
The three stood in a circle on the beach. No one said anything, the only sound the quiet whooshing of the waves onto the shore. Sarah thought about the destruction in Japan, long ago. Even though she figured she already knew the answer, she asked, “What happened to the city?”
“Destroyed,” said Leo.
“What about the other ones?” asked Marco.
Leo’s forehead wrinkled. “The other what?”
“Cities?” Marco scratched his head. “I mean, the bomb destroyed two cities here on Earth. What about your planet?”
Leo stared down at the sand. “One thing I didn’t tell you about my planet. It is very much like Earth, except for the far smaller size. That city you saw was the only one.”
Sarah felt her stomach sink. “What happened to your people? And the land? And the animals?” She knew the answer already, but hoped she was wrong.
“The people and animals on the land, gone. Plants, trees, gone. Everything destroyed.” Leo’s eyes filled with tears.
She wished, for Leo’s sake, that she had been wrong. Sarah set a hand on Leo’s arm. “How are you here?”
“There’s something else I haven’t told you,” said Leo.
“Is this another thing we won’t like?” asked Marco.
Leo sniffled. Half of his mouth curled up. “That all depends.” Then the near smile left his face as he stiffened and dropped to his knees. “No!” He covered his face with his hands. “Not now!”
“Leo?” Sarah grabbed the boy’s arm and tried to pull him up. But he jerked out of her grasp and scrambled away on his hands and knees. He let loose with an anguished cry.
“Leo!” Marco took a step toward him.
A shimmer surr
ounded the boy in the jumpsuit.
Marco reached out, as if to touch it.
“Don’t!” Sarah grabbed hold of his shirt and yanked. “Come on!”
They backed off a little way down the beach.
The shimmer around Leo intensified, rendering him a mere blurry outline.
“Marco! What’s happening?” cried Sarah.
“I don’t know!” Marco pushed Sarah slightly behind him.
She was content to stay there, somewhat protected as she peeked around at the whirling space that seemed about to consume Leo.
Leo threw his head back.
Then, the wail came, the wail they had heard the day before and the day before that. Only this time, the sound was deafening.
Sarah crushed her hands over her ears. The cacophony seeped through, vibrating down her entire body. Her knees gave out and she dropped to the sand. She bent over and cradled her head in her arms, trying to shut out the harsh and horrible sound.
Marco landed beside her. She leaned into him. They huddled together as the sound got louder and louder. Sarah never thought in a million years she’d admit it, but she was so glad her stepbrother was with her, so glad to not be alone.
Sarah wasn’t even aware when the silence began, because that sound echoed and echoed and echoed. Her skin still tingled. But she felt a nudge in her side and peeked out under her elbow.
Marco was on his knees, ears covered by his hands. He slowly lowered them. “I think it’s over.”
Sarah sat up.
Leo lay on his side, facing away from them, only his jumpsuit-clad back and legs in view. She started to get up.
Marco grabbed her arm. “I remembered something.”
“What?” She waited.
“Remember I saw that show about the tribe? And the alien visitors?”
Sarah nodded.
“There was something I couldn’t remember and it’s been bugging me this whole time. I think I know what it is.” Marco glanced over at Leo, and then lowered his voice. “They described the alien visitors as…”
“What?” asked Sarah.
“Amphibious creatures.” Marco bit his lip.
“What?” Sarah shook her head, not really understanding. “Amphibious. You mean like … alligators?”
“No.” Marco shook his head. “Just, that they live underwater or something.”
“Mermaids?” Sarah could believe a lot, especially after all she’d seen so far, but that was sincerely pushing it.
Marco shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m going to ask Leo.”
They both got to their feet and walked over to the boy.
Still on his side and motionless, Leo had his back to them.
Sarah knelt a few feet away. “Do you think that sound hurt him somehow?”
“I don’t know,” said Marco. “It seemed to come from him.”
Sarah leaned forward and gently grasped Leo’s shoulder. She pulled him toward her.
The boy rolled onto his back on the sand.
She gasped.
Along either side of his face, gills reached all the way back to his ears, which had shrunk to tiny holes. His eyes opened and one hand reached out and held her arm. Webs stretched between each finger.
Only then did Sarah let out a scream to rival the wail they’d all just lived through.
6
Marco fell back on the sand.
Leo sat up, blinking at them, the eyelids sliding slowly from side to side, like some kind of freakish lizard.
Sarah jumped to her feet and backed away, hands covering her mouth.
“What?” Leo glanced down at his webbed fingers and held out his hands. “I suppose you want to know about this.”
Marco nodded.
Leo wobbled a bit as he got to his feet. Slowly the webs between his fingers disappeared, as did the gills on his face.
Leo was, once again, the boy from before.
Sarah shot Marco a wide-eyed look.
Leo said, “The reason my people survived the bomb on my planet? We weren’t on the land.” He paused.
“You were in the water,” said Marco.
Leo nodded. “My ancestors stole the progenitor and took to the waves. Not to use it. They planned to hide it, forever, to stop the fighting. But those who remained on the land didn’t know where it went and the factions there began to fight. When the bomb went off, my ancestors left our planet.”
