Ghost Island (11 page)

CHAPTER 21

I hurried with the others to the boat, but all I could think about was Freeman. He’d had a dream about driving.

Why? What had Benjamin promised him?

“Hurry,” Grace shouted, and rushed ahead of me.

“But Freeman?”

“For now, just please don’t make Daniel any more suspicious, okay?”

“She’s right.” Charles led the way aboard.

Compared to most of the others in the harbor, this one was small. But despite the fact that it wasn’t one of the massive speedboats bunched up in the dark water, it looked sturdy and secure. I realized the same could be said of him.

“Follow me,” he said. “This will be easy.”

We were aboard within minutes.

“Wonderful.” Grace surveyed the tidy interior. “First, a whiskey-drinking shore boat driver, then
Livia
making sure he remembers us by asking a bunch of personal questions, and now a stolen boat that cannot even begin to stand up to the storm.”

“I picked it because they were stupid enough to leave it open for ventilation.” Charles spoke with such conviction that even I felt safe. “If whoever owns this is inexperienced enough to do that, they won’t be coming out to check on it. Besides, it’s almost the same size as the boat I used to have.”

I caught the sadness in his expression, and saw that Grace did too. “Your boat was probably fine tooling around wherever you were in Canada,” she said. “I’ll bet you’ve never sailed through a storm like this one.”

“We’ll be okay,” he said. “Come on, you can crew for me.”

Grace pulled the hood of her jacket over her drenched hair. “It’s been a long time. Just tell me what to do.”

“Piece of cake.”
He headed for the deck. “We’re going to motor. All you have to do is keep me company.”

Johnny and I sat together below deck on the gray p
lu
sh sofa. He stared straight ahead at the empty sofa across from us.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“Freeman. He was a teacher at my school in Sacramento.
A real asshole.”

I winced at the word. “
Was
as in, he’s never going back?” I said, knowing it was true.

“He liked to hang out at a bar in town,” Johnny said. “Everyone knew he went there almost every night and got plastered, and no one did anything about it. Then one night, he left the bar, and ran into a kid who was crossing the street. Freeman kept driving. Witnesses saw a ’
vette
that looked like his, but no one could prove that he was the driver. That was my first year of high school. The kid is in my class. He comes to school in his wheelchair.”

“Couldn’t they press charges?” I asked.

“They tried but couldn’t. There wasn’t a mark on his car. He got even stricter after that. Kids in his class had to have an excuse to go to the bathroom.”

“And that’s the hole in his life,” I said. “That’s how the spirits got to him.”

“I’m not sure,” he said. “I just wanted to tell you what I’ve heard about him. And I also wanted you to know I don’t care what Emily said about you yesterday. About your dad, I mean. I like you,
Livia
.”

Next to Aaron, he was the hottest guy who had ever seemed into me. He wasn’t Aaron, but he was real. And he wasn’t Chris. He liked me in spite of what he knew about my family. I couldn’t focus on him, though. As the boat began to move through the water, I tried to concentrate on the puzzle in my mind. Something Daniel said had given me another piece.

Johnny put his arms around me, and I pulled away.

“What’s the matter?” he asked. “Do I smell or something?”

“Not at the moment.” I tried to make my smile friendly.

“Check me later tonight. Maybe you can give me a one-on-one breath test.”

“What you do is your own business,” I told him. “I’m not your mother.”

“Don’t have a mom. It’s just my dad, the congressman. Don’t want to go there right now, though. Let’s just say that sometimes a drink or two helps me get to sleep.”

“Sleep.”
My scalp tingled, and I felt as if my hair were standing on end. “That’s it, Johnny. Whatever is going on has something to do with sleep.”

“What are you talking about? I don’t usually dream at home either.”

“Of course not, if you’re always wasted. All I know is that Ms. Gates has insomnia and takes some kind of pills. And Daniel drinks whiskey.” I studied his handsome face beneath the hood. “You guys aren’t having the dreams, and the rest of us are. Somehow that leaves us vulnerable to whatever is out there.”

