Chapter I - Onboard the Explorer

“Dude, I can not believe it’s this hot,” sighed Kyle Lohai.
“It’s not that hot,” Eneco Perez replied.
“Dude, it’s got to be, like, a hundred and ten degrees,” Kyle argued, glancing at the long-dead digital thermometer magnetized to the hull of the ship.
“So? It gets this hot in Mexico all the time,” Eneco said.
“Not in California,” retorted Kyle with a laugh.
“Aww, pobrecito,” Eneco replied mockingly in Spanish. “You poor baby.”
“You know what!” Kyle exclaimed, slamming his hand down on the railing.
Eneco laughed. Ever since they’d left California, the weather had gotten increasingly hot and humid. Since they weren’t allowed in their parents’ meetings, the teenage passengers had spent their days in the onboard pool – that is, until the chemical levels spiked. Since then, the pool had been an off-limits area, and they were forced to deal with the heat.
Eneco’s father was a scientist, like all the other parents on board. Their fields of expertise varied from geology to world cultures, and they had all been hand-picked for this mission which, for some reason, hadn’t been explained to the children yet. Eneco had been working with his dad for as long as he could remember. Eneco’s mother was also a researcher, but he usually only saw his mother and brother once every few months. This was the first time his parents had worked together in the ten years since their divorce. He could still remember all the fights his parents had gotten into, but he tried to keep them locked away. He didn’t like to think about it, and neither did his younger sibling.
Eneco and his brother, Dale Solis, had almost nothing in common. Eneco and his dad lived in Mexico, while Dale and their mom lived in Canada. Eneco had a great tan, Dale was pale. In fact, the only thing they had in common was that their hair was always messy – Eneco’s was dark-brown, Dale’s was brownish-yellow.
There were five teens aboard the Explorer, along with their parents and the ship’s crew. It was technically a research vessel, although it had a lot of luxuries, like the pool and a well-equipped cafeteria, and everyone got their own cabin – mostly. But after nearly six weeks of miserable weather, all five kids just wanted to go home – forget science, nothing was worth living in these conditions!
“Dude, I am so bored,” Kyle moaned, running his hand through his light brown hair.
“That’s not my problem,” Eneco replied indifferently.
“Hey, could you keep it down?” said a voice they knew. Sierra Norburg was looking at them with an annoyed expression on her face. She and her dad lived in Washington – the state, not D.C. – so her complexion almost matched Dale’s. Her blond hair was always tied back in a ponytail, and she spent most of her time outside with her pencil and sketchpad, drawing.
“What’re you sketching now?” Eneco asked.
“I was trying to sketch that,” she said, pointing with her pencil. Eneco turned just in time to see a giant tail splash under the glittering surface of the ocean.
“Dude, I wish we could do that,” Kyle said, staring at the water. “Just dive right in… feel the nice, cold water…”
“Why don’t I just throw you overboard?” Eneco suggested jokingly.
“That would be awesome,” Kyle said, grinning. “Hey, maybe you should throw that weird girl overboard instead.”
“Shut up,” Sierra snapped indignantly.
“I’m not talking about you,” Kyle protested. “I’m talking about…” He paused as he tried to remember her name. “Who’s that other girl who never talks to anyone?” he asked Eneco.
“You mean Chassey?” Sierra demanded, looking outraged.
Chassey Lukin was definitely the odd one out on the ship. She had this strange fascination with black – clothing, makeup, you name it. It was almost as if she was in mourning. Nobody could figure out how she could stand wearing all that black in the sweltering weather, but her obsession would have been bearable if she didn’t have a bad habit of sneaking up on people from behind and scaring them half to death.
“Yeah, that’s it,” Kyle said with a grin.
“I can’t believe you would do that!” Sierra said, aghast.
“Oh, come on, all she does is mope around,” Kyle said defensively. “I don’t think I’ve heard her speak six words this whole trip.”
“She talks to me all the time,” Sierra continued, raising her voice.
“I hope you have a good psychiatrist,” Kyle said.
“Leave her alone, Kyle,” Sierra snapped. “She’s had a hard life.”
“Yeah, right,” Kyle replied derisively. “Let me guess, the kids at school teased her for being weird.”
“Oh, never mind,” Sierra said exasperatedly. “You wouldn’t understand.”
“I don’t want to understand that vampire,” Kyle replied, and Eneco had to stifle a laugh.
Sierra shut her drawing pad and glared at him. “You’re such a jerk,” she said.
“Hey, I was kidding,” Kyle objected.
Sierra rolled her eyes in contempt. “I’m going to get something to drink.”
“That’s nice,” Kyle replied. “You’d better hope the fridge hasn’t broken down like everything else on this piece of junk boat.”
“Piece of junk?” Sierra repeated. “Have you looked in the mirror recently?”
“Oh, real creative, Sierra,” Kyle said sarcastically as he and Eneco followed her into the cafeteria. Sierra got a bottle of water from the cooler and joined the two boys at the table.
“I wish we knew where we were going,” Kyle complained.
“Me too,” Eneco agreed. “My dad usually tells me everything, but now he just kind of grins at me when I ask, like it’s a conspiracy.”
“My dad’s being quiet, too,” Sierra said. “He brings me along to help him sketch, but so far he hasn’t said a thing.”