“Wait,” said Sarah. “When did they leave?”
Leo sighed. “In your time? Seven hundred years ago.”
“When did they go back?” asked Marco.
Leo slowly shook his head. “They didn’t.”
“Why?” asked Sarah.
“The planet was ruined,” said Leo. “My people have been a lost people ever since. They left half of the progenitor with the tribe so that no one could ever fight over it again. After that, we’ve been wandering on our ship, waiting until it is time to return home.”
“But you showed us your planet!” said Sarah. “And you’ve never been there?”
Leo shook his head. “I share the memories of my people.” He waved a hand in front of his face. “And I share the same cells. We can manipulate them, appear to be more human than we truly are. I can look like any of them, my parents, grandparents—how they look when they appear to be human—when I want to. When you first saw me in the cavern, I was scared. It was just natural for me to change my appearance.” Leo seemed apologetic.
“Is that why the people in blue were out of focus? You didn’t want us to see what they really looked like?” asked Sarah.
Leo nodded. “They appeared as themselves to the tribe. And they were accepted, treated as beings to be worshipped. I didn’t think you were ready to see me as me.” He hung his head. “So I appeared as this, to look like you.”
Marco swallowed. He didn’t want to admit it, but Leo was right about that. His distrust of Leo would have run deeper if he’d first appeared in his true shape. He shot a glance at Sarah.
She looked a little ashamed, like she was thinking the same thing. “But what was that sound?”
“The Cry of the Ancients.” Leo continued, “When it strikes, the force is too powerful to maintain this appearance.” He waved a hand in front of his human face. “After my ancestors left our planet, they grieved for their home. They didn’t want to forget. They didn’t want their descendants to forget. So every day at the same time, we grieve as one. To remember.”
“And that will go on forever?” asked Sarah.
“There’s one way for it to stop. The only way.” Leo turned his face skyward. “If we return to our planet. That will finally end our grief.”
“I can’t believe you’ve never even been to your own planet,” said Sarah.
“I was born on the ship. That’s all I’ve ever known,” said Leo.
“But isn’t it safe after all this time?” asked Sarah. “Why didn’t you all go back home?”
Leo said, “We’ve been preparing to return.”
“When are you going back?” asked Marco.
Leo’s eyes shifted toward the entrance to the cave. “Maybe never, now that my grandfather…” His words faded.
Sarah asked, “The bald man? Was he your grandfather?”
Leo nodded. “And the other man was my father.”
“And the woman?” asked Marco.
“My mother.” Leo’s eyes filled with tears.
Marco felt bad for him. “Where are they?”
“My parents stayed on our main ship.” He pointed to the sky. “But my grandfather and I came down in this annex.” He gestured behind him, at the entrance to the cavern.
“Why did you come to this island?” asked Sarah.
Leo shook his head. “We didn’t at first. My grandfather took a small shuttle to retrieve the other half of the progenitor.”
Marco was confused. “Why?”
“It was time to go back to our planet. The leaders decided we required the progenitor to make our planet whole again
. To replicate the plants, the trees, the animals.” Leo stopped.
“What happened?” asked Sarah.
“He went back to Africa, to our friends. But the progenitor had been taken. Stolen.” Leo wiped tears away. “Grandfather tracked it to this island. But then the trail went cold. So he came back to the main ship. And he and the other leaders devised a new plan to get what we needed for our planet.”
“You came back to take animals,” said Marco.
Leo said, “Yes. And plants and trees. And soil.”
“Why can’t your other ship come and get you?” asked Sarah.
“After all these years, our fuel resources are depleted. There is barely enough for the main ship to return to our planet. Time is running out. If I don’t return with this part of the ship, I’ll have to stay here. Forever.” Leo sighed.
“Why can’t you go back?” asked Marco.
“This section of the ship operates by automatic return, which will only work if the preprogrammed containers are full.” He pointed back at the cave. “That’s what the red fireballs count down. I have less than two days to fill the containers.” He put his face in his hands. “Or I can never leave here.”
Something occurred to Marco. “Can you tell us what the progenitor looks like?”
Leo looked up. “The tribe encased it in something. I’m unsure what, although it might bear symbols of my people.”
Marco pictured the chest he’d saved from the Moonflight. The symbols were very similar to the markings on the modules in the cave. What if he passed off the chest as the holder of Leo’s lost technology? Maybe he could bargain for Nacho and John and Ahab! He swallowed. “I think I know where it is.”
Leo’s face grew pale. “What?”
Sarah raised her eyebrows at Marco but didn’t say anything.
Marco decided to take a risk. “Unfreeze my brother and I’ll tell you what I know.”
Leo’s shook his head. “You’re lying.”
“I swear,” said Marco. “We have a wooden chest. It’s carved with the same symbols as the modules inside.” He firmed up his grip on the tube. “If you want to see it, you’ll let my brother out.”
Sarah’s gaze locked on Leo’s. “But you told us that you can’t let them out.”