Sea Hidden

By Jack Russell Jones

Sea Hidden is an innovative book with an elaborate puzzle published with a prize for solving the puzzle. In Sea Hidden, a young mermaid races against a monstrous villain to try to solve clues embedded within an ancient civilization's traditions and literature. In the process, she learns about the story of the ancient Alchemists,the Guardian Hybrids, and their struggle with an evil emperor. This is a story that comes to life for her in many wonderful and terrifying ways. She meets a part of her family she never knew she had, and is introduced to a secret civilization hidden at Sea. But she must also confront a powerful, deranged hybrid who has confused her with the Founder of that hidden civilization,and who is determined to kill her.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jack Russell Jones
• Release date: Aug 13, 2012
• ISBN: 9781476452036

Jack Russell Jones

Jack Russell Jones lives in Rhode Island, the "Ocean State". He learned about carousels from a group in his neighborhood that hand paints and carves carousel horses. Jack is an ordained minister, and has served with a number of churches and chaplaincies. He currently helps to organize a Sunday morning worship service with a meal designed to be a means of introducing homeless persons to friends and supporters. Jack plays guitar, writes songs, and has co-written a musical. He actually thinks that the invention described in SEA HIDDEN for generating electricity while growing food, disposing of waste, sequestering carbon and purifying water might actually work. He is hoping that sales of this book would help him raise enough money to build a working prototype. Jack especially enjoys making up stories and discussing books with his children. Of course, he loves reading mystery novels, and looks forward to reading , editing, and helping to launch other writers mystery novels with the MrE-Contest publishing concept.

Book preview

SEA HIDDEN

by

Jack Russell Jones

with

Miranda and Amelia Jones

Published by MrE-Contest Publishing at Smashwords

Copyright 2012 Jack Russell Jones

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold

or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person,

please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re re reading this book and did

not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to

Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work

of this author.

ENTER THE CONTEST FOR SOLVING THE MYSTERY

We at MrE-Contest Publishing are creating a new literary genre: the mystery contest electronic book. We are setting aside twenty-five percent of purchase proceeds (up to the conclusion of the contest) to award to the reader who is the first to solve the mystery presented in our e-contest books. The technology of electronic publishing allows for the cultivation of this new art form because the mystery can be published in two volumes: the first containing clues and puzzles for the contest, and the second volume containing the solutions to the mystery after the contest winner has solved it. Your participation in solving the puzzle for the prize is a part of this new literary art form. To register for the contest you must acknowledge that you have read the contest rules and give your name and a contact email address. No purchase is necessary, and obviously this is a contest of skill, not chance. You may register at the MrE-Contest Website. http://seahidden.wix.com/mre-contest If readers who enjoy the book and contest communicate that enjoyment to their friends, there is a potential that the treasure prize could potentially grow to a considerable sum. It will be interesting to see how large the prize grows!

To read the free companion volume containing the solutions to the clues and puzzles entitled ‘See Hidden’, you may register at the website so that when the contest is over, you will be notified that the companion volume is available. If you write great mysteries, and would like to publish them using this contest concept, you may send your e-book mystery novel electronically to us, and if it is excellent, we will publish it. More information and guidelines are available at our website http://seahidden.wix.com/mre-contest . Good luck!

***

Table of Contents

Prologue This Could Only Happen To Me

1. Roll Up For the Mystery Tour

2. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds

3. Suddenly, I’m Not Half

4. A Hard Day’s Night

5. She’s Leaving Home

6. Birthday

7. Come Together

8. Once There Was A Way

9. I Want To Hold Your Hand

10. In My Hour of Darkness

11. Take A Sad Song

12. When the Rain Comes

13. Across The Universe

14. It Blows My Mind

15. We All Shine On

16. Attracts Me Like No Other Lover

17. Do You Want To Know A Secret

18. I Took A Ride

19. The Little Children

20. Give Peace A Chance

21. If I Fell

22. I Don’t Want To Leave Her Now

23. The Girl With Kaleidoscope Eyes

24. Made Sure That She Was Dead

25. The Love You Make

26. The Love You Take

27. Like a Million Suns

28. And In the End

29. With A Couple of Kids

30. With A Little Help From My Friends

***

***

PROLOGUE: This Could Only Happen To Me

Rise and shine Marisol.

I just want to sleep a little more, just this once, please? It’s raining out.

Skyesea reached under the pillow and found a book stashed there. Why do you stay up so late reading when you know you have to get up early?

Why do I have to get up so early? There’s no sun today Mom, so no colors in the sky to play music to.

Her mother sat down on the side of the bed. We’ll play the rainy day melody.

That rainy day song sucks.

Marisol, there’s a proverb we have that says ‘Even when we can’t see the sun, we know the sun is there’.

Now you’re quoting a proverb? Who does that? And whose proverb is it? Is it Welsh? Polish? Who is ‘we’?

Skyesea paused for a length of time. Your birthday is in a few days, I’ll…

Marisol exploded. You never tell me anything!

