High Tide (9781481413824) (2 page)

Poor Mitzi.

I tried to save her, but I couldn't.

Mitzi drowned.

But in my dream I always die too. In my dream, the water scooter always goes berserk. It comes after me like some kind of monster.

“It's so real, every time I have it,” I muttered, still sweating from the horrible nightmare. “It's so real. When is it going to go away? Will I have it my whole life?”

“I don't know, man.” Ian rubbed his face and yawned.

He works in a boat-rental shop, but he had the day off. I knew he'd planned to sleep late. “But maybe you should think about switching psychiatrists.”

“Huh? Why should I do that?” I asked. “Dr. Thall seems okay to me.”

“Yeah, well, you've been seeing him for almost a year and you're still having the nightmares,” Ian pointed out.

“I know, but—”

“Besides,” Ian interrupted. “I've seen the guy on TV. He's on a talk show almost every other day.”

“So what?” I asked. “He's got all these new ideas about treating people, and he wrote a book about it.”

“I know, and he seems to have some really wacko treatments, if you ask me.” Ian shrugged and yawned again. “Anyway, it's only six o'clock, and since today's my day off, I'm going back to sleep.”

He narrowed his eyes at me. “What about you? You don't have to be on duty until this afternoon. You going to catch some more zzz's?”

“Maybe.”

Actually, I was afraid to go back to sleep. Maybe I'd just get up and take a walk on the beach. Or ride one of the biking trails.

Anything to keep from sinking into that nightmare again.

I stretched my arms, then rubbed my eyes. I took hold of the sheet and started to throw it off.

And froze in terror.

“Nooo!” I screamed. “No! Ian, look!”

“What?” Ian spun around, fear in his eyes. “What is it? What's going on?”

“My legs!” I shrieked.

I pointed at the bed, where my legs should have been. “They're gone! My legs are gone! Help me! Ian—where is the rest of me?”

S
taring hard at me, Dr. Thall leaned forward and put his elbows on the desk. He's a short, thin, middle-aged man with a bald head and a feeble chin.

But his blue eyes are like lasers.

“And so, Adam, you thought your legs were gone?” he asked quietly.

“Yes.” I forced myself not to shudder as I remembered that moment—remembered looking down to the foot of the bed and seeing nothing but empty space where my legs should have been.

“Of course, my legs—they were under the sheet,” I said. “I was perfectly okay.”

“You haven't had any hallucinations in several weeks,” Dr. Thall commented, shaking his head.

“I know.” The last time I had one, I thought my arms were gone. And before that, my eyes.

That was the worst, thinking a fish had eaten the eyeballs out of my head.

But Dr. Thall was right—the hallucinations had stopped three weeks ago. Until this morning.

Dr. Thall rubbed his chin and frowned. “Has anything happened recently to upset you, Adam? Is anything new troubling you?”

I closed my eyes and tried to think. My first year of college had ended two weeks ago. I went home to Shadyside for a week. Nothing special happened there. After seeing all my old high school friends, I packed up and came to start work at Logan Beach.

I opened my eyes. Dr. Thall still stared hard at me, studying me.

“Maybe it's summer,” I suggested. “You know. Being back on the beach again.”

“If that's what is causing you to see things, maybe you should give up being a lifeguard,” the doctor suggested, studying my face.

“No.” I stood up and jammed my hands into the pockets of my shorts.

“Just think about it,” he urged me. “It's possible that being back on the beach is too distressing for you. Perhaps you need to find a job somewhere else. In a different town. Indoors, perhaps.”

“No,” I repeated. I shook my head and began to pace around his office. “I have to face it. I have to conquer it. Mitzi died last summer. It was an accident. A horrible accident. I lost control of the water scooter, and she died.”

“And you blamed yourself,” Dr. Thall added.

“You know I did,” I told him. “Anybody would. I
mean, I was driving the scooter. I felt guilty for a long time.”

I stopped in front of his desk and stared at him. “But I don't blame myself anymore.”

“All right, Adam. But something is still bothering you,” he pointed out. “Something is still troubling your mind. Isn't that obvious to you?”

“Sure,” I replied. “But what am I supposed to do—keep away from beaches for the rest of my life?” I shook my head again. “No. I have to stay here. I have no choice. I have to face my fears,” I insisted.

He nodded. “Very well. I can see you're determined to stay, and I'm not going to try to stop you. I'm glad you aren't taking the blame for the accident anymore.” He frowned again and leaned back in his chair. “Now. Why do you suppose you had a hallucination after so long?”

I shrugged. “All I can think of is that I'm back at the beach. The same beach where it happened. I'm even in the same apartment, with the same roommate. It makes sense, doesn't it?”

“To have nightmares—yes,” he agreed. “But, frankly, the hallucination surprises me.”

“You and me both,” I muttered. “But maybe it was just this one time. The shock of being back, as I said. Maybe I won't see any more crazy things.”

“Maybe not,” he said softly. “Just be sure to stay aware, Adam.”

“What do you mean?”

“You have to listen to your subconcious mind.” He tapped his fingers on the desk and glanced at me sharply. “It may be trying to tell you something. I
think there is something inside your brain struggling to get out.”

“Like what?”

Dr. Thall smiled. “That's what we're here to find out. Now, let's get to work.”

