Eruption at Krakatoa Read online

  Copyright

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  Copyright © 2020 by Katrina Charman

  Illustrations copyright © 2020 by Owen Richardson

  Cover art copyright © 2020 by Owen Richardson. Cover design by Kelly Brennan. Cover copyright © 2020 by Hachette Book Group, Inc.

  Hachette Book Group supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.

  The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

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  First Edition: May 2020

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  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Charman, Katrina, author.

  Title: Eruption at Krakatoa / by Katrina Charman.

  Description: First edition. | New York : Little, Brown and Company, 2020. | Series: Survival tails; book 4 | Includes bibliographical references. | Audience: Ages 8–12. | Summary: A parakeet, a rhinoceros, and a tiger must team up to survive the catastrophic eruption of Krakatoa.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2019039248 | ISBN 9780316477994 (paperback) | ISBN 9780316477956 (ebook) | ISBN 9780316477987 (ebook)

  Subjects: LCSH: Krakatoa (Indonesia)—Eruption, 1883—Juvenile fiction. | CYAC: Krakatoa (Indonesia)—Eruption, 1883—Fiction. | Survival—Fiction. | Parakeets—Fiction. | Rhinoceroses—Fiction. | Tiger—Fiction.

  Classification: LCC PZ7.1.C495 Er 2020 | DDC [Fic]—dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019039248

  ISBNs: 978-0-316-47799-4 (pbk.), 978-0-316-47795-6 (ebook)

  E3-20200327-JV-NF-ORI

  Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Part One

  Chapter One: Melati

  Chapter Two: Budi

  Chapter Three: Melati

  Chapter Four: Budi

  Chapter Five: Melati

  Chapter Six: Raja

  Chapter Seven: Melati

  Part Two

  Chapter Eight: Melati

  Chapter Nine: Budi

  Chapter Ten: Melati

  Chapter Eleven: Budi

  Chapter Twelve: Melati

  Chapter Thirteen: Raja

  Chapter Fourteen: Melati

  Chapter Fifteen: Raja

  Chapter Sixteen: Budi

  Chapter Seventeen: Melati

  Chapter Eighteen: Budi

  Chapter Nineteen: Melati

  Chapter Twenty: Budi

  Chapter Twenty-One: Melati

  Author’s Note

  Animal Facts

  Timeline

  Glossary

  Further Reading

  About the Author

  For Maddie, Piper, and Riley

  PART ONE

  CHAPTER ONE

  Melati

  May 9, 1883

  Krakatoa, Indonesia

  Melati awoke with the dawn alongside other parakeets and colorful birds on the island of Krakatoa. It was her favorite part of the day, when the sun arose above the mountains in the distance and the sound of birdsong played like a melody through the gently swaying palm trees. She breathed in the sweet, salty air, then flew up and over the ocean, soaring in a wide circle around her island as she did every morning. The summits of the three mountains of Krakatoa rose into view—Perboewatan, Danan, and Rakata. Their sides were covered in every shade of green imaginable, by the ferns and tall grasses, palm and coconut trees that thrived in the tropical heat of Indonesia. Each mountain had a dip in its peak as though an elephant had sat upon it.

  Down by the shore, as they often were at that time of the morning, were the humans. A group of three fishermen moored their wooden boat close to the shoreline and waded through the crystal-clear blue water. Melati watched them cast their nets out over the gentle waves as they fished, gathering food for their families. Melati didn’t mind the humans much. She knew that some of the other birds on the island feared them, but the fishermen did no harm. They took only what they needed from the ocean and the island—on occasion, they would search the forest for fallen trees, to make or repair their boats.

  The fishermen took little interest in the birds on Krakatoa. It was common for the humans to see many of the hundreds of colorful birds on the island—parakeets, birds of paradise, and cockatoos.

  One of the men noticed Melati loitering on the beach. He reached into a small woven bag and pulled out a handful of nuts, tossing them onto the sand. Melati hopped forward eagerly, then paused. The nuts had landed a lot closer to the humans than she would have liked. She took a chance and hopped a little closer, not wanting to lose out on the chance of a tasty snack.

  In a quick burst, she flew to the nuts and scooped them up in her beak, along with a mouthful of sand, then flew up into the closest tree. She dropped the nuts onto the thick branch and spat out the rough grains of sand. She had bent down to savor the first nut when the men stood suddenly, shouting and pointing out at the sea. She followed the men’s gaze. The surface of the ocean lay completely flat, without even the slightest wave or wrinkle or imperfection. It was as though it had just stopped. Frozen in place. Even the humans’ fishing boat lay ominously still, no longer rising or falling with the gentle ebb and flow of the tide.

  Then, in a blink of an eye, all returned to normal. Melati shook her head, confused about what had just happened. She had never seen the sea act that way before. The waves washed gently against the shore once more, and the fishing boat bobbed and swayed in the water. The men, though, were spooked. They shouted to one another, ran out into the sea, and swam to the boat, grabbing the handcrafted wooden oars and swiftly rowing away without a backward glance, leaving their nets behind. Melati swallowed thickly, then glanced down at her stash of nuts, a sense of unease building inside her stomach.