“It’s easy enough to fix.” He pulled a plastic flask from inside his jacket. “I brought a little Grey Goose with me in case we got stranded. Want to share?”

“This isn’t a party.” I pulled away from him. “Can’t you go without drinking for one day?”

“Twenty-four hours? Sure.” His expression was pure challenge. “I could do that if there was something in it for me.”

The boat pitched, and I felt my stomach
lu
rch.

“Something like what?”

“Like a kiss, maybe.” He moved closer. “I stay away from booze for twenty-four hours, and you let me kiss you.”

I drew back. “Why?”

“Because after I kiss you once, you might want me to kiss you twice.”

I couldn’t help smiling. “That’s very flattering, Johnny. I’ve never competed with a vodka bottle before.”

“I think the odds are in your favor.”

“Stop it.”

“All I’m saying is I like you. You’re not harsh like Grace.”

“Grace isn’t harsh.”

“She’s a smart ass. The girl I was dating in Sacramento is like that. Every conversation is a game or test. You’re different,
Livia
.” He nuzzled my shoulder.

“The deal was twenty-four hours,” I said.

“Don’t you want to practice a little first?”

“Nice try.” I stared straight into his dark eyes. “I just want to get to the others before Freeman returns to the catamaran.”

“He’s not going to hurt the other kids.”

“The Freeman we knew wouldn’t. I’m not so sure about this one.”

“Our deal’s on, then?”

“Let’s talk about it tomorrow.”

“But tomorrow’s a long time from now.” He slid his arm across my shoulders, and this time I didn’t pull away. “Tell me about the people in your dreams.”

“There’s more to them than just people,” I said. “The dreams are really about our desires, about what we need most in our lives.”

“I understand that.” He squeezed my shoulder. “I just want to know how the people look.”

With his arm around me, I leaned back against the sofa and thought of Aaron.

“Real,” I said. “They look real.”

A heaviness
settled over me, and I could barely keep my eyes open.
Close them
, I thought.
Just for a moment. Relax. Drift off.

***

“Where have you been?” Aaron stands ahead of me on the first step leading down to the theater. He holds the door open. “I was on my way to look for you.”

I glance around, and my face feels hot. Just as I try to figure out why, I remember Johnny.

“How did I get here?” I ask.

“It doesn’t matter.” He smells as fresh as the rain. “Let’s go upstairs. I’m so glad nothing happened to you. You just flew out of here last night.”

“The place was trashed,” I say. “Did you hear what was going on?”

“Of course.
I was there, remember? Two guys fighting about money. They left about the time you disappeared.”

“My friend, Charles, and a guy named Benjamin.”

“I don’t know them. The storm seems to be stirring up a lot of violence. I don’t want you leaving until it’s over.”

“What makes you think you can protect me?”

“I know I can.” He slides his arm around my waist. “I got you back, didn’t I?”

“Are you the reason I ended up here?” I want to pull away but don’t know how.

“I hope so.” He moves his face, his lips closer to mine, and I remember how wonderful it feels to kiss him. “Come back upstairs with me. We shouldn’t be hanging out in the theater.”

“But that’s where you were heading,” I say.

“Only because I was looking for you.
In case you haven’t noticed, you don’t follow directions very well.” Now both arms are around me.

The room seems to b
lu
r. His hair glints in the dimness, the only light.

The door to the stairs opens, and a figure stands there, silhouetted, almost transparent. The only color is the soft yellow of her hair. The sharp scent of lavender fills the air.

I catch my breath. “Caitlin.” Aaron doesn’t seem to see her. “What are you doing out here?” I say.

“I’m not sure.” Her voice is scratchy, her features blank and void of emotion. “I thought this was the day.”

Lightning crackles, il
lu
minating her long pale arms. I realize in that flash that she is wearing a sleeveless top. A top made of white eyelet. Obviously, it went with Grace’s jacket.

“The day for what?”
I ask her.

