The Reservoir (4 page)

Holly gasped, as did Niqui.  Kendall moved closer to Daniel and urged him to continue talking by placing a hand on his arm.  “It’s okay, Daniel.  Go on.”

“He, my dad, I mean, uh, well, he has periods of time where he seems fine, you know.  He can hold a job, take care of the house, you know—be normal in general.  But then, something will happen…”  He paused and swallowed hard.  “Something
always
happens that causes a mental breakdown—that sends him back into, well, wherever he goes in his head.  He gets all paranoid, starts thinking the neighbors are after him, stuff like that.  It’s … hard.”

“Daniel, I’m so sorry,” Holly said, reaching for his hand.  “Why didn’t you tell us?”

He shrugged helplessly.  “It’s just not something you talk about.”

“But it’s no disgrace, you know,” Kendall said.  “It’s not his fault.  Isn’t there medication that can help him?”

“It’s weird, but sometimes medications work, sometimes they don’t.  Getting him halfway all right usually involves a cocktail of meds, and it usually takes months to find the magic bullet.  And then, when he finally seems all right again, the doctors take him off the meds.”  Daniel shook his head, his brows furrowed low over his eyes.  “I don’t know why they take him off the meds. 
Why don’t they just leave him on his meds
?”  He choked back a sob, and his friends leaned forward one by one to wrap him in a brief hug. 

“Like Kendall said, it’s not his fault,” Niqui said softly.

“It’s true,” Zack agreed.  “It’s not his fault.”  He straightened in his seat. “But the person who has mental illness is like the alcoholic who drinks too much.  Everybody says, oh, man, it’s a disease.  He didn’t ask for it.  He can’t help it.  But damage is still done to the people around him, you know.”

“Mental illness isn’t like that at all,” Niqui protested.  “How is that like mental illness?  The alcoholic chose to take that first drink.  The alcoholic is accountable for his actions.  The mentally ill person, on the other hand, didn’t do anything, per se, to bring on crazy…”

“I know, but what I mean to say, and not very well, I guess,” Zack murmured, “is this.  Even though the person with mental illness didn’t sign up for it, and his family certainly didn’t sign up for it, like the alcoholic who causes damage to the people around him, the family of the mentally ill is … affected by it.”  He reached out and squeezed Daniel’s shoulder.  “Daniel has been affected by it.  The fact that it’s not his dad’s fault is a moot point.  Daniel and his family—they’re tired.  Beaten down.  Exhausted.  And Daniel is always worried that…”

“Oh, Daniel!” Kendall cried, understanding dawning.  “You think you’re going to get it.  You thought today…”

He nodded.  “Schizophrenia usually strikes a person in their late teens, early twenties.”  He laughed without humor.  “Every time I do something odd, and I
can
be odd,” he acknowledged, “I’m afraid my number’s up, you know.”

“Daniel, you’re fine.  You’re not crazy.  Well, at least not
that
kind of crazy,” she assured him. 

He mustered a smile.  “Thank you, Kendall.”

“Are you sure you’re up for this, Danny Boy?” Zack asked his friend.  “You don’t have to do this, you know.”

He nodded and Zack tossed the tube into the water.  “I could use an adrenaline rush,” he admitted.  “Today’s been kind of a downer so far.”

Zack laughed.  “Really?  I hadn’t noticed.”

“Why does he get to go first?” Kendall asked, but the twinkle in her eyes belied her anger.  She was as happy as her friends to see Daniel feeling better.

Holly helped Zack tie the line to the tube, situated the line behind the boat to assure it didn’t tangle with the propeller, and then pulled the tube against the side of the boat so Daniel could climb on.  She glanced back at Daniel.

“Check your vest.”

“Oh, right.”  He tightened all the straps, and then gave them a final tug to assure the fit was right.  He glanced around.  “How much light do we have left?” he asked nonchalantly.

Zack gave him an encouraging smile.  “Plenty of time.  Question is, how fast do you want to go?  Are you looking for a thrill, or would you like a scenic float along the reservoir?”

He considered the question, stroking his chin thoughtfully.  “Start out slow, and we’ll go from there.”

“I’ve never known you to do anything slow,” Holly commented with a smile.  “I predict you and that tube will be airborne in a matter of seconds.” 

“We’ll see,” he said with a laugh.

“Why is it again he gets to go first?” Kendall asked.