Skyesea stood and spoke sternly, Get out of bed and show up for the sunrise music on time. Then she walked to the door and shut it as she left.

Marisol got up to get dressed. Opening the sock drawer, she tried to resist a familiar urge, but her raging thoughts kept feeding it. No one else has to wake up before the sun rises every morning to play sunrise music. Then she listened to the patter on the grass roof and became more embittered as the compulsion fixated her attention. Even when there isn’t even any sunrise. She reached to the back of the drawer, and grabbed the small knife. Opening the knife to the two inch long blade, she exposed her finger. I hate that rainy day melody. She pressed the blade to her finger and watched the blood puddle. She wiped the blood off of her finger and watched for five seconds as a scab formed, then a scar appeared that then almost instantaneously disappeared, leaving clear healthy skin. She stared at the skin, never failing to be astonished. You never tell me anything.

CHAPTER ONE: Roll Up For the Mystery Tour

Dirty Ditty #1

There once was a far seer and star namer fly

With many lenses on his far seer eyes

When out seeking excrement

Directly at it, it went

Name who you will, it’s just like you and I

Wednesday, June 12

I don’t see any house. Win said, a disembodied voice coming from a shadow in the darkness near the trunk.

Stepping out of the car, Evan compulsively quoted a Beatle’s song as he tried to let his eyes adjust to the intense darkness. Roll up for the mystery tour…

Paul. His sister Win replied.

Her sister Gwyn saw her Cousin Marisol’s bright yellow hair emerging from the rural ocean side darkness, so far away from the city lights. Her face was bearing a quizzical expression behind her sunglasses as she looked over at Win. Gwyn obliged her expression as she gave a greeting hug. It’s a game they play. Evan quotes a line from a Beatle’s song, and then Win says which Beatle wrote it.

Gwyn’s uncle Owen got out of the car with a flashlight. After distributing luggage, they walked on a path through the thick brush of lilac bushes, looking in vain for the house, but only seeing beach, sky and the dark roiling sea. Finally they followed him along the path to a door that seemed to be built into the side of the hill. Opening the door, he led the cousins in.

Far underneath the surface of the ocean a No Contact Constable hunched over his satellite monitor working on a complex puzzle book. Seeing a blip on the screen out of the corner of his eye, he looked up from his book and pushed the speaker button. We have a breach of the mandate sir.

Meanwhile, on the dark Rhode Island beach, an old man ran to the crashing waves and dove in.

Evan gazed up at the large two story glass wall that looked out over a spectacular view of the ocean and the unusually starry sky. Then as his eyes adjusted, Evan pointed in surprise at the most striking thing. Look. They have an indoor pond. Win and Gwyn walked slowly through an indoor orchard to the edge of the pond, where glistening in the light of the flashlights, a large pond encompassed almost half of the entire first floor, Gwyn nudged her sister as she pointed to lily pads with slick fat frogs sitting on them, their eyes eerily reflecting the flashlight.

Evan’s eyes were riveted to a strange structure that reminded him of a pirate ship. In the middle of the pond there was a thick concrete pole that was crowned by a large circular deck with bench seats along the railing.

Marisol noticed where Evan was looking, and said with a note of trepidation in her voice, That’s our crow’s nest. We can dive off from it into the pond.

It has a telescope too, Evan turned to his sisters, maybe I’m amazed.

Paul again, post Beatles. Win promptly responded.

Marisol felt her shoulders relax.

Since it was already very late and the rest of the family was already asleep, Marisol led them directly to their rooms. Each bedroom on the second floor opened up to the hallway with a railing that overlooked the pond. As they carried their bags to the rooms, Marisol explained, From each room you can take a zip wire across the pond to the bathroom, kitchen, and garden/dining area, or out to the crow’s nest in the middle of the pond.

Evan stepped over and touched the zip wire handle almost lovingly. Can I try it? Win and Gwyn also turned to Marisol with urgent anticipation.

Marisol seemed to be hiding behind her sunglasses in the still dim light. Yes, but we’ll have to be quiet, everyone else is asleep.

They all took turns zipping out to the crow’s nest, dangling their feet precariously over the pond below as they held on to the zip wire handle with white knuckle grips. The cousins suppressed the inclination to shout exuberantly as they careened onto the crow’s nest.

Evan got first turn with the telescope. Sitting on the benches in the crow’s nest waiting for a turn with Gwyn and Win, Marisol noticed Gwyn’s t-shirt which said A trillion million billion is a Gwyn. Buy your zero’s at [e-mail].

Gwyn sells zeros dot org?

Yeah, I sell naming rights to huge numbers to raise money for cancer research.

Does that…work?

Yeah. Gwyn almost blushed. Amazingly, it does. People buy names for big numbers for friends as birthday presents and stuff. It’s a novelty gift.

How is Aunt Megan doing?

She’s doing great. Full recovery, no cancer in sight.

That’s great. What made you think of selling big numbers?

