Sink: The Lost World by Perrin Briar

looked toward Bryan with a look of concern.

20
     
     
    “Come on, then,” Cassie said. “Let’s go!”
    Bryan was surprised at Cassie’s excitement to get going. If he’d been a suspicious man he would have deduced something was afoot. He might have even noticed the mysterious bulge in Cassie’s backpack and the guilty expression on Aaron’s face.
    Nothing could have been further from the expression on Cassie’s face when he’d informed her of the camping trip they would all be undertaking. Her eyes had been as wide as saucers, her mouth hanging open, her face stretched out like a terrible creature from a deep dark lagoon.
    “I’m not going!” she screamed. “I’m not! I refuse! You’ll never get me to go! You won’t!”
    “You will if you want to continue getting your allowance,” Bryan said.
    Cassie stared at him like he’d just turned into the devil.
    “You wouldn’t!” she said.
    “I would,” Bryan said. “Just try me. Pack your things. We’re heading away this Saturday.”
    Now, he hardly recognized her. She and Aaron whispered to one another, huddled over and chatting.
    “Hey,” Bryan said to Zoe, raising his eyebrows and nodding in the direction of the kids. “Looks like your plan is working.”
    Zoe smiled.
    “Nothing like a common cause to bring people together,” she said. “All we have to do now is make them like us .”
    “How could anyone not like you?” Bryan said, pulling her close.
    “Thank you,” Zoe said. “But I’m sure not everyone feels the same way.”
    “That’s their loss,” Bryan said, taking Zoe’s hand.
    There were no paths through the forest. It made them feel like they were the first people to have entered its green clutches. Squirrels and pheasants took flight from the thick foliage, hooting when they came too close.
    Ting tong ting tong ting tong ting tong!
    A metallic sound, alien in the natural environment, disrupted the peaceful setting.
    “What’s that?” Zoe said.
    “It’s my laptop,” Bryan said. “I must have set the alarm. Sorry. Give me a minute and I’ll turn it off.”
    He unshouldered his bag and turned the alarm off.
    “Sorry,” Bryan said.
    “That’s all right,” Zoe said.
    Bryan put the laptop back in his backpack. They continued on through the woods on their gentle journey.
    Ting tong ting tong ting tong ting tong! This time from Bryan’s pocket.
    Zoe sighed in an irritated tone through her nose.
    “I don’t know why they keep going off,” Bryan said. “I don’t remember setting any alarms.”
    He reached into his pocket and took out his smartphone. He turned the alarm off.
    “We’re here to get away from the city,” Zoe said.
    “I know, I know,” Bryan said. “It should be okay now.”
    But Bryan could sense the waves of irritation coming off Zoe. She focused on the woodland before them. This was going to be a long trip.

21
     
     
    “Wait a second,” Zoe said, unshouldering her backpack. “I need to take a picture of this. Isn’t it incredible?”
    The scene was of blue mountains, misty and lost to distance. An eagle soared above them, calling out with its powerful scree! The sky was blue and there wasn’t a cloud to be seen.
    “Aaron, come look at this,” Zoe said.
    “You keep them distracted,” Cassie whispered to Aaron. “I’ll put rocks in their backpacks and laxative in their water.”
    Aaron approached Zoe and Bryan.
    “Where’s Cass?” Bryan asked.
    “She just went to the toilet,” Aaron said. “She’ll be here in a minute. Wow. It really is beautiful, isn’t it?”
    “It sure is,” Zoe said, taking a few more pictures.
    “I’d better go check on Cass,” Bryan said. “Knowing her she’ll have stepped on the only snake around here.”
    Aaron glanced at the shallow rise that hid Cassie from view.
    “Mom, why not take a picture of me and Bryan?” he said. “For the photo album.”
    Zoe and Bryan exchanged a smile of satisfaction. Their plan was working.
    “Sure,” Zoe said.