Unforgotten(90)

The sharp cold of the water is gone. I am suddenly swimming in liquid fire.

And then, just as he lets go, taking all of that energy and warmth with him, his thumb brushes curiously against my forehead. Reading my thoughts. Stealing my memories.

But suddenly it doesn’t feel like stealing anymore.

I want to give them to him.

I want him to see things the way I see them. Know what I know. Feel what I feel.

“I do,” he says quietly, answering my unspoken question as his fingertips slip from my skin.

I do.

Those two little words feel like buoys drifting up from somewhere unknown to rest beneath my feet, to keep me afloat. Making me weightless.

But which question was he answering? The one about seeing the sunrise? Or the snow? Or the one about me? About what he thinks when he looks at me?

It has to be the first. Or the second. The sunrise. Or the snow.

Except I know it’s not.

I know like I know which way is up. Like I know that if I stop swimming I will drown.

I know which question he was answering. Regardless of what he makes of the snow and sunrise and stars, he thinks I’m beautiful.

And somehow that changes things.

I don’t know how. I don’t know why. I don’t even know what is different, but I know that it is.

We’ve managed to drift a few feet apart and I start to swim toward him. But my foot seems to be caught on something below. I attempt to yank it free but I’m unable to.

And then suddenly I’m being pulled downward. With incredible force. My head drops below the surface of the water. Through the ripples of the current I hear Kaelen call out my name.

I fight to pull myself up, managing to break through. But once again, I feel a tug on my leg, dragging me downward.

Kaelen swims toward me, grasps my hand. But our fingers are wet and slippery, they slide right through.

“Kaelen!” I yell, reaching for him. The hold around my ankle is firm and I’m suddenly back under.

It’s just like my nightmare. Except everything is upside down. Everything is reversed.

It’s not Kaelen attempting to hold me under. It’s him attempting to keep me afloat.

The water floods into my open mouth, threatening to suffocate me. I try to cough it out but it just won’t expel. I kick and thrash in vain. My hand reaches up, grappling for something to hold on to.

I feel the cold metal of my locket chain around his neck. I clench my fingers around it and pull. It snaps and plummets into the water with me. I clutch it tight, struggling with slick fingers to open the clasp.

I manage to pry apart the tiny door just as the water streams into my lungs. Arctic and salty. Tasting of loss. Just like in my dream, I have no choice but to let it in as I’m dragged farther and farther into the unknown depths of the sea.

I don’t resurface.





51

VIAL



The next thing I know, I’m coughing up water on a cold concrete floor. The salt burns my throat and my lungs but I finally get it all out. I blink and look around me, shuddering from the cold wet clothes clinging to my body. I’m in the middle of a long, narrow room with a domed ceiling that appears to be made of glass. Above it is dark swirling water. Either it’s moving or we are.

The locket lies by my hands. The chain is broken. Yet again. I scoop it up and place it in the pocket of my drenched pants.

Next to me stands a man in a rubber suit with a mask. He has a metal tank strapped to his back. A thin cord winds around to a device in his mouth. I presume it’s some kind of contraption for breathing underwater.

“You nearly drowned me!” I accuse him, my voice still raw from the coughing and the scratchy water.

He pulls the device from his mouth and exhales. “Sorry about that. I had to get you away from your friend.”

With effort I push myself to my feet and attempt to stand. I’m still wobbly and soaking wet. A puddle forms at my feet. “Why does everyone keep calling him that? He’s not my…” But I stop talking. It’s not even worth trying to explain what Kaelen is to me. Especially when I’m not quite sure myself.

“Whatever he is,” the man goes on, “Dr. Maxxer gave me strict instructions to bring you alone.”

“Maxxer,” I say softly, glancing at my surroundings with new eyes, feeling the same peculiar animosity course through me at the mention of her name. “She’s here, isn’t she?”

He nods and pulls the mask from his face. I immediately recognize his small eyes, round nose, and pinched mouth. But I can’t think of where I might have met him before.

He smiles. “I’ll take you to see her now.”

He gestures toward the end of the narrow room and I start to walk but eventually drag to a halt. “But wait. What about my … what about him?” I point upward at the domed glass ceiling, into the swirling sea.