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  I’d actually found two.

  I reached into my pocket and withdrew a necklace. Same twine, different shell. Her shell was gold, too, but flecked with blue, like the ocean was buffering the darkness of Nil. I’d been waiting for the right time to give it to her; maybe that time was now. She could use the buffer.

  “I found this shell when I found mine,” I said. “In case you wanted some island bling.”

  “It’s beautiful.” Smiling, Charley tied it around her neck before I could help. “Thanks,” she said, one hand touching the shell at her neck. “I love it.”

  I love you.

  The rush of emotion hit me so hard, the words stuck in my throat.

  Unable to speak, barely able to breathe, I twisted my fingers in her hair and pulled her lips to mine. Then, breaking away, I held her tight. No words, no expectations, just Charley in my arms and my eyes wide open.

  CHAPTER

  34

  CHARLEY

  DAY 26, LATE MORNING

  We were back on black as noon approached. I felt weird because everyone this morning had looked at my charts like they meant something, and for all I knew, they were just chicken scratch. But I wanted them to mean something: I wanted them to mean a gate was coming for Natalie.

  “Showtime,” Jason remarked, his eyes dancing across the dark field.

  Even without Jason’s warning, I sensed noon was close. It was like the longer I was here, the more I understood the island. Or maybe I just wanted to think I was getting a clue, because so much was unknown. I stopped thinking about all I didn’t know, because my charts were on that list, full of holes. And yet here we were, riding the hope they offered. It was totally stressing me out.

  Natalie’s face was anxious, making me forget about me.

  I squeezed her hand. “Run fast, sweet friend.” To say good-bye felt so final—plus I was afraid to jinx it. Like if I said good-bye, a gate wouldn’t show.

  Trees spread to our right, black stretched before us, and chunky red curved to the left. Everyone’s eyes scoured the ground. The air crackled with waiting, and wanting. The intensity gave me chills, and with a start, I realized everyone was looking south. I shivered.

  At the precise moment I noticed the air was slack, Jason shouted.

  “There!” he hollered, pointing right. Near the tree line, the ground was rippling, then stretching, into a shimmering wall reaching for the sky. The edges grew dark and defined; the air inside writhed with translucent color and no color at all. No longer rising, now the gate was rolling. North, like we expected.

  Natalie was already running. The gate glittered a football field away.

  We dropped back, pacing Natalie, giving her space as she chased the gate. She was sixty yards out and sprinting. Thad and I kept quiet while Jason barked directions.

  Please make it, I thought, watching Natalie race against noon. Please catch this shimmer. Please let this be the last noon you have to see.

  Thirty yards to go.

  Then, like a bad B movie, two figures darted from the trees. A pair of girls, naked and screaming, running side by side as they streaked—literally—straight for the gate. For Natalie’s gate.

  “Not good,” Thad murmured.

  “Run, Natalie!” I yelled.

  But I knew it was over. She was too far away, with too much competition. The girls’ trajectory would intercept the gate well before Natalie could.

  The scene slowed but didn’t. The naked girls flying over the black rock, their four legs like two as they converged on the gate; Natalie on her own, too far behind. Natalie was still a good fifteen yards away when the two girls hit the gate as one.

  The air flashed blinding white, like a mirror reflecting the sun. Instinctively, I shielded my eyes, and when I looked back, the gate was gone. The air was clear, unwavering blue; the island breeze was back. One girl lay on the ground, as still as the rocks.

  And the other girl was gone.

  “Did you see that?” Jason said as the three of us broke into a sprint. “She flew back, like she was shocked.”

  “Or repelled,” Thad said, his face hard.

  “Have y’all ever seen that before?” I asked.

  “Never,” Thad said. “But I’ve never seen two people try to catch the same gate either.”

  We caught up with Natalie as she kneeled beside the motionless girl. With practiced ease, Natalie pressed her fingers to the girl’s wrist, checking for a pulse.

  “Is she breathing?” Thad asked.

  “Barely. I’m not sure what happened to her.”

