feet, sending Bobby’s stomach into his throat. “Seriously, we’ve got a better chance landing on the lake than crashing into a tree or a rock… or the freaking ground.”
“All right,” she said nervously. “But if we land safely and I drown-“
“I won’t let you drown,” Bobby said with such conviction that Kasha actually smiled.
“I believe you,” she said, and guided the falling gig toward the lake. They were buffeted back and forth inside the small cockpit so violently, Bobby feared his arms would be too bruised to swim. Kasha forced the gig into a tight spiral, desperately trying to slow their descent so the craft wouldn’t break up on impact. Bobby glanced to see they were over the lake. The water was coming up fast. Very fast. It was going to be a rough landing.
“Brace yourself,” Kasha yelled.
The gig slammed into the lake with such force, Bobby felt like his brain had broken loose inside his head. Kasha had maneuvered the craft so that they landed square on its bottom, like a space capsule splashing down. The impact caused a huge wave of water to shoot out all around them. Bobby thought sure the force of the landing would drive them so deep, they’d be swamped. But the gig bounced back. Like a cork, it lifted back to the surface, still in one piece. Bobby and Kasha were still in one piece too.
“You okay?” Bobby asked, shaken.
“I think. You?”
“Yeah,” Bobby shouted. “You did it!”
The gig tipped over and water poured into the cockpit.
“Sort of…”
“Get me out of here, Pendragon!” Kasha screamed. It was the first time Bobby saw her scared. He quickly unlatched his seat belt and reached to release hers. Water filled the gig quickly. Kasha panicked. She scrambled over Bobby to get out, forcing his head underwater. He felt her fur brush over his head and prayed that one of her claws wouldn’t lacerate him. Bobby was good in the water. His junior lifeguard training was permanently ingrained. Once Kasha cleared the gig, he resurfaced and looked around the sinking craft for something to help her float.
“Pendragon!” she screamed, gulping water. She was floundering, which meant more trouble for Bobby. If he wasn’t careful, they’d both drown. The seats of the gig were padded. Bobby took a chance and yanked one loose. A quick test showed that it floated.
“Kasha here!” Bobby shouted, and held the pad out to the drowning klee. “Grab on to this. Relax. It’ll help you float.”
She grabbed the pad like it was her last chance at life, which it probably was. It wasn’t a perfect flotation device, but it definitely gave her enough confidence that her panic came down a notch.
“It’s okay,” Bobby said soothingly. “Hold it against your chest. Lean back. It’ll keep you up.”
Kasha did what she was told and was soon floating on her back, staring up at the sky, trying to calm herself.
“I’m going to tow you in, okay?”
“O…kay,” Kasha said weakly.
Bobby didn’t want to get too close to her. If she panicked again, he’d be in trouble. So he spun her around and towed her in by pulling on her back paws. They weren’t far from land. It only took a few minutes to get to where it was shallow enough for them to stand. Kasha awkwardly got her balance and dragged herself out of the water, her fur dripping, and collapsed on the sandy shore. Bobby fell down next to her, exhausted.
“You’re a great flyer,” Bobby said, gasping for breath. “But you gotta work on the swimming.”
They both burst out laughing. It was a complete release from the terror that had gripped them for the last leg of their flight.
“Thanks,” Kasha said. “I’ll remember that.” She looked to the sky and said, “This is good. The gigs can’t fly until the cloud passes. I’m sure they put down back in the valley. That gives us a little more time.”
Bobby stood up, did a quick look around and said, “There’s our waterfall.”
Courtney and Spader slid down the last steep portion of the rocky wall and took their first steps inside the crater of waterfalls. They found themselves a few feet from the opening of the crevice they would have come through if they hadn’t been ambushed by the tangs.
“We’re not dead,” Courtney said. “I guess that wasn’t the attack.”
“Then we’ve still got time,” Spader said as he scanned the inside of the vast crater. “There it is!” he said, pointing. “Second waterfall from the right,” Courtney declared. Boom!
A huge explosion erupted from inside the crevice, knocking Courtney and Spader to their knees. Seconds later, a cloud of dirt blew out of the narrow fissure.
“What the heck?” Courtney coughed.
“Somebody’s trying to clear the rockslide,” Spader said. “I think the first gars have arrived.”
“Or Saint Dane and his klees,” Courtney said.
“Either way, we gotta go.”
The two got back on their feet and ran down the steep incline of the crater, headed for the waterfall.
It took Mark a long time to untangle Boon from the net. He wasn’t good at tying knots. He was worse at untying knots. As he worked, Boon told him what had happened in the crater of waterfalls.
“I jumped on the back of the tang and pulled him off Gunny,” he said. “But that monster was ferocious. I mean, he was crazed.”
“Is Gunny okay?” Mark asked.
“I don’t know,” Boon answered. “I slashed at the lizard and caught him across the arm. It jumped back, and I yelled at Gunny to run. The tang started after him, but I jumped on its back and bit it in the neck. Man, do you know how bad tang tastes?”
“Uh…no.”
“I hope you never find out.”
“I’m not worried,” Mark said.
Boon continued, “I clamped onto its neck and it kept thrashing around, trying to throw me. But I wouldn’t let go. He threw me around real good, too. I finally got so tired that he spun me off.”
“Did he attack you?”
“No, I must have hurt it pretty bad, because it ran off into the jungle. I figured Gunny would try to circle around to the waterfall, so that’s where I went. Big mistake. I found the cavern behind the falls, but the gars jumped me. I told them I was with Gunny and we were there to help protect Black Water, but they didn’t want to hear it. They tied me up in this net and threw me in here. Can you believe it? I’m here to save them, and they threw me in here like I’m a criminal.”
“I know the feeling,” Mark said.
“What are we going to do, Mark?” Boon asked.
Mark untied the final knot and pulled the net off Boon.
“We’re gonna get outta here” was his answer.
Bobby and Kasha worked their way through the forest at the bottom of the crater, headed for the waterfall that would lead them into Black Water. Bobby kept glancing up to check the movement of the clouds. The storm that had first been their enemy and forced them to crash was now buying them time. As long as the sunbelt stayed covered, the poison-carrying gigs would be grounded.
“The clouds are moving,” Bobby announced. “But I can’t tell how fast…oops!” Bobby’s attention was so focused on the sky, he wasn’t looking where he was going and tripped over something. He stumbled and hit the ground.
“Look out!” Kasha screamed, and leaped in between Bobby and the thing he had tripped over. “Tang!” she growled, ready to attack.
Bobby jumped up quickly, ready to run. But one look back told him he had nothing to fear. It was a tang, all right. A dead tang.
“I thought it was a rock,” Bobby said with relief.
The two crept closer to the dead tang. It was covered with multiple slashes, with one seriously nasty gash on the back of its neck.
“Those are the marks of a klee,” Kasha announced. “I’m thinking Boon’s been through here.” She reached down and touched the lizard’s body and said, “It didn’t die long ago.”
Bobby felt something wet drip on his cheek. He brushed it away and said, “It’s starting to rain.”
