Forsaken (17 page)

As I maneuvered my w
ay down the beach, the water rose up to my thighs.  I was having difficulty keeping my balance in the strong current, and the waves crashing into me were relentless.  I could hardly see my hand in front of my face.  This wasn’t going to work!  There was only one thing to do.  I dove into the water.

             
Beneath the water, my vision magically cleared.  Not sure how to find her, I tried to swim in a zigzag pattern, hoping she hadn’t been swept out too far.  The current was still strong, but I was able to counteract it pretty well and stay on course.  I spotted something bright green blowing in the current just a couple of yards away and instinctively swam toward it.  Phoebe’s shirt.  She was sinking.  I wrapped my arms around her and kicked toward the surface. 

             
“Phoebe!” I called out to her, but there was no response. “Phoebe!” Her lips had turned blue and her eyes had rolled back in her head.  I struggled to keep her head above water and swim at the same time.  I’d never had any lifeguard training and I had no idea what I was doing.  I kicked as hard as I could with my legs, but I knew I wasn’t getting anywhere.  The rain assaulted my face, making it hard to see where we were in relation to the beach.  I could be swimming out to sea for all I knew.  Wave after wave crashed over us, trying to pull her from my arms.  I latched onto her as tight as I could and shut my eyes.  I controlled the waves once before, I could do it again.  I concentrated on breathing and tried to slow my heart rate.  Be calm.  Be calm.  Be calm.  I tried to project my feelings in to the water.  Another wave crashed over us and we tumbled helplessly below the water.  Somehow I held on to her shirt and was able to pull her back up to me as I kicked to the surface again.  This wasn’t working.  She was going to drown out here in this God forsaken hurricane.   Another wave hit us from the side, instantly ripping Phoebe away from me.

             
“Phoebe!!” I screamed, knowing she couldn’t hear me.  My eyes stayed locked on her green shirt as she was tossed around like a rag doll.

             
I lost sight of her as a wave crashed directly on top of me, pulling me under and slamming me against the ocean floor. The back of my head hit something solid, a sharp pain shot down my neck, and I decided I’d had enough.  An inferno sparked deep within my soul, growing in to an all-consuming emblazoned fury.  My vision sharpened immediately and a powerful sensation shot through my limbs, filling me with added strength and resolve.  I pushed off the bottom with my feet, propelling myself back up to the surface easily.  I glared at the boiling ocean with hatred, like I was staring down an old opponent in the ring before a fight.  It would NOT break my will.  And it would NOT take my friend.  I unleashed what sounded like a roar filled with pain and anguish, and then brought both of my hands down on top of the water with such force it stung.  Words flowed from my mouth with a ferocity I hadn’t known I possessed.

“
You will not take any lives tonight!!  Give her back to me!!  Now!!” I yelled at the top of my lungs and squeezed my eyes shut.

             
I hit bottom with a thud, momentarily knocking the breath out of me.  I looked down at the ocean floor.  The ocean floor?  I tried to get my bearings and realized the ocean had receded in about a five yard radius all around me, as if I was standing in an oversized bubble.  The waves sloshed up against the sides, unable to reach me. Miraculously, Phoebe was laying a couple of feet away from me, still unconscious and ashen.  She had long gashes along her arms and legs.  I lifted her up and tried to remember how long a person could go without oxygen before brain damage set in.  I felt like we’d been in the water for hours.  Surprisingly, as I walked towards shore, the protective bubble followed, allowing me to walk all the way up to the beach untouched by the waves.  Finally on the sand, Carmen and Willow took Phoebe from me, staring at me wide-eyed. I was just hoping Carmen wouldn’t ask me to show her how to do what I just did.  Because I had absolutely no idea. 

Carmen gently
rolled Phoebe onto her back and began trying to resuscitate her.  Every ounce of energy left me and I collapsed on the sand.  The stinging rain battered my body.  I made an effort to catch my breath, but the wind just kept blowing sand in my face, clogging my nose and mouth.  I shakily lifted myself up and crawled on all fours to where Phoebe lay in the sand.  I tried to wipe off my face, but the sand had mixed with my tears and I only succeeded in scratching my skin.  I gave up and I fell down beside her.  Willow was cradling her head while Carmen performed CPR. I just looked on helplessly.

             
Time slowed as I silently watched the frenzy around Phoebe.  Willow and Carmen were saying something to me, but all I heard was the howling of the wind.  Something caught my eye through the rain a couple of yards away.  Movement.  A figure was retreating in to the night, but I was too exhausted to worry about it.  Instead, I tried to concentrate on Phoebe’s cold, limp hand in mine.  I tried squeezing it and started talking to her.

