The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel Read online

  Caddie nodded. Thinking about Mars made her wish he was here. He was the one who could tell whether a plan would work. But he was the reason they were here in the first place. She just hoped she was making the right decisions. There was no way of knowing.

  “And Cads, it will be fine,” JP added.

  “What do you mean?” she asked, flushing, because she knew what JP was going to say.

  “I don’t have to be a mind reader like you,” JP said. “I can tell you’re worried, but you’re a good leader. You know that, don’t you? I’m proud of you.”

  “Thanks, JP,” Caddie said. “Teamwork, right, guys?”

  “Speaking of,” Toothpick said, “Caddie, tell me again where to aim. You’re better at feeling directions than I am. JP, get ready to launch.”

  “Quit saying that!”

  “Fine, just say when.”

  “I’m proud of you, too, Toothpick,” JP said. “OK, launch this puppy.”

  Caddie pointed. “That way. The guard is gone.”

  Toothpick and Caddie pulled back on the tubing. JP braced themself.

  “Three, two, one, go!” Toothpick and Caddie let go of the tubing.

  If Caddie hadn’t known it was possible, she couldn’t have imagined it — watching JP fly through the sky like an astronaut was amazing. A brilliant astronaut in a sparkly scarf. Caddie felt her breath catch in her throat. JP was yelling something. Caddie strained to hear, and then JP’s words came to her: “To . . . the . . . stars . . .”

  “Come on, Pick,” Caddie said. “We need to get to the loading dock. Fast!”

  It seemed like an eternity to Toothpick as they waited at the loading dock after JP had catapulted into the school. The whole time he’d been designing and implementing his contraption, he’d been sure it would work. It was amazing how all the pistons in his brain were firing, that as soon as he thought of a question, he already knew the answer to it.

  It was his heart that was having a hard time keeping up. When he’d seen JP sailing through the air, his reaction had been completely different from Caddie’s. He hadn’t seen an astronaut taking flight. He’d seen his best friend possibly flying to their doom. His anxiety rose exponentially while he and Caddie waited. What if he had been overconfident? What if JP hadn’t landed on the terrace but overshot, or undershot, or headed straight to the metal spire and . . .

  “Where is Droney?” Toothpick asked nervously. “He should be back by now. Why isn’t he back yet? Can you sense what happened like you did with the guards or Mars?” he asked Caddie. “Can you tell where JP is? Or Droney?”

  Caddie shook her head. “I’m sorry, Pick. I’m not getting anything anymore. No Mars, no guard, no JP. Maybe it’s because I was near the wall before? Or because JP is inside the school and too far away? Or because . . .” She stopped. They both had an image of the metal spires.

  Toothpick shuddered as they stood in silence for a few terrible moments.

  At last came a familiar whir.

  “Droney!” Toothpick exclaimed. “You’re back! Did JP make it inside?”

  “Your friend landed on the south tower terrace,” Droney reported.

  “Was JP hurt?” he asked.

  “Not possible to confirm,” Droney said.

  “Did anyone see JP?” he asked.

  “Not possible to confirm,” Droney repeated.

  “Is JP coming to let us in?”

  “Not possible to confirm,” Droney chirped a third time.

  “I think we have to wait, Pick,” Caddie said. “Some things Droney can’t tell us.”

  “‘Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I’m not sure about the former.’ Quote by Albert Einstein,” said Droney.

  “Wow, a quoting drone,” Caddie said.

  “And I think he just called us stupid,” Toothpick said.

  Just then, the door to the loading dock opened.

  “JP!” Toothpick rushed in, with Caddie and Droney following him.

  Toothpick had never been so happy to see JP in his life. Words came to his lips and abandoned him as he wrapped his arms around his friend.

  “Pick, I —” JP couldn’t finish. “Hey, buddy, you’re hugging me too tight!” JP’s voice broke off as Toothpick held on. “Pick!”

  “I was afraid you weren’t going to make it,” Toothpick said at last, his voice muffled. “I’m smarter on this island, but I’m making more mistakes, too.”