“It appears I’m early.” She nods at Aaron, and then heads back down the stairs.

“I’m leaving,” I tell him. “Let me go.”

“I can’t do that.” He grabs my hand. “The storm won’t last forever, and when it’s over, you and I will have all the time in the world.”

I want to believe him, but the colors of the room are dimmer than the last times. They no longer make me forget, and neither does he. I need to get back, to Grace, Charles, and Johnny—to everybody else on the catamaran.

A bright beam sweeps over us. I feel as if I am standing in the center of a spotlight. I stumble out of it and try to find an exit. My hand brushes against a doorknob. I grab hold and turn it.

“
Livia
, no.”
Aaron pulls me from the door. “It leads to the theater.”

I push him away and run the other direction. Again, he catches me. I turn and in the darkness, realize I can make out every feature of his face.

“I can’t stay. Whatever you did to get me here wasn’t right.”

“All I did was wish for you.”

“Don’t do it again. You’re putting me in danger.”

The building trembles, as if the storm is consuming it.

“I’d never hurt you.” He takes my face in his hands. “Promise you’ll come back.”

“I don’t know.”

“Say you will.”

“I’ll try.
After this is over.”

He leans down to kiss me, but something pulls me out of his grasp. I’m hurled against the wind, a fragile vessel in a raging sea. For a moment, I am both the boat and the passenger clinging to its railing. But I can’t worry about it. I just have to keep going.

“
Livia
.”
Aaron’s voice is harsh as the piercing wind. “
Livia
, don’t go.”

CHAPTER 22

“
Livia
.”
The boat rose and fell like a roller coaster on water. I looked up into Grace’s terrified eyes. “Thank god you’re conscious. You must have gotten seasick.”

“How long...” I gulped air and tried to find my voice.

“Take it easy.” She pushed back her damp hair. “Johnny said you started talking nonsense, and then you passed out. He’s trying to help Charles keep us on course.”

The boat rocked to one side. She grabbed onto the sofa where I had been with Johnny and sat down beside me. Where Aaron had held me, my skin burned.

“Grace,” I said. “I wasn’t seasick.”

“You don’t remember?” Although she managed to keep the fear out of her voice, her eyes were wide and full of it.

“I remember everything. Nothing was wrong with me.”

“Right, except that you passed out and had some kind of seizure.”

“Not a seizure.
A dream.
This time it was so powerful that I got there wide awake.”

“You were out of it,
Livia
. I was so worried about you.”

“You should be worrying about yourself.”

“I’m fine.” She pulled the jacket closer around her.

“The girl from your dream showed up again.”

“My sister?
You saw Felicia?”

“What I saw wasn’t human,” I told her. “Not yet anyway. She was wearing a sleeveless top that matches your jacket.”

She pulled it closer to her. “Stop scaring me,
Livia
. We’ve got enough to deal with. I’m not even sure Charles knows what he’s doing with this boat. ”

“Did you hear what I said? The blond ghost or whatever she is came up from the theater and said she thought it was the day.
The day!
That’s how she put it, as if she knew she was leaving there and was just waiting for her transportation.”

“Charles told me what happened to him down in the theater.” She kept her voice low as if afraid someone was eavesdropping. “He told me he felt as if the life were being sucked from him.”

“It could happen to you,” I said. “I swear if you try to find that dream again, the blond girl will be waiting for you.”

“How can you be so sure?” She looked down at her hands. It was the first time she couldn’t meet my eyes, and I wondered what she was hiding.

“Just don’t go there, not for any reason,” I said. “Do whatever you can to avoid it. Take pills. Even drink the way Johnny does. Just don’t go near that dream.”

“Okay.” She twisted the ring on her finger.

“Where’d you get that?” I asked.

“Years ago.
It’s alexandrite.” She touched the purple stone. “Felicia gave it to me before she left.”

“You already did it, didn’t you? You went back there. That’s where you got the jacket.”

