Read Online Undertow by Michael Buckley - Free Book Online

years. He and Rochelle and Samuel just vanished. There was no goodbye, no letter. They took nothing from their apartment, and even Samuel’s doctors, who were prepping him for a hip replacement, couldn’t track them down. Now we know he was taken somewhere, just like Melissa Wheeler and her husband and five kids. Just like Bennett Walsh and his partner, Darren, and the Griffins, and the Hans and the Devillers. One family after another—just gone, and all of them were original families.
    My dad warned me that Terrance would look bad, but I wasn’t expecting him to be this bad. His clothes are filthy and there are holes in his shoes. He looks skinny and exhausted, and his nervous eyes flit around the room suspiciously, as if one of us might leap up and attack him at any time.
    â€œI was told I’d have time to prepare the students,” Mr. Ervin complains.
    â€œThe schedule is evolving,” the man in the dark suit explains.
    He walks out, taking the soldiers with him. Terrance follows. He didn’t notice me, or if he did, I couldn’t tell. One National Guardsman stays behind and stations himself at the door. He watches us while fingering his M-16.
    â€œYou can go too,” Mr. Ervin says to him.
    The soldier shakes his head. “My orders are to stay.”
    Mr. Ervin scowls. “I need to speak to your supervisor.”
    The soldier gives him a withering look, then gestures to the hall. Mr. Ervin stomps past him, slamming the door as he goes, and an argument erupts between him and several people. I hear something about classrooms and prisons, but most of it I can’t make out. The soldier at the door looks on, unfazed by the noise. Meanwhile, the Nix and the Sirena stand in the front of the room, staring back at us.
    A moment later Mr. Ervin barges back into the room.
    â€œI’m sorry about this. I’m Mr. Ervin. Welcome to our class,” he says as he takes the Sirena by the hand and shakes it vigorously. She’s alarmed and stares down at her hand like he plans to keep it. Then he does the same to the Nix, who hisses and pulls away. “Students, this is Luna and Ghost. They will be sitting in on our classes, observing for the time being, while they take special classes to help them catch up on reading and math.”
    One of the kids in the back leads the class in laughter. “Wait! That one’s name is Ghost? That’s a crazy-ass name!”
    â€œAll right, Jorge. Yes, it’s unusual. The Alpha language is complex and meant to be spoken underwater,” Mr. Ervin explains. “From what I understand, some of it is impossible for humans to speak, so each of the thirty thousand immigrants were given a new name by members of the Red Cross. Sometimes they picked names that sounded similar to their own, but when that wasn’t possible, they had to be given English names. As you can imagine, they ran out of Jennifers and Davids and Jorges pretty fast, so the volunteers got creative. Luna’s name must come from the old amusement park. I think there was a haunted-house ride with the word
Ghost
in its name.”
    â€œSo one of them is named Funnel Cake?” Gabriel says. He is rewarded with howls of laughter.
    â€œBe cool,” Mr. Ervin begs. “Luna, Ghost, welcome. I hope you can forgive us, but we’re all very curious about you. Not many people have gotten to speak with an Alpha face-to-face, and I bet the class has a million questions. I know I do. Would you share a little about yourselves? Why don’t we start with you, Luna?”
    Luna looks pleadingly at Ghost. He nods, and she turns back to Mr. Ervin.
    â€œMy name is Luna. I am a Daughter of Sirena,” she says, shifting her gaze between the teacher and Ghost.
    â€œDaughter of Sirena?” Mr. Ervin says.
    â€œYes, Sirena was the first of the Alpha. Our clan has taken her honorable name.”
    â€œHow fascinating!”
    The scales on her arms and neck turn a