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“If this is another place beyond time…another world. Shouldn’t there be a door out of here? And why would this world only be contained to Devil’s Bay?” I can feel the locked doors in my mind slowly creaking open.
Ask the right questions.
“The rules of this world change often and can never truly be corroborated. Nor do they make sense. One thing that seems to be helpful is you need to be the one to experience the world before it gives you its truths. I think it’s watching.”
“What’s a truth it’s given you?”
“Kieran Lazarus is the reason we’re all trapped here.”
“Why does this world seem so…normal?”
“Are you willing to accept a world where only a few people mill about? Open your eyes Marisa, every answer is available to you if you only pay attention.”
A loud rumble echoes through the tunnels.
“We should get out of here. It’s likely very easy to get trapped here during high tide. I suspect it’s why the lab was built the way it was. A very easy cage for a mad scientist’s secrets.”
The instinct to pull him back into our conversation creeps up my neck. Reluctantly, I grab the photos and head towards Misty who’s already at the bottom of the stairs waiting expectantly. Christian follows closely behind. We traverse the dark cave tunnel until water begins sloshing around our boots.
“The storm?” I peer up at him.
“Yes,” he replies tightly.
Devil’s Bay is definitely fucking with us.
Another deep rumble rolls down the tunnel followed by a surge of foaming water that slams against our feet. Misty whines and lurches forward, dodging a stretch of incoming water.
“Misty!” Christian shouts after her.
“How long were we in there?” I shout as the current grows louder, rising with terrifying ease. Another wave barrels down the tunnel. I curl into myself, bracing for the suffocating pressure of water to close over my head. Christian’s body folds around mine before the impact lands. He absorbs the force, shielding me as a wave crashes into us, dragging us sideways before retreating. We are instantly soaked.
“We need to move,” he commands.
With hefty steps, I move forward but the water has loosened the sand enough for my feet to become wedged in a soft depression. Water rises quickly to my waist. “Fuck!”
“Get on my back,” Christian says through gritted teeth. “You’re going to slow us down.”
“I’m not—”
“Marisa.”
The water begins climbing further. My heart thumps wildly in my chest. Our labored breaths bounce off the rocky walls. I clamp my hands onto his shoulders and climb onto him, legs wrapping tightly around his waist as he begins to push forward through loose sand and rushing tide. His strength is staggering, strong legs drive into the ground, steadying us against the current. The water sloshes against his chest and my heart plummets as I think of Misty stuck in these torrents. My thoughts are washed away as the water rises much faster than