I don’t really have anything else to sell. It’s just a thing to prompt people to make a donation. People get a little certificate to put on their wall with a big long page full of zeroes. I don’t even send it; they can print it out from the website. For a really big donation they can get a t-shirt with their number on it.

She raised over fifteen thousand dollars already. Win said proudly.

Fifteen thousand? Really?

Really. There was an article about it in the Madison times, and she got a lot of donations after that. Win explained.

That’s really creative.

So, do you want to pick a number? Gwyn asked.

Sure

Which one?

How about… a thousand trillion billion trillion? Marisol said.

Sure. That one’s open. As soon as you make your donation a ‘thousand trillion billion trillion’ will be known as a ‘Marisol’. Then Gwyn indicated her sister. Win set up the computer program, so that when people make a donation and pick a number, it sends them a copy of the certificate with all the numbers on it.

Marisol looked again at her youngest cousin, the one that she had always heard about but never met. Marisol had heard that she was also going into eighth grade but already taking college level math classes at her local community college. She did not fit the stereotype of a computer programming geek. Her long locks and mischievous smile, punctuated by rich hazel eyes presented more of the idea of a weather reporter on a cable station. Marisol considered the analogy, thinking that Gwyn carried her short hair and long eyelashes over multi-studded ears and blue eyes like a national news anchor, or maybe, with her impudent grin, a Saturday Night Live satirical news anchor.

You still taking college classes?

No.

Gwyn looked at her younger sister sympathetically. The college students harassed her. They couldn’t stand it that a seventh grader was progressing faster than they were.

Asshole bullies. Evan spit the words from where he stood looking into the telescope.

Is that a Beatles song? Marisol asked. They all laughed.

No, but ‘you can feel their disease.’ Evan added.

John. Winifred dutifully responded.

Marisol looked back towards Win. Sorry to hear that though.

I’m taking free online classes at MIT now.

That sounds cool.

After that they took turns using the telescope until the storm clouds blocked the stars. Then Win turned from the telescope to see that Marisol had fallen asleep on the bench. When they woke Marisol, she startled, and then grinned sheepishly. Sorry, we don’t usually stay up late. In fact, we never stay up late.

"But it’s only ten thirty." They were all thinking.

Thursday, June 13

That night a roll of thunder woke Gwyn up. She decided to go to the bathroom on the first floor across the pond, forgoing the zip wire and using the stairs. Heading back to her room through the indoor orchard, Gwyn was suddenly startled to see her Aunt Skyesea careening down the zip wire over the pond in a ghostlike flowing white nightgown. Waiting for her heart to slowly resume beating at a normal rate, Gwyn couldn’t help watching her aunt’s strange behavior. Who wakes up in the middle of the night to go out in the pouring rain to dig on the beach with a shovel? Dipping into the pond Gwyn hid in the lily pad area, completely forgetting the hazard of swimming in an electrical storm. Another bolt of lightning branched out across the sky. Remembering the danger of getting electrocuted, she scrambled in a panic to reach the ladder into the crow’s nest as the thunder seemed to rumble forever.

Lying flat on her stomach near the edge, she looked down to see her Aunt struggling to lift something large, lumpy and slippery out of the hole she had dug. It was hard to see in the pouring rain, but it looked strangely like a body. Now grimly fascinated, she remembered the telescope in the crow’s nest. Her belly felt the cool roughness of the wooden planks as she snaked her way over to it. Carefully removing it from its stand, she peered through the lens. A few moments later, a bright flash of lightning fully illuminated the object in question. Gwyn scurried back from the edge like a knee jerking after being tapped by a hammer. She crouched against the floor of the crow’s nest, shivering wet in the cool night air. With increasing trepidation watched her aunt pull out another one, the same as the first: two bodies, two headless bodies. No longer daring to watch through the telescope, she continued to lie on the floor of the crow’s nest, peering down at her aunt through the cracks in the floorboards.

She could see Skyesea place the bodies in a large plastic bag and seal the top. Then she watched as her aunt dragged them over to the deep end of the indoor pond. Gwyn heard the splash. She imagined the bodies sinking into the muck, feeling like she was sinking into the muck with them.

As Skyesea climbed the stairs to the upstairs hall, Gwyn realized that her aunt would see her because the crow’s nest was in full view from the balcony-like hallway railing. Gwyn tried to make herself as small as possible, curling into the fetal position on her side. Just as her aunt began to walk down the hallway, Gwyn noticed cupboards built under the benches lining the nest. Opening one, she saw that they contained towels. Removing a pile of towels, she squeezed into the cramped storage space, closing the sliding door as quietly as possible. The resulting squeak sounded to her like a bomb had gone off. She heard the ominous squish squash of soaked sandals coming closer and closer, and then mercifully trailing away. Long after she heard her aunt close her bedroom door, she stayed scrunched up among the towels, wide awake.