  “Droney did say JP reached the top,” Caddie said softly.

  “Confirmed,” said Droney.

  “Yeah, but I’m the one who programmed him,” Toothpick said. “What if he was wrong? No offense, Droney.”

  “Droney?” repeated a familiar voice.

  For the first time, Caddie became aware of her surroundings — a darkened hallway with a touch-screen wall on one side. The floor was sparkling white even in the dark hall. A gray conveyor belt was moving packages with robotic arms at the far end of the hall. But it was the voice that got her attention. The voice she hadn’t heard in days.

  “I wanted to tell you,” JP said. “Look who I met on the way down.”

  “Wassup, peeps? Long time no see! That there your drone? Crazy stuff.” He was his same tall, lanky self, minus his baseball cap.

  “Jonas!” Caddie said, relieved.

  But before anyone could say more, there was a tremendous sound, as if the whole world were crumbling apart, and then the entire building began to shake.

  Caddie was convinced the ceiling would collapse on top of her and crush her. She instinctively curled into a ball and covered her head. But just as soon as the building shook, it stopped shaking.

  “What was THAT?” burst JP.

  Toothpick was scratching his head. “We are near the Cascadia subduction zone.”

  “Cascadia what zone?” JP repeated. “Droney, translate.”

  “Sure, I can do that,” Droney said. “The Cascadia subduction zone is a fault line that runs from Canada to California, through the Seattle and Puget Sound area.”

  “Fault line? What does that mean?” JP’s voice went up a notch.

  “Droney is talking about earthquake zones,” Toothpick explained. “We are in the middle of one. All of Western Washington is, including Gale Island and Port Elizabeth.”

  “Are you saying we were in an earthquake just now?” JP gasped.

  Jonas smiled peaceably. “Relax, guys. Follow me.” He began walking down the hallway.

  They hurried to catch up with Jonas’s long strides.

  “Relax?” JP repeated. “How can you say that when you were kidnapped and taken against your will to this school? And it doesn’t even exist half the time!”

  “And were we in an earthquake just now?” Caddie demanded. “What’s going on?”

  Jonas kept walking. “Soon it will all be clear. Come on, this way. It’s shorter.” He opened the door. “By the way, it’s a little windy in here.”

  Jonas turned a wheel on a steel door to unlock it, and then pulled it open.

  When they stepped inside, a sudden gale threatened to knock them over. Droney skittered above them as they found themselves suddenly traversing a rocky terrain.

  “Whherrrre . . . arrrre . . . weee?” JP’s voice got lost in the wind.

  “Don’t talk,” Jonas said. He braced himself against the windstorm that blew through the cavernous room.

  Caddie could hardly keep her eyes open unless she kept them pointed down. There were desert rocks and sandy crevices along the ground, making it hard to walk. She struggled to put one foot in front of the other. The only thing she could do was follow Jonas’s figure right in front of her.

  The wind continued, and somewhere they heard it again, the howling sound, but this time it was much, much closer. It’s coming from inside, she thought. It’s coming from . . .

  Caddie stopped, rooted in terror.

  It was coming from the creature a few feet ahead of her.

  Never had she seen such a thing. Severa
l feet tall, armored, long, grotesque legs stretching out in all directions. It was watching them with its many eyes, its mouth sprawled open and ravenous. What she saw was an enormous spider plated in steel.

  Her voice died in her throat.

  “Come this way.” Jonas’s voice echoed in front of her. “Don’t stop now.”

  The wind was at her back. She could barely see or feel anything but the horror of the creature before them. Somewhere she felt a hand on her arm. JP? Toothpick? Through the wind and darkness, she moved forward, passing the creature, not sure what would happen next.

  Impossibly, a door closed behind her. Jonas was turning another wheel, round and round, sealing it shut. They leaned against the wall, breathing hard.

  Caddie pushed her hair out of her face. They were all there: Toothpick, JP, Jonas, and even, whirring above them, Droney.

  “You call that ‘a little windy’?” JP panted. “First an earthquake, then a tornado, and then that — that — thing! Jonas, what are you trying to do, kill us?”