“Kendall,” Zack said, keeping his tone reasonable, “you have to be the most contrary girl I’ve ever met.”

She laughed.  “I consider that a compliment.”

“Well,
you
might,” he said, “but
you
might be wrong.”

“I don’t care,” she said, lifting her chin haughtily.  “Besides, you guys love my contrary ways.  I keep you on your toes.”

“True,” Niqui acknowledged.  “Okay, I get to go after Daniel.”

“Uh!  Over here!  Did you not just hear me call seconds,” Kendall reminded her.

Holly chuckled.  It was good to see her friends behaving like their old selves.  Daniel had given them a scare.  She sincerely hoped the rest of their trip would be absent any further drama.

She felt the slight rise and fall of the boat on the lightly rippling water as she stood, hands on the tube, holding it in place for Daniel.  She was grateful she’d never experienced any kind of motion sickness.  She loved being on the water so much.  “Okay, climb on,” she told him. 

He moved closer to her, and then lifted a leg over the side of the boat, landing one foot onto the tube.  He sent the next leg over and then sprung forward, somehow managing to land on his stomach.  He gripped the handles on the towable and then nodded at her.

“I’m good to go.”

“Okay, hang tight.  Zack’s going to make sure the rope is taut, and then we’ll take off.  If you’re too far forward, you’ll take a face plant, and too far back, well, obviously, you’ll fall backward.  We’ll go slow until you get the feel for it.  If you want to go faster, do this.”  She proceeded to demonstrate a series of hand gestures, and finished with the one to indicate that he wanted back in the boat.  “So if you want to stop, do this.”  She held up a single hand and pushed at the air.

“Yeah, that’s pretty obvious,” he said with a chuckle.

Holly nodded and returned to her seat.  Zack sat, facing behind him toward Daniel, and then turned to look forward.  “Oh, shoot!” he cried.  “Get the orange flag up.”

Holly gasped.  How had she forgotten the flag? 

“Niqui, it’s beside you, in the pocket.  Hold it up, quick!  We have to alert other boaters that we have a man in the water.”

“Man?” Kendall said with a chuckle.  “You mean, we have a
boy
in the water.”   

Niqui sent her a rueful glance and raised the flag. 

“It has to be up until we get moving,” Holly told her, glancing around.  Fortunately, there were no other boats on the water.  She frowned.  Where were all the boats this summer season?  It was Friday, and typically the reservoir was wall-to-wall boats at the start of a weekend.

She forced away the questions, realizing she needed to focus on Daniel.  She kept an eye on him, should be fall and need to be retrieved and pulled from the water.  Zack glanced her way.  “Are we good?”

She nodded.  “Good to go.”

He started the boat, eased the throttle forward, and motored slowly along until Holly told him the rope was taut.  With a nod, he urged the throttle farther forward, rapidly picking up speed.  Holly could see Daniel was experiencing a bumpy ride, and advised Zack to pick up more speed.  The boat leveled out then, and his ride evened out as well. 

It was evident by the wide grin on his face that he was thoroughly enjoying the tube.  After a moment, he gave the signal to weave, and Zack began moving the boat along a side-to-side course. 

Daniel swung across the wake, and then back across to the other side, each time Zack altered his direction.  When he turned in a complete, wide circle, Daniel flew—a grin of pure delight on his face.

Zack straightened out, glanced back to assure his friend was fine, and continued along a varied path for several moments.  “Is he all right?” he called to Holly.

“He’s fine,” she assured him.

“Shall we head back toward the cabin?  I’m thinking dusk is about to settle,” he said, glancing up at the darkening sky.

“So soon?” she muttered, checking the sky.  “You’re right.  It’s already getting dark.  Is a storm coming, do you think?” she called out.

He shrugged in response, sent a quick glance at Daniel behind him, and then turned forward once again.  Holly guided him away from any perils, pointing out the island again, as well as a single, giant tree that’s top broke a foot or so above the surface.

“Why doesn’t someone cut that down?” he yelled above the sound of the prop.

She shrugged.  “Don’t know.  You can only see it when the water level drops.”

“So it’s dropped?”

“Must be,” she called.

Holly studied Daniel’s face again, assuring he was still enjoying his ride.  He gestured for Zack to increase speed and to forgo driving so straight.  Zack began weaving, increased his speed, and gave him a wilder ride—but all the while careful not to put him in danger.  When Daniel gestured for Zack to speed up even more, he shook his head this time.  “Fast enough,” he told Holly.

