Midas barked, howled, groaned, and strained at his leash. Dr. Leaf paced, snarled at Midas, and worried. The creatures missed her, too. She always showed up in the evening before suns down to fill water bowls, check food dishes, and tuck each of them in for the night.
Cotton scratched around in her bed, meowing to remind Dr. Leaf that it was time for Halo to visit. Romeo squawked until Dr. Leaf tossed a blanket over his cage and told him to go to sleep. Oscar splashed around in his bowl, refusing to settle down, while Lizzie ran a marathon up, down, in, and out of the leaves of her indoor globe.
The suns slowly slipped toward the horizon as the velvety curtain of darkness eased across Tranquil Bay.
“Stop howling, Midas. You’ll spend the night outdoors if I hear another howl.” Dr. Leaf squared his shoulders to stand face-to-face with the mournful dog.
“She’s not coming tonight, and that’s that.” Dr. Leaf reached over to rub Midas between the ears. “It’s almost suns down, you know. It’s too late for her to be out now. She deserves some time off. Painting the cages for the parade and getting all of you ready to ride in style was a big job…” His voice trailed off. Through the window, he could see the big parade car with Midas’ name written on the side.
“She needs some time with her people friends. You do understand you’re not people, don’t you?” Dr. Leaf lectured Midas, pointing his small finger at the giant animal. The dog whimpered, lowering his head to his paws, his big brown eyes focused on him and his ears drooping.
“Now that’s a pity ploy, and don’t think for a minute I’ll fall for it,” Dr. Leaf growled.
“Dr. Leaf, Dr. Leaf.” A tall, skinny, freckled faced boy stomped up the front porch steps yelling to the top of his lungs.
“Who’re you? What are you doing out after suns down? What’s the problem?” Dr. Leaf stood up and hurried to open the screen door.
“I’ve a message for Dr. Leaf.” The boy barged into the room, wild-eyed and out of breath. He froze in his tracks when the big dog stood up on all fours, fangs bared ready to defend his tiny friend.
“Midas, stay! I’m Dr. Leaf.”
“There’s been an accident. The Purple Team’s raft capsized.” Words tumbled out of the boy’s mouth, he looked frantically around the room filled with frightened creatures and a monster-sized dog. Midas continued to growl, his ears pointing straight up as if he understood every word.
“Purple Team? What’s a Purple Team? Speak up, boy.”
“Sorry.” The boy took a deep breath, started over.
“Zadie and the triplets, Opal, Star, and Amber, are in the infirmary. They’ll be okay. Zadie was the worst, but she’s better now. The nurse said they need to spend the night under observation,” Liam stated quickly.
“And?” The message didn’t make a lot of sense. Dr. Leaf knew the girls. He even liked them a little, but why did this boy come all the way out here to tell him about their accident?
“Oh, yes. Well, sir. Uh, they c-can’t find Halo,” Liam stammered.
“What? What’s this about Halo?” The boy had his full attention now.
“She went underwater to find Zadie when their raft capsized. She found her, too, and brought her up. Only thing is, she, Halo went under again and this time didn’t come back up. Koze and Jet are out in an airboat trying to find her. That’s why Angel Vesta told me to come here and tell you.”
Dr. Leaf froze, as his mouth forming a straight line of disbelief. Midas strained at his leash, his growls turning to barks loud enough to wake the entire compound. The boy named Liam inched farther away from Midas, prepared to run if necessary.
“Well, that’s all I know, sir. It’s almost suns down. I need to get back. The girls wanted you to know about Halo. I’m sorry. Night.” He nodded to the strange little man, the big golden dog, and the nervous creatures, turned, and ran back down the path toward the Star Compound.
“Stay.” Dr. Leaf patted Midas on the head. “I’m going to the infirmary. I’ll be back. Stay.”
Midas ignored him and pulled at the leash, determined to go, too.
“Midas, I said stay.” He shook his finger at the dog. Dr. Leaf wore his stern face and spoke to Midas in a tone not to be misunderstood. He hopped into his yellow machine and sped down the path toward the Star Compound infirmary.
Several hours later, a slump-shouldered Dr. Leaf returned to his cottage and reported to a room full of anxious pawing, whining critters.