Thursday, June 13

The refreshing June rain had stopped. Each of the cousins awoke to the sound of music that was not familiar to them. It sounded like jazz/ classical/blues/Celtic. Evan and Win gathered groggily near the railing. They were curious to watch Gwyn crawl out of the storage space under the crow’s nest benches. A luminescent sunrise filled the house with a brightly glowing pinkness, reflected in the indoor pond.

Here comes the sun. Evan quoted.

George. Winifred drowsily responded. Gwyn climbed the crow’s nest support pole to the upper landing that allowed her to zip over the pond to the balcony.

Out for an early morning swim? Win asked, taking her hand and helping her on to the balcony.

Very early. Gwyn said, not sure yet how to tell her siblings what she’d seen.

After that, none of them spoke, for each of them was straining to listen to the music. The entire Griffith family was all on the large stone deck in front of the house playing instruments in harmony with one another. Skye played the recorder, Lilac played a bass recorder, Marisol played a higher octave recorder, and their Uncle Owen played on the guitar. The music kept shifting and changing, the separate parts weaving in and out of one another matching the moods and stages of the sunrise. The moment the sunrise concluded, the music ended.

Gwyn turned to discuss the disturbing event she had witnessed, but they had already hopped onto the zip wires. She could tell that they were racing to the lower level to reach the bathroom first. Gwyn mumbled to herself angrily How do they expect four teenagers to survive with only one bathroom? Her private complaint left her with an uneasy feeling as she recalled the headless bodies.

Later they were all gathered around a large table on the deck with an ocean view, eating voluminous stacks of pancakes made with fresh berries they helped pick from the indoor garden. Frogs jumped from their lily pads, while seagulls flew along the shore. Winifred leaned over to Gwyn, Isn’t this awesome? But Gwyn just sat there staring at the bright red raspberry stain on her pancake as if someone had just stabbed it.

Marisol got up to clear the table. Evan began to help. Walking into the kitchen with the plates, he noticed that she kept her sunglasses on inside. He remembered that she had worn them even in the pitch dark the night before. Putting down the dishes he indicated her sunglasses. Is that your ‘look’?

She reached up and touched them, but did not take them off. No, it’s just that, I have very strange eyes.

Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to …I mean, no one mentioned…or maybe they did, and I forgot. I...forget things. It’s from the concussions. Sorry. He put his hand to his temple, and then raked his fingers through his thick hair. Are you going blind?

No, no, nothing like that. They just look…odd. She tried to smile but it turned into an awkward half grimace.

Odd? I have a hard time believing that.

Yeah. Odd. Believe me.

Evan spoke warmly, Well, you really look good in sunglasses. You’ve got that Alfred Hitchcock-mysterious-blond-with-the-sunglasses-film-noir thing going on.

Alfred Hitchcock?

Yeah, he’s a famous movie director. Classic thriller movies- do you like the classic movie channel? Evan asked hopefully.

We don’t have a television.

Evan looked around at the pond, taking in the pottery mural of an ocean reef along the walls, as well as the elaborate indoor orchard and garden, before he responded. Wow. Now that… is odd. You might have warned me about that before Dad sent me to spend the whole summer here.

Sorry. Marisol now desperately wanted to change the subject. If I take my glasses off…

Evan interrupted, You don’t have to.

Marisol took her glasses off, then turned and faced her cousin.

Evan looked at her eyes steadily, But your eyes aren’t odd at all. They’re beautiful. Blue on top, and deep green on the bottom. Like the sky and the sea- unusual yeah, but beautiful.

Marisol impulsively gave him a brief kiss on the cheek.

Win and Gwyn brought in more dishes, sticky with homemade syrup. Each followed Evan’s gaze to Marisol’s eyes.

Win’s chin lifted brightly, Wow! I want those contact lenses! What a cool effect! The blue and green sets off your super yellow hair perfectly. It’s like the sky and the sea and sunshine. What other colors do they come in?

Marisol’s eyes met Evan’s, and she put her sunglasses back on. He nodded confidentially, then changed the subject, How do you play your music like that without sheet music? I could never memorize all that.

Marisol seemed to look over her shoulder to see if someone was listening, then explained, The music is based on the colors in the sunrise. Each color has different themes that you play depending on which colors are next to it. But of course, the colors keep shifting, so you shift the themes and harmonies as the colors shift.

I never heard of anything like that. Evan said.

I think my parents created it. I can’t find anything about it on any search engines.

Don’t they explain where it came from? Win asked.

No. Marisol noticed Lilac entering and seemed reluctant to say more in front of her sister.

I’ve heard of marching to your own drummer but that is marching to music no one else has ever heard of before. Win said.

Yeah, well…that’s my Mom. She’s very big on being creative. You get used to it.

I don’t think I’m ever going to get used to your mother. Gwyn blurted out. Win and Evan stared at her, appalled.

Marisol’s gaze was directed at the ground for a long moment. Then she looked up at Gwyn and suddenly jerked her chin up, Well, I guess that’s to be expected-come to think of it, I’ve never quite gotten used to her either.

