Once they got to the island, she and the other girls pulled the boat far enough onto the beach that it would not be washed away. She sighed and hoped that her actions had not permanently damaged Jay's baby. Nixie pulled her cell phone from her dress pocket and looked down at it. She had 1 bar amazingly enough. She tried to make a call, but it kept dropping after the first ring. She sighed again.

"I've got a single bar. Dad got me this new phone. They advertised that it would have good signal "anywhere," but apparently that did not include Mako Island." She bit down on her lower lip and looked toward the hills and forest all around them. "Maybe higher ground would help?" She put her phone back into her pocket, grabbed her bag and pulled out a couple test tubes. "But first, let me get this really quick before in all the excitement we forget. I know none of us want to fail." She went to the edge of the water, kicked her shoes off and waded to her knees, getting the end of her dress wet. She didn't really care; Nixie had always had a thing for the water. After all, she had been born in one of those fancy water births.

----

"Is everyone okay with climbing." She was wearing flip flops, so after debating the risk of keeping them on and spraining her ankle on or taking them off and risking stepping on something sharp, she decided she'd rather take the second risk. She had eyes and smarts enough to look where she was walking. Nixie put them in her backpack next to the test tubes and then put the bag around her shoulders. "Phones out. Watch for a signal, but make sure to watch your step!" She started off, first in line. They would be climbing the hill, which in reality was the bottom of the volcano, now covered with all sorts of plant and wildlife. It was quite amazing how everything had evolved over the years.

The mangrove forest was so breathtaking up close. She looked at the swampy waters and wondered what kind of creatures lived out of sight. She swore she saw a crocodile slipping off a log and into the waters. Nixie paused and squinted her eyes, watching as sure enough a small crocodile moved smoothly through the waters, away from them, to the other side of the swamp area. Some people might feel frightened with such a creature nearby, but she felt at ease because she could tell that it was a freshie. "There's a freshwater croc. They won't attack unless provoked." Amazing creatures.

Nixie looked down at her phone and sighed. "Still one bar." She pointed up toward a rocky part of the volcano that if they climbed would take them to a higher part of the island. "It looks easy enough to climb." She looked down at her bare feet. "Even with no shoes." Most of the rocks had been smoothed over by streams of water that had been continuously pouring out of openings in the volcano and into the mangrove forest for over a hundred years, if not more. "Just don't slip. It will be really wet."

She grabbed onto one of the rocks and pulled herself up. It did not take too much effort. She was fit enough. Living on a small island, people mostly walked to where they needed to go, and of course there was a lot of swimming and surfing, though she was more of a swimmer than a surfer. Every few feet of height, she paused and checked her phone. Nothing.

Getting frustrated, she threw up her arms and groaned. "This stupid phone." She was concentrating so much on her phone that she wasn't paying attention to what she was doing. The next thing she knew, darkness and a tightness surrounded her. She was sliding down a smooth, dirt covered tunnel. At the bottom of the tunnel, she tumbled out and did a somersault, landing on ground made out of some sort of rock. Disoriented, she could only blink her eyes a few times. When her vision returned to normal and her eyes adjusted to the lower light, she gasped.

It was a cave, a beautiful cavern filled with strange blue crystals imbedded into the rocky walls. There was almost a glow coming from them, but the most wonderful thing had to be the blue/green pool of water in the middle of the mysterious area. 

Nixie stood up, shaking on her feet at first.

"Oh wow...Guys! Guys, can you hear me? Be careful." 

She looked up the tunnel. It was much too steep and slippery for her to climb. Nixie turned away from the tunnel and walked a little ways toward the middle of the cave, toward the pool. She bent down and looked inside. It was so clear and looked almost like it would be drinkable, though the few bubbles at the surface, made her believe it was connected to the ocean. 

'I've got this weird vibe,' Nixie thought. 'It's almost like this place is magical.' She stood up and did a silly spin. Despite falling into a place that seemed impossible to escape, she felt really excited. Not only was the place mysterious and beautiful, it even felt wonderful. The air inside was fresh and cool on her skin and it smelled like strawberries and spring time. It also made her feel safe; like nothing could ever harm her while in this cavern.

"It's so amazing down here," Nixie yelled up to the girls. She looked up and gasped once again. There was a perfect round opening far above her. "Oh my gosh. I'm at the bottom of the volcano." It was hard telling how far the true bottom of the volcano was. For all she knew, she could be near the sea floor. The opening above her sure looked a million miles away. It was daunting and a little scary, but did not stop her from wanting to explore the cave more.