  “Me either, but I think it’s pretty clear that two peeps shouldn’t go for the same gate.” Jason looked at the girl, who looked Indian, or maybe Pakistani. Naked as a jaybird, she was stick-thin. “Man, I never thought I’d say this, but I’m getting sick of naked women.”

  “Just when they look like corpses,” Thad said grimly. “But she’s not dead. And we’ve got to help her.” He was already pulling objects from his magic pack.

  “Totally.” Natalie covered the girl with her extra wrap. “Even if she did crash my party.” But she didn’t sound upset; she sounded weirdly upbeat, which seemed odd given the circumstances.

  “Are you okay?” I asked Natalie. “I mean, that gate. You could’ve made it.”

  “Not my gate. And unlike her, I’m totally fine.” She glanced at the girl, worried.

  “Still, I’m glad you’re not upset.”

  “Upset? I’m not upset, at least not about the gate.” She laughed. “Don’t you see? Your charts work, Charley! A gate was just where you thought it would be!”

  Her praise made me uncomfortable. “Natalie, it could’ve been pure luck. Let’s not get too excited, okay?”

  “Nope,” she kept grinning. “They work. Because there’s no such thing as luck on Nil.”

  CHAPTER

  35

  THAD

  DAY 292, AFTER NOON

  Another day on Nil, another round of lugging an unconscious person back to the City.

  Looking at the girl on the slapped-together-piece-of-island-crap stretcher, I hoped she fared better than Rory. But I had to admit, it didn’t look good. We’d been walking for hours, and the girl hadn’t opened her eyes or made a sound. At least she was breathing. Taking in her ashen face, I thought, Whoever you are, please don’t die. I was sick of death and burials.

  Charley walked beside me, her eyes straight ahead. She’d been quiet since Natalie missed the gate. Something had gotten to her; I just didn’t know what. Nat missing her shot? The girl on the stretcher, the newest Nil contestant? Or Li’s death, haunting us all?

  Maybe all of the above, or maybe she just couldn’t fit a word in around Natalie, who wouldn’t shut up. About an hour ago, Natalie had dropped into rapid-fire Nat-speak, babbling about teams and timing, strategies and gate waves. As much as I liked Natalie, right now I wished she’d just stop. She was borderline Nil nutty.

  “Nat,” I breathed, “give it a rest, okay?”

  “Please,” Jason muttered.

  “Okay. Sorry. I’m just really excited about Charley’s charts and the idea of a gate wave. I’ve just never thought about the order and the spacing, or the timing between each gate or sets of gates. It’s like they always come at noon, but I never really thought about the gap between gates that flash in the same place, like the ones at Black Bay, so—”

  “Nat,” I broke in, wondering how Nat talked like a machine gun and still managed to breathe, “please.”

  “Okay,” she said, “but you gotta admit Charley’s theory is awesome.”

  Nat fell silent, and no one filled the gap. Charley’s eyes hugged the ground.

  “Crowder,” I said, “you okay?”

  “Yeah,” she answered.

  No, you’re not, I thought, reading her face. But now was not the time to press. Not with an audience, not with a girl clinging to life in our hands.

  “Hang in there” was all I said. For a second, I wondered exactly who I was ta
lking to. Charley, the girl, me. Or all of us. Then I focused on walking and not dropping the girl. My legs burned, my arms shook, but I refused to take a break.

  Near the City, smoke drifted into the night like a beacon. I sent Jason ahead, and as we staggered into camp, Rives came running.

  I filled him in on the girl.

  “Where’re you gonna put her?” Rives asked.

  “With me,” Nat said. “It’ll be tight, but we’ll fit. Or”—now she smiled at Charley—“you could always bunk somewhere else. There’s someone I know who doesn’t have a roommate anymore.” Natalie winked at me, then turned back to Charley, beginning a new round of questions about the charts.

  While Natalie monopolized Charley, I slipped into Nat’s A-frame and gently laid the girl on a bed. Nat had one of the smallest houses; I had the other. The bigger A-frames could bunk up to six, but our max was two.

  Back outside with Rives, I cut right to the chase.

  “We found Li. She didn’t make it.”