Gwyn looked across at her cousin, vividly remembering the headless bodies hidden at the bottom of the pond, then spoke as if pleading, I…I’m afraid that this has all been a horrible mistake. We’ll have to be going home. Tomorrow I think.

Win became furious. I’m not leaving! I can’t believe you just said that!

Marisol put her arm around Lilac. It’s all right. I know it’s a little different here. If you can’t get used to it…

It’s not that! Gwyn was shaking slightly. I think growing your own fish and garden and frogs is great. But you have two dead bodies at the bottom of your pond!

Evan bolted up to his full imposing height. Gwyn!

Gwyn looked directly at Marisol. I saw your Mother put them there last night.

Marisol shook her head vehemently. Mom doesn’t throw bodies in our pond.

I saw her do it. Gwyn insisted.

Evan stepped in. So this is simple. Tonight we go look and see where Gwyn says she saw your mother throw the bodies in. And when we don’t find anything, Gwyn here is going to apologize a thousand times. At this the towering brother locked insistent eyes with his headstrong sister. Gwyn stalked off.

Win turned to her brother, You can’t be serious! We’re not going to…"

No, we should. Marisol interrupted. Something’s obviously upset her. We should check it out. Just, don’t tell mom. Marisol looked pointedly at her younger sister. Right?

She said Mom is hiding dead bodies. Lilac pulled away from Marisol’s arm. I’ll tell mom if I want to.

Marisol sized her up carefully. Yeah, but hold off until we check this out. Please? I’ll let you download books on my gift card.

Lilac considered this. Maybe... How many?

Five.

Ten.

Six.

Eight or I tell Mom.

Seven and you can download five songs too.

Lilac considered this. Okay then.

CHAPTER TWO: Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds

Altruistic Animal ACTs

Monkey’s groom each other. Ostriches lay eggs. Nene males act as sentinels protecting the nest of eggs. Kangaroos carry their young in pouches. Elephants remember their dead. Yaks carry packs. Wolves hunt in packs to help each other eat. Iguana’s lay eggs. Llamas nurse their young. Lion’s nurse their cubs. Turtles lay eggs. Impala’s leap in every direction when attacked to help each other confuse predators. Tyrannosaurus Rex laid eggs and didn’t eat them. Leech’s help to heal wounds, eating harmful bacteria. Elephants cry and comfort each other.

Thursday, June 13

Before dinner Marisol sat in her room, that queasy feeling all over and slight shortness of breath making her feel terribly uncomfortable. She had begged her parents to let her cousins come. Now Mom is ruining everything again. Marisol considered the rule that she was never allowed to invite any of her school friends over to their home. What school friends? She walked to the sock drawer, and reached for the knife. Will they really go home?

After dinner they all headed to the Narragansett Beach, which had plenteous lengths of soft white sand. Owen pointed out a striking restaurant building with a stone arch spanning the road leading to the town beach. After they had parked, Skyesea and Owen unpacked their guitar and recorder. Then they set up to play at a place along the boardwalk with a clear view of the horizon over the water. As the blue hues in the summer sky began to change ever so subtly, they began to play their music.

Win listened intently while watching the sky closely. She tried to identify which musical parts went with which relationships between the shades. Marisol could tell that the melodies were constantly changing as her parents played the blues- the constantly changing shades of blue as the sky incrementally darkened.

Something else caught Evan’s eye- something in the distance. It was a carousel. Noticing the restless look on his youngest cousin Lilac’s face, Evan said, Anyone want to ride on the carousel? My treat! As he’d hoped, Lilac’s face lit up.

They all went along, enjoying the opportunity to bond with their adorable younger cousin with the large eyes balancing her petite features, who skipped along towards the carousel pulling Win by the hand. Win appreciated being given a second chance after Gwyn had made such a bizarre accusation.

Gwyn reluctantly tagged along, preferring the company of siblings that she was angry with to the company of her scary aunt. She noticed a seagull that seemed to be following her. She turned and held her palms up and shrugged apologetically. No bread, see? I don’t want your crap in my swimming water.

Hundreds of miles away, a group of No Contact Constables chuckled.

As she entered the carousel area for a ride, Win caught sight of carousel figures in the center ring that were nothing like any figures she had ever seen on a carousel before. The innermost ring was composed of a set of fourteen life-sized carved figures that were half human, half animal. Gwyn felt a sense of awe looking at the wise and joyful expressions on the faces of the hybrids, expressive faces seeming to represent every region of the world. Win was appreciating the intricate details in a carved figure that had the upper body and stunning facial features of an indigenous North American woman, and the lower body of a buffalo. This buffalo-human hybrid figure was looking through a telescope with a serene expression on her face. Strangely, Gwyn noticed that the same seagull had alighted on the carved figures telescope, and seemed to look at each one of them in turn.

Back on their extraction team submarine, a team of elite No Contact Constables leaned in and studied the features of each of them carefully. When the sea gull cam focused on Marisol, the lead officer noticed her hair and said Check her eyes behind those sunglasses. The computer program adjusted for the tint on the glasses and they all stood up excitedly. Blue on top, green on bottom. Skyesea Reefsaver has a family.

