Read Island of the Sun for Free Online

elements, the hangar would be dangerously cold within moments. With the door open, the plane’s cabin would, too.
    â€œHow long has it been since that other guy left?” Julian asked.
    â€œFifteen minutes?” Finn said. “Maybe longer?”
    â€œSo we’ve got ten minutes, tops,” Julian said. He got up and pulled his mask out of a pocket in his polar suit. “I’m going to go see if I can help Luke.”
    Eleanor liked that idea better than sitting and doing nothing. “Me too.”
    Finn nodded and rose from his seat, and the three of them pulled on their masks before exiting the plane.
    They found Luke and Eleanor’s mom up by the nose. Luke stood on a stepladder beneath an open panel, reaching into
Consuelo
and fiddling with some wires.
    â€œCan you fix it?” Eleanor’s mom said.
    â€œJust give me a minute.” Luke grunted. “Fortunately for us, sabotage wasn’t those agents’ specialty.”
    Eleanor’s mom turned toward Eleanor as she andthe others approached. “Sweetie, I told you to wait on the plane.”
    â€œWe wanted to help,” Eleanor said.
    â€œNot much you can do,” Luke said.
    â€œBoys!” Dr. Powers called. “Get back on board!”
    â€œWe’re fine, Dad!” Finn said.
    â€œI know you’re fine.” Dr. Powers glanced down at the G.E.T. agent and then strode toward his sons, pointing toward the plane. “But I still want you back on board!”
    â€œDad, relax,” Finn said. “We—”
    â€œHey!” Betty shouted.
    Eleanor looked in her direction. The G.E.T. agent had seized the moment of distraction and now bolted headlong toward the open hangar doors, hands still cuffed behind his back.
    Dr. Powers launched after him and shouted, “Stop!” while closing some of the distance quickly, but not all of it. As he neared the agent, Dr. Powers leaped forward, hands outstretched, to tackle him, but he only grazed the agent’s ankles and landed in a hard roll on the ground. The agent passed through the doors and got away.
    Finn and Julian ran to their father and helped him up. “Should—should I go after him?” Dr. Powers asked, rubbing his elbow as he returned to Eleanor, her mother, and Betty.
    â€œWon’t matter either way if we can’t get this thing off the ground!” Luke shouted from the nose of the plane, where he continued to work.
    â€œRight,” Dr. Powers said.
    â€œJust get everyone on the plane. I’ve almost got it.”
    They moved as a group toward the stairway and ascended in single file until they were all inside the passenger cabin. They took their seats, Eleanor and her mom next to each other in the front row, Betty across the aisle from them. Julian and Dr. Powers sat behind her, while Finn sat alone in the row behind Eleanor. A few moments later, Luke came in and slammed the door behind him, then moved quickly through the cabin toward the cockpit.
    â€œStrap in,” he said as he passed Eleanor. “We’re not out of the blizzard yet.”
    Eleanor buckled herself in and leaned into the aisle to watch as Luke took his pilot’s seat, removed his mask, and put on his headphones, almost wishing she were sitting up there with him as she’d done before.
Consuelo
’s console lit up at his touch, more brightly than Eleanor remembered it, as if the plane were somehow eager to get away. Her engines rumbled to life.
    â€œWe’re in business,” Luke shouted over his shoulder. “Here we go.”
    Eleanor’s mother took her hand and gave it asqueeze. Eleanor squeezed hers back as
Consuelo
lurched forward. The whine of the engines pitched higher in the cabin, and the plane rolled forward, out of the hangar, into the spreading dawn. The sun wasn’t up yet, but the stars had fully retreated.
    â€œI’m not gonna radio the tower,” Luke said. “They wouldn’t give us