“The triplets are resting in the infirmary, and Zadie is still unconscious. I don’t know anything new about Halo,” he announced. The creatures whined, growled, chirped, and squirmed in their cages, baskets, and cribs.
Dr. Leaf picked up the shredded ends of the rope proving Midas had escaped. First the girl, now Midas gone, too, he flopped down defeated into his chair. His very first student, lost in Tranquil Bay. He liked her. She did a good job. He was sorry he never got around to telling her. He liked that crazy dog, too. Surely he wouldn’t try to swim in the sea at night.
The creatures stopped chattering to watch their master do something they had never witnessed before.
Dr. Leaf took off his spectacles, lowered his head, and cried.
~ ~ ~
Jet navigated the ABC above the crashing waves of the Rogue Sea in an attempt to follow Gamy as the big fish plunged in and out of the rough sea, marking a trail. Koze’s flashing eyes and whirling ear sensors linked with the fish and Jet, reassuring them as they bounced along the tumultuous sea.
“Do you think it’s a trap?” Jet asked.
“No. He says he found a starfish girl and brought her home.” Koze’s glittering eyes focused on the big fish.
“Starfish girl?”
“That’s what he calls her.”
“Home? Does that mean she’s alive?”
“Gamy says yes. He brought her food.”
“Ask him how much farther.”
Koze’s ear sensors whirled, and his star eyes glowed. The fish popped his head up out of the water, his mismatched eyes glowing like opals in the darkness. Then he dove deep, leaving them alone, hovering over the sea.
“He’s gone.” Jet panicked. “Suns down was hours ago.” He was tired and had no idea where they were or how to get back to White Feathers. They had passed the Star Points a long time ago. He wondered if they could ever return to White Feathers. Would they find his sister and Halo? Why did Zadie decide to change her gift a week before Birth Day? Why did she want to be part of a group gift? Nothing made sense. She loved her drum and wrote beautiful music for it. She was the only one who knew how to create the unworldly sounds of the sea and wind stream from inside a drum. He’d found the shell and made it into a drum as a gift to her. She had accepted it and given back beautiful music.
He remembered seeing Annie talking to Zadie one day. It was the same day a boy in the orchestra asked him why Zadie decided to become part of a group gift presentation. She hadn’t told him about her decision. He’d pretended to know about her plans and kept working on her drum while the boy continued to communicate with him about Zadie’s beautiful and original music.
He’d questioned Koze as to why Zadie appeared worried all the time. He’d even asked her why she was willing to give up her dream. Why did she want to forget about presenting the music she’d spent her young life writing and playing? She didn’t answer him.
Jet remembered the conversation with Annie when she told him she’d seen him bringing shells back from beyond the Star Points. He’d told Annie the truth about falling into a pit and finding the shells. She said he was making excuses and knew he’d gone past the Star Points and sometimes staying out past suns down. She pressed on, telling him she would report his violations to Angel Vesta unless he brought prettier shells to her than the ones he’d given Amber, Opal, and Star.
“I need them for the gown I plan to wear on Birth Day when I sing my song. You’d better bring me the most beautiful shells you have, even better than Zadie’s drum.”
He thought about the cave and the rules he had broken to go there, collect shells, mix the colors for his paints, and later to collect shells for Annie. Dr. Leaf’s spotted berry grew in the cave, too. His problems started the day he fell into the cave.
If he ever got back to White Feathers, he intended to confess his sins to Angel Vesta and Dr. Leaf. He knew he would be sent away and would probably never see Zadie again. He decided to tell Koze everything tonight. He was pretty sure Koze had already read his mind. They might not make it back to White Feathers.
“I already know about the rules you broke. I’m glad you decided to tell me. Yes, Gamy will be back,” Koze messaged him.
“Good to know.” Jet was relieved to know Koze was aware of the rules he’d broken and hoped Koze would continue to be his friend.
Jet set the ABC smoothly into the water, retracted its wings, and cut the engine to idle, seconds before hearing Koze’s warning.
“I wouldn’t do that.”