On the enchanting carousel, Gwyn climbed on to the buffalo /human hybrid’s back saddle and leaned forward to examine the intricate patterns on the woman’s beaded jewelry, each tiny bead carved perfectly and uniformly round. There was also a distinct separation of colors for each bead. Gwyn tried to imagine the effort involved in painting and carving with such fine detail. Lilac left the horse she had mounted, and climbed on to one of the hybrid figures depicting a man’s upper body paired with that of a llama, the saddle vivid with intricately patterned Latin American blanket designs. Evan gravitated towards these amazing hybrid figures also, and couldn’t decide which one to ride. Then he saw it: a carving with the torso and head of a red-haired, swarthy, beer bellied man with the lower body of a lion featuring eagle wing feathers that looked like its fine filaments had wind blowing through them. The fantastical creature featured a snake tail with an elaborate diamond pattern on its skin. The carving of the snake featured finely detailed scales. The snake tail’s head flicked its tongue near the ruddy man’s ear, and he seemed to be laughing.

Marisol noticed Evan looking at the snake tail, and said, Lilac and I try to make up jokes that the serpentail might be telling the man. Lilac’s best one is ‘Stop eating beans, you’re killing me back here.’ They all laughed.

As the music started they rode up and down, around and around together. Evan, Win, and Gwyn flashed their young cousin the ‘thumbs up’ sign each time Lilac expertly tossed her rings on to the peg. Lilac smiled back, but not at Gwyn.

Ensconced in the depths of their hidden submarine, the No Contact Constables stared in awe at the lifelike carved figures on their screens. How could carved figures of the Guardian Hybrids be on an amusement ride among the Soil People?

Skyesea must have shown pictures to the carvers.

Then she’s even more of a threat than we ever realized.

Later, as the sunset was nearly ending and the first stars appeared, the youth waded along the edge of the water while whispering their plans to look for what Gwyn adamantly insisted were two headless bodies.

Friday, June 14

When the time came however, Evan forgot to set his alarm and slept through it until his cell phone buzzed. Half dreaming, he answered. It was Gwyn, Where are you? Hurry!

Evan took the zip wire downstairs as if he was going to go to the bathroom, then he went into the bathroom, and climbed out the window. Walking around to the deck, he stealthily made his way to where his two sisters were waiting in the growth of lilac bushes.

I went out through the bathroom window. He said.

Paul. Winifred responded.

No that was, ‘she came in through the bathroom window’.

I know, but it was too close to pass up. Win nudged her much larger brother playfully with her shoulder.

Gwyn whispered harshly, What took you so long? You were supposed to be here half an hour ago.

Golden slumbers. Evan quoted again.

Paul. Winifred whispered. Gwyn dramatically dropped her chin to her chest and kept her eyes shut tight for a long moment.

Marisol and Lilac had been standing apart from Gwyn, but they now joined them and they all huddled outside near the lilac bushes. Lilac was wearing a decidedly put off expression. Marisol was absolutely silent behind her sunglasses, the kind of intense silence that gets noticed.

Win noticed, and certainly wasn’t silent. They’ve opened their home to us for the entire summer now you…this is so insulting! Win berated her sister.

You’re going to see. Then you’ll know what I know. Then we’ll all go home. That’s all I can say. Gwyn insisted.

You can say you’re sorry for being so rude. Win shot back.

Gwyn replied testily, I am sorry for being so rude but it was really a very rude awakening to be exposed to dead bodies like that!

Sisters, Evan interrupted, ‘We can work it out. Life is very short and there’s no time for fussing and fighting my friends.’

Paul. Win grinned.

Gwyn wheeled around to face her brother, Who are you, Mr. throw-the-television-through-the-window, to quote the Beatles at me about ‘working it out’? Gwyn began walking towards the pond.

Win turned to Evan sympathetically, quoting the Beatles lyric with a deadpan tone. She loves you.

Yeah, yeah, yeah… He sighed as he watched his headstrong sister dive into the pond.

Did you really throw a television through a window? Lilac asked, her wide eyes looking hurt somehow.

Evan’s face clouded noticeably, even in the shadows. Dad was saying he wouldn’t let me play football anymore because… my concussions are causing memory problems and…well, maybe problems with my temper too. The doctor says the concussions have affected my impulse control. And then…I lost my impulse control and the television was… That’s why we’re here. My Doctor suggested that me and Dad needed a ‘time out’. But that’s no excuse. I shouldn’t have thrown that television…that’s not me…I’m…sorry.

She hasn’t come up for a long time… Marisol said nervously. Evan, Winifred, Marisol and Lilac looked at each other for a moment, then ran to dive in after her.

Diving to the bottom of the pond, they found their sister trying to lift what looked like a long garbage bag. Working together, all five managed to lift the package to the surface. Then quickly floated it over to the shallow lily pad area where they were partially hidden. Staring at the large bag, as Gwyn gasped for air; Evan reached out to feel it. This does feel like…well, like two bodies. He whispered.