  She picked up the nuts and flew to her nest to tuck them away beneath some leaves; then she took another lap of the island, searching for anything that might explain what had happened to the water. The birds chattered and sang to one another through the trees. The insects buzzed and busied themselves collecting leaves and food, building nests, making honey. Melati wondered if she had been imagining things. It might have been nothing more than a change in the wind that had caused the sea to stop moving for a moment. Just an illusion, or a trick of the mind.

  Melati tried to brush the incident away and returned to her tree. She groomed her green-and-yellow feathers, smoothing down any that were out of place and pulling the loose ones to add to her nest. Then she settled down to sleep with her head beneath her wing. Finally, her worries drained away as she let herself sink into a calm, deep sleep.

  Suddenly, Melati was awoken by something shaking her. At first she thought another bird had landed on her branch. But when she opened her eyes she saw a flock of parakeets flying away.

  “What’s going on?” she called
out to them. But they were too far off to hear her cries.

  Unsettled, she had opened her wings to investigate when an almighty rumble emanated from the earth. She clung to her branch, digging her sharp claws into the wood to stop herself from falling. The vibrations pulsed through her. The tremor was so fierce that it shook the tree from side to side, as though it were in the middle of a storm. But the sky was clear and the weather fine.

  Melati froze, trying to resist the sound of the beating in her ears urging her to fly away, fly away now! She swooped down to the ground, landing near a small outcrop of rocks, and waited. The tremor came again. This time she felt it. It started in her feet, a small vibration that almost tickled. Then it moved up her legs and through her body, spreading through her feathers and radiating out to their very tips.

  She had felt tremors before. There had been the occasional rumble in the distance, but that was from the mainland—Sumatra or Java—not on Krakatoa. Never on Krakatoa. This one felt different. Not only could she feel it moving through the earth and her body, but it was also all around her in the very air. The waves were invisible and silent, but there was an unmistakable rush that seemed to emanate out from the core of the island itself.

  Melati’s feathers shook. She suddenly felt very afraid. When the shaking had eased and her head had stopped buzzing, she flew off in the direction of the other parakeets to find out what had happened. But once she was through the thick canopy of trees, she found no sign of them. Instead, she flew to the mountains. She had heard other birds who visited the island talk of mountains that roared and blew out fire, which made the very ground open up and swallow everything in its path. But Krakatoa had always been a quiet, safe island. Her sanctuary.

  She reached Rakata first. It was as still and quiet as usual. She flew on to Danan. Again, everything seemed calm and quiet. The birds had returned to their trees and, despite a few ruffled feathers, seemed unbothered by the unusual state of affairs. Melati flew to Perboewatan. As she approached, it seemed just as it always was, but when she flew around to the other side, she noticed something shifting at its base. She descended to get a closer look, as a loud crack filled the air. Melati glanced up just in time to see a huge chunk of rock crumble and break off. She screeched, managing to duck out of the way, narrowly avoiding being thrown to the ground with it. The rock landed on the earth with a loud thud, echoing through the trees.

  Then slowly, to Melati’s horror, more and more rock began to break away, sliding down the mountainside, and a thin plume of smoke rose from a deep gash in the side of the mountain where the rock had once been.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Budi

  May 10, 1883

  Southern Sumatran Rain Forest

  Budi basked in the cool, muddy puddle, letting the mud ooze and squelch between his toes as his vast body sank down into it. He swatted his tail back and forth lazily, trying to wave off the flies that had gathered. But it didn’t do much good, and he had little energy to be bothered to give any more effort. He was glad of the peace and quiet (if he ignored the incessant flies buzzing in his ears) after spending the morning trying to calm the monkeys. They had gotten into an argument with an orangutan about who had the rights to the fruit of a jackfruit tree. After much calming down, Budi had convinced them that there was plenty of fruit to share, but he knew that as soon as he was out of sight, the quarrel would likely begin again. He just hoped it didn’t escalate into poop flinging, as it often did when it came to the monkeys.

  He had closed his eyes with a loud sigh when suddenly his ears pricked up as he sensed a predator nearby. He sighed again, then turned his head ever so casually so as not to startle the predator into making any sudden movements that it might live to regret—as relaxed as he might seem, it was a foolish animal who tried to take on a Sumatran rhinoceros. From the corner of his eye, Budi saw a slight quiver in the trees, as though a light breeze had passed through.

  Budi hauled himself from the mud with a sucking sound, then lowered his head so that his horns were in full view, facing his potential attacker head-on. At the same time, a giant tiger soared through the trees, claws out, teeth bared. But at the last second, the tiger darted to the side and rolled on the ground, convulsing with laughter.

  Budi huffed and plonked himself back into the mud. “Raja,” he said, his voice rumbling like thunder.

  “Your face!” Raja roared. “I’ve never seen you look so fierce.”

