The Island of Secrets

Chapter 6) A Name to the Feeling

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Kwazii's POV: It was late afternoon. Tweak was sleeping peacefully on her bed beside me, her eyes closed and limbs relaxed. A small smile rested on her face. It was the most peaceful I had seen her sleep for a while; normally she frowned slightly when she slept, like she was thinking about things even in slumber. I knew she still had nightmares sometimes from the incident: we all did. But at the moment at least, Tweak was relaxed.

I couldn't sleep beside her though. My mind was too alert, too poised. I couldn't stop thinking about what Kate had said, how the house was exactly the same yet the city was completely abandoned. How could that be? Why would an entire city - which I knew to be a busy well populated place - be completely abandoned?

I resisted the strong urge to call Kate again, just to hear her familiar tone. She was probably fine with Peso, having a look around our old home. Or maybe she wasn't, maybe she couldn't go inside. I didn't know. I wouldn't know until later, when she radioed me with an update. I had never been the most patient of people, but sitting around waiting had never been my style.

So I got up and decided to go and look for the Vegimals instead.

KateSeleneMelody3OCS

Kate's POV: My eyes widened as I realized the unspoken truth behind the name. I felt myself drown in guilt. Thankfully, I had years of practice at hiding emotions, so I didn't alarm anyone.

"Brendan." I repeated. "Nice to meet you. Like we said earlier, I'm Kate, and that's Peso. You mentioned something about a virus? Can you tell me more about that?" I asked, trying to come off as gentle and non-threatening.

Brendan nodded. "The virus started a little less than two months ago. It didn't seem like anything major at first, just what Mama calls a bug. But then people got so sick, they would just stop. People who weren't sick got so scared, they left. Mama stayed, though. She thought she could help people. But now, we're all that's left."

A little less then two months ago. Two months ago, this boy's father was captured and taken hostage. Now, he and the rest of his family are the only survivors in a post-apocalyptic city. The two events seemed too connected to be a coincidence.

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Shellington's POV: The female raccoon looked confused and worried. "Er... yes. I am Elena, do I know you?"

Barnacles shook his head with a smile. "You don't know us, but we know your husband. We met him a few months ago."

"Do you know where he is?" Elena answered straight away, her voice urgent. "I had regular contact with him through letters and phone calls until about two months ago, then he just stopped. And that's not like Christian."

Selene looked over at me and Barnacles, looking stricken. Barnacles hesitated, and I knew neither of them knew what to say to this woman.

"Christian has been captured... by the people he was working for," I said slowly. "I'm sorry."

To my surprise, Elena didn't look too shocked. "So that's what they were talking about when I heard them say Christian's name," she murmured in sudden comprehension.

"What? When did you see them?" Barnacles asked quickly.

Elena looked at him. "Just ten minutes ago. They were capturing a female dog, quite violently it looked like."

"Dashi," I immediately said.

Elena looked worried. "Oh, so that was your friend! I'm sorry, I would have helped, but I was too afraid to go up against them alone."

"No, don't be sorry," Barnacles reassured. "You did the right thing, those four are dangerous."

"So what happened to Christian?" Elena asked. "And don't lie to me. I want to know."

She seemed a very strong spirit. I could see why Christian loved her. It was Selene who answered. "At first he was working for Lupo - on an island where we - the Octonauts - were trapped. But then he betrayed Lupo to help us and let us escape. He was a good man, even when he was working for the villains."

"I always knew my Christian would do the right thing," Elena murmured in satisfaction.

"But then, when we were all captured, Christian managed to get us all out but stayed captured himself," Selene said slowly.

Elena looked worried, but evidently composed herself. "So what do we do now? To help save him, I mean."

"We figure out the truth behind this mysterious virus," Barnacles said. "They now have two hostages, and they know we'll come to find them."

"And then I'm coming with you," Elena said unexpectedly. When we looked at her in surprise she shrugged. "What? There's no one else left on this island to help shield from the virus and I have to save my children. Once I find them, obviously."

Selene smiled suddenly. "Well, we might be able to help you with that."

KateSeleneMelody3OCS

Tunip's POV:

Derek had recently learned how to toddle, and was wobbling over as we spoke. He was an adorable toddler, and I couldn't help but laugh as he toppled over with a giggle, then pushed himself back to his feet.

"Way to go, Derek!" Eelean cheered. I think she was glad for the distraction. For all Derek had been through in his early life, he was still a joyful little boy.

His amber eyes shone bright with pride as he made it down the hall. There was a smug smile on his young face, and I thought about how even though Derek looked like his father Lupo, he was much more like his determined mother in character.

Whoa. Where had that thought come from? Maybe I was growing closer to Selene. I knew that even though Eelean's partner was Christian, she was growing closer to Kate.

This thought stirred up more thoughts, and I remembered the dark days all too well. I wasn't as affected as some of the others, but I had seen more then I had wanted to.

I recalled the one emotion that Shellington had been feeling since the events. Anger. But beneath that anger, there was sadness, guilt, and confusion. He was sad that Dashi had been replaced by Dani. He felt that there should have been something that he could have done, which made him feel guilty. He also was confused, becasue he didn't know who to be angry at.

I think he was looking for someone to blame.

All of these thoughts made me so confused, I got dizzy and fell over. Eelean and Derek looked at me with concern.

"Tunip? Are you alright?" Eelean spoke in the voice that I had fallen in love with.

"Tuni?" Derek asked, gently pushing my side.

I shook off the thoughts. "I'm fine. I just got a sudden dizziness." I replied. Eelean nodded. I smiled.

"So, Eelean, Derek, do you want to say hi to Tweak and Kwazii?"

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Selene's POV: As Elena and Barnacles went ahead talking in lowered voices, I lagged behind a little, thinking about what Barnacles had asked me just before the document had loaded. Did I tell him about my past, not just the orphanage which he already knew about? After all, I would trust him with my life right about now.

But I didn't know even how to start explaining my complicated past. After all, I was only in the orphanage because the social services assumed I had no parents. They didn't know where they - and my older brother - were. For that matter, neither did I.

"Selene?" Shellington called me. "They're just up ahead!"

I nodded to him and hurried to catch up, not wanting to tell anyone about my inner monologue just yet. Just as I caught up to the others and saw Kate and Peso up ahead, I suddenly felt a presence in my mind. It wasn't intrusive; it was actually quite warm and small. And it was a happy feeling, I knew instinctively.

And my mind formed a name to the feeling without even thinking about it. "Tunip?"