Do we have to open it? Winifred whispered back.

Gwyn whispered in between gasping breaths. Yes, because you don’t believe me. But we can’t open it here—it will leave a smell. She’ll know we’re on to her. We have to take it out to the beach.

As they made their way outside with it, Lilac approached Marisol, distraught. What’s in that bag?

I don’t know. There it was, the old familiar anxiety filling her stomach. But there’s no way it’s a couple of bodies.

Well away from the house, they began to make their way with it in the dark through a path in a deep thicket of bushes. Gwyn, who was in the lead, suddenly let out a stifled shout. Evan, who was next, felt a swift tug and began to lose balance.

Gwyn felt fortunate that they were carrying the large bag as they all fell because it provided a somewhat softer landing for her, although when Evan and then Win, Marisol and Lilac each successively fell on top of the pile, her sharp howl contradicted the notion of her good fortune. Stretching her aching shoulder as they all untangled, Gwyn vehemently exclaimed, What the hell? We fell into a pit!

No way! I don’t want to be trapped in a pit with a dead body, Win cringed.

We already are, Evan declared.

I know, but I don’t know for sure yet that it’s a dead body. Win said.

It’s not a dead body. Lilac insisted.

Don’t worry. We fell into the cistern we’re building. Marisol explained.

A cistern? Win asked.

Yeah, it collects rainwater. You know- water preservation, sustainability…there’s an emergency ladder to get out. And for the record…Mom …is strange, for sure, but she would have nothing to do with hiding dead bodies. Just open it. Marisol said.

There’s an emergency ladder but no fence around it? Gwyn mumbled resentfully, massaging her sore shoulder. Looking up, she was surprised to see a seagull gazing down at them. I guess all seagulls do look alike, she thought to herself.

Evan called over to them from where he had already begun to open the dreaded package, You guys gotta see this!

They walked over slowly. At first glance it did look to be a body with a head cut off. The visiting sisters clutched each other’s hands, horrified. Then Evan explained, It looks like they’re some sort of body suits. Diving suits, I’d guess, stuffed with…all this stuff!

Gwyn was so relieved she could feel the knot in her stomach coming undone as if some magical stomach elf were physically untying it.

Look at the designs on this suit! Gwyn pointed. Stars and constellations on the upper body, while the legs are covered with…what is that? Fish scales?

They sure look like fish scales.

Look at that belt! It has hundreds of buttons with different ocean creatures etched onto them. Win observed.

The designs are amazing. Marisol stared, looking at a finely detailed etching of a puffer fish.

Win then partially unzipped the suit, then gasped. It’s full of these silk pouches.

Lilac exclaimed, Oh as she spilled out the contents of one of the pouches. Hundreds of large jewels poured out of the pouch into Evan’s hands. They all looked at the pile of other silk pouches packed into the suits. Like frenzied children unwrapping packages on a Christmas morning, they began grabbing at the silk pouches and pouring out their contents, releasing piles of pearls, jewels, shells, gold chains and intricately designed jewelry one after another.

But this must be worth millions. Win ventured.

Millions and millions and millions. Gwyn concurred.

We’re rich! Evan exulted, barely suppressing the urge to throw the jewels in the air.

No, we’re not, Winifred spoke coldly, We’re juvenile delinquents who have just stolen millions of dollars’ worth of precious jewelry. The siblings and cousins knelt in silence amidst the poured-out plunder for a moment, now reeling in the aftermath of their adrenaline rush.

Our parents are going to be furious. Gwyn wailed.

You think? Winifred leaned in to the sarcasm with rage.

What are we going to say? Gwyn whispered.

Winifred stood and walked over to where Gwyn still knelt in the sand, towering over her. How about –‘we only stole your priceless treasures because we thought you had killed somebody!’

I told you! Lilac said fiercely.

They all looked up at Marisol who stood very still, yet it was clear that she was brimming with resentment. Gwyn stood and walked toward Marisol and Lilac. I’m so sorry. I really am. It just…they looked so much like dead bodies. It completely freaked me out.

Cousin, welcome to our lives. Marisol started softly, and then raised her voice. We never know what to make of the things our mother says or does. Believe me. We knew she was no murderer, but…well, I thought it probably had to be something. She just never tells us what’s going on. For one thing, she’s never mentioned that we’re millionaires. She’s always talking about living simply and not being concerned about things. We don’t even buy anything that comes in a package-we grow our own food, and make our own clothes. And it turns out that secretly she’s been hoarding… Marisol stood pointing at the pile of treasures, gesturing towards them with utter incomprehension, all these things!

At that moment Lilac saw the book. Packed in the middle of the stomach of the suit, surrounded by the silk purses, was an elaborately decorated book with a title that read A Manual for the Operation of Environmental Adaptation Suits.

While Gwyn thanked God for the welcome distraction, Marisol took the book in her hands and Evan gave her the flashlight. They crowded around her, and she began to read it to them. "This adaptation suit makes it easier and safer to swim in the ocean."