             
“Phoebe, you gotta wake up,” I whispered, as tears streamed down my sandy face. “Please wake up.”

             
Carmen continued to administer CPR, rhythmically breathing into her mouth and pushing on her chest.  Over and over and over. Suddenly, Willow opened her eyes and released Phoebe’s head.  Phoebe began coughing violently as water spewed from her mouth. My heart swelled, and Carmen turned her onto her side.  She continued to cough for several more minutes, as all the water was expelled from her lungs.  Willow moved behind her and placed her palms on the cuts and bruises decorating her arms.  She slowly opened her blood shot eyes and focused on me.  Her lips were returning to a normal color, but her face was still deathly pale.  Her hair was twisted around her head, matted from the sand.

             
“Why are you all wet?” she asked weakly, attempting a smile. 

             
“You decided to go for a swim,” I told her, and Carmen smothered her in a hug.             

             
“Don’t you
ever
do that to me again!”  Tears of relief rolled down her cheeks.

Phoebe jus
t smiled up at her, “And you said you weren’t going to do mouth to mouth when you saved my life.”

The next day I awakened to driving rain and screeching wind.  What sleep I had gotten was restless.  There were too many thoughts floating around in my head. After almost losing Phoebe, none of us wanted her out of sight, so we had all piled into the living room.  Phoebe was still asleep on the couch, Carmen was on the floor and Willow had curled up in the arm chair.  How she slept like that was beyond me.  I tiptoed to the balcony doors and peeked out through the blinds.  The only thing visible was the rain blowing completely sideways.  I looked down at the beach I couldn’t see and hoped the turtle eggs were still safe.  The four foot wide hole we had dug among the dunes put them within the safety of the shield, but I had no idea when they would hatch. I planned to check on them several times a day until then. I couldn’t let them down.  If it was the last thing I’d do, I was going to make sure they made it into the ocean unscathed. 

T
he one tiny detail I’d spent all night coming to grips with was that I
saw into the future
.  Not just saw, but actually experienced it.  I was there.  Between reveries and visions of the future, my true reality was becoming more and more complicated.  During a reverie, I seemed cognizant of what was happening; I knew I was sleeping and where my body was.  But in a vision, I had no idea that I’d randomly blacked out and subsequently travelled days or weeks in time.  I only realized it after I woke up, which was slightly unsettling.  What if I blacked out in the shower?  Or swimming?  And what if I did something stupid during one because I didn’t know I was in a vision?  What if I saw myself?  Would I disrupt the space-time continuum, ending all life as we know it?  I had no idea how these things worked.

The other small technicality weighing on my mind was
if this last blackout was a vision of the future, then the first one would have been too.  That explained how I saw Nicolet’s death a week before it actually happened.  It also explained why Finn asked me if I had a reverie Friday.  He had seen me earlier that day.  It was just the ‘me’ from a week ago.  So what I saw during my blackout at the party in Atlanta had been real.  It just hadn’t happened yet.  Which meant Nicolet didn’t kill herself.  Which meant she really was murdered.  And the only people that were there were Nicolet, the man who killed her, me, and Finn.

A buzzing
sound from my bedroom made me jump.  A new text.  From Finn.  My heart jumped into my throat.

Meet me on the beach

In a hurricane?
  I texted back.  He was out of his mind.

Trust me.

You’re crazy.

About you.

“Stasia?” 

“Morning Sunshine!” I walked back into the living room. Phoebe propped herself up on the couch and stretched.  She immediately clutched her throat in agony.

“Ow.  I feel like somebody strangled me.
  It hurts to swallow.” She leaned back and closed her eyes.  My phone beeped from my bedroom.

“You need to rest,
Phoebs, you went through a lot last night.” I pulled the blanket back over her and smoothed her hair back.  We had both painstakingly taken showers when we got back to Maren, but it was a little easier for Phoebe since she could command the sand to jump off of her body at will.  Pretty cool if you ask me, considering I would never need an exfoliation ever again.  I lost about ten layers of skin in the process of scrubbing it off.  “Okay…but will you tell Carmen…” she was asleep again before she could finish.  Willow shifted in her chair and mumbled something about bacon cupcakes.  I chuckled and darted back into my bedroom.

He couldn
’t be serious.

