When they reached the submarine, they punctured the raft against one of the sharper metal edges. If the captain did come looking for them, they hoped he’d believe they’d drowned.
When they crawled on top of the submarine, they found there were several hatches. It was a bit of a gamble choosing which one to use, but they decided on a small one on the end. Or front. They weren’t really sure.
Matt pulled on the handle of the hatch, and it opened with a groan that almost sounded like the call of a whale. A ladder descended into the hole and then disappeared in ominous darkness. “I’ll go first,” Matt said. “I’ll whistle if it’s safe to come down.”
He descended the ladder. It seemed a long way. When he reached the bottom he found himself in a dimly lit, narrow corridor, surrounded by pipes on both sides. He didn’t hear or see anyone, but who knew how long that could last. He whistled up. Ruby came down followed closely by Corey, who shut the hatch.
It took a few moments to adjust to the darkness.
“What now?” Ruby whispered.
“We find Jia,” said Matt. He was thinking as he went, but that made the most sense. They would need some inside help, and Jia was the only one of the crew they could totally trust.
“But we don’t know where anything is when the Vermillion’s a submarine,” said Corey. “What if we run into another crewmate? Albert, or worse, the captain?”
“We’ll just have to risk it,” said Matt. “But I think we’re on the lower level of the submarine, similar to the hull of the ship, which is the area most of the crew never goes.”
They walked down the narrow corridor, listening closely. Every creak and groan, of which there were many, made Matt’s heart race just a little faster. They found a door. After he’d pressed his ear against it for several seconds, Matt slowly opened it. It was just a storage closet with stacks of sheets, pillows, and blankets, and an old radio set that looked to be from World War II. The next door revealed a tiny bathroom with a toilet, sink, and narrow shower. “We could all use a shower,” said Ruby.
“Not a top priority,” said Matt.
“Hey!” Corey whispered. He was farther down the corridor, peeking through another door. He motioned for Matt and Ruby to come. Matt walked over cautiously and peeked through the crack. He instantly knew what had caught Corey’s eye. There were trays of dirty dishes and leftover meals sitting on a stainless-steel countertop—a half-eaten loaf of bread, a chunk of cheese, a platter of fruit, and a pot of something. Matt could smell fish and garlic.
“I don’t see anyone,” whispered Corey. “I think we can grab some if we hurry.”
Matt hesitated. It almost seemed like a trap, but it was working very well. He was starving and incredibly thirsty, and he reasoned that their chances of escape would be much better if they had fuel for their brains and bellies. “Quickly then,” he whispered.
They opened the door, which creaked a little, and slipped inside. Corey immediately went for the bread, tearing off great chunks and stuffing them in his mouth. Ruby took an apple and bit into it. She closed her eyes as juice ran down her chin. Matt looked into the pot and found a fish stew. He ladled some up and slurped down the broth first, then devoured the chunks of fish and tomatoes, satisfying his hunger and thirst at once. He offered a ladle of broth to Corey and Ruby. They sucked it up like withered plants.
Matt glanced quickly around the room. It was entirely stainless steel with fluorescent lights. Pots and pans hung above their heads and dishes were piled in a sink.
“We’d better go,” Matt whispered. “We don’t want to run into . . .”
There was a sudden burst of song in the opposite corner of the kitchen.
Ah! ça ira, ça ira, ça ira,
Les arisocrates à la lanterne!
A door opened. Matt grabbed Corey and Ruby and shoved them to the floor.
Ah! ça ira, ça ira, ça ira,
Les arisocrates, on les pendra!
It was Agnes, the cook. She was singing in French, something about everything being okay because they were going to hang all the aristocrats. It sent a chill down Matt’s spine, especially as the sound drew closer and then came to an abrupt stop, midphrase. She must have noticed the missing food. Matt held his breath and then jumped as something came down hard on the counter above them, sending vibrations right down to the floor. Ruby squeaked and covered her mouth.
