The Frights of Fiji, Sunayna Prasad [best thriller books to read .txt] 📗

and ran outside.

Hailey threw her arms around Alyssa. “I missed you.”

“Me too,” said Alyssa.

The two broke up their hug.

“All right, guys, we need to get out of here before anything happens,” said Isabelle. “I was going to give you all invisibility ponchos, but I don’t have time right now.” She opened the door and led everybody out.

They hurried down the stairs and through the main hallway, where Master Beau still slept. The light on the camera flashed and beeped as they passed it. But they ran back to the tubes, and no threats approached them. However, Alyssa still thought about what might occur later.

 

 

 

 

13

 

The other girls had reacted the same way as Alyssa to all the rooms under the tent. They drank the Chronocurrent potion. Then they entered the kitchen for breakfast.

Simon ate bacon and eggs. The girls jumped and screamed.

“I’m sorry if I scared you all,” said Simon.

“Is that a talking statue?” yelped Destiny.

“No, I’m a marble figure,” said Simon. “I don’t like being called a statue. Anyway, do you remember Alyssa leaning down before we left?”

“Yes,” said Destiny.

“I’d told her not to mention me to you guys until we came back,” Simon said.

“That was stupid,” said Destiny.

“Whatever,” said Simon.

Isabelle created the girls what they wanted for breakfast, and then they all introduced themselves to her, Simon, and Mathias. Isabelle then told them not to tell anyone at home about magical technology or creations.

“What time is it in New Jersey?” asked Mathias.

“It was afternoon when Master Beau kidnapped me,” said Hailey.

“Oh—how’s your dad?” asked Madison.

“We’re considering an assisted living home for him in Opal Stream,” said Hailey. “He can’t really learn too much anymore.”

“That’s horrible,” said Jasmine.

“Is Opal Stream where you’re living now?” Madison asked.

“I’m staying there while my grandparents apply to be my legal guardians,” said Hailey. She turned to Alyssa. “Alyssa, I found that letter from your godfather on the kitchen counter.”

“Okay,” she said.

“I called him and told him to call my grandparents’ number from now on,” said Hailey.

“You didn’t tell him where I was, did you?”

“No—I just told him you were busy. He didn’t ask for anything else.”

“That’s strange.” Alyssa drank her pineapple juice.

“So what’s the deal with sleeping assignments?” asked Madison.

“Wait—we don’t have anything with us,” said Jasmine.

“I can get your things after breakfast if you give me your addresses,” said Simon.

“Can you take us back?” asked Jasmine.

“I’m afraid I can’t, sorry,” Simon frowned. “One, I’m too small. Two, because you’re not sorceresses, you can’t magically disappear.”

“Wait, Simon—isn’t it illegal to disappear into another country?” asked Alyssa.

“Marble figures can get away with loads of things, Alyssa. I’ll bring an invisibility poncho to hide from other people. When no one else is around, though, I will pack what the girls need and then disappear with their bags.”

“How are you going to help us all at once?” asked Madison.

“I’m not,” said Simon. “I’m going to do one at a time.”

After breakfast, Simon asked the girls who wanted to receive their stuff first. They all wanted to, but Simon chose to start with Hailey. She told him the house address and listed what she needed. He grabbed a poncho and disappeared.

“Okay, girls, while Simon’s gone, why don’t we give you all your sleeping places?” asked Isabelle. “Alyssa, you can share your bed with Hailey.”

Alyssa nodded.

“Madison and Jasmine, you two share the middle bed,” said Isabelle.

“Isn’t that where Simon is sleeping, though?” asked Alyssa.

“I’m sure he won’t mind sleeping somewhere else,” said Mathias.

“Where’s he going to sleep?” asked Alyssa.

“Either Mathias or I will buy him a sleeping bag.” Isabelle turned to Destiny. “Destiny, you’ll be sleeping on the couch.”

“What?” asked Destiny. “Why can’t you create me a big bed with a canopy, like what I have at home?”

“Because wizards can’t create expensive objects they don’t already own,” said Isabelle.

“Can’t Alyssa and Hailey give up their bed?”

“Destiny, deal with what I gave you for now,” said Isabelle. “Alyssa and Hailey are not giving up their bed for you.”

“But I hate sleeping on couches,” Destiny said.

“It rolls out into a bed,” said Isabelle.

“Come on, Destiny, it’s great when you get to be by yourself,” said Madison.

“Yeah, but not when you have something you don’t like,” said Destiny.

“It’s only for now,” Isabelle said. “You’ll get to sleep in the bed you like when you go home.”

“Speaking of home—do you think that invisible wall will keep them from leaving this country too?” Alyssa referred to the other girls.

“Good point,” said Isabelle. “We’ll have to check.”

“How are we going to do that?” asked Jasmine.

“Maybe Simon will find out for us.” Alyssa then told them about his tablet.

“Well, I hope the wall goes down soon,” said Jasmine. “I don’t like being in a fantasy-like environment. It’s one thing to read books or watch movies about them, but being surrounded by magic in real life—that’s just weird and pretty scary.”

“I liked that Isabelle was able to create our breakfast just with her wand,” said Madison.

“Hello, everyone.” Simon stood there with Hailey’s suitcase and old backpack from school.

“Thanks,” said Hailey.

“No problem,” said Simon.

Over the next half hour, Simon left to get Madison, Jasmine, and Destiny’s stuff. The girls unpacked and changed into summer clothes for about twenty minutes until Simon decided to take out his tablet to show them what Master Beau was doing. He explained to the girls how the tracking app worked.

