Chapter1

Skylar and Sam coasted to a stop at the edge of a bluff and straddled their bikes. Below lay the Caribbean, turquoise near the shore and sapphire in the deep water. Waves rolled in and broke on a white sandy beach. Grass bent in the breeze and tickled theirankles.

In the distance, a freighter chugged past the island. Skylar watched its progress and then turned to Sam. “Ever wonder where they’regoing?”

Sam shrugged and brushed hair out of her eyes. “Sometimes. Could beanywhere.”

Skylar nodded. “I’d like to be on one someday to see what’s outthere.”

“I bet it all looks the same—just moreocean.”

That was the big difference between them. Skylar wanted to get off the island to see the world. Sam, short for her real name Samantha, was happy to stay put and had no desire toleave.

There were other differences, too, not that either one of them cared or thought about them much. He was eleven and skinny and had a mop of brown hair that hung over his ears. She was fourteen, a couple inches taller, and had long dark hair she tried to keep in place with aponytail.

Like most of the islanders, they wore shorts and T-shirts all year long. They were best friends, but Skylar thought of her more as a big sister, at least how he thought a big sister would be if he had one. They did everything together when they weren’t in school. She’d grown up on the island and knew its secrets, and it helped that her father was the police chief and kept track of what everyone wasdoing.

She pointed at a line of dark clouds that towered like gray mountains on the horizon. “There’s the storm coming in. My papa’s gonna be mad if I don’t help him get ready. Seeya.”

She pedale