• • •

Half an hour later I stepped out of Dr. Thall's office and stopped at the receptionist's desk.

“Same time next week?” she asked cheerfully.

I nodded. And the week after, and the week after that, I thought.

Would I be seeing Thall for the rest of my life? Trying to figure out what my stupid subconscious mind was trying to tell me?

I sighed, then glanced at my watch. I had to be on beach duty soon. Dr. Thall's office was half a mile from the beach, but if I hurried, I could make it.

I'd
better
make it, I thought. I took the appointment card the receptionist handed me. If I'm late, Sean will probably get in my face.

Sean Cavanna is another lifeguard, and we're usually on duty together. He's okay, I guess. He talks a lot, and he likes to joke around.

But he also gripes a lot. And sometimes he gets in these really bad moods. His dark eyes turn as cold and mean as a shark's, and he looks ready to explode.

Being late wouldn't make him explode, but it would definitely make him gripe. And after the nightmare and the hallucination, I didn't feel like listening to him complain and carry on.

I shoved the appointment card in my pocket, picked up my duffel bag, and hurried out the door.

I walked through the streets of Logan Beach
Village, then finally reached Main Street. Across from it stood the boardwalk, then the beach.

As I started to cross the street, someone called my name.

I spun around and saw Leslie Jordan standing in front of the coffee shop where she works.

Leslie is the girl I've been going out with this summer. She's smart and good-looking, with dark brown hair and serious gray eyes.

“Hi,” Leslie said, crossing the street to greet me. “I'm on a break right now. Are you on your way to work?”

I nodded, glad to see her. “Another tough day at work. Working on my tan,” I joked.

“Lucky you.” She took my hand and we crossed over to the boardwalk. “Want to sit down for a minute?”

I checked my watch. I still had time. “Sure.” I sat down on one of the wooden benches that line the boardwalk and pulled Leslie down beside me.

“I wish we could sit here all day,” she said as I slid my arm around her shoulders. “Too bad we both have to work.”

“Yeah, I wouldn't mind being a beach bum,” I agreed. “Swim a little. Lie in the sun. Look for seashells. Swim some more. Eat. Then go to sleep.”

“Then get up and do the same thing all over again.” Leslie laughed. “Sounds great.”

“Come on—you'd get bored,” I replied. Leslie is definitely not the lazy type.

“Maybe,” she agreed. “But not for a few days, at least.”

I laughed, then checked the time. “Uh-oh. I've got
to go. Sean is probably timing me down to the split second.”

Leslie sighed and stood up. “I'll call you, okay?”

“Great.” I gave her a quick kiss, then turned toward the steps that led down to the beach.

The sun bounced off the white sand, blinding me so much that I stumbled. Squinting, I fished in my pocket for my sunglasses and started to put them on.

That's when I saw her.

She stood in the sand, leaning against the step railing and gazing out toward the ocean. Her back was to me, so I couldn't see her face. But I didn't have to.

I would have known her anywhere.

That bright blond hair blowing across her back.

Those long, long legs.

The blue beaded bracelet on her left wrist. The same bracelet she wore that day last summer when we went out on the water scooter.

Mitzi.

She's not dead! I saw. The whole thing has been a nightmare—the accident, the guilt, the dreams. It's all been part of a nightmare, and I'm finally waking up. Mitzi's not dead!

“Mitzi!” I cried, running down the steps. “You're here! Mitzi!”

She pushed away from the railing and turned toward me. A gust of wind blew her hair across her face. She lifted her hand and brushed it away.

And I froze, staring in horror.

Empty eye sockets stared back at me.

Dark, empty holes in a gray-white skull.

A skull. A skeleton's head, with strips of gray flesh dangling from the gleaming bone.

Shredded, rotting flesh.

“Nooo!” A hoarse cry escaped my throat. “Mitzi!”

Mitzi cocked her head. Her rotting lips, black and peeling, drew back, exposing jagged, broken teeth.

“Nooooooo!” I moaned again.

The jaw of her skull creaked open, and Mitzi stared at me with empty eyes, grinning a hideous grin.

I
glanced down from the lifeguard chair and frowned. On the sand below, Alyce Serkin stuck a tube of sunscreen into her orange beach bag. Then she stood up and began to shake the sand from her beach towel.

Alyce is a major babe. She is
hot!
To tell the truth, she's the only reason I keep this lifeguard job. So I can sit up high and stare at her all day.

She's packing up to leave, I thought. I'd better hurry.

I scanned the ocean, checking for people in trouble. Nobody needed my help. So I swung myself out of the chair and began climbing down the ladder.

Alyce didn't notice me. She stuffed the towel into her bag, then picked up a plastic bottle of water and took a drink.

I leapt off the ladder, landing quietly in the soft sand. Grinning to myself, I crept up behind Alyce and grabbed her around the waist.

She squealed—and the bottle of water went flying through the air.

I let out a laugh, squeezed her against me, and kissed the back of her neck. “Guess who?” I whispered.

“I don't have to guess!” Alyce sputtered. She tried to pull away, but I held on tight and kissed her again. “Let go of me, Sean! You really are an animal.”

“You love it!” I insisted. I turned her around and kissed her on the mouth. “You know you love it.”