Bri
Bri watched in slow motion as Jake picked up an unconscious Sloane and carried her toward the pool. His eyes were glossy and blank.
Max stood up. “What the—”
Tucker moved in front of the door, his eyes narrowed at Max. His movements toward her were slow and calculated. He looked more like a zombie than himself. She barely had time to move out of the way before he bear-hugged her against him and lifted her from the ground, carrying her out of the room. Max struggled and screamed in his grip.
Bri was torn between helping Sloane or Max. She went after Jake. She grabbed his arm. He shoved her to the ground with one movement.
Abbey struggled in her chair. “Let me out of here. She has them under her spell. Untie me, quickly.”
Spell?
“Brianna, now!”
Bri was able to finish off untying one hand before she heard a splash. She looked up and Jake no longer held Sloane in his arms. He stood at the edge of the pool, looking at the water.
Abbey loosened her hand from the rope and started on her other hand. “I’ll distract Jake, get Sloane out of the water. Now!”
Bri had only heard her mom yell once or twice in her life and it terrified her as much as it did those times. Abbey was out of her binds in seconds and Bri sprinted from of the closet. Jake eyed her and she stopped. “Jake?” He lunged for her as the chair that Abbey had been tied to flew across her periphery. Jake moved out of the way and Abbey came forward, pushing Jake aside. “Get her out,” she yelled to Bri.
Bri obeyed and surveyed the water. Max and Tucker were no longer in the natatorium and as much as she wanted to save Max from Tucker, she had to get Sloane out of danger. Jake had knocked her out before throwing her in the water. If Sloane was unconscious, Bri didn’t have a lot of time. The sound of his fist against Sloane’s jaw had rattled in Bri’s ears. What had possessed him to do that? Abbey mentioned a spell. Whose spell was he under? She knew something was off for Jake to harm her. Sloane’s body sunk beneath the water only a few strokes from the side of the pool. She kicked off her sneakers and peeled her jacket off before diving in. She needed to get to her in time with the least amount of resistance.
The cool water that normally soothed away her worries made her skin crawl. She couldn’t let anything happen to Sloane. Ever.
Bri reached Sloane midway down at the deep end and grabbed her arm. Sloane’s lifeless body and lack of breathing alerted Bri to the scary truth. She kicked off from the bottom of the pool and rocketed to the surface with Sloane in tow.
When they broke the surface, Bri inhaled deeply before checking Sloane. Her head lolled backward as if her neck had suffered some damage. Bri’s eyes welled with tears. She swam to the edge of the pool and tried to lift Sloane out of it. She searched desperately for her mom but Abbey was in a standoff with Jake at the other end. She fended him off as he lashed out at her. Had the world turned upside down?
A loud whistle rang out by the entrance to the locker rooms.
Jake snapped his head toward the sound and so did Bri. Chloe stood in the doorway. Her hands were in fists at her sides.
“It’s about time,” Abbey said.
“Oh I’m sorry,” Chloe snapped. “I’m not the one saving your ass right now.” Jake’s defensive stance drooped as he went to Chloe. Chloe disappeared into the locker room and Jake followed her like a lost puppy. He rarely had any contact with Chloe and now she was leading him away into the locker room? Were all the guys in Willows Lake in love with her?
“Here,” someone said close to Bri’s ear.
She kicked away from the edge, startled.
Kael held his hands out to her. He wore a bulky set of headphones, which looked like something out of a movie from the eighties. “Hurry!”
Bri swam back to the edge with Sloane. Kael scooped Sloane out of the water as if she weighed nothing. He gently placed her on the tile.
“Is she okay?” Bri’s teeth started to chatter.
“Get her out of there!” Bri was surprised at her mom’s panicked expression. She started to lift herself from the pool until something slimy wrapped around her leg, pulling her under the surface.
***
Bri sucked in a breath and choked on the water as she sank deeper. She tried to get whatever was stuck to her leg off by wriggling around. With the lack of oxygen her movements were sluggish. When she reached the bottom of the pool the thing gripped her leg tighter. She cried out, a froth of bubbles erupting around her. She whipped around and came face to face with the most hideous creature she’d ever seen. Even in the shadowy depths she could see its face was a mix between a human and a fish. Its huge dark eyes were too close together and placed high on the forehead. It didn’t have a distinct nose but two vertical slits that moved in a rhythmic pattern. Its mouth was closed but Bri could only imagine what was inside.