“Dude, you guys are lucky to even see your dads,” Kyle commented. “My mom’s either in meetings or in here with her laptop.”
“I know where we’re going.”
Eneco jumped. “Stop doing that!” he breathed.
“Sorry,” said Chassey as she took a seat. Her brown hair was tied in an elegant ponytail. Eneco suspected the only reason it wasn’t black was because her parents wouldn’t let her dye it.
“Anyway,” Eneco said as his heart rate gradually slowed, “you were saying?”
“I know where we’re going,” Chassey repeated.
“Yeah right,” Kyle said automatically. “If our parents won’t tell us anything, then yours won’t either. They’ve probably been sworn to secrecy or something.”
Chassey glared at him for a full minute, her jaw clenched. Kyle’s smirk faded, and he turned his attention to the pitted table.
“It’s a small volcanic island in the middle of the Pacific called Dej Markai,” Chassey continued as she slid into the seat next to Eneco. “We’re going to study the natives.”
“Natives?” Kyle repeated.
“Yes, natives,” Chassey said. “Is there a problem with that?”
“What if they try to kill us?” Kyle demanded worriedly.
Chassey rolled her eyes. “The natives are friendly, Kyle,” she sighed.
“You don’t know that,” Kyle challenged.
“Yes, I do. I’ve been here before with…” Chassey’s voice suddenly sounded strange. “My mom and dad,” she finished.
“Dude, no you- ahh!” He stopped as Eneco kicked him from under the table.
“You mean another team has already been here?” Sierra asked.
“Yeah,” Chassey said, “but they haven’t sent a report in a while.”
“Why’s that?” Eneco asked. Chassey looked away from him pointedly and didn’t answer.
“Are you sure the natives are friendly?” Kyle asked after a moment.
“Natives?” The voice made them all jump. Eneco’s father, Darien, was standing at the end of the table. He looked almost exactly like Eneco, only taller and balding a little.
“Hi, dad,” Eneco said, surprised. “Have a good meeting?”
“I suppose,” said his father as he took a seat. “We had to stop early, thanks to your brother. Seems he thought it was a little too hot for his tastes and decided that the pool was safe.” Eneco, Kyle, and even Sierra laughed. “So, Kyle, what were you saying about natives?”
“Chassey was telling us about the island,” Eneco replied
Darien sighed, giving Chassey an annoyed look. “How much have you told them?” he asked.
“Just about everything,” she answered.
Darien massaged the bridge of his nose, indicating an oncoming headache. “Chassey, I thought I told you to keep this a secret,” he said exasperatedly.
“Why’s it such a big secret?” Eneco asked. The others looked expectantly towards Darien.
Darien took a moment to form his reply. “Well, as Chassey has probably already told you, a team is already stationed on the island.”
“She said that you haven’t heard from for a while,” Sierra chimed in.
Darien nodded. “We don’t know what happened, and so our expedition could be a little risky. The other team members and I decided it would be better if you didn’t know until we arrived.”
“How is it better that we don’t know that another team disappeared?” Kyle demanded.
“He was probably afraid you’d freak out,” Sierra replied pointedly.
“I’m not freaking out!” Kyle snapped.
“Okay, that’s enough,” Darien interrupted. “We’ll be arriving in a few hours. Eneco, Chassey, you’ve dealt with natives before.” The two nodded. “I want everyone else to stick with one of them until we’ve established there’s no threat. And no one is to go off alone, okay? No one.”
“Yes, dad,” Eneco replied wearily. He’d heard this routine way too often.
“Hi, everyone,” said an annoyed voice from the doorway. There stood Dale, his normally pale skin rubbed pink from his mother’s attempts to scrub the pool chemicals off his skin. Eneco fought to keep his face straight and failed horribly. “Shut up,” Dale snapped as he saw his brother’s expression, but that just made everyone burst out laughing – including Darien.
When the laughter finally settled down, Darien stood and said, “Eneco,” he said, “ayúdeme, por favor. Come help me, please.”
“Sí, papá,” Eneco replied. The two left the cafeteria and headed to the cargo hold. “So, what’s it like being in charge?” he asked.
Darien sighed. “It’s a lot more work than I thought it would be,” he said with a smile.
Eneco nodded. They’d been on plenty of expeditions before, but he’d always just been another team member. Now he was the leader, and the extra pressure was taking its toll. “You look exhausted,” Eneco observed as they entered the hold.
“You have no idea,” Darien replied. “We’ve got a lot of bright people, but some of them can be… stubborn.”
“Like mamá?” Eneco teased.
Darien chuckled and shook his head. “What are the chances she’d be on the team, huh?”
Eneco smiled, but he felt a little sad. He missed his mom, and although Darien tried to hide it, he knew his dad felt the same.
“Eneco…” Darien started. Eneco stopped what he was doing and gave him his full attention. “This mission means a lot to me. Being in charge and all… sometimes I’m not sure I’m the right guy for the job, you know?”
“Of course you are,” Eneco said reassuringly. “You’re doing fine, dad.”
“Thanks,” he said. “But still…” He put a hand on Eneco’s shoulder. “I’m going to need your help, son. I mean, more than before,” he added with a laugh.
“You can count on me, dad,” Eneco replied with a smile.
Darien smiled. “I know.”