Hannah's Hero - Ruby Dixon Page 0,11

Between university projects, of course. My degree was in paleophysiology but my specialty was phyology.”

“I…don’t know what that is.” Is she going to tell me everything she lost back home and then we’ll be stuck in another woe-is-me conversation? But Devi doesn’t look sad. If anything, she looks impatient, as if I’m keeping her from her studies of dead things.

“It’s a study of evolutionary trees and how things came to change over time. You know how everyone thinks dinosaurs were the ancestors of birds? Phyology studies all the connections and family trees of species that tie them back to see how the species evolved. It’s really fascinating stuff.”

“Sounds like—” I begin, but she’s already moving past me on the beach, crouching next to the dead, dissected scorpion.

“Some of the lifeforms here remind me of Permian crustacea,” she says excitedly. “But spines, of course, so that can’t be it.”

“Of course.” I crouch next to her, trying to see what she sees.

“So I was wondering if this planet is in its version of its Permian period. I sure hope not, though, because you know that ended badly.” She laughs and shakes her head, then plops her scorpion down on the beach and carefully slices him open. “This might smell.”

I put my hand to my nose, but it’s too late. The smell of rot is already wafting on the ocean breeze and I fight not to gag. “So wait, what do you mean it ended badly?”

“There was a mass extinction at the end of the Permian period, remember? The world exploded in volcanic activity and it killed off almost all of the life on Earth and ushered in the Triassic, which was when the dinosaurs grew to dominancy.”

“I…guess I forgot.” I swallow hard. “The volcano on the island…”

“Right? It blew up and destroyed the entire island. That made me wonder if this planet is either heading into an extinction event or just coming out of one, you know? My money’s on coming out of one, because there’s a distinct lack of diversity in species. Or at least, I thought so. Plus, we haven’t seen any of the big guys.” She pulls apart the chest of the scorpion thing and then makes a triumphant sound. “Spine!”

I try to digest everything Devi’s dumping on me. The words “extinction event” have me terrified, but I keep circling back to something else instead. “Um, big guys? What big guys?” She keeps digging at her creature, studying it and humming to herself, so wrapped up in her work that I have to tap her shoulder to get her attention again. “Devi? What big guys?”

She looks up at me, frowning, and then realization crosses her face. “Oh! The big guys that left depressions on the beach, of course. The footprints.”

I look up and down the beach, but the only thing I see are my own footprints. “The Strong Arm guys?” Of course, thinking about them makes me think about J’shel, and my cootie fires up. It begins a loud, noisy vibration in my chest and I rub it, wishing that a touch would make it stop.

It’s not my touch the damn thing wants, though.

Devi looks up at me, squinting. “What? What about them?”

I blush. “Uh, you said the big guys left tracks on the beach?”

She giggles and gets to her feet, dusting her leathers off. “No, come here. Let me show you something.” She shakes her head. “Strong Arm guys. Oh man, that’s a good one.”

I can feel my face getting redder and redder as I fall into step behind her. We head down the beach and I glance over at Sam and Flor, but they’re deep in conversation with Callie, who’s just joined them on the beach. I wonder if they’re gossiping about me, and I feel like I just gave Devi fuel to add to the fire by bringing up Strong Arm. I’m so stupid. Why didn’t I say Tall Horn? They’re just as big, and they’re even taller, really. Or Shadow Cat?

I know why, though. It’s because my brain constantly goes to J’shel. J’shel and his long braid, J’shel and his four big arms, J’shel and his hot eyes that devour me every time I look in his direction—

“Over here, Hannah,” Devi calls excitedly, and I realize I’ve fallen behind her. “I’ll show you.”

I jog to catch up to her, and I’m surprised that she stops at one of the rocky tide pools that litter the beach. She gestures to it and then looks at me.