Shipwreck Island by S. A. Bodeen Page B

from where they stood. He growled.
    Sarah froze. “What?”
    Vines filled the dark space between the trees, and she couldn’t see anything. Then, there was a rustling. She quickly knelt by Ahab and hugged his neck, her heart pounding. The dog growled again, his throat vibrating against her skin, but he made no move to run.
    With a rush, a kangaroo bounded out onto the beach, paused to look at them, then bounced off down the beach, vanishing as quickly as it had appeared.
    Ahab whined as Sarah felt her mouth drop open. She looked up at the hot sun and wiped some sweat off her forehead. She needed some water. And some food. Most definitely a nap. The sun was obviously making her see things that weren’t there.
    Because she’d seen marsupials before, many times.
    But never one with claws the size of a lion’s.
    Sarah was eye level with Ahab. “Let’s keep this to ourselves, okay, boy?”
    Ahab looked at her with puzzled eyes, then, with one large swath of tongue, licked her face in agreement.

 
    16
    Marco was content to follow John through the trees. Roots and vines curled everywhere, making the footing rather tricky. The undergrowth was thicker in some places than others, so he found himself having to walk with his eyes on the ground. They had walked about half a mile when Marco ran right into John’s back, not realizing he had stopped. “ Ooomph. ”
    â€œSorry,” said John. “It’s just…”
    Marco looked up. “What is it?”
    John was staring ahead. “What does that look like to you?” His gaze was trained up high, above the treetops. What had looked like a simple green mountain from the beach had taken on a different shape now that they were closer.
    Marco gulped. “Is that a volcano?”
    â€œThat was my first thought,” said John. “It’s probably extinct, otherwise it wouldn’t be so green.” He smiled at Marco. “Nothing to worry about.” He shrugged. “It’s not every day you see a volcano.”
    Marco nodded. “I guess not.”
    John started walking again.
    Marco continued following, but this time he stole glances up at the volcano now and then. The green peak seemed quite far away from where they were, which made him wonder exactly how big the island was. Marco’s heart pounded a little faster, and not just from the walking. If the island had a volcano that seemed so far away, then there was a huge part of the island left to explore. There could be anything on the island: hopefully water, maybe food of some sort, but there could also be other things that weren’t so pleasant. Other—possibly dangerous—things.
    They came to a clearing, edged by trees whose vines dripped down to the ground. John pointed to the far end of the clearing, which was bordered by a hillside. “Look at that.”
    â€œA cave?” asked Marco.
    â€œI think so,” said John. He looked around, and then headed over there, Marco close on his heels. John stepped inside and immediately came back out. “Too dark. I didn’t even think to bring a flashlight.”
    Marco let out the breath that he didn’t even know he’d been holding. Although he wouldn’t refer to himself as claustrophobic, he was not exactly a fan of enclosed spaces, so he was hardly disappointed that they wouldn’t be exploring the cave.
    John pointed. “Well, look at that.”
    Nearly hidden under an especially thick section of vines was a wooden structure. “Is that a … house ?” Marco asked. Who would live on a deserted island? “Let’s go see!” He headed that way.
    â€œHold on now!” John followed close behind.
    The structure wasn’t especially large, maybe fifteen feet wide by twenty feet long, and the wooden roof came to a peak not more than ten feet in the air. But to Marco, it certainly looked like a house.
    A small porch popped off the front of