Tentacle and Wing by Sarah Porter

Author:Sarah Porter
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Chapter Eighteen

THIS IS it. This is what the blue wanted me to see. Somebody—​Ms. Stuart? Dr. Jacoway?—​must be in the middle of a horrible experiment. Just like the blue said, they want power, though I can’t begin to imagine what they’re planning to do with the things in the pool. There are dozens of them, all jostling and slithering over one another, their skins various shades of waxy yellow and whitish green. They look more or less like insanely oversize tadpoles, but their faces are human, scrunched like the faces of just-born babies, and the legs starting to emerge by their tails end in tiny human feet. There are swollen purplish dots where their eyes should be; maybe they haven’t opened yet.

I can’t hold back a shriek, and Rowan comes stumbling over, stubbing his toes on rocks that seem obvious to me. “Ada? What is it?”

What can I say to him? Rowan is so sweet and easygoing that it’s really hard to remember how dangerous it might be to trust him. I can never tell him about the blue, for one thing, or what it mouthed at me. He probably wouldn’t understand why I think Ms. Stuart wanting power could be a problem.

On the other hand, if he starts fumbling around in the pool or carries one of those things back to the light, he’ll find out for himself what made me scream.

“There’s some kind of kimes in there,” I say. Now that I’m over being startled, I kneel down to watch them, and Rowan fumbles a hand to my shoulder and kneels next to me. “But not like us. Not nearly as—​human.”

Rowan stares down intensely. “My eyes are adjusting. I can see things moving. Do you think I’ll hurt one if I pick it up?”

That’s why I can’t help liking him, even if he is spying on me—​because that’s the first thing he thinks about.

“Maybe it’s okay for a few seconds? They’re like tadpoles. They shouldn’t be out of the water for long.”

Rowan nods. “I just want to see. If we had a flashlight I’d never disturb them. But I kind of have to know what we’re dealing with.”

I don’t want to risk him touching the blue. It’s a weird sensation, more like a buzzing field than like solid matter, and he’ll definitely wonder what’s going on. “Let me do it. I can see them better. You might hurt one by accident.”

I have to brace myself to reach in there. The creatures look slimy and pitiful, their gooey little feet kicking at each other as they swim. The instant my fingers graze the water, they start writhing frantically, trying to get away, their mouths opening and closing in silent, fishy fear.

As gently as I can, I catch one just under its tiny arms and lift it. It feels as awful as I expected, and its heartbeat patters into my fingers. It flinches violently at the touch of air. Once it’s out of the water, we can both hear the noise it’s making: a long, wheezy, barely there squeal.

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