  Jonas continued to smile. Caddie had thought the creature inside that strange room was scary, but now seeing her friend’s smile was scarier. Also, why could she not sense any of his thoughts or feelings? It was like Jonas was a blank slate.

  “Jonas?” she whispered.

  He nodded sunnily. “That’s my name. Listen, that was no tornado, just a wind simulator. We went through that room ’cause it was a shortcut. Now we’re almost where we need to be. Just keep following me.”

  Toothpick pushed up his glasses. “OK, Jonas. Whatever you say. Let’s go.”

  JP looked at Toothpick in surprise. As soon as Jonas was a few paces ahead, Toothpick whispered, “I’ve figured it out. He’s been brainwashed.”

  “I knew you were thinking that,” Caddie whispered. “I wish I could read Jonas’s mind, too, but he’s all closed off.”

  “What do we do, Cads?” JP whispered.

  “Shh. Just do what he says until we come up with a better plan,” Caddie said in a low voice.

  They turned down a hallway with what looked like doors to classrooms on either side.

  “Keep walking,” Jonas called behind him.

  As they walked by each door, Caddie wondered what was going on inside each room. She could feel activity, but this felt like people moving around, not strange scary creatures, their thoughts coming at her faintly through the thick, reinforced walls. Some of the thoughts were unrecognizable until Caddie thought she detected some French. Were those foreign languages she was sensing? Curiosity finally got the better of her. She lingered behind everyone until she was standing in front of a door.

  Inexplicably, it opened.

  A teenager in a long flowing tunic and pants stood there. Their brown hair was short, cut above their ears, and the teen wore a nose ring. “Namaste,” said the person, looking Caddie up and down. “Are you here for training?”

  Behind them, several other teenagers milled around a large table that spanned nearly the length of what looked like an enormous classroom. Hundreds of voices buzzed in different languages. Perched on the table was a large wheel that seemed to be spinning of its own accord. Several teens were pointing to it with great excitement. A few lines of English and other languages broke through.

  “That’s the wrong angle. Tilt it!”

  “It’s gaining speed!”

  “But we haven’t tested out the formula!”

  “Pardon! Je sais quels numéros utiliser!”

  “Achtung!”

  Caddie felt dizzy and enthralled all at once. So many voices, so many thoughts! And they were all coming fast, just like the rapidly spinning wheel that was hovering over the table and was now taking flight across the room. The teenagers cheered, their faces shining faintly with perspiration. All of them had their hair cut short, just like the one who opened the door. It was impossible to tell who was a boy or girl or what. But they looked shiny and beautiful in their flowing tunics. Caddie felt herself being drawn to them, like a magnet was pulling her into the room.

  “There you are!” Jonas’s voice jabbed from behind.

  Caddie jumped, startled.

  “Sorry, Numi, this one is with me.” Jonas gave the teenager at the door his standard smile.

  “OK, Jonas,” said the teen. “Come back later when you’re ready!”

  “Will do, Numi,” Jonas said, pulling Caddie along with him.

  Behind them, the door closed. Ahead, JP and Toothpick were waiting.

  “Where did you go, Cads?” JP asked.

  “That was the inventor room, Caddie,” Jonas said. “It can get pretty intense there. Better stick with me. Now isn’t the time to stray.”

  Stray! Caddie followed Jonas wordlessly the rest of the way. She was still feeling the glow from the young people in the room, and regret ebbed through her that she’d had to leave them. They all looked so happy.

  Caddie shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. She wasn’t being herself.

  “OK, this time, nobody go away,” Jonas said. He had brought them to another hall. He held a finger to his mouth. “And you’ve got to be quiet.”

  Caddie, Toothpick, and JP fell silent. Now what was going on?

  From below, a sound became louder and louder until Caddie recognized it: the sound of marching. One, two, one, two. Left, right, left, right. The marching continued steadily, getting closer to them until they saw who was marching. Lines and lines of kids in white suits, marching single file down the hall on the lower floor of the atrium.