The first chapter was entitled The Biomimicry of Self Defense. It described different buttons on the suit’s belt. As Marisol read, they all examined the suit and saw that the various buttons were illustrated with sea creatures and their adaptations.

Listening to Marisol read the manual, Lilac tried each button. She pushed the octopus button and ink sprayed out. She pushed the button with a picture of a prickly fish, and to her startled delight, sharp spikes protruded all over the suit. Into the early morning hours, they read the manual and they pushed one biomimicry self-defense button after another, staring in astonishment each time.

Finally she came to the camouflage button. This section of the book was not in the original version, but had been inserted. It was hand illustrated in black and white rather than color, and the explanation was also handwritten.

This uniquely modified suit can camouflage you so well that you become virtually invisible.

Marisol looked up from her reading. Invisible? She continued reading the inserted pages of the manual.

Each microscopic point on this material has a very tiny television screen on it, wirelessly connected to the suit’s computer. These screens can display images all along your body. There are also tiny cameras built into the suit that take pictures of what is in front of you, and of what is behind you and on either side. The suits computer is able to blend the images on your suit with what is behind you, no matter which side a predator may be looking at you, making you virtually invisible from every angle.

After reading this, they all stared at the button decorated with the stonefish. Finally, Evan reached over and pressed it. The suit immediately disappeared.

Win looked up at Marisol and Lilac, and spoke haltingly with a sense of wonder. Your Mother… has been burying a very advanced technology… in the mud of your pond. Not to mention that she lives in a house that has a pond. Who is she?

I don’t know. Marisol said with a hurt quaver in her voice. I’ve been wondering that for a long time. Then, picking up the still camouflaged larger suit, she started to put it on so that she herself began to become partially invisible around her knees saying, But using this, she continued as her waste and stomach area disappeared. Then becoming entirely invisible, she continued in a now seemingly disembodied voice. I’m finally going to find out.

Deep in their submarine, the No Contact Constables stared. With that technology, we would never be able to prevent contact again.

You think that’s how she got away?

I don’t know, but we can’t let her get away again this time.

Seeing, or rather, not seeing, her sister, Lilac grabbed the smaller suit and rushed to put it on.

Marisol pressed the stonefish button again and became visible. The sisters stood next to each other as the others admired them. It fits them perfectly. Winifred remarked, in awe.

The constellations on the upper part of the suits were aglow strongly enough to light up the cistern, and the multicolored shimmering scales on the lower part of the suit emitted a rainbow of colors. Marisol knelt down and put on a crown, and Lilac grabbed a diamond necklace.

Lucy in the sky with diamonds! Evan whispered.

John.

Let’s go to the water, I want to see what it’s like to swim in this. Marisol stepped towards the edge of the hole, followed closely by Lilac.

Evan shook his head vehemently, I don’t think your folks wanted us to find those…

Marisol and Lilac had already pulled down the emergency ladder, climbed it, and were running to the water. Well, I’m not going to stand around in the dark, that’s for sure, Win said, and she began to climb the ladder. They reached the shore just in time to see Marisol and Lilac burst out of the water, rising twenty feet into the air where they elegantly did full layout back flips just as they reached the top of the arc. The mysterious suits shimmered like laser show displays in contrast to the night sky. Most strikingly, the suits had somehow created scaly technicolor tails on both of them.

Wading slightly into the edge of the water, their legged cousins stared out over the water, trying to take in what they were seeing. Suddenly Marisol was airborne again, this time diving in and out of the water playfully, like a dolphin swimming along a ship, gliding smoothly and effortlessly at breakneck speed. Lilac began swimming in this way also, and soon they were racing. In a matter of minutes, they had swum in this fashion almost a mile away from the shore. Then the lights on their suits went out. The cousins stood on the shore in the dim light of the flashlight for an uncomfortable minute.

Do you see them? Winifred asked, alarmed.

No. Evan strained his eyes.

Maybe she had an accident! Gwyn waded anxiously into the water.

Or… And upon hearing the nearby voice, the cousins all stumbled back Maybe we swam back underwater, Marisol laughed, gleefully.

We did! Lilac called out exuberantly. Then they began to race each other again, back out into the vast cradle of life.

Evan continued skimming the manual with the flashlight, reading chapter three. The environmental adaptation suits oxygen system runs on electricity and hydrogen. It takes in water and uses electricity to split the water molecule into oxygen and hydrogen using electrolysis. The hydrogen then supplies fuel for the micro-hydraulics systems and the oxygen provides air to breathe underwater.

The electricity is generated by each flip of a tail.

Caution: This electricity is attractive to sharks whose senses have evolved to detect the natural electric waves in living things as they hunt their prey. That is why the suit comes equipped with an elaborate shark detection system.

Meanwhile, Lilac saw the red flashing upside down V on the suits forearm. Marisol saw this and also heard a loud insistent buzzing sound in the suits hood. "What is