  “Damn.” Rives blew out a hard breath. “You know, she was the first person I met on Nil. Where was she?”

  “The black field, near the tubes. We took care of her. I gave her a coral cross.”

  Rives nodded, then glanced toward the Wall. “I’ll carve for her. And I’ll tell Quan.”

  “You sure?” I asked.

  “Totally.” He looked back, his face set. Dark planes in a black night, touched by Nil’s demons. “You’ve been taking care of us for a long time, bro. Now take care of yourself. You hear?”

  I nodded. “Where’s Jason?”

  “Crashed out. Said he took second watch last night. I bet he’s already asleep.”

  “Good.” I squeezed Rives’s shoulder, then went to find Charley. The City was quiet, like it always was when a large group had left on Search. Charley sat by the fire, alone, watching the flames. She didn’t look up until I stood right beside her.

  “Where’s Nat?” I asked, taking a seat.

  “Getting supplies for the girl. And talking to Talla about my charts.” Charley sounded less than enthusiastic.

  “Hey.” I took her hand in mine; her fingers were chunks of ice. “You’ve said three words all afternoon. What’s wrong?”

  “I think I made a mistake telling y’all about my theory. I shouldn’t have said anything, not until I really know something. I mean, I’ve been here all of three weeks, and y’all looked at me today like I had the answers to the final exam, ya know?” Charley tried to smile, but it came out a wince. “But I don’t. I only brought up my idea of how the gates might roll in sequence because Jason looked so darn upset when a gate didn’t flash, and I wanted Natalie to have a ray of hope. But she ran with it like it was solid, like it was more than a theory.”

  I chuckled. “That’s Nat. She tends to get a little excited.”

  “But that’s just it. Now I feel like I’ve given her false hope. Like I’ve given everyone false hope. Thad, my maps are rough, and my wave idea is just a guess. What if Natalie misses a gate? Because of me?” She bit her lower lip.

  “Look, no one’s expecting you to swoop in and save the City. Your maps are great, and your theory is, too. And yeah, it’s just an idea. But it’s a starting point, and it gives us something to work with. To prove right or wrong, okay? You gotta understand. Your wave idea beats the shotgun approach any day, which is all we had. Your idea can’t be any worse.”

  Then I winked. “But hey, if you want to sit here and beat yourself up, go right ahead.”

  Charley rolled her eyes, but stayed quiet. I realized she had a point.

  “Tell you what. Over the next few days, we’ll toss around your theory and gather gate information from everyone. Make it a City effort, not just a Charley effort. Would that take the pressure off?”

  “Okay.” She sighed. Reluctantly, she unrolled her main map and weighted the edges with pebbles from her satchel. The island’s rough outline looked like a fat diamond. “Rives described the east coast, just to give me a starting point, but it’s not to scale yet, not even close. And I know that the southeast portion has the active volcano, behind Mount Nil. Lava’s not shooting up in the sky, but it’s flowing, dropping into the water and cutting off the coastline. Rives told me it looks like thick tar with a layer of fire. Plus, there’s steam and active vents. So the southeast corner is out of bounds.”

  I nodded, and she continued. “And from what I hear, the northern tip has cliffs and rock beaches. No sand. Tough for running. Past the north shore, due east, past the hills, the rain forest is here.” Her finger dropped a little. “While it’s great for gathering twine and other stuff, it would be tougher to see a gate because of the growth. Not to mention you’d have to be there on a day it was sunny and due a gate, so it lowers your odds even more. The sun is always shining when a gate flashes, right?”

  “As far as I know,” I said.

  “So, from what I can tell, the best place to catch gates—and still eat—is this area.” Charley swept a large arc around the City. “The west coast—White Beach above Nil City, south to Black Bay, South Beach below the Arches until the South Cliffs—and then inland: the lava fields, the meadow, the hills, and possibly the groves. It’s basically what you’ve been doing. I guess all I’m saying is that heading to the northeast corner—the rain forest—is a three-day hike, and I’m not sure it’s worth it. And Jason says that coastline is narrow. No running room.”

  “I hear you. But people have caught gates near the rain forest, so it’s not hopeless.”

