Moonfin by L. L. Mintie Page A

Lizzy.
    â€œLooks safe—the tide is far enough out,” agreed Jeff.
    They pulled on their snorkel gear and made the short jaunt out to Thumb Rock—named for the funny way it jutted out of the water and curved toward the north, like a giant trying to hitchhike his way out of the ocean. Not far away sat a double-stone stack that looked suspiciously like a tipped up nose with nostrils. This was rumored to be the giant’s “head” the surfers affectionately called Clyde, after colliding into him many times over.
    Lizzy, Jeff, and Kai climbed up an outcropping and slid off their goggles. Jeff pulled out a pair of binoculars from his deep-sea belt and scanned the coastline. The water was sloshing forcefully against the three of them, drowning out their voices and nearly pushing them back into the sea.
    Jeff was the first to notice it with the binoculars.
    â€œCan you see it?”
    â€œWhat?” said Kai. “I can’t see anything with all this mist.”
    â€œIt’s like a face set in the rocks.”
    They stared hard, squinting through all the slosh and dark granite.
    â€œYes! It looks like … like a tribal mask !” she cried.
    When the light hit it just so, a mirage appeared, but after the blink of the eye, it instantly disappeared. They swam around the Thumb and gazed at it from different angles, but any fixed point only whisked the face away with each moment, like one of those magic plastic cards that changed from one picture to another when tipped from side to side.
    â€œDo you think … that might be it!” Lizzy yelped excitedly. “You wouldn’t be able to see the face close up—no wonder my father and Captain Quinn never found it!”
    And there was something else about the face Jeff noticed too, as it flickered in and out—“Do you see how the forces of the waves get absorbed into the rock, rather than splash back? The physics are all wrong—let’s go and check it out!”
    They left the Thumb and swam back to shore, being careful to avoid the patches of coral and stray granite lining the seabed. Reaching the side of the rock cliff, they snorkeled into an alcove and clutched tightly to the stone to keep from being knocked over from the constant roiling water—it was tricky business to keep from being pulled away by the tide, and also from being pushed into the sharp, pointy rocks at the same time.
    Lizzy swam parallel to the cliff, where the face first appeared, and ran her hands along the edge, discovering a sudden drop-off into air where there should have been more stone.
    â€œIt’s an opening!” she gasped.
    â€œIt’s … an illusion ,” said Jeff, looking confused, “and it’s massive.”
    â€œI think it’s a hologram.”
    â€œA holo-whaty?” asked Kai.
    â€œAn image made with light. These aren’t real rocks, but a recorded image of rocks being reflected back.”
    Jeff pulled off his mask to get a better look and swim the full length of the opening to estimate its size. “It looks big enough for a small craft to fit through,” he observed.
    Lizzy tingled from head to foot. “Feel like going in?”
    â€œFloat through solid rock?” Kai smiled. “Absolutely—”
    â€œNot! I’m not going anywhere if I can’t see what’s on the other side,” said Jeff, frowning. “For all we know there might be a trap or a giant stingray ready to zap us.”
    â€œAll right, but now that the sun’s going down, I think you’d have more of a chance of running into a hungry shark.”
    Jeff’s eyes widened considerably.
    â€œYou’re such a landlubber,” laughed Kai.
    â€œI’m going in,” said Lizzy, heart racing. “My dad was right about a secret doorway all along!” She pulled on her goggles and lunged into the face-like rock, Kai and Jeff splashing close behind.
    Colored light particles