“I didn’t mean to,” she said. “Even if they are what you and Charles think they are, it’s the closest I’ve been to Felicia, and I’ve always come back from the dreams every single time.”

“Look at me, Grace.” She lifted her head, and although she tried to fake defiance, I was no longer fooled. “You won’t return again. Each time we go there, they get stronger.”

“How can we keep from dreaming? We can’t stay awake all night.”

“I don’t think we’ll have to as long as we use something to make us sleep. Once we get back to the hotel, let’s ask Ms. Gates if she will give us some of her pills. We can say we’re having insomnia.”

“Right.”
For a moment, she was her sarcastic self once more. “What makes you think a teacher would be crazy enough to give her students medication that’s prescribed for her?”

“Okay, then.
Peggy’s tea.”

“Would you really drink something that woman prepared?”

I thought of Peggy, her too bright eyes and perpetual, vague smile. “You have a point. I think our best source is Ms. Gates.”

“
Livia
,” Grace said. “She’d be fired for giving us drugs.”

“Who said anything about giving?”

She grinned. “Are you suggesting stealing from a teacher?”

I looked at the crumpled white jacket then back at her. “I’m suggesting that our lives might depend on it.”

She shuddered. “Okay. What about Charles and Johnny?”

“We need to steal enough for them, too.”

“That’s a lot of pills. We’ll get caught.”

“True, but maybe not right away.”
I wasn’t going to lie to her. “For now, I can’t figure out a better way to stay out of the dreams.”

Just then, someone shouted. Johnny.

“What’s going on?” I called out. “Are we there?”

As if answering, our boat settled into the violent sea.

“Yes, we found it,” he shouted. “We found the catamaran.”

Grace and I rushed up onto the deck.

Johnny’s hood was plastered to his head, but he didn’t seem to care. The catamaran floated beside us.

“My flask washed overboard,” Johnny said, “but I don’t care. We made it.”

“You’re awesome.” Grace walked over to Charles and hugged him.
“Abso
lu
tely awesome.”

He didn’t seem to hear her.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“Look.” He pointed at the boat, which was bobbing up and down like a cork. “I don’t see anyone.”

“Maybe they’re below,” I said, but I already felt the emptiness.

“I don’t think so. I’m going aboard anyway.”

“No, Charles, I wouldn’t.” Grace grabbed his arm.

“I have to know for sure.”

Our sailboat drifted closer, and I could see inside. It was the same catamaran, but it looked as if it had been moored here for a hundred years.

“Don’t risk it. There’s no one in there.” I squinted and tried to make out the matted substance crisscrossing the interior. “What’s that stuff?”

“Cobwebs.”
He turned from the sight and finally acknowledged Grace. “Are you convinced?” he asked.

She nodded and took off the eyelet jacket. “Here’s how convinced I am.” Then she wadded it up, tossed it over the rail, and watched as the rain pelted it into the sea. “Let’s get out of here.”

I glanced up at the sky. It seemed to harden. Soon we would lose the sun.

“The weather’s too dicey, isn’t it?” I asked him.

“I think I can get us closer to shore, but that’s all.” Raindrops ran down his cheeks and along the arms of his soaked shirt. “I’ve got to try to get us there,
Liv
. We can’t stay next to that thing.”

Once Grace and I were below, I found two kitchen towels and gave one to her. She wiped it over her face and wrung out her hair. My own hair was heavier than ever, and the long bangs that had once meant something to me now only dripped water into my eyes.

“He means we’re going to stay on this boat all night, doesn’t he?” Grace asked.

I sank into the cushions of the sofa. “Maybe just until the weather clears up.”

“Or until morning comes?” She flopped down beside me. “What do you think happened to the kids on the catamaran? They’re dead, aren’t they?”

“That or something worse.”
I stared out at the blackness and felt colder and more discouraged than I had since we were first separated from Freeman and the others.

The kids we’d come here with were gone.

The catamaran was transformed.

And Grace was right. We were going to have to spend the night on this boat.