Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 132491 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 662(@200wpm)___ 530(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132491 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 662(@200wpm)___ 530(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
“What do you think the temperature is?” Amira asks as we walk up an area of the volcano without a steep incline. “I’m saying a hundred and three.”
“Ninety-nine,” I guess.
“Remember chilly fall walks? And scraping off your icy windshield in the morning? I honestly can’t remember what it was like to be cold.”
My foot slips, but I catch myself. We only make it halfway up the volcano before Marcus tells us we have to go back down, so we aren’t walking down the uneven surface in the dark later.
It’s dusk by the time we set up camp for the night, which isn’t much. We can’t risk a fire, so it’s just the four of us sitting on blankets and eating dried meat and fruit, a thick swarm of mosquitoes surrounding us.
“People used to spend a shitload of money to vacation in a place like this,” Niran says.
“In a luxury resort, though,” I say. “With walls and air conditioning and fruity drinks.”
Niran groans softly and looks at Marcus. “I could go for an ice-cold Modelo right now.”
“Wouldn’t say no.” Marcus leans back on his elbows.
Even though I’m still mad at him, I lie beside him, staring up at the clear, star-filled sky. The long day of hiking through the jungle mellowed me. I’m no longer worried I’ll burst into tears out of nowhere.
“I’d do just about anything for an ice cream sundae right now,” Amira says. “With whipped cream and hot fudge and caramel.”
I smile, trying to imagine the taste of warm, salted caramel sauce. It’s been my favorite since I was a kid. Mae and I would fight over whose favorite it was first, because we didn’t want to share a favorite.
“What the hell is that?” Amira jumps a foot closer to Niran, pointing at the sky.
“Just a couple of bats,” Niran says. “Probably looking for some bugs to eat.”
I shiver. “In the cave I found McClain’s knife in, we ran into about a hundred thousand bats.”
Amira gasps. “Are you serious?”
“It was awful. You could feel the vibrations of all those wings, and the sounds they make ...”
“They’re nocturnal,” Niran says, bumping his shoulder against Amira’s. “Maybe they’ll give you a goodnight kiss later.”
“Ugh, no. I’ll send them your way, since you’re clearly the one in need of affection.”
“You noticed my footlong? I can’t help it, it’s the aromium.”
His erection is tenting his lightweight pants, and he’s making no effort to hide it.
A thought flickers through my mind, my smile sliding away. I sit up, my heart racing.
“That’s it,” I say softly
“What?” Marcus bolts up, putting an arm on my back. “What’s wrong?”
I look at him, excitement racing through my veins. “I know why we haven’t found the flower.” The words tumble out of me. “Bats are nocturnal. They mostly pollinate flowers that bloom at night. That’s the one thing we never thought of. The flower must only bloom at night.”
45
It’s hard to sleep here. I’m lying awake right now while everyone else is resting, thinking about Stanley Milgram’s words:
“Ordinary people, simply doing their jobs, and without any particular hostility on their part, can become agents in terrible destruction.”
Excerpt from the journal of Dr. Randall McClain
“What is that?”
Amira points to something in the sky, her tone laced with fear.
Niran looks up. “Raven.”
She balks. “Since when do ravens weigh ... that thing has to be at least fifty pounds. It’s huge.”
“It’s a Blue Arrow raven.”
For once, Niran spares her a wisecrack. Probably because we’re all exhausted. We’ve spent every moment of darkness on the island searching frantically for the flower for two nights now.
Even though Marcus doesn’t need much sleep when his aromium is on, Amira and I haven’t been able to sleep much during the day. Niran seems to be able to sleep whenever and wherever he wants. Yesterday, he took a nap on a boulder.
It’s evening, and I’m ready to get back to the search. We narrowly avoided a couple of Tiders yesterday when we were searching close to their camp. I’ve been sticking as close as I can to Amira, because if she gets attacked—by an animal or by a Tider—I want to be there to defend her.
The jaguar attack on Chance has reminded us all that we’re not the only apex predators on this island. And our competition has the same aromium advantage we do.
Now that I know more about the aromium experiments, I’m not just leery of the animals here, but also the plants. Vines seem to be my ally, but what about the other plants? An aromium-enhanced jaguar attacked Chance, and I can’t dismiss the possibility that plants could turn on us, too.
“Marcus.” Niran looks up, and Marcus follows his gaze.
There are three giant ravens now, my heart rate kicking up despite my fatigue. Marcus said Virginia can call ravens. I should’ve known they’d be genetically enhanced ravens.