See you in 5 min

That was three minutes ago.  So, he just assumed I was going to go along with his brilliant idea?  He was probably out there, standing in the rain, soaking wet, waiting for me.  I mean, I couldn’t just leave him out there to catch pneumonia, right?  Or, what if he got hit by a piece of flying debris?  It could happen.   Damn.  He was definitely going to pay for this one.

I
searched my wardrobe for anything remotely waterproof or at least water-resistant. I finally found a pair of black wind pants, a red ski jacket (maybe if I got washed away, the Coast Guard would be able to spot me), and pulled my hair up into my Georgia Bulldogs hat.  It might be more fitting to wear Phoebe’s wet suit and goggles, but this would have to do for now.  I couldn’t believe I was doing this.  There weren’t many people I’d venture out in a hurricane for.  Against my better judgment, Finn was apparently becoming one of them.  I tried to sneak through the living room, but my wind pants were anything but quiet.  Just as I turned the doorknob, Willow turned in her chair again and I froze mid-step.  Holding my breath, I clicked the door shut, turned around, and walked right into Olivia and Cassie.

“
Going for an early morning jog on the beach?” Olivia smirked, and they both laughed hysterically.  Why couldn’t they just say hey and keep walking? “You might want an umbrella though; I heard it’s supposed to rain.”

“Oh my G
od, Olivia. Is that a zit on your chin?  It must really hurt, it’s huge!” I leaned in and stared at her face with mock horror.

“What?
” Olivia looked accusingly at Cassie “Why didn’t you tell me I had Mt. Everest on my face before we went downstairs!”  She pushed past her into their suite.

“Olivia, wait!” Cassie called
after her.  I hopped onto the elevator before the doors closed and smiled, despite myself. 

Down in the lobby
, a group of girls were gathered around one of the large big screens watching a movie since the satellites were out.  I felt their stares and heard the whispers in my direction as I walked by as nonchalantly as possible.  Oh yea, Finn was definitely going to pay for this.

I hesitate
d at the double doors.  How was I supposed to find him in a hurricane?  What if I got blown away?  And worse, what if everyone saw me get blown away?  It would be all over YouTube within minutes.  I looked back at the lobby to see how many witnesses there were.  Only twenty or so.  Excellent.  I turned back toward the door and almost had a heart attack.  Finn stood on the other side snickering at me.  I was glad he thought this was funny.  Using all of my strength, I wrenched open the door.  With the wind counteracting my movements, I had to slide out quickly before getting crushed.

“What part of
‘go out into a hurricane’ did you think was a good idea?” I glared up at Finn, but he had vanished. Something touched my hand and he reappeared right in front of me. 

“How’d you do that
?” I yelled, realizing a second too late it wasn’t necessary.  It was like we were back inside, except…we weren’t.  The rain had stopped and the deafening sound of the wind had disappeared as well.  I was also sparkling. 

“I’ve cloaked us.” Finn grinned
, proud of himself. “It’s one of my abilities.”

“You what?”
He was sparkling as well.  Instead of answering, his grin widened and he released my hand.  He disappeared and I was back out in the hurricane.  Rain battered my face and the sound of the wind screamed in my ears.  Thankfully, he grabbed my hand again.

“Don’t do that!” I scold
ed him, as he tried not to laugh. “You think you’re real funny, don’t you?  Just because you borrowed an invisibility cloak from Harry Potter, doesn’t mean you can just –“He let go of my hand again.  I reached out through the blinding rain, hoping to grab him but my hands couldn’t find anything solid.  Knowing he was watching me, I put my hands on my hips and yelled over the wind. “If you don’t cloak me right now, I’m going back inside and never speaking to you ever again!” I felt his hand in mine again and he reappeared, along with the protection of his cloak.  Unfortunately, I was already dripping wet. 

“I
just wanted to see if you’d melt,” he explained with feigned innocence.

“I’m not that sweet
,” I retorted, wiping the water off my face with my free hand.  I tried my best to be mad at him. It was difficult considering he was the embodiment of temptation, continually wreaking havoc on my emotions.

“
Neither am I,” he answered, a conspiring gleam in his eye.   He pulled me down the steps and onto the beach.  I noticed we weren’t technically the ones sparkling, the cloak attached to us was.  It was draped around us like a blanket, sticking to our bodies and keeping the rest of the world out.  I glanced sideways at him, wondering how many times he’d cloaked himself around me without my knowledge.  I thought about all those times I had felt like I was being watched.  I probably was.