Master Beau stood in what looked like a conference room with all his workers seated in chairs. His arms were crossed, and he wore a glare on his face.

Alyssa figured that someone had used the Wekis weed to wake him up.

“Who told Alyssa McCarthy’s mentors where the girls were?” growled Master Beau.

“Mathias Williams put me under a spell,” said David. “I would never have told him on my own.”

“Why didn’t you stop him, David?” snapped Master Beau.

“I . . . I didn’t know he’d do it.”

“I’m putting you on probation,” said Master Beau. “You have one month to do everything right. Otherwise, you’re fired.”

“I found a creature and tranquilized it,” said Clarissa.

“What kind of creature is it?” asked Master Beau.

“A Cyclops frog,” responded Clarissa. “I was thinking that maybe you should hurt Alyssa’s mentors first before you hurt her and her friends.”

“But they’re always with the girls,” Master Beau said.

“Cyclops frogs have the power to hypnotize people into coming to them,” said Seamus.

“Wow, I didn’t know that,” said Master Beau.

“Why don’t you also make the frog hypnotize the girls into ignoring their mentors while they get attacked?” asked Clarissa.

“Good plan,” said Master Beau. “Is the frog hooked up to the computer?”

“Yes,” said Clarissa.

“Perfect,” said Master Beau. “This meeting is over. You can all take your coffee break while I work on the computer.”

Everyone gasped.

“What are we going to do?” asked Hailey as Simon closed the app.

“We’re going to have to make a potion to create a shield,” said Isabelle.

“Do you have a Brewbot?” asked Mathias.

“I can go buy one while you stay behind,” said Isabelle. “I haven’t been to Arietta’s in a year.”

“What’s that?” asked Hailey.

“It’s a huge magical department store,” said Isabelle. “It’s kind of like Costco with all the different things you can buy. You have to be a member to go there.”

“It’s also invisible to ordinary people.” Mathias turned to Isabelle. “Do you want to renew your membership?”

“I can do that online.” Isabelle sat down and made her laptop appear on her lap.

“Isabelle, what if the frog comes before you make the potion?” asked Alyssa. “We need to have a backup plan.”

“I can let you know when the frog is released from Master Beau’s computer,” said Simon. “Then we’ll all hide in the bedroom under invisibility ponchos.”

“What if the frog sees through it?” asked Hailey.

“They can’t see through closed doors,” said Simon. “I’ll assure you that.”

“How do you know?” Hailey asked.

“I had to read about them for a magic science project in marble figure university,” said Simon.

“Those exist?” asked Destiny.

“Yes.” Simon frowned. “They’re in wilderness areas and protected by a shield so that humans can’t see them.”

“That sounds tough,” said Madison.

“It was,” Simon said. “If we wanted to leave school grounds, the attendance office had to approve of where we were going. They could only be places in the wizarding world.”

“Wow,” said Madison.

“Okay, everyone, I renewed my account at Arietta’s,” Isabelle said. “I’m going to go. If I’m not back before the frog, you should all hide.” She held out her hands and disappeared.

“All right, why don’t I look up ways to defeat the frog?” asked Mathias.

“You sure you want to do that?” asked Hailey.

“Yeah, the frog wants to hurt you,” Madison added.

“Well, we can’t just sit here and wait for Isabelle,” said Simon. “We’ve got to do something.”

“I’ll take out my laptop,” said Mathias.

“Don’t bother,” said Simon. “I’ve updated my Internet connection, so we can go on my tablet and look up what the frog eats.”

“What was wrong with the Internet before?” asked Hailey.

“It was a bit slow,” said Simon. “But it’s better now.” He grabbed his tablet from the couch and picked it up—only for a thump to come from outside.

“The frog couldn’t have come here so fast,” said Jasmine.

A croak sounded. Everybody turned to the tent flaps.

“Everyone, let’s hide now,” said Mathias. “I’ve been thinking that we stay out here, so if something happens to Isabelle, we’ll know.”

They each put on a poncho. Alyssa sat on the couch, her chest stinging. Prickles tingled under her skin and sweat spotted her face. The thumps and croaks grew louder. Alyssa rushed her breathing. The same noises vibrated her eardrums as they continued to louden. But a swish sounded, and Alyssa gasped. Uh oh. Had the frog appeared under the tent?

The answer was yes. Alyssa leaned back, ready to shriek. She opened her mouth but covered it since she remembered what the creature would do. A frog about the size of a deer looked down. It had a huge black eye in its face’s center and slimy-looking brown skin. Alyssa shut her eyes and considered what the frog might do to her.

When is Isabelle going to be back? Alyssa asked herself. She heard no other swishes, and Mathias would refrain from calling Isabelle on his phone right now.

“You are welcome to weaken me,” said Mathias in a robotic tone.

Alyssa gasped and opened her eyes. She turned to Mathias, who looked at the frog. His eyes had turned all yellow as if he had no irises or pupils. The frog croaked and stuck out its tongue, which wrapped around Mathias’s body and pulled him toward it.

Temptations to remove the poncho took over Alyssa’s mind. Her jaw stayed dropped as she quickened up her breaths. Tears watered her eyes as the frog’s eye puffed with black gas. The gas clouded around Mathias.

“No!” squeaked Alyssa. But she clapped her hand over her mouth.

“Mathias!” cried Isabelle.

Alyssa turned to her as she staggered down the stairs, carrying a large box. She put it down as the frog let go of him. But the frog looked at her and hypnotized her too.

“I’ve got to save them,” whispered Alyssa. She unzipped her hood and peeled off her poncho.

“Alyssa, what are you doing?”