THE PERFECT TEN (Boxed Set)

about that when we found some liquid. With as much as we were sweating, dehydration was a given. I’d gotten more light-headed with each step and I was sure a small furry rodent had slept in my mouth for a week.
    “I’m not taking sides,” Gabby added. “Nor am I arguing with the logic of going back to the pod area, but I don’t think you know where you’re going and rushing forward isn’t safe.”
    Tony’s gaze turned hard as tempered steel for a few seconds, then remorse washed all that away. Something was driving him even beyond the basic desire we all had to return home. Some fear that hid inside his anxiety and shook beneath his words. “I haven’t figured out what the freak happened to get us here or where the freak here is, but I can’t be late checkin’ back in with Suarez this afternoon. I’ve got a lot on the line for this Top Ten Project. A lot .”
    “Like what?” Gabby asked, her voice holding no bite.
    Tony looked as though he would tell her the truth, but his gaze shifted from worried to arrogant, quickly shielding whatever vulnerability he wanted to keep hidden. He cracked his knuckles, burning off energy even when he was exhausted. “Unlike you two, I am going to MIT.”
    Between dealing with the beast-turned-bird back at the school and getting sucked into this alternate dimension, I’d forgotten about my own time pressure. I had to be in Dr. Maxwell’s office by five o’clock. 
    I had to find out who I was.
    Of everywhere I’d been since opening my eyes today, the school offered me the best place to learn who I was and somewhere safe while I figured that out.
    Except for the beast that was still there. But I’d take my chances with it to get Gabby and Tony back to safety. I didn’t fit into their world, but I believed they were in this world because of me.
    And right now, worrying about anything except escaping here and getting back to the school was laughable.
    Gabby huffed an exasperated breath at Tony. “You’re not the only one with time issues.”
    “Oh, yeah?” Tony said. “What’s pushin’ on you, sweet cakes?”
    “You, right now.”  She dismissed him with a wave of one hand, and started stretching as if she had a routine that relaxed her.
    Tony ignored her and pinned me with a “what now?” glare.
    I hadn’t asked to be in charge and if Tony thought he had all the answers he could start sharing. “Okay, genius, if you want to keep going, we need water. Got ideas on where to find it?”
    Tony looked surprised to be put on the spot, but all he offered was a tired shake of his head. “Told you. I’m out of my element here.”
    Great.
    “Gabby?” I asked, not expecting much, but with her gifts she might be able to find water. When she gave me a confused look, I said gently, “You have some abilities. I’m not asking you to share what they are, but I dug my fingers into the ground during the last stop and didn’t reach moisture.”
    She nodded, took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “I’m not a diviner,” she murmured, though I didn’t have a clue what that meant. “But I’ll give this a try.”
    I shot a look at Tony to warn him not to ridicule her, but he actually watched her intently as if he hoped she could do something.
    Gabby dropped her head back and held her arms out to each side in a motion of opening up to the world. Her lips moved silently then she frowned and lowered her arms. When she opened her eyes, she cocked her head, listening for something. “Hear that?”
    “What?”  Tony looked around. “You hear water, maybe moving like a stream or river?”
    She twisted her head one direction, then another, getting a fix on what I couldn’t hear. But she’d heard those bats before, way sooner than I had, so I turned my head in the direction she faced...and caught a faint sound.
    A high whine that sounded like a cry.
    “Is that a child?” Gabby stood straighter, pointing in the direction we’d been heading. “That way.”
    “A kid?” Tony looked confused. “I thought you were divining for water?” 
    Gabby turned on him and snapped, “I’m not a magic wand! I hear what I hear and right now it’s the sound of a child crying. Some things are more important than you.” 
    Tony jerked back. I didn’t blame him. Our rainbow butterfly had fangs. What had triggered that reaction in Gabby? The child’s cry?
    “I hear it, too,” I confirmed.
    Tony slapped his forehead. “That could be anything in this place.”  He dropped