“Le rat! Je vais tuer le rat!” She continued to mutter in French as she shuffled around the kitchen, how her mademoiselle would never have allowed such a creature on the ship, how she hated the ship. She cursed the rat and le capitan repeatedly, threatening to chop off both their heads.
She started to sing again, the same song about hanging aristocrats, when again she stopped midphrase. Matt turned his head, just so he could see what she was doing underneath the counter. He jumped as Agnes dropped a knife, lifted her skirt, and hobbled over to a cupboard. She swung the door open and, with more agility than Matt would have thought possible, crammed herself inside and shut the door.
“What is she doing?” whispered Corey.
“No idea. But I think this is our chance to exit.” He began to crawl toward the door when Ruby stopped him.
“Wait, what’s that sound?”
Matt cocked his ear. The creaks and groans of the submarine seemed to be getting louder. It sounded like twisting metal and the calls of a whale in distress.
“Is it a storm?” asked Corey.
There was a rushing that got louder and louder, like the sound of a great waterfall as you get nearer to the source.
“I think . . . ,” said Matt, but he didn’t have the opportunity to say what he thought, for suddenly the floor tilted violently and the children were shoved hard against the metal counter.
Ruby screamed as dishes crashed and knives and utensils flew around as though the kitchen were waging war on them.
They were traveling. Matt grabbed ahold of a pipe in the wall until it stretched out and disappeared and he went flying again. The walls shifted and pressed in on him while he tumbled about. It felt like he was being tossed around in a big drying machine. When the transformation was complete, he was crammed at odd angles in a small, dark space, a little closet or cupboard, he guessed. He fumbled around until he felt a latch. He turned it and a door flew open and he fell out and on something solid, but a bit squishy.
“Oof!” The something was Corey. He was lying in the fetal position, his hands above his head and clutching the handle of a knife that was lodged deeply in the floor. Matt helped him up, and they both observed their new surroundings. They were still in a kitchen, but altered somewhat by the transformation. The stainless-steel walls, counters, and cupboards had been turned to old wood. An old iron woodstove sat against the wall, a brick fireplace next to it. Matt guessed that they had transformed back into the Vermillion’s original form as a frigate ship.
“Where’s Ruby?” Corey asked.
“Help!” said a small, muffled voice. They looked around but couldn’t see any sign of Ruby.
“Talk again, Ruby,” said Matt.
“I’m in here, in . . . something small and full of . . . something slimy. I can’t get out!”
“The barrel!” said Corey.
Sure enough, Ruby was inside a barrel with a stick coming out the top. Matt pulled the stick, but it didn’t budge. Corey tried as well without success.
“We need a lever,” said Matt. He looked around and spotted the fire poker leaning against the stove. He grabbed it, wedged it beneath the lid, and pushed down. The wood split and cracked, a few of the metal braces sprang loose, and the lid finally popped off.
Matt and Corey looked inside. Ruby was crammed with her arms pinned at her sides and her head covered in gobs of what looked and smelled like butter. Somehow during the transformation she had managed to get stuck inside an old butter churn.
The boys reached in and tried to help her up, but she was so slippery it was a difficult process. They finally had to tip over the
churn so Ruby could slide out like a snail coming out of its shell. She finally emerged and lay on the floor, covered head to foot in butter. She looked sort of monstrous.
“Are you okay?” said Matt.
“I hate this ship,” said Ruby.
The cupboard beneath the sink suddenly flew open and out came a pair of arms. Agnes grunted as she tried to wriggle herself out of the cramped space. “Je déteste ce navire,” she muttered.
Matt motioned for them to go, but Ruby slipped in her buttery mess. Matt and Corey both tried to help her up, and then Corey slipped in the butter too, just as Agnes popped out of the cupboard like a cork and fell onto her hands and knees.
She glanced up, and her eyes widened with fear and surprise as she noticed the three Hudsons, then quickly hardened. Her face twisted into a snarl.
“Allez-vous-en!” she shouted. She took a ladle off the ceiling and threw it at them. “Allez-vous-en, méchants, avant que je vous coupe la tête!”