“It’s about time we formally met,” said the sweetest voice Bri had ever heard. The voice lifted and hugged each syllable, wrapping Bri in its warm embrace.
Bri relaxed in its grip. “Who are you?”
The creature gave Bri somewhat of a smile and loosened its grip on her leg. “That’s not important now. What’s important is what you’re going to do for me.”
“What’s that?”
“I need the Two to give me what I’ve been searching for.”
Her words captured Bri’s attention. She had no idea how to give the creature what it wanted. Before she could ask, something sliced the water next to her and into the creature. Black liquid poured from the wound and its mouth opened wide. An awful sound tore at the water around them and shot through Bri’s ears.
The creature let go of Bri and she regained her train of thought. Her lungs screamed for oxygen so she pushed off the bottom and clawed upward.
Something crashed into the water. Kael’s face came into view, his hand reaching out for hers. She took it and he helped her the rest of the way.
When she broke through the surface, she gulped in mouthfuls of air as Kael pulled her to the edge. He hefted her out of the pool and came out after her. “Are you okay?”
She tried to stand but her leg stung so much that she fell back to the tile. A pool of blood swirled around her. She watched with horror before she realized Sloane was still on the ground, unmoving. She crawled to Sloane and felt for her pulse. Streaks of blood stained her hair from a deep gash.
“Don’t touch her!” Abbey called from a few feet away.
Bri turned around, confused. Abbey held a bow in her hand. Had her mom shot the creature with a bow and arrow? In that moment Abbey looked like someone out of Game of Thrones, not the scatterbrained librarian she knew and loved.
Kael reached for his headphones and adjusted them on his head before he lunged for Bri. She fell on top of Sloane protectively.
A white-hot sensation burrowed deep into her leg and she fell back from Sloane as Kael lifted her from the ground. She grabbed for her leg, a deep cut running up her entire calf muscle. She wrapped her body around him, unable to focus on anything but the pain. “It burns.”
“I know. I’ll fix it.”
As she started to think clearly, the whole situation seemed like it had been a part of a terrible nightmare that she couldn’t wake herself from.
“Bri?” Sloane’s voice filled her head.
“I’m here!” Bri called, looking over Kael’s shoulder. He’d put her down on a bench near the locker room.
Sloane still lay on the ground, unmoving. Abbey was at her side, her lips pressed tightly together. She lifted Sloane’s head and Bri caught the blood pouring from her mouth. The injury probably been caused by Jake knocking her out. She’d never forgive him for this.
Kael set her down. “I’m going to check out the wound.” He lifted Bri’s soaked jeans and inspected the large gash that stretched from her ankle to knee.
He cursed. “Where does it hurt?”
Bri looked at him. The giant gash in her leg should have been the obvious clue to where it hurt. Before she could say anything, the pain shot up her leg and into her abdomen. She doubled over, clutching her stomach.
He took her hand and she squeezed. “It’s spreading.”
Her heartbeat pulsed through the wound and she couldn’t form words through the intense pain.
“Where is Bri?” Sloane’s voice rang out again in her head, just like the creature’s had.
Bri glanced up as Sloane stirred on the ground.
A splash from the other side of the pool caught their attention. The creature’s wailing stung Bri’s ears, sounding unnatural and unlike anything else she’d experienced. It struck her down to her core and made her wound sting more than it had a few seconds ago.
The creature flopped onto the deck; the arrow stuck out of its side. It gasped and a wet cough escaped its lips, making Bri gag.
Its form started to blur and Bri blinked a few times, making sure she wasn’t about to pass out. Its grayish skin started to pale and its features slowly began to resemble a human. Hair sprouted from its head and before Bri could see the rest of the transformation, she was lifted from the seat as Kael carried her toward the locker room.
“Mom? Sloane?”
“They’re right behind us,” Kael said in a soothing voice.
They were just at the locker room when a sharp cackle echoed across the room. “You think I wouldn’t have a backup plan?” the familiar voice said behind her.
The locker room door opened and Tucker stepped out. His gaze was narrowed and he appeared to be looking through Bri instead of at her. His gaze fell on Kael and he lifted his hand. The metal on the end of his hand didn’t make sense. A shot rang in her ears and she and Kael dropped to the ground.