Chapter 26 Benny
Twenty-six
Benny
Benny tried to swallow the sob that escaped her throat as she waded in the water, bobbing among the waves. Dad.
Then someone grabbed her arm.
“Come on!” Gil instructed, pulling her parallel to the water, swimming away from the mayhem and continuing to swim along the shore till the smoke dissipated.
Benny felt numb. She spotted Zara waiting a ways down the beach and snapped to attention.
Benny remembered her backpack and reached for it, finding it wet, but still there.
Zara held up another smoke bomb. “Ready? I’m going to give us more cover to get away.” She threw it as far as she could, and rainbow colors filled the air, covering them again. “Go!”
They took off running down the beach, not stopping till they reached one of the cliffs and a spot where they could slide between the rocks and hide. They slipped into the small crevice and tried to catch their breath. Benny didn’t hear anyone coming, which was good because she just wanted to cry.
Was the island gone for good? Was Kimble trapped?
“Dad,” she whispered. What was he trying to tell her before the explosion?
What did Evelyn’s marriage have to do with anything?
How were they going to deal with Grace? Where was Axel?
Benny threw herself at Zara. “Thank you.” Her friend hugged her back.
“Hey. That was fun. But did I hear you say the word dad?” Zara asked inquisitively.
Benny let out a muffled sob. “Yes. It’s Kimble, and now he’s gone and—”
“Breathe.” Gil patted her back, then looked at her. “This isn’t over.”
“How do you know?” Benny asked, trembling.
Zara and Gil looked at each other. “We think Adrienne is alive.”
Benny felt as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. “You do? Good because we need to find her.”
“Maybe this will help.” Gil said and handed her a letter. Handwriting she didn’t recognize was on the envelope. It was addressed to Everly Benedict.
“It’s from Aggy. We found it on Winks when we went looking for you and Kimble at his boat. Aggy gave it to Winks when I was with Kimble, and I thought it was for him, but I was wrong. It’s for you.”
Benny opened the envelope with trembling hands and started to read the message on the first page.
Everly Benedict,
If you’re reading this, I fear the worst has happened.
And if it has, then you’re going to have to listen very closely about what you need to do next.
“What does it say?” Gil asked.
Benny looked up at Zara and Gil. Her heart rate started to slow.
Her breathing steadied. She could hear whispers on the wind now, and voices calling from a place not so far away.
She still had a shot to save Kimble, Gil, all of them, and collect the inheritance.
It was a slim shot. But a shot was all she needed.
Quitters never win and winners never quit.
Kid? You okay? she thought she heard someone yell over the waves.
I will be, she wanted to shout across the sea. And so will all of you.
It was time to be done with this island and the treasure once and for all, and save the people Evelyn loved the most. And her dad. She held the green ring in her hand up to the light and watched it glimmer.
“Come on,” she said to Zara and Gil, peeking out of their hiding place first to make sure the coast was clear. “We need to get to work. We have a pirate queen to find.”
Benny, Evelyn, and Kimble will return in the third ISLE OF EVER book.