Read Online Seeds of Time by K. C. Dyer - Free Book Online Page B

darkness of the cave. Darrell silently gave thanks. The sun had not yet risen over the mountains, but the sky had lightened and daylight slipped through the crack in the rock face above. With daylight came a better chance to get pictures. At the same time, her heart sank. Daylight also meant a greater chance of being caught herself, a prospect she didn’t relish. She remembered with a pang that she had not told anyone where she was going.
    Her chest rose and fell silently. She could feel her heart pounding in her ears. It sounded much louder to her than the waves lapping on the beach.
    All her energy was poured into listening.
    The engine noise died in the distance, so at first she wasn’t sure. The sound, a low crunch, sounded like a part of the background: the noise of the tide gliding in over the rocks, broken shells, and sand on the beach. She heard it again and knew it for what it was. A footstep. Darrell tightened her grip on the camera, drew her breath in through her teeth, and waited. Everything depended on her silence right now.
    The voices grew louder, though whoever was out there was speaking in low tones and was still at somedistance from Darrell’s hiding place in the cave. Delaney stirred, his ears forward and his eyes alert. Darrell gave him the hand signal for S
tay
, and he remained motionless in his spot on the sand. She slid silently closer to the cave entrance, her camera poised.
    Darrell peeked with one eye around the edge of the rock that guarded the entrance to the cave. Lichen scraped her cheek, but she ignored it as she aimed her camera at the action unfolding nearby.
    A small boat was pulled up past the water line on the beach inside the tiny cove formed by the sweep of boulders that marched from the cliffs to the shore. The spot was completely shielded from the view of the school by the giant rocks. Two figures were loading the white plastic boxes into the boat, and Darrell could see that one of them was Conrad, dressed from head to toe in black. He wore a black woollen hat on his head and had smudges of mud smeared on his face. She pulled her head back into the cave for a moment, stifling a smile. He was clearly taking this commando business seriously.
    Checking her camera, Darrell could see she had several shots left. She took a step backwards to make sure that no one outside would hear the advancing of the film, and her foot jammed against something soft. Delaney gave a little squeak as Darrell tumbled to the sandy floor of the cave with a thud.

    Darrell could hear a sudden silence as all activity outside came to an abrupt halt.
    â€œDid you hear anything?” she heard Conrad hiss anxiously on the beach. She sat on the floor of the cave, frozen with fear, her leg wrapped around Delaney’s front paws, over which she had tripped. She didn’t dare to move for fear of further alerting Conrad, but she had fallen in a position where she could not see what was going on outside.
    Another voice, low pitched and rough, spoke out.
    â€œIt may have just been the sound of the water in the rocks,” the voice began. “Or it could be a problem. Conrad! You told me there wouldn’t be any problems.”
    Darrell could hear Conrad again. She hardly recognized his voice. She realized that he sounded scared. She had never heard him sound like
that
before!
    â€œIt’s okay, Dad. I’m sure it was just the tide. This place is just fine, believe me. I’ve been casing it out for months. This stretch of beach is deserted. None of the brainoid kids who go to that school ever come down here.” His voice gained more confidence. “No problem, Dad. This place is really safe.”
    The low-pitched, rough voice came again. “I hope you’re right, kid. Because the risks are all yours. You’re the one with everything to lose.” Darrell could hear the gravel crunch. “We’re already more than an hour behind schedule because you couldn’t get