  “Not hopeless, just harder. Again, just guessing here.” She shrugged.

  For a minute we stared at her map.

  “I wonder how long it takes for the gate wave to cross the entire island,” I said. “From tip to tip.”

  “I’ve wondered the same thing. And does it cross the whole island every time or just sweep across part? The only given is that once gates flash, they roll on straight longitudinal lines, always north.” She paused. “We know gates never flash in the same exact spot two days in a row, and I’m guessing they don’t even flash on the same latitude two days in a row. Hence the wave. But how many days before a latitude is repeated? Could be three weeks, could be two, could be four. Or more. And what’s the gap between different latitudes? Take the beach at Black Bay. Two gates, one day apart. Same beach, different latitude. Maybe even same longitudinal line, or does that change daily, too? And did I even see a gate at all?” She looked unsure. “And Rives said there hadn’t been a gate at Black Bay in months, but I also know it doesn’t mean one wasn’t there. It just means no one saw it, at least no one we know. Then, after Jason missed, the gate wave jumped north, above the Arches, to the beach at Nil City, where Sabine caught it.” She sighed. “I’m also not sure how far apart the individual gates of a noon set are. I think it varies, and I don’t know why. Does it relate to the speed of the gates? Or something else?”

  She chewed her bottom lip. “My gut says it takes around two weeks to cross the island before the wave starts over, but within that stretch there might be clumps and rogue sets, which could affect the overall timing. Ugh.” She looked frustrated. “Don’t you see? I don’t know anything. I’m trying to make the pieces fit, but I don’t even have all the pieces. And maybe they won’t ever fit. My whole idea might be junk.”

  “Then we’ll figure it out.”

  She looked at me.

  “We’ll walk Nil, mapping the island and charting gates. We’ll time the gates, test your theory. It’ll help everyone, including us.” Leaning back, I pointed to the pebbles scattered around the map and smiled. “Nice rocks.”

  “Thanks. I found them in the Cavern, on the way to Black Bay.” She pointed to one that looked like a dirty ice cube. “That one’s my favorite. It reminds me of the island. It’s murky, like something mysterious hides inside. But others are clear, like diamonds.”

  I chuckled, picking up her favorite and holding it up to the firelight, trying to see it through Charley’s eyes. “They a
re diamonds, Charley. Raw, uncut diamonds. But unlike us, they’re not going anywhere.”

  CHAPTER

  36

  CHARLEY

  DAY 26, NIGHT

  Thad was like an atomic heater. I wriggled closer, feeling warmer than I’d felt in weeks. I’d finally relaxed, now that he’d stopped talking about my gate wave theory and started playing with my hair.

  We lay together, fully clothed, or at least as clothed as we ever were on Nil, which meant Thad’s chest was bare, except for my arm resting across it. Lying in bed with a boy was a first for me. Feeling his body resting against mine, and mine against his, feeling safe and wanted. It was comforting and electrifying, both at once, or maybe that was because it was Thad. And it made me wonder about Thad’s past, of which I knew nothing.

  “Have you ever had a serious girlfriend?” I asked.

  “One.” He paused. “Mallory. It was over before I got here.”

  “What happened?”

  “She wasn’t who I thought she was.”

  When he didn’t add anything to his very vague statement, I said, “What does that mean? She lied to you?”

  “That too. She cheated on me with my best friend, then lied about it.”

  “Wow. That sucks. Sounds like you could use a new best friend.”

  Thad grinned, a lazy grin that made my breath catch. “Got it covered.” He swept my hair off my shoulders, making my scalp tingle, then slowly traced my collarbone with his fingers. “What about you? Ever had a serious boyfriend?”

  I faked a serious look. “Just one.”

  “Oh?” Thad’s fingers stopped for one noticeable second.

  “Yup. But it didn’t last.”

  “What happened? Did you break his heart?”

  “Doubtful. We were in the sixth grade. Jack Rodgers passed me a note asking me to go with him. There were two boxes. I checked no.”

  Thad chuckled. “You crushed that boy for life!”

  “Nah.” I smiled. “I just wasn’t ready to get serious.”