She couldn’t help but respect him.  She knew he would never put his friends in jeopardy.  He hoped to be a police officer someday, and she acknowledged she couldn’t think of anyone better for the occupation.  He had a maturity beyond his years.

Zack continued along until they neared the cabin.  Dusk was settling much faster than either would have expected.  “Hey, get a picture of Daniel!” he called out.  “He’ll definitely want one!”

Holly retrieved her cell phone that she’d stored in the glove compartment in front of her seat.  She set the camera mode and clicked several photos of Daniel.  She was fixed on him, as he was situated squarely on the tube, when suddenly, he was gone.  She dropped her camera, and hastily groped for it in her lap.  She found it and snatched it up.

She glanced up in time to see that the towable was airborne and caught a glimpse of Daniel tumbling through the air like a rag doll behind it.  Everything had happened so fast.  Apparently, he’d caught the wind and had gotten a thrilling ride for his trouble.

“Zack, he’s down!” Holly shouted.

“Ah, heck!” he said, and pulled back on the throttle too quickly.  The boat surged to a too-sudden stop.  Fortunately, Niqui and Kendall had planted themselves securely in their seats, bracing themselves with their hands and legs, but Holly had been preoccupied with her cell phone camera.  She launched off her seat and her cell phone flew out of her hand, and into the water.  It landed with a plop.

“My phone!” she wailed, struggling to grab hold of the side of the boat.  It was the second phone in as many months that she’d lost.  Of course, this one wasn’t lost.  She knew exactly where it was.  Four hundred feet below the surface of Yale Reservoir.

Forcing the phone from her mind, she returned her attention to Daniel.  She feared he had hit the water hard, but he was tough.  To her relief, and his other friends, he gave a wave indicating he was fine. 

“Get the flag up!” Holly called to Niqui, although she knew there were no other boats around.  But water safety dictated that they take no chances.  And too, they could get a ticket if law enforcement spotted them ignoring the rules relating to boat safety. 

The group watched Daniel swim toward the towable.  His stroke was relaxed and even, so Holly knew he was fine.  He took a hold of the towable with one hand and yelled, “Pull me in!”

“Holly, take the wheel,” Zack told her, leaving the boat idling as he hurried to take hold of the rope.  He began pulling Daniel toward the boat.

Holly took her eyes off of Daniel for a brief moment, contemplating her cell phone, now sunk into the “inky” depths of Yale Reservoir.  She ventured a glance at the boat’s depth finder.  The device confirmed her beloved cell phone—her contact with the outside world—was precisely four-hundred-twelve feet below her.  What was her mother going to say this time?

She knew precisely what her mother was going to say.  “You have to pay for the replacement phone.” 

Despite David’s objections, and she was confident her stepfather would object to making her pay, her mother would force the issue.  And Holly couldn’t deny it, she couldn’t blame her.

“What’s up with Daniel?” Niqui said with alarm, rising from her seat, and interrupting Holly’s thoughts.

“What?” Kendall said, also standing and trying to see behind the tube.

“What the—” Zack shouted, when he heard Daniel’s sudden, piercing screams.

“Help me!  Get me the hell out of here!  Help me!” Daniel cried.  “Zack, pull, pleeaasseee!”

Zack tugged with all his strength, to no avail.  Neither Daniel nor the tube were budging.  Zack thrust the rope at Holly.  “Try to hold on.  If you can’t…”  He shrugged, and then dove into the water.  Despite the buoyant vest, he managed to make good time closing the distance between the boat and Daniel. 

He reached his friend, who was holding onto the tube with everything in him.  Zack shook his head, unsure what he was seeing.  The tube was tipped on its edge, Daniel straining to hold on.  It was apparent something had a hold of him.

“Daniel, what the—?”

“Make her let go!” he wailed.  “She has me Zack.  Make her let go,
please
!  It has to be her!”

“Daniel, I’ve got you,” Zack said, unsure what else to say, but knowing full well he didn’t have a hold of his friend, or a handle on the situation.  Why was the towable tipped in such a strange fashion?  Why was Daniel’s face perched just above the surface of the water, his head tipped back, and his thin, muscled arms straining to maintain a hold of the tube?

Zack snaked an arm around his friend and began swimming toward the boat.  Unfortunately, he couldn’t make Daniel, or the towable, budge.