Infernal Sky by Dafydd Ab Hugh Page B

the job. He was almost apologetic when he explained how we were expected to go ashore.
    â€œYou’re kidding,” said Albert.
    â€œSurfboards,” repeated Captain Ellison. “We have four long boards for the adults and a boogie board for the . . .” He saw Jill glaring at him and choked off the word he was about to say. “The smaller board is for Jill. It was especially designed for her body size.”
    â€œNeat,” said Jill, mollified. “It’s just like Fly promised.”
    â€œWhy are we going in by surfboard?” I heard myself ask.
    Fly shrugged. He’d found out about it before Jill or I had. That didn’t mean he approved.
    Hidalgo had a ready answer. “So the enemy won’t find a raft or other evidence of a commando raid.”
    I should have kept my mouth shut. I was the one telling Fly to hold off on passing judgment. But I didn’t seem able to keep certain words from coming out: “You think these demons can make fine distinctions like that, the same as a human enemy in a human war?”
    Captain Hidalgo believed in dealing with insubordination right away. “First, this is a decision from above, Lance Corporal. We will follow orders. Second, there are human traitors, in case you don’t remember. They might be able to make these distinctions. Third, we will not take any unnecessary chances. Fourth, I refer you to my first point. Got it?”
    â€œYes, sir.” I said it with sincerity. He did have a point, or two.
    When Jill got me alone—not an easy thing to do on a sub—she said, “Hooray. We get to surf!”
    â€œHave you ever ridden a board?” I asked.
    â€œWell, no,” she admitted, “but I’ve been to the beach plenty of times and seen how it’s done.”
    Oh, great, I thought.
    â€œHave you?” she asked.
    â€œAs a matter of fact, I have. We’ve just left the ideal place to learn. Hawaii. They have real waves there. You can get a large enough wave to shoot the curl.”
    â€œHuh?”
    This was looking less and less promising. I explained: “The really large waves create a semi-tunnel that you can sort of skim through. You’ve seen it in movies.”
    â€œOh, sure. But we won’t have waves that large off L.A., will we?”
    She was a smart kid. “No, we shouldn’t. We’ll be dropped near a beach north of L.A. This time of the year, with no storms, the waves should be gentle.”
    Jill wasn’t through with me. “How hard can it be to hang on to our boards and just let the waves take us in?”
    She had me there. It wasn’t as if we needed to show perfect form and win prizes. We simply had to make it to the beach. The equipment and provisions were in watertight compartments. They’d float better than we would. Each of us would be responsible for specific items, and they’d be attached to us. All in all, getting to shore should be a relatively simple matter.
    Only trouble was that none of us had counted on the appearance of a brand-new monster.
    Actually, there had been intimations of this new critter on the last day Fly and I had spent on the beach at Oahu. When the admiral noticed the lone cloud drifting in, there was no reason to doubt that we were looking at a cloud. Later, when Fly and I noticed the black triangle cutting through the water, we naturally assumed it was a shark. We didn’t pay any attention to the sky. If we had, we would have noticed that the cloud had disappeared. We might have wondered about that.
    When the sub surfaced as close to shore as Ellison was willing to go, the Big Four gathered for our last adventure. It was a strange feeling that Jill was notgoing all the way. Hidalgo would replace her when we reached the spacecraft.
    I didn’t want Jill to accompany us on a journey that might be a suicide mission. On the other hand, I didn’t like the idea of leaving her behind in California