THE STAIRCASE LED TO A NARROW BALCONY overlooking the lower lobby. To the right, a set of French doors opened onto a terrace. A plaque above the doors read Pool. In the opposite corner was the gift shop. Quinn stepped inside.
The space was tight and dark, more like an oversize closet. She was sure it had been nothing more than a storage room at some point.
An odd collection of junk cluttered tall shelves. Aside from the usual things you might expect to find—gum, chocolate, Band-Aids, T-shirts, earplugs, batteries—there were also candles, ceramic toads, dragons and three-headed dogs, swords, arrows, chunks of crystal, paper butterflies, dream catchers, and bathing suits.
“I am not wearing this,” said Josh, holding out baby-blue shorts with white fluffy clouds and pink sheep.
“You don’t have much choice,” said Kara, dangling a white tankini with red polka dots. “At least you won’t look like you have the measles.”
The only thing in Quinn’s size was a neon-green one-piece with a frilly skirt attached—the kind grandmas with varicose veins and saggy skin wore. She was surprised it didn’t come with a matching bathing cap covered in rubber tulips. “I think I’d rather have the measles,” she sighed.
An elderly man sat behind a small counter. Kara handed him the room key. He made note of the number and the items on a pad of yellowing paper.
“Where should we change?” Quinn asked Kara.
The man pointed a bony finger. “Change rooms by the pool. Towels are complimentary. Refreshments, too.”
“I love complimentary!” said Josh.
Kara frowned. “Maybe we should go to the room. Maybe Mom and Dad are back.”
“We were just at the front desk. Phony would have told us,” said Quinn.
Kara looked puzzled. “Phony?”
“The clerk—Persephone. She’s so fake.”
Kara leaned in close as though sharing a secret. “They’re all a bit weird around here.”
Quinn grinned. “You noticed?”
They left the tiny shop and followed the balustrade toward the open doors. The terrace was blindingly bright—a huge contrast to the dimly lit hotel. Quinn had to shield her eyes until they adjusted. The searing heat hit her at the same time and she realized just how comfortable it had been in the cool hotel.
The pool was an enormous rectangle in the middle of a cobblestone courtyard filled with chairs and chaise lounges. A few were occupied. Most were empty.
For the first time Quinn got a better sense of the structure of the hotel. It rose up on all sides surrounding the pool. There were more floors than she’d thought. Five. Maybe seven. Every time she tried she’d lose count, and it was tough looking up into the bright sunlight. Though she’d seen the front of the hotel that one time—and it was late and dark and they had all been exhausted—its size still shocked her.
To the right was the women’s cabana. Quinn grabbed two fluffy white towels from a trolley as she entered.
She slipped into the neon-green one-piece and grimaced. She’d have died a thousand deaths if she were caught in one of these back home. She told herself it didn’t matter who saw her here. She’d never see any of these people again.
Kara looked slightly better in her measly suit. They pointed at each other and laughed. Quinn stopped short when she saw the bruises.
“What happened?” she asked, pointing to Kara’s arms and legs.
Kara seemed as amazed as Quinn to see the purple blotches. She touched a spot on her upper arm and winced. “I don’t know. I guess I bumped into something.”
“You should be more careful,” said Quinn. Kara smiled and nodded.
Earlier that morning Quinn had felt stiff and sore. As she slathered on sunscreen, she moved her arms, her neck—the soreness was fading. Hopefully Kara’s bruises would heal as quickly.
When both were ready, they stepped outside. Josh had organized a group of chaise lounges under a large umbrella. “Ha!” he said when they got near. “You guys look hilarious.”
“Baa, baa, black sheep,” sang Kara, tossing her towel onto a chair.
Josh’s grin fell. “Very funny,” he grumbled. Then he perked up. “Hey, listen—we can have lunch here. They’ve got hot dogs and fries.” He pointed to a kiosk at the far end of the pool.
Quinn rolled her eyes and sank into a chaise. “I swear, there’s something wrong with you.”
Josh left his towel and clothes on his own chaise and headed for the water. Kara followed. They hobbled over hot cobblestones. Josh jumped into the water first, making a huge splash. Kara slipped in after him.
“Hot, eh?” said a gravelly voice.
Startled, Quinn looked up to see the guy with the faux-hawk hovering over her. She took a deep breath, relieved it wasn’t the man with the ball cap.
He sat down in the empty chaise beside her. He wore a light blue bathing suit with yellow umbrellas. He must have gotten it from the gift shop. It seemed out of place on a body with so many tattoos. He held a tall glass of water with a lemon wedge stuck on the rim. “Nice place. Relaxing.”
Quinn smiled and nodded.
“They could use some cooler bathing suits, though.” He chuckled.
“Yeah.” Quinn laughed nervously, smoothing down her neon-green skirt.
He took a long-drawn sip through a pink straw. “Name’s Rico. What’s yours?”
“Quinn.”
He took his lemon slice, squeezed it, and plopped it into his glass. “So, Quinn. Who sent you?”
She wrinkled her brow. “Sent me?”
“To this hotel. For rest. That’s why you came, isn’t it?”
“Nobody sent us,” she said. “We just stopped here. On our way.”
Rico glanced around at the building and the pool. “Funny thing. I was at this party. I guess things got out of hand. Next thing I knew, I was here and they were telling me to relax. Enjoy myself.”