Un
like me, his faded jeans and blue t-shirt were completely dry; his hair lay perfectly across his brow, also untouched by the hurricane.  I felt like a wet dog in comparison.  The sand beneath our bare feet was wet, but I was glad for that one connection to the beach. I couldn’t feel the air or smell the water.  Otherwise, I couldn’t be sure we were really outside.  The rain and wind whirled around the cloak, creating a misting effect that made it impossible to see.  I felt like we were walking through a storm cloud.

“Where are we going?”  I
asked.

“Almos
t there.” We could walk right off of a cliff and I’d never know the difference.  Suddenly, the sand beneath our feet turned to wooden planks.  He turned to face me and the cloak blasted outward, encompassing a large gazebo.  It hung down the sides of the roof, glittering all around us.  It was awe-inspiring.

“Wow.
”  I spun in a circle taking it all in. “How do you do that?”

“I just will it to be.” He shrugged his shoulders like it was no big deal. “As long as we’re under the cloak, no one else can hear or see us.” I didn’t miss the ghost of a smile that crossed
his lips.  Unfortunately, a twinge of fear overshadowed my sense of adventure.  I’d been cloaked by a possible murderer.  In the middle of a hurricane.  The possible ‘accidents’ that could happen to cause my death were endless.  I pushed down my worries and put on a face of confidence.

“
So now that you’ve got me here, what do you intend to do with me?” I looked around, curiously. “And where have you taken me?”

“To a gazebo,” he responded slyly, watching me carefully.  He picked up a small wooden box similar to Kira’s, but his looked much older.  The wood was weathered and smooth with dark engravings covering its top and sides.

“I have something for you.”
From the box, he pulled out a small blue velvet pouch and handed it to me.  Surprised, I held it gingerly and looked at him for the meaning behind it.  He gazed back at me with amusement. 

“It’s
inside
the bag,” he grinned at me.  With shaking fingers, I untied the ribbon and pulled the top of the bag open.  I reached inside and pulled out the most beautiful necklace I’d ever seen.  The delicate chain was black in color; a dark metal I didn’t recognize.  From the chain hung a large oval pendant of the same metal, made up of swirls and loops that encased an oval blue-green colored gemstone. 

“It’s an aquamarine,
” he told me in almost a whisper.   The beauty of it illuminated the gazebo with a brilliance I could feel deep down in my heart.  As I placed it in my hand to get a better look, my skin tingled under its weight.  It had a very gothic quality to it and I could tell it was as old as the box it came in.

“Finn.” Completel
y at a loss for words, all I could do was stare at it. “This is….I can’t take this.”  

“
Of course you can.  It belongs to you now.” He was peering at me with curiosity.  “Plus, it matches your dress.”

“My dress?” Last time I checked I didn’t have on a dress.

“The one you’re going to wear to the Ball.” I felt myself smile as I realized what he was saying.

“Are you asking me to the Cimmerian Shade Ball, Finn?”

He took a step toward me, eyes never leaving mine. “Are you saying you’ll go with me, Stasia?”

“I heard you don’t go to those kinds of things
,” I challenged him.

“I don’t.”
He moved even closer to me, gently taking the necklace and placing it back in the velvet bag.  Pulling the ribbon closed, he dropped it into the pocket of my wind pants.  His hand grazed my leg, sending sparks all the way down to my feet.  Holding my gaze, he pulled the hat off my head and brushed my wet hair back from my shoulders.  I waited for his fingers to get caught in the mass of tangles I knew had been created by the wind, but thankfully that didn’t happen.  The thought brought on a nervous smile and he grinned back at me.  His eyes dropped to my lips and when they met mine again, they were stormy and filled with white hot desire.  He took my hand.

“
Will you go to the Cimmerian Shade Ball with me Anastasia?” he asked in a low voice.

“Yes
,” I breathed, lost completely in his closeness.  A voice in the back of my head reassured me that if he was asking me to the ball, he didn’t plan on ending my life; which was a plus.  He smiled, picked me up and spun me around.  I placed my hands on either side of his cheeks and slowly leaned down to give him a kiss.  It was just a light peck, but his soft lips ignited a fire inside me.  Still holding me, he sat down on the wooden bench of the gazebo.  I straddled him as he leaned back against the railing, pulling me close.  He lightly kissed the tender skin below my ear, sending a frenzy of sensations through my body.  He made his way up my chin and toward my mouth.  I closed my eyes, anticipating a kiss that didn’t come.