Mrs. E was safe, and Kodoc would never catch me now. He didn’t control me anymore—maybe he never had. Because Hazel and Swedish were right. I didn’t belong to Kodoc, not even close.
The sun warmed my face as I spun to look at the cargo raft flying above me. Bea beamed from the engine, waving her cap wildly and hopping around like a flea. I lifted a hand to her as the tether dragged me upward. A minute later, Swedish dragged me on deck and into a back-thumping bear hug.
Yeah, I knew exactly where I belonged.
“For a second there,” he muttered in a choked voice, “I thought they got you.”
“They wouldn’t dare,” Loretta said. “You’ve got a fighter in the crew now.”
“Ow!” I said as Swedish thumped me again. “Ouch!”
“He’s bleeding, Swede!” Hazel snapped. “Let him go.”
“Oops!” he said, releasing me. “Sorry.”
When I swayed, Hazel grabbed me—and hugged me even tighter.
She didn’t say anything. Neither did I. We just held each other as the deck shifted beneath us and the propellers spun. Maybe she cried a little—maybe we both did—but for once I didn’t care if anyone was watching. For once, I wasn’t afraid of being seen.
“You did it,” she finally said.
“We did it,” I told her. “How long before we reach the Port?”
Her smile was the brightest thing in the world. “Look behind you.”
I turned and there it was: the jagged green gleaming peaks of Port Oro, framed by the sun. We’d fought the bosses and the troopers and Lord Kodoc himself, and we’d won.
“We made it,” Hazel said. “We’re home.”
Acknowledgments
Many thanks to Caitlin Blasdell, Alyson Day, Renée Cafiero, Toni Markiet, Joel Tippie, Jenna Lisanti, Gina Rizzo, and Tina Wexler.
About the Author
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Credits
Cover art © 2015 by Matt Rockefeller
Cover design by Joel Tippie
Copyright
THE FOG DIVER. Copyright © 2015 by Joel Ross. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
www.harpercollinschildrens.com
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ross, Joel N., date
The Fog diver / Joel Ross.
pages cm
Summary: “In this futuristic high-stakes adventure, humanity clings to cities on the highest mountain peaks above the deadly Fog, and airships transport the pirates of the skies. Daring 13-year-old tetherboy Chess and his salvage crew must face the dark plans of Lord Kodoc and work to save their beloved Mrs. E”—Provided by publisher.
ISBN 978-0-06-235293-4 (hardback)
EPub Edition © April 2015 ISBN 9780062352965
[1. Adventure and adventurers—Fiction. 2. Survival—Fiction. 3. Recycling (Waste, etc.)—Fiction. 4. Environmental degradation—Fiction. 5. Orphans—Fiction. 6. Science fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.1.R677Fog 2015 2014034154
AC
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15 16 17 18 19 CG/RRDH 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
FIRST EDITION
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