Free Trapped by S. A. Bodeen Page B

of it stuck down around her glistening, sweaty face. “I’m so hot.”
    Marco asked, “Do you want to go in the water?”
    Sarah shook her head and widened her eyes at him. They couldn’t let her go in the water, not without knowing where that sharkodile was. “I could bring you some. To soak your feet in.” Of course, that meant she had to go in the water. But she would do it.
    Yvonna shook her head. “No. I think I just want to lie down again.”
    â€œAre you feeling any better?” asked Marco.
    Sarah hoped she would say yes.
    Instead, her stepmother set a hand on her forehead. “I’m so dizzy.” Marco quickly helped her lie down. By the time she fell asleep, Sarah realized they would have to add getting help for her to the list of everything else on their list of impossible tasks.
    Marco whispered, “She’s not getting better. She needs an IV or some kind of hydration she can keep down.”
    Nacho came over. “Leo thinks he figured out how to open the chest.”
    Sarah exchanged a glance with Marco. She hoped that the progenitor was in the chest so that she could get her dad back. And then, perhaps, they could escape the island and get help for Yvonna.
    Marco trudged over to the chest.
    Sarah wondered why he wasn’t more excited. If, as they all hoped, the progenitor was truly in there, then Leo could get home. And, before he left, he would set her dad free.
    All good things, in her opinion. But maybe Marco was just really worried about his mom.
    Sarah hoped there was something in that chest to be able to help Yvonna. She told Leo, “Go ahead. Open it!”
    Leo looked around at all of them. “I need you to look away.”
    â€œWhy?” asked Nacho.
    Leo didn’t answer at first.
    â€œI feel like you’re not telling us something,” said Marco.
    Leo shrugged. “I don’t actually know if you can look at it or not. I just blurred it in the memory in case it would harm you in some way.”
    He had been protecting them. They hadn’t given him a lot of reason to trust them, yet he truly seemed to be concerned for their well-being. Sarah reached out and touched his arm. “Thanks. For caring about us.”
    Leo said, “So, maybe you all should turn away. Until I see what’s in here.”
    Marco crossed his arms and looked into the distance.
    Cash said, “What I don’t get is how this chest, if it is what Leo needs, ended up on this island?”
    Marco said, “I hauled it off the Moonflight . I don’t know where the captain got it.”
    Sarah blurted out, “Leo!”
    Leo stopped what he was doing.
    She said, “You said you traced the other half of the progenitor here, right?”
    He nodded. “But it wasn’t here.” He set a hand on the chest. “This was not on the island.”
    Sarah looked over at Marco. “Captain Norm had been to this island before. We found Ahab’s tags, so we know he was here before. What if this chest was here and he took it?”
    Marco shook his head. “But how did it get here? Someone would have had to steal it and bring it here.”
    Sarah said, “According to the book, a lot of those treasures get stolen and sold within a few days. The thieves only want the money they can get for the treasure most of the time.”
    Marco said, “So someone could have bought it from the thieves and transported it.”
    Leo said, “But why would they leave it here? When someone else could just take it and—”
    Sarah asked, “Cash, you’ve seen the chest before, haven’t you?”
    Cash shook her head. “I never saw it.” She was quiet a moment before adding, “But I overheard it described. By Fox.”
    Sarah sucked in a breath and glanced at Marco.
    â€œI’m sorry I didn’t tell y’all before. I … I wasn’t sure I trusted everyone.” Cash shrugged. Marco