“Why does this class have to be now?” Isabella asked, closer to me than I’d realized. She’d probably decided to follow me in the hopes that I knew what was going on.
“Yeah, wouldn’t it be better, like, in daylight?” one of her friends said.
“We can hardly see.”
Ronan spoke as if to a child. “If you are alone, stranded, on a mission, if you’ve risked coming out of hiding, chances are it’s because night has fallen. You must prepare for the worst of circumstances. Were it in my power, I’d hold class in the raining pitch-darkness to make it even more difficult for you.”
We split up, wandering our separate ways along the beach. I turned my focus to the plentiful and varied detritus that’d been spat from the sea. There were tons of shells, mostly broken, but I managed to scavenge a couple whole ones from ankle-deep in the breakers.
I thought of survival scenarios. If I were weak, starving, and unarmed, how on earth was I supposed to crack these suckers open? It was a good question, but I’d become very competitive and wasn’t about to risk being overheard. You never knew when something like opening a shell bare-handed would be the skill that saved you over someone else. I made a note to ask Ronan later.
I heard girls’ splashing footsteps near me. “Drew’s finding shells,” Isabella said. All her friends but one had wandered off, so it was just her and a tall, skinny, brown-haired girl whose gangly legs made me think of a spider. Her name always escaped me—it was something that sounded wealthy, Tiffany or Whitney maybe—but I just thought of her as some variation of Spidergirl in my head. “Hey,” Izzy told her, “help me look here.”
I smirked. Fine. They could have the breakers. I had a better idea.
High tide had left a line of debris farther up the sand, like some giant had come and spread a scalloped frill of lace along the length of the beach. Bits of greenery popped here and there, little poofs like tiny bright pom-poms. It was kelp. That stuff wasn’t just edible; it was probably even healthy.
I race-walked toward it and scooped up the first bit I found. It was slimy and yellow-green, looking like nothing I’d ever want to put in my mouth. But it was nutrient rich.
I clutched my prize close, making a beeline for Ronan. I wanted props for this before any other girl copied me and got credit for the idea. It meant I was distracted when the hands grabbed me.
CHAPTER TEN
I flinched, but it did no good. Isabella and her pal had me, one on either side. Their hands were steel bands around my arms. Girlie Long Legs leaned close, whispering at my cheek, “Wanna play?”
“Back off.” I took a sharp step back but couldn’t break their hold.
Isabella tightened her grip and wrenched me forward. “Or what?”
Her friend grinned, and it wasn’t a friendly one. She dug her fingers deep into my flesh. “She’s all talk, Izzy. Ignore her—she can’t do anything. Isn’t that right, Drew? You’re just a little girl.” This close, she towered over me. She leaned down enough to tuck her arm snugly into mine. “And like all good little girls, we’re going to play.”
I twisted, but she was so close, too close for me to get any leverage. I gave a last tug, even though I knew it wouldn’t do any good. “I had no idea you cared. Shouldn’t you buy me dinner first?”
“Freak.” Isabella gave a hard shove, steering me back toward the shore.
“Seriously.” I wriggled and dragged my feet. Near the water with these two was the last place I wanted to find myself, but they had me sandwiched between them, heading closer to the breakers. “Get…off.”
I looked right and left, suppressing the frantic sensation jangling its way up my legs to my brain. Steady, I told myself. I assessed. Ronan was no longer in sight. A few girls were beachcombing in the distance, and even if they had been nearby, they’d probably just watch anyway, cheering on Isabella and her friend.
“Looking for someone?”
“Yeah.” I gave a sharp twist to my shoulder. My arms were going to have some major bruises. “Someone else for you to bother.”
Isabella leaned disturbingly close. “But we want to bother you.” The smell of her breath, like stale coffee, turned my stomach.
Revulsion gave me a burst of strength, and I managed to slip my arm from her hand. “Get off me.”
But her grip found me again, and I felt the pop of my skin as her nails sliced into my hand. I was stronger since my arrival on the island, but they’d been drinking the same blood I had. They were stronger, too.
The tide lapped at our feet now. I’d forgotten I had the kelp clutched in my hand and dropped it, quickly grinding it into the wet sand with my foot. If I couldn’t have it, they couldn’t either.
But Spidergirl had spotted it. “Whatcha got?” She let go of me to lean down and scoop it up.
I kicked at her head, but Isabella hauled me back before I could connect. “What is it?” Izzy demanded.
“Give me a sec.” Spiderlegs shook off the largest clumps of grit. The kelp was mangled, all squashed and covered in sand. She held it up, pinning a look on me like she was accusing me of something. “What the hell is this?”
“I bet you can eat it,” Isabella said, one part of her mind still focused on our assignment.