Quinn kept silent as Rico told her about how he’d been in trouble a few times, but that this time his parents had probably had enough and sent him to this place to get straightened out.
“Quinn!” called Kara. “Come on!”
Quinn scrambled to her feet, relieved to get away from the awkward conversation.
Rico got up as well. “See you around.”
She fanned her fingers. “Sure.”
Quinn took a few steps and the soles of her feet were on fire. She raised her toes and walked on her heels all the way to the pool. Lowering herself onto the cement edge, she dipped her feet into the cool water.
The pool shimmered like a great blue jewel. The water was clean and fresh. No sharp smell of chlorine bit her nostrils like it did at other public pools. Perhaps it was salt water.
“Who was that?” asked Kara.
“Some guy,” said Quinn, glancing over her shoulder. Rico was halfway to the hotel doors.
Sunlight danced on the tips of waves as they lapped and swashed gently against her shins. She gripped the pool’s edge with both hands, pushed off, sinking beneath the glassy surface.
The world around her disappeared. Silence closed in on her as she sank deeper and deeper. For a moment Quinn forgot where she was. For a moment everything washed away—her fear, her worry, the constant pain of not knowing. And for a moment—just a moment—she thought she heard Emma’s voice.
Quinn opened her eyes.
Light rippled downward from the surface, casting distorted shadows into the depths. Kara’s body was high above. Quinn could see her legs gently paddling. Below, the water was dark. Bottomless.
Quinn’s gaze ran the length of the pool. At the far end, a shadow rose. It seemed to have a human form, but it cut through the water sleek and fast like nothing human could.
Panic pressed the oxygen from Quinn’s lungs. Bubbles exploded from her nostrils. The shadow torpedoed toward her. Whatever it was, it was after her.
Quinn thrust her body upward. She made it halfway to the surface when an icy hand grabbed her left ankle. She kicked and flailed but the grip only tightened.
Quinn’s chest throbbed. She needed air. Soon she’d have to take a breath. If she didn’t make it to the surface, she’d be sucking in water. She twisted and writhed, desperate to free herself, searching frantically for Kara, but everything was lost in the rippling shadows of the water that now seemed murky and green. Whatever had her leg began dragging her down.
Quinn flapped her arms harder. Her lungs were screaming for air. She’d have to open her mouth. She couldn’t wait any longer. Then with a final burst of strength she kicked wildly and furiously with her right foot. Her heel struck something hard and she was suddenly free.
She propelled upward, her arms and legs pumping and pushing against the water as heavy as cement. Her body ached under the strain, but she managed to break through the surface, sputtering and gasping for air. She didn’t stop until she found the pool’s edge.
Placing her palms flat on the stone, Quinn hoisted herself out of the water and onto her knees. She sat sucking in great gulps of air, searching over her shoulder for the shadowy figure. All she saw was clear blue water and lacy patterns of flickering light.
Kara swam toward the edge. “What’s up?”
“You’re not going to make us leave the pool like you did the restaurant, are you?” Josh sighed.
Quinn searched the water. She couldn’t understand it. She’d seen that shadow. She’d felt its icy grip. It had tried to drown her. She desperately wanted to tell Kara what she’d seen—what she’d felt—but what could she say? The glassy blue water was calm and serene. There was no shadowy figure lurking there now. Kara and Josh were the only people in it. Quinn wasn’t sure she’d believe her own story.
“What’s wrong?” asked Kara.
“I-I don’t know,” she stammered. “I just needed air. I must have gone too deep.”
Kara glanced at Josh. She put her hands on the pool’s edge and then slung her arms over it. “But,” she said softly, gingerly, as if Quinn were a glass figurine, easily broken, “the pool’s only six feet deep.”
Quinn studied the shimmering surface again. Along the sides were painted markers she hadn’t noticed before. Four feet in the far end. Six feet below.
“But … the bottom…” she began. Her voice trailed off as Josh dipped, touching the base of the pool with flat feet. He held his arms straight up. The water barely covered the tips of his fingers. Quinn rubbed her temples. She hadn’t imagined the depth. She couldn’t have. Could she?
Despite Kara’s coaxing, Quinn refused to enter the water again. Instead, she lay on a chaise under the canopy of the umbrella as the morning melted away.
Kara insisted Josh check the front desk to see if their parents had returned. He made several trips, each time returning with no news.
Kara alternated sitting with Quinn and cooling herself in the water. She tried to get Quinn to join her, but Quinn wanted nothing to do with the pool.
Quinn closed her eyes. Even out of the direct rays of the sun, her skin burned. Each breath sent searing air into her lungs. But she resolved not to go back into the pool, not even if she burst into flames.
Judging by the sun’s position it was now afternoon. Kara’s parents had been gone for such a long time. They had to be back soon.
Above, black dots circled. Turkey vultures. Their movement was mesmerizing. Quinn watched for a long time. Round and round and round. She was about to search the pool for Kara when her eyes snagged on a window in the topmost floor of the hotel.
She saw a figure framed in glass. And though the sun was blindingly bright and the window way up high, Quinn was positive she recognized the silhouette—a slight figure. Wearing a pink cap …
Quinn slid from the chaise. The world around her swirled to black.