  Caddie gasped. In the room with Numi, it hadn’t occurred to her, but now, from a distance, seeing so many more children filling the hallways than she could count, the idea came crashing like a brick. Caddie knew Toothpick and JP were thinking the exact same thing as her.

  The missing children.

  Marching in the hallway and back in the inventor room. And maybe the whole school. Why were they here at Pruitt Prep?

  Caddie studied the kids marching past in the atrium. They seemed younger than the ones in the inventor room. Their hair wasn’t cut short, and instead of tunics, they wore white suits. Not only that, each child held a small digital pad on which they seemed to be furiously scribbling equations and plugging in formulas as they marched. Were the children marching . . . or solving problems? It looked like a little of both. And on every child’s face was an expression of rapt attention, like the people in the inventor room. They were all having . . . fun.

  After what seemed like forever, the last of the marching kids turned down the hall and disappeared, their stomping feet slowly fading away.

  “That’s our junior league of problem solvers,” Jonas said.

  “But are those the missing kids?” Caddie pressed. “And the ones in the inventor room . . .” She tried to get the answer from Jonas’s mind, but still she could read nothing but mush. Gone were the video games and batting averages. Jonas’s brain was still a blank slate. “You have to tell us something, Jonas. We can’t wait anymore.”

  Jonas was punching a code into a wall next to a door. “Patience, dudes,” he said. “This is where it all becomes clear. Come inside.”

  Caddie was about to refuse, but when she looked in, she suddenly felt herself relax. Inside was a carpeted game room with potted palm trees dotting the corners and soft, upholstered couches around a big, fluffy rug. There was a juice machine, a table with snacks laid out, and a large TV screen on the wall. The air smelled sweet and fruity.

  “Sustenance,” Jonas said, grinning.

  This grin looked a little more like the old Jonas.

  “Well, OK . . .” Caddie said uncertainly, frowning. “But you still haven’t told us anything, Jonas, and . . .”

  JP dove for the couch and a bag of chips. “Man, I’m starving. I could use a little TLC.”

  In the back, Toothpick was examining the pool table equipped with cue sticks and a full set of balls ready to go. “Mahogany and chrome,” he said. “Nice.”

  “OK,” Jonas said. “Catc
h you later.”

  “Wait, what?” JP asked from the couch.

  Before anyone could say anything, Jonas had exited through the door. There was a sound of a metal arm sliding across on the outside.

  “He’s locked us in!” Caddie said. “I knew something was wrong. Why didn’t I sense this coming?”

  JP stood up. “He can’t do that. This is so wrong.”

  “Droney, is there any way to get out?” Toothpick asked.

  “I can answer that for you,” Droney said. “There is an access pad at the door.”

  “Great — can you open the door?” Toothpick asked.

  “Negative,” Droney said. “The access code has been deactivated by the last user. That would be your friend Jonas Hopkins.”

  “Not our friend anymore,” JP muttered. “Didn’t he just leave us here?”

  “That’s not the real Jonas, locking us in,” Toothpick said. “It’s his brainwashed self, who’s doing someone else’s bidding.”

  “Why would he lock us in?” JP asked. “Caddie, use your feels. We’re all out of options.”

  Caddie was on the couch, her eyes closed, fingertips at her temples. This was such an unsettling room, fully insulated, no windows, and no sensations of any kind. At first all she could feel was herself and her friends locked inside its steel walls. But then there was something else, something distant, that warm feeling again. It was out there; it had been there all along. And it was . . . it was . . . was that possible? Coming closer? There were beeping sounds outside the door. Someone was punching in a code from the outside.

  “Someone’s coming in!” JP announced.

  Caddie opened her eyes and looked up.

  The door opened.

  Caddie jumped up. She ran to him. They all did.

  He was wearing the same outfit he had been wearing at the dance before he disappeared. His face was smooth, unworried; he even seemed to glow. His eyes took in everyone. Then he spoke.

  “You made a big mistake,” Mars said blandly. “You shouldn’t have come.”

  It looked like Mars. It talked like Mars. But the words that came out of his mouth?

  You shouldn’t have come.