A pot came next, followed by a cast-iron frying pan.
“Run! Go!” Matt shouted. Corey and Ruby crawled their way out of the butter, then stood and ran to the door as more pots, pans, and knives came at them like a hailstorm of bullets and spears. Matt was clocked in the ear with a pewter goblet just as he was slipping out the door.
They ran down the corridor, not thinking about what direction they were going or who or what they might run into next, only to get away from the danger behind them.
They came to a set of stairs and stopped. Matt bent over, panting.
“She . . . is . . . crazy!” said Corey, between breaths.
“Shh!” said Ruby. She pulled Matt and Corey behind the stairs as the floorboards above them creaked.
“Crikey, that was a close call!” It was Brocco. “What did you travel so soon for? I was barely through the hatch!”
“I’m sorry, Brocco, but it wasn’t my doing,” said the captain in a clipped voice. “The Vermillion is out of sorts. She wouldn’t travel when I wanted her to and then decided to transform without my permission.”
“That doesn’t sit well, does it?” said Brocco. “I got squeezed so hard my eyeball nearly popped out of my head!”
“Well? Did you find them?” said the captain.
“No, sir. I searched the whole island.”
“Hmm,” said the captain. “Perhaps we’re off on our timing then. Maybe we came before we dropped them.”
“I thought of that,” said Brocco, “except I found the little life raft all broken and deflated. Looks like they maybe tried to get somewhere, but sprang a leak, or a shark could’ve gotten ’em.”
“These are not shark-infested waters, Brocco,” said the captain impatiently.
“Well, I didn’t see the kids anywhere in the water,” said Brocco. “So I suppose they drowned?”
There was silence for a moment, and then the captain spoke again. “Whatever happened to them we’ll sort out later. We can always go back. Right now I want to get to New York. I’ve a pressing mission at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.”
Matt instinctively reached for something to hold on to, which ended up being Ruby’s buttery arm. The captain was going to New York, to the Met! They had boarded the Vermillion just in time!
“Perhaps we should wait a day or two?” suggested Brocco.
“For what purpose?”
“Well, I was thinking maybe the Vermillion’s energy is a bit low. We’ve been traveling an awful lot lately, more often than usual. Maybe that’s why she’s being so temperamental. You know women.” Brocco chuckled.
Ruby snorted, then covered her mouth. Matt gave her a sharp warning look, and Corey flicked her in the head.
“You may be right,” said the captain.
“You’re looking a bit worn out yourself, Captain,” said Brocco. “Why don’t you go have a lie-down, rest yourself a while?”
“I could use some rest.”
“You’re working yourself too hard. You go on now. I’ll keep my eye out for those children, let you know if I find anything.”
“Thank you, Brocco,” said Captain Vincent. Their footsteps began to move in opposite directions and then the captain stopped. “Oh, and one more thing, Brocco. Where precisely did you find the raft?”
“Oh, twenty feet from the sub, in the rear, just hovering below the surface.”
“Hmm . . . ,” the captain mused. “Very good, carry on.” Brocco left, but the captain remained above them for a minute, and then his red Converse appeared on the top step. The Hudsons shrank back as the captain descended the stairs and moved down the narrow corridor. He opened a few doors, peered inside, then moved on and disappeared around a corner.
They couldn’t hide here any longer. When the captain came back this way, he’d surely notice them. They had to move now. Matt motioned for Corey and Ruby to follow him. He went slowly up the stairs. Matt crouched at the top and peeked his head above the last step to make sure the coast was clear. He neither saw nor heard anyone. They walked as quickly as they could, looking over their shoulders as they went. They turned a corner and finally reached Jia’s room.
“Are you sure this is Jia’s room?” Ruby asked.
Matt pointed to the little hammer door handle. “I’m sure,” he said.
Matt opened the door and stuck his head inside. It was empty. He motioned Corey and Ruby to go inside, then followed behind. He shut the door and leaned against it, allowing himself to finally breathe freely, until a small shuffle and tinkling sound brought him to high alert once again.
