Will didn’t want to risk it, not with his brother’s boat. Luckily, his uncle Carl had understood completely.
The sky met the sea in shades of deep gray, and white-tipped waves roared toward the shore. They hurled themselves against the beach in growing fury before hissing backward in retreat. The fat white gulls that usually wheeled over the docks in greedy anticipation had taken shelter under the eaves of the nearby snack bar. They watched the sky warily as rain pelted the wooden shack. Their silence was almost eerie. There was no sound but the ocean and the uneven creak and knock of the bobbing boats.
Will scanned the empty beach. Everything was a shade darker than usual. Thick clouds blotted out the sun, and the rain had turned the rocks black and the sand to a shade of caramel. It was as if darkness had already fallen. He noticed that his uncle had stopped moving. Carl was staring out to sea, a strange look on his face. “Everything okay?” Will asked.
Carl turned to him. “Do you hear that?”
Will shook his head and indicated his right ear. He’d lost his hearing on that side the summer before. “What is it?”
Carl shrugged. “I don’t know. I thought I heard-” He shrugged. “Sounded like music.”
“Good for dancing?” Will teased, and Carl laughed.
“Good for sleeping, more like,” his uncle said. “Eh, it’s gone now.”
“Probably just a creaky boat,” Will said.
“Yeah,” Carl agreed, although he didn’t look convinced.
Will turned back to his work. He touched the mainmast with a light finger. The sail had gone up in flames last summer, leaving a dark scar on the boat. It was lucky that the whole
Will secured the sail and pulled a cover over it, snapping it securely into place. Taking a deep breath, he looked up at the rocks on the shore.
Will grasped the handrail as if the boat had lurched beneath him. A sudden nausea rose in his throat.
One of the black rocks had
The rock was still for a moment, then moved again, and with heart-stopping clarity Will realized that a human figure was picking its way-headfirst-down the steep escarpment. The figure had long, delicate limbs that moved with surprising speed across the rocks, almost like a spider. Will hurried to the canvas storage bag and sorted through his brother’s collection of junk to pull out a pair of binoculars. He trained them on the figure. Just as he’d thought-it was the girl from this morning. He was almost sure of it. She had the same long black hair, the same dark olive wind-breaker.
Salt stung Will’s face as the frigid water reached her ankles.
“Wait!” Will shouted. “Wait!”
But she didn’t pause or even glance toward him as she waded into the water. Will hopped over the rail and raced down the dock, but the water was already up to her waist.
“Stop!”
She turned and looked at him. Her face was awash with confusion, and he thought she would turn back. But she didn’t move. The wind tore the scream from his throat as a wave crashed over her, swallowing her whole. “No!”
Her head did not bob back to the surface as Will raced to the water’s edge. “Wait!” Icy claws tore at his shins as he waded into the water. “No!”
For a moment he thought he saw the thick ropes of her hair. He reached out, but his hand drew back only seaweed. Her head didn’t reappear above the surface.
A wave loomed before him like sheer wall. Will tried to dive into the calmer base of the wave, but it blasted against him like dynamite, knocking him down. For a sickening moment his feet couldn’t find purchase. In the tumble, he’d lost his sense of how to become upright. Churning sand filled his eyes-he couldn’t see. But his fear was lost in his need to find the girl. His arms reached out for her, but she wasn’t there. He couldn’t breathe…
Suddenly he felt a strong hand on his arm, and a moment later his head broke through to the rainy surface. “Will!” Uncle Carl was there, pulling him toward shore. “Will-are you okay?”
Will tried to speak but sucked in salt water. He coughed violently.
The waves took no pity, continuing their relentless assault. Will’s mind was muddled, but his body held a deep survival instinct. Without thinking, he allowed his uncle to haul him toward shore. They ducked and let the waves pass over them until they were at the breakers. Carl did not let go of him, not even when the waves slithered only to their ankles and they collapsed to their knees on the sandy beach.
“What were you thinking?” Carl shouted as coughs racked Will’s chest. “What the hell were you doing?”
Will shook his head. “I couldn’t-” Another fit of coughing overtook him. The seawater that lined his mouth made him want to gag. But he had to say something. He had to let his uncle know that it wasn’t his fault. “I couldn’t reach her.”
Something flickered in Carl’s eyes-something that Will couldn’t read. “Who?”
Rain lashed at Will’s face; water streamed into his eyes. “The girl with black hair.”
Carl shook his head. “What girl?”
“She was walking into the water. I tried to stop her.” Will gestured to the crashing surf. “She was right there- five yards ahead of me.”
Carl shook his head, but he didn’t say anything else. Will felt his silence like a slap. “You’d better get on home,” Carl said. His voice was calm, quiet. He stood up and yanked Will’s hand, pulling him to his feet. “I’ll finish up on the boat.”
“I came out to help you,” Will protested. His voice felt feeble as it rose from his throat, and was made even thinner in the wild air.
“You get on home,” Carl repeated. “Take my car; I’ll take the truck.” He patted Will on the back with a hand like an anchor. “I’ll be there soon.” He looked deeply into Will’s eyes for a moment, then turned and started across the sand.
Will felt sick as he stared out at the coal-gray water that roared at him.
Chapter Two
There was water all around her. She couldn’t see the horizon, and somehow she knew the shore was a long way off. She wasn’t sure how she’d gotten here.
The moon shone down on the calm black water. The stars were out-more stars than she had ever seen before, like a blanket of diamonds. And the constellations were strange. She wondered where she was.