A wave rammed into Jet’s side of the airboat, ramming it into a huge, jagged rock. Koze fell forward, banging his head against the windshield. His eyes changed from gold to solid black, and his ear sensors stopped whirling. Jet moved quickly to put him into the seat, away from the danger of hitting the windshield again. Jet attempted to send mental messages then tried to contact him through the wrist link. Nothing happened.
“Koze, acknowledge please.” Jet tapped again and again into the link. Nothing.
He had to do something to help his friend. How did one fix an android? Could he be recharged? He was a computer, right? He must have controls. Where were they? He searched for a button and place to insert a cable. Nothing. He’d never asked Koze things like who made him? Who or what controlled him? Where was his energy source?
Another strong wave crashed against the airboat sending them farther into the rock formations. The boat stopped bouncing, indicating they were completely locked between rocks. He checked the air pressure for leaks. Finding none, he examined Koze’s head, checking for cracks, breaks, or punctures. There had to be a control pad somewhere. He tapped on his wrist link and nothing happened; after all, it was connected only to Koze. He checked the ear sensors for broken wires or connections then ran his fingers over the wide belt with the shiny star buckle Koze always wore. Nothing. Where was the power source hidden? Angel Vesta must know how to repair Koze. Jet couldn’t bear the thought of losing Koze as a friend.
What if he never returned to White Feathers or had a chance to take Koze to Angel Vesta again? Well, if he did see her, the consequences would surely be dire. He got down on his knees beside his friend, praying the angels would help him and trying to send mental messages to Koze. He wished Gamy would come back. They were stranded in a clump of black rocks in the middle of the Rogue Sea. How would anybody find them? This place probably wasn’t even visible from the top of the cliffs, and nobody climbed up there.
~ ~ ~
Zadie’s eyes opened to a view of the white ceiling in the infirmary critical care unit. There was a needle in her arm with tubes connecting it to a bag of clear liquid hanging on a rod by her bed. Half-asleep, she snuggled the pillow, closed her eyes, and the nightmare returned. She was falling; there was water above and below her, pushing her deeper into the sea. She couldn’t breathe. She screamed. Someone was holding her hand, shaking her, and saying, “Zadie, it’s all right.” Only this time it wasn’t a dream. Angel Vesta was holding her hand and assuring her that she was safe and back at White Feathers.
Zadie tried to focus on Angel Vesta, tried to remember what happened and why was she here.
“I’m not dreaming. It’s real. I fell off the raft. I fell into the sea, didn’t I?” Zadie tried to remember the rest and waited for Angel Vesta to speak.
“Yes, there was an accident. Halo dived until she found and rescued you. Jet and Koze picked you up in the emergency rescue boat, and the medics brought you here to the infirmary where you spent the night. Do you hurt anywhere now?”
“No. I feel okay. My friends, Halo, Amber, Opal, and Star, are they all right? Are they in the infirmary, too?”
“Your friends are waiting outside the door to see you.”
“Jet? Halo? They’re here?” She wanted to see them, to know the nightmare wasn’t true.
“Opal, Star, and Amber are waiting to see you. I’ll tell the nurse to send in breakfast,” Angel Vesta told her.
“Where are Halo and Jet?”
“Zadie, I need you to tell me what happened out there.”
“Something happened to them, didn’t it? Please tell me? Where are they?” Zadie tried to push herself up from the bed. She needed to know what was happening to them.
“Zadie, please don’t try to sit up yet. Halo is still missing. Jet and Koze are searching for her as we speak. I’ll let you know as soon as I hear from them,” Angel Vesta assured her.
“They’re lost, aren’t they? They would be here if everything was okay,” Zadie sobbed.
“Why don’t you tell me about the accident?” Angel Vesta settled back in the chair and waited. Zadie refused to believe the truth about what happened to their raft. She twisted the edges of the sheet while telling Angel Vesta about something crashing into their raft and causing her to fall into the water.
She refused to lie, but she didn’t want to accuse Annie, either. She told Angel Vesta about falling off the raft and not being able to breathe, falling into the cold, dark water, and then everything going black. She remembered waking up and seeing people were all around her, pushing on her chest and causing her to gag and vomit. She couldn’t remember much about the actual crash, only that something hit their raft and it started falling apart in the water. She didn’t want Angel Vesta to think she wasn’t telling the truth. The students said Angel Vesta could detect a lie by simply touching a person.
