I shake my head at my inner voice, desperate to see something. I fold my arms across my chest, my upper teeth tearing through my bottom lip. As I visually make my way from the closest log to the furthest, I freeze.
Is that…My heart jumps to my throat.
A hand rests against a rotting branch, pale fingers curled into the mushy bark. I take a step into the water, inhaling sharply as the icy waters hit my knees.
“Noah?” I call out, suddenly feeling desperate. “Noah!”
Panic floods my system, and I rush forward, my feet quickly losing footing. I fall, the waters soaking me all the way to my chest. It’s so fucking cold, and the ache in my back gives way to numbness immediately.
But I can’t take my eyes off that hand.
Don’t blink. Don’t lose him, Rue. Don’t lose him.
My vision blurs as I slosh onward, the water rising quickly. My mind flashes to what I’ll do next. I can pull him out. I can get him help. Even if he goes back to prison, I’ll just fucking confess.
I’m going to make this right. I’m going to?—
“What the fuck are you doing?” a voice booms from behind me, followed by a heavy arm threading around my waist and dragging me backward.
“Noah!” I scream, thrashing against the brute strength of the man who has me. “He’s right there! His hand is right there,” my voice breaks into a sob, as I point toward the log.
“There’s no fucking hand where you’re pointing,” the voice snaps. “Who the hell let you through?”
I let out a grunt as my ass hits the muddy bank, my entire body numb. My teeth chatter, and I finally allow myself to blink.
And suddenly, I can’t find the log. Or the hand.
“Who are you?”
I breathe in sharply through my nose, inhaling a mix of snot and lake-tinged air, and shake my head, not looking up at the man. “He was there.”
There’s a pause, and then a heavy sigh. “No, he wasn’t.”
Yes, he was.
I peer up at the man who pulled me out and recognize the Game Warden. I don’t know his name. I don’t know who he isoutside of his uniform, but I do know he’s looking at me like I’m completely insane right now.
And honestly, maybe I am.
“You shouldn’t be over here.” His voice is less chiding and more concerned. “How did you get through?”
“Uh, Iwalked.”
He nods, his brow deepening. “We clearly do not have a solid perimeter.”
“Thanks for oversharing, Officer,” I mutter under my breath, and then turn back to the water, searching for that fucking log. Iknowwhat I saw.
And if a hand isgrippingsomething…
Maybe Noah is alive.
“We’ve searched this area multiple times,” he keeps talking, as if he can read my mind. “Did you know Thomas Peterson?”
He’s talking to me like he feels sorry for me.
I rip my eyes from the water and gaze up at him, meeting his gray eyes. “We were close in childhood. I don’t know him anymore. It’s just…sad.” I force the words out, and my gut twists. I feel like Peter denying Jesus.
The Game Warden nods and then offers me a hand, as a raindrop glances my cheek. “It hits hard when people disappear in this lake. It’s like it’s cursed here.”
