Free The Mendel Experiment by Susan Kite Page A

sharp-needled shrubs. Her ears caught no sound of footfalls.
    Corree started up the steep path. It was rocky and she slipped on loose gravel. Several times she felt the bite of sharp rocks when she fell. Her feet, then her legs became one large ache. Her pace seemed to be slower than that of a fuzzy leaf crawler, but it couldn’t be helped.
    Corree knew the second moon had risen from the light on the mountain tops. The path was still almost as dark as the forest in the moonless time of the night. Her eyes, adjusted to the dimness of the ocean depth, were able to make out some detail around her. No creatures moved on the path ahead or in the rocks above her. Tough grass lined either side of a rock-strewn path. The peaks towered high above her on one side; almost as high on the other side. Swirling wind whistled all around. She shivered in the biting chill. How in the world could two such different places exist so near each other?
    Corree wished for her pelt right now. While the ocean-tough skin kept much of the cold out, she still felt the raw bite of the winds. She licked her dry lips and rubbed her arm. To her surprise, the rubbery skin she had developed underwater was slightly rough. She rubbed the other way and felt individual hairs rise at her touch. Her pelt was returning. Corree rubbed all the way up both arms and grinned. She was changing! She could mutate back.
    As she continued on the path, she felt the soles of her feet toughen. As before, her joints ached, but not as much as the previous mutation. Her palms itched, telling her that something was happening to her hands. She was probably losing the webbing between her fingers. The soreness lessened as she adapted.
    When the moons had risen enough for her to study her changes, she noticed her pelt was darker than before. Her fingernails had lengthened, but not quite as long as they had been originally. The wind continued howling down the gorge, but Corree felt warmer. She looked down at her arm and noticed the pelt was longer than even a few minutes ago. So quick! The palms of her hands were tough and leathery, but the hair on the back of her hands had grown thicker.
    Corree reached the end of the gorge and was confronted by huge boulders strewn haphazardly in her way. The map had shown a cave somewhere near the end of the second valley, but where was it?
    She searched around each rock. After what was beginning to seem like an impossible quest, Corree found it. The opening was barely large enough to admit her. She squeezed through and stood in the almost complete darkness wondering how she was going to navigate through the caves to find the mutants who lived here. How could anyone adapt to living in a cave? She opened her mouth to call out, in case they had someone near the entrance, but then she stopped. There was something spooky about this place. It wasn’t just the darkness; there was something else here. Corree started down the tunnel, feeling with her hand, but stopped after a few tentative steps.
    As much as she hated to admit it, this time she may have taken on more than she could handle. If she continued on, she would probably get lost. The only thing to do was to go back and help Tanna find other forest groups. It rankled to come this far and not be able to accomplish what she wanted.
    Right now she was exhausted. The swim, the climb, the changes—she had to rest. Corree felt around for a place that might be suitable to take a brief nap; something less rough. She settled down, facing the mouth of the cave. Within minutes she was asleep.
    Corree jerked awake, feeling someone or something nearby. He or she—no she, was to her left. “Who are you?” Corree asked, keeping her voice low. Still, she winced. It echoed and sounded as loud as a shout. The girl in the cave answered her voice barely audible.
    “I am Esteya,” the cave girl whispered. “Who are you? Why are you here?”
    “I am Corree and I’m here to meet you and your family.”
    Esteya was