  “I could have killed you, you know,” Budi said.

  “You could have tried,” Raja retorted, finally catching his breath enough to talk. “Your eyes were all wide, and your legs trembled.”

  “My legs did not tremble!” Budi spat. “I knew you were there the entire time. At least you had the good sense to swerve before you were impaled by my horn.”

  Raja laughed again. “You wouldn’t really hurt me, would you, old friend?”

  Budi huffed again and shook his head. He had looked out for Raja since he was a cub. Raja knew that Budi wouldn’t hurt him any more than he would hurt any other living creature in the jungle. That’s not to say that he wasn’t sometimes tempted, though. Especially when Raja pulled silly tricks like that. At least he had scared away the irritating flies.

  “The monkeys are arguing with the orangutan again,” Budi said, changing the subject.

  Raja yawned and stretched out his long, muscular body. His striped orange-and-black fur rippled as he tried to get comfortable. “Can’t you deal with it? You are my second-in-command. You’re always so much better at reasoning with the monkeys.”

  Budi glared at Raja. “Nobody can reason with the monkeys,” he said. “And you may see me as your second, but none of the other animals in this jungle do. You are king of the jungle. It is your job to keep the peace, just as your father did and his father before him.”

  Raja yawned again. “But it’s hot, and I’m so tired. This is exactly why I appointed you my assistant.”

  Budi stood suddenly and stared Raja down. “I am not your assistant!”

  “All right, all right,” Raja said, a small grin appearing on his face. “I’ll check on the monkeys… if you can beat me in a race.”

  With that, he was off, before Budi could even argue. Despite his not wanting to play Raja’s games, Budi’s pride got the better of him. He raced after Raja, trampling fallen branches and anything else that got in his way. A little way ahead, he spied Raja’s thick tail swishing back and forth as he ran.

  “You forget,” Budi called out, with a renewed burst of energy, “that rhinos can run almost as fast as tigers… especially when they know of a shortcut.”

  Budi swerved suddenly, taking a different path through the trees. A second later he flew through some bushes to appear right beside Raja, who lost his composure for a second before flashing Budi a toothy grin.

  “Did you say almost as fast?” Raja teased, pulling ahead.

  Something caught Budi’s eye up ahead. He dug his feet into the ground, trying to slow down. “Watch out!”

  Raja’s eyes widened as a small gray pangolin cowered in front of them. Raja leaped into the air, narrowly avoiding a collision with the pangolin as he soared over her head and landed elegantly behind her. Budi was not as lucky. He smacked into a tree with such ferocity that the trunk snapped clean into two, then crashed to the jungle floor.

  “Are you all right, Dewi?” Budi asked the small pangolin, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath. The pangolin was still rooted to the spot, her eyes twice as big as usual.

  “Y-yes,” Dewi stuttered.

  “Raja?” Budi asked slowly. “Do you have something to say to Dewi?”

  Dewi’s eyes widened farther at this. “Oh no, Your Majesty, you don’t have to apologize to me. I was in your way.… I should have moved faster.”

  “Raja,” Budi prompted.

  Raja rolled his eyes. “I am sorry that Budi is such a large, cumbersome creature that he was unable to outrun me.” He looked at the monkeys who had appeared in
the branches overhead to watch the spectacle. “I believe the monkeys are your problem today, Budi?”

  Budi narrowed his eyes as Raja sauntered off through the trees. Suddenly, there was a crash in the canopy above, and a small green-and-yellow bird spiraled down through the trees, landing at Raja’s feet.

  “I… Oh!” she squawked, flapping her wings to return to an upright position as Raja loomed over her.

  “I’m sorry, Your Majesty, I needed to…” She spotted the pangolin standing close by and flew over to her.

  “Dewi!” the parakeet cried. “I’m so glad to see you.” She turned to look at them all. “Are you all all right?”

  Dewi stroked the parakeet’s head soothingly. “What has happened, Melati?”

  “The rumble,” she said. “Did you feel it?”

  “We often feel rumblings,” Budi told her. “It is as it always has been.”

  Melati shook her head. “Not where I’m from. I live on Krakatoa island, and last night there was a huge rumble in the earth, unlike anything I have ever felt before, and when I went to investigate, one of the mountains had split open.”

  Budi felt his stomach lurch. “Split open?”

  Melati took off into the air. “I will show you.”

  Budi exchanged glances with Raja, and for once the tiger wasn’t grinning. They followed Melati to the edge of the jungle where the land met the sea.

  “I’m not going any farther,” Raja said, suddenly stopping. “We’re too close to the edge of our territory. There could be humans about.”

  “There are no humans,” Melati called from above. “Please, Your Majesty, you have to see.”

  “Raja,” Budi said quietly, “it could be important… unless you’re afraid.”

  Raja growled. “I’m not afraid!”

  Budi smiled to himself. If there was one thing that would get Raja moving, it was insulting his pride.

  They followed Dewi and Melati, stepping tentatively onto the warm sand. Budi struggled to get his footing as his feet sank down into it.