Skylar hesitated, knowing the length of her arm wasn't long enough. To make matters worse, the loose rope dropped her lower with a jerk. Skylar screamed as the rope unraveled even more, thread by thread; there was no hope. At this point, she had to accept that death was imminent. When she looked up to say her good-byes, she saw Mason drop to her and clutch her wrist just as the single thread of rope snapped.
"I got you," Mason heaved. Everett and Nick pulled Mason up by his feet, bringing Skylar up to safety. Releasing a relieved breath of air, Mason gripped her tightly. Her body trembled as she panted from being out of breath and tears streamed down her face. Continuing to embrace her, the tension in his shoulders relaxed. As his hand laced through her hair, he caressed his cheek to hers.
Mason pulled back, gazed into her eyes, and ran his hands over her face, arms, and hands, looking for wounds. "You're safe." He wiped her tears. "Are you hurt anywhere?"
Skylar shook her head, unable to speak. In her peripheral vision, she could see Kayla sobbing, waiting for her turn. When Skylar was stable enough to stand, Mason gestured for Kayla to come.
Skylar clung to her cousin tightly. Their bodies shook from crying. There was no need for words. She had just escaped death and holding on to Kayla comforted her beyond words.
"Thanks," Mason said to his brothers, taking in deep breaths. "That was a close call."
"You know we've got your back, Bro," Nick smiled, patting his back.
"What happened back there? This didn't happen the last time we were here," Mason commented.
"I'm telling you and I keep telling you, it's because of Skylar, but you won't believe me," Everett whispered. "Whatever that was, it wanted her dead. If she wasn't here with us, we would've been fine. The bridge would still exist."
"I kind of agree with Everett," Nick said. "Something is different about her, but I don't think she's dangerous."
"That's why we're going to see the Oracle," Mason murmured.
"We should get going. Like now," Everett snipped. "We've lost time. It's getting dark on the other side."
"Chill," Amanda said calmly. "She almost dropped to her death. Think like a human for a bit, will ya?"
After Skylar and Kayla composed themselves, they headed out again behind the boys. After a few yards they stopped.
"Are you ready?" Mason looked sternly at his brothers and Amanda. "This is it. There's no turning back."
"Ready for what?" Kayla asked, but they just ignored her. "What's going on, Nick?"
"Hold my hand." Nick grabbed Kayla's hand while her other arm was still linked to Skylar. As they took a step forward, like magic, another world materialized in front of them.
"What the . . . where are we?" Kayla asked, looking around. She looked over her shoulder to see the world she'd left behind a second ago, but she couldn't. "How is this possible?"
It was like a world within a world. At the campsite, Skylar had stood in reality, and now she was somewhere else. Though she should be just as stunned as Kayla, she wasn't. In some ways, she had expected it. It was not quite the picture she had imagined when Mason told her about the swamp. Regardless, she was mesmerized and wondered how it could possibly exist just by taking that step. Surreal!
The sun was setting and it was getting darker and colder, just as Mason had said it would. From a distance, a blanket of thick fog stirred, gliding toward them. Just the sight of it gave Skylar a chill. Though they were standing on solid ground, it was mushy and wet. The air was humid and mist trickled on Skylar's arms and face. Surprisingly she was calm, but Kayla was still questioning.
"Am I dreaming? How in the world? How?" Kayla pinched herself. "Ouch."
"I'll explain later, but right now you need to keep your voice down." Nick pulled Kayla closer, and to Skylar's surprise, Mason held her hand.
Stunned to have her hand in his, she looked at him, wondering about his sudden change to niceness. Nevertheless, she welcomed it. Almost losing her life today, she didn't want to have angry thoughts toward him. After all, he had saved her life and she was grateful.
"We can take that boat." Everett pointed to the left side of a dock. A massive body of murky water blocked them from heading forward. "Hurry, but don't use the flashlights, not just yet." He led the way.
One by one, they got in. The wooden rowboat was just big enough for the six of them. Everett and Nick each grabbed an oar and pushed through the water. The eerie fog had completely surrounded them and their vision was limited to nothing but white.
"Do you camp like this all the time and is this your idea of fun?" Kayla whispered.
Everyone snapped their heads around, narrowing their eyes at her, except for Skylar. Kayla shrugged her shoulders sheepishly, looking like a child who had been scolded.
"Don't talk. I'll explain later," Nick murmured, flexing his muscles, synchronizing the pulling and pushing with Everett.
The ride was calm and somewhat soothing. The soft cool breeze brushed against Skylar's face. Nothing but the swooshing sounds of the oars moving in and out of the water was audible as they paddled cautiously, trying not to make too much noise. Swoosh-silence-swoosh-silence. Moving farther, the fog finally lifted, giving them a better view of the path ahead but it was dark. Flashlights were turned on, providing some light.
Though Skylar would rather be anywhere else but there, it wasn't as bad as she had thought it would be, except when she looked at the trees along the bank; they looked peculiar. Oddly, the trees were black. What was even creepier were the bare branches-thin and long, like spider legs. With multiple hollow dents looking like eyes in the trunks, they gave her a chilling sting down her spine. She could've sworn the "eyes" popped open when they were in her peripheral, but when she turned to look straight on, they were just creepy trees.
Anxiety crawled through Skylar and her pulse raced the way it did when she watched a scary movie, anticipating something dreadful. Though she had no explanation for what she was feeling, she sensed that something was following them below the water's surface. At first she thought she was imagining things, but then Amanda's erratic movements confirmed her fears.
Amanda turned to the left, then to the right, focusing her eyes on the water. "Can you feel them?" Amanda whispered, shuddering. "They're all around us." She huddled closer to Everett.
"Don't worry. They won't touch the boat as long as a human is with us," Everett said, looking at Kayla. "They can try to manipulate around it, but they won't appear in their true form."
"Human?" Kayla asked, but she didn't pursue her question any further. She looked upset and worried.
Abruptly, Skylar heard a low hum. She zoomed her eyes in front, behind, to the left, and to the right, to see if some kind of bug or anything else was buzzing around her-nothing. When the low hum turned into whispers, she knew it was in her mind. At first it didn't bother her, but when it got louder she started freaking out.
She placed her hands over her ears, hoping it would go away, but it reverberated faster, overwhelming her and becoming more irritating by the second. In pain from the intensity of the voices, she curled herself inward.
"What's wrong, Skylar?" Mason asked worriedly when she broke out of his protective hold. His hand gripped her shoulders to calm her, but it wasn't working.
"They're . . . everywhere. The sounds. In my head. Make them go away."
"Hurry up!" Mason shouted to his brothers, reaching for her again.
Skylar didn't answer Kayla when she spoke. In fact, she couldn't hear anyone else. It seemed as though the sounds were projecting from the water, as if the water creatures were communicating with her, but she didn't know what they were trying to tell her. Perhaps it was a warning.
Soon it didn't matter. The sounds disappeared as quickly as they had started. What had just happened? Stiffly, she waited for the whispers to come back, but when they didn't, she felt more at ease.
Sitting upright, shoulders relaxed, she turned to Mason to let him know she was fine. Wondering why everyone else was focused on the water, she looked too. Waves surged up around them as bubbles formed near the boat. The intensity and size of the swells grew larger by the second, like boiling water in a pot. Then the bubbles shot out, shaped in the form of human hands, reaching for the boat's occupants but unable to touch them.
"I thought they wouldn't come near us when a human is around," Amanda sputtered.
"This is nothing," Nick bellowed. "You want to see their true form?"
"Everyone hold on to something," Everett warned. "They're trying to tip the boat."