Then Angel Vesta floated out of the room and closed the door. Zadie took a deep breath and started to worry again.
She hoped Amber, Opal, and Star didn’t tell Angel Vesta about Annie’s raft. She didn’t want to get Jet in trouble. Annie had already threatened to tell Angel Vesta about seeing Jet go into a cave at the edge of the Star Points and bring shells from Shell Island for the triplets to use for their jewelry. She’d also threatened to prove Jet didn’t come back to his room before suns down. Any one of these violations would ruin his opportunity to fly up on Birth Day. Everybody knew the stories about Shell Island being a forbidden place, far beyond the Star Points.
~ ~ ~
Annie promised to keep Jet’s secrets if Zadie gave her the song she’d written and planned to use as her own Birth Day gift. Zadie thought the idea was dumb. Annie couldn’t play the shell drum, so why did she need the music? She did remember that once, a few weeks ago, Annie wanted to hear her play the song. She’d told Zadie the choir wanted to use it as background music on their Star Festival float. Zadie had forgotten all about it until now. She gave Annie permission to make a recording of her playing the “Shell Drum Song” she’d written. She’d been happy to help the choir.
Annie’s requests didn’t make sense. Annie had a beautiful voice and would fly up and be an angel no matter what she sang. Surely Annie didn’t want the music in order to keep Zadie out of the competition. Nobody got first place or any special award for being best anyway.
The “Shell Drum Song” was the best thing she’d ever written. She was the only person who had a water drum and knew how to play it. Jet had made the drum and stand especially for her. He even taught her how to fill the stand with water from Tranquil Bay, and how to use dye to color the water and make it glow. She’d learned which parts of the shell to tap with the specially carved sticks, or wire brushes to produce the gurgling, mysterious sounds of the sea itself.
Today was the official start of Birth Day gift presentations. Tonight, the group presentations would begin. She had another song she’d written to give as a gift, but it didn’t capture sounds of roaring waves, gulls crying, or the sounds of a pebble skipping across the water. She had not given the new song her heart. If she played it, her gift might give her a place in a realm with an orchestra group, but it wouldn’t be good enough to make her a part of the realm of music angels. But she knew what she needed to do. She’d give the “Shell Drum Song” to Annie tonight to use for her Birth Day presentation.
Opal, Star, and Amber burst into the room, babbling like geese about nothing, hugging her and each other. Zadie wanted to talk, to ask a million questions, but Amber put a finger to her lips, indicating they shouldn’t talk here. Opal plopped a backpack containing a change of clothes and a pair of straps on the bed. Star helped Zadie out of bed while Opal fussed with the ties on the infirmary gown. Talking would come later.
Zadie stumbled along with the girls helping her walk down the infirmary hallway to the exit door. They’d checked the hallway and, thinking it clear, hurried out the exit door.
~ ~ ~
Dr. Leaf tossed and turned all night and was awake before the first rays of suns up slivered through the window. He fed his creatures, told them to behave and not to worry, got into his yellow machine, and began the search for Midas. No one at the pier of Tranquil Bay or at the fountain or the shops and refreshment plazas had seen a big golden dog. Midas was simply too big not to be noticed. Next, he drove to the farm, calling Midas name as he spiraled around the circles of wish berry bushes. The suns were high in the sky when he made a sudden U-turn, stepped on the gas instead of the brake, and nearly crashed into a robot picking berries. The sudden near accident caused him to rethink the search.
He remembered where she’d found the big, injured dog near the forks in the roads between Shadow Forest and TLC. Dr. Leaf needed to be on the southeast side of the island, not here on the farm.
He might be able to cover at least one path before suns down. Midas probably came from a place somewhere beyond the Star Points. Dr. Leaf had never seen or treated an animal as big as Midas before. He was pretty sure none existed within the White Feathers Compound.
Dr. Leaf drove back to TLC, checked the shed in case Midas had returned. Finding nothing, he took the path into Shadow Forest and the spot where they’d first found him. The suns peeped from behind pink silver-edged clouds, signaling the end of the day.