Ruby gasped as Pike emerged from behind a stack of crates. She looked at Matt with her pale eyes. She didn’t seem surprised to see him here. Maybe she didn’t really understand what the captain had done with them.
“Hi, Pike,” said Matt in a gentle voice. “How are you?”
Pike looked past Matt and fixated on Ruby, glancing up and down at her. She came a little closer and swiped a finger at a glob of butter on Ruby’s sleeve. She studied it, then rubbed it between her fingers and wiped it on her pillowcase dress. It looked like she had added more pins along the sleeves and side seams.
“Is Jia around?” Matt asked, trying to pull her attention back to him.
Pike looked at him and blinked, then abruptly ran out of the room.
“Wait!” Ruby called, but Pike was gone. Ruby turned back to Matt and Corey, her eyes wide and fearful. “You don’t think she’ll tell the others, do you?”
“How can she tell?” said Corey. “I’ve never heard her talk. And it’s not like we can go after her to make sure.”
“Well, we can’t stay here,” said Ruby. “Maybe we should hide in our room. No one will be in there.”
“I don’t know,” said Corey. “Albert might have decided to turn it into his second bedroom or something.”
“I’m not even sure it’s a good idea for us to contact Jia,” said Ruby. “How can you be sure she won’t tell the captain that we’re here?”
“Jia would never betray us,” said Matt.
“But what if—” Ruby began, but Matt raised his hand, cutting her off. He cocked his ear toward the door.
“Someone’s coming!” he whispered. “Hide!”
They each huddled behind some of the piled-up boxes and crates. Matt’s body was starting to feel cramped and stiff with all the crouching and crawling, and he felt his heart might burst if it didn’t get a rest from pumping so hard.
A minute later the door cracked open and Jia entered, followed closely by Pike.
“What did you bring me here for, Pike?” said Jia, sounding a little exasperated. There was a click and a buzz and the room was suddenly flooded with light. “There’s nothing—Oh!”
Matt stood up from behind the crates.
“Matt?” Jia whispered.
“Hey,” he said, and smiled tentatively. Jia looked at him as though she were seeing a ghost. She looked back through the door to make sure no one was nearby, then shut it and pressed her back against it. Pike tottered over
to her crate bed and began tying knots in her quilt as though nothing unusual were going on.
Corey and Ruby now stood too.
“You made it back,” said Jia. “How . . . ?”
Matt looked down at Pike, not sure how much he should say in front of her.
“It’s okay, she won’t tell,” said Jia. “She came and got me, but it didn’t alarm any of the others.”
Matt nodded. “We snuck on board the Vermillion when it was a submarine. It came back to us.”
Jia nodded. “The helicopter malfunctioned for some reason. After he discarded you, the captain didn’t seem to be able to get it under control, and then when he tried to travel we didn’t go where he wanted, and the ship transformed without warning and then we couldn’t travel at all. It was like the Vermillion didn’t want to leave you behind.”
“Bet the captain didn’t like that too much,” said Matt.
“I’ve never seen him so angry,” said Jia. “I was running all around the submarine, trying to figure out how to fix it, but nothing seemed wrong, and then all of sudden we transformed back to the ship. It was a bit of a mess. Albert got his leg caught in the toilet.”
Pike made a sort of choking sound and covered her mouth. Matt realized she was laughing. It was the most sound he’d ever heard out of her.
“Yeah,” said Matt. “We got tossed around a bit too. Ruby had a war with some butter.”
“So that’s what that is,” said Jia. “I thought you looked a little . . . shiny.”
“It’s certainly not my new beauty routine,” said Ruby.
“No one else saw you, did they?” Jia asked.
“No,” said Matt. “Well, Agnes did, just for a moment, but that shouldn’t be too much of a problem, should it?”
Jia bit her lip. “I don’t think so. She never comes out of the kitchen, and the captain avoids her at all costs. I’m the one who sees her the most.”