Stunned.
In spite of the long dry summer, the quarry never heated up, and chill wind-whipped water clawed at my face. A force outside myself, as powerful as any assassin, sat on my chest. Disorientated, I flailed my arms, struggling to stay afloat, not sure in which direction to swim. All I saw was a vast expanse of wet and seething night.
“Help,” I screamed. Gasping for air, my mouth filled with foul, rank-tasting filth, as if the combined body fluids of all those that had drowned before me had collected in this one stretch.
Panicked, I kicked out, my head bobbing briefly above the surface. Darkness had other ideas. It threw its funereal coat over my head, pushing me deeper so that hidden currents could drag me down and finally do away with me. The more I fought, the stronger they became. With the electrical storm gathering pace and energy, one strike upon the water would put an end to it all. Either way, I was doomed.
Night-blind and shivering, I cried out, yet my vocal cords wouldn’t work, and my words slurred. Cold penetrated so deeply its nails reached into every organ. My arms and legs failed to respond to the commands from my brain, and the blood in my veins slowed to a chug. Without energy, every cell in my body was in uproar. Cheats and liars and rebels, they didn’t belong to me.
Soon, I would sink and that would be that. Any thoughts I had were unformed and flaky. If I imagined my life would flash before my eyes as my spirit drained away, if I believed I’d remember numerous happy times, I was wrong. I saw a man with a big smile and shining eyes. I heard his laughter crackling through the wind. I thought of him never knowing the truth about who killed his sister. I dreamt of all the places we would never visit together and the fun we’d miss, and closeness and intimacy—and—then—nothing.
Molly, don’t give up.
I heard Scarlet’s voice. Is this what happens when your body packs up? Does the dead clamour to greet you?
I can help you.
Go away. I don’t want your help. I want to sleep.
No, Molly. Stay awake. Stay focused. If you don’t, your body will shut down.
Stop nagging and leave me the hell alone.
You have to fight.
I can’t. No more fight in me.
You’re still floating, aren’t you?
I want to be with you and Zach.
But Zach’s not here.
What?
You heard. Now swim. It’s this way.
With a supreme effort, I opened my stinging eyes. Across the water, a ribbon of illumination ran from me to dry land. If only I could follow it. Somehow, I took a slow breath in, tried to give a little kick, tried to scull the surface with hands that didn’t belong and felt like arthritic claws.
“I can’t do it.” Each word slid out of my mouth painfully slow and disappeared into the icy depths. It was useless. I was sinking. Drowning. Dying.
Out of nowhere, I swear a force of energy reached out, scooped me up and lifted me high. Afloat, again, I’d stopped shivering and started tingling, neat adrenalin coursing through my bones. It felt like angel’s wings carried me back to dry land and I remembered Rocco and white feathers and—
With a jolt, I found myself flat on my tummy, spluttering and wheezing, lungs on fire, and my face in the dirt. Dawn had taken its first tentative steps into a day still lashing with rain. Behind me, trees swayed, bent and snapped in a hissing roar. Wet-through, as cold and exhausted as I was, my body was firing again. Blood throbbed through my veins and to my extremities. Wiggling my toes and fingers, I bumped up against something small and solid. Miraculously, my torch had survived, and I closed my hand around it. That’s when I realised that I was not alone.
Slowly, I tilted my head. I saw expensive trainers and jeans first, a yellow waterproof with the hood up next. Poised, like a knight in armour about to strike with a mace, the figure held something above me. What it was exactly, I couldn’t make out.
“Stay right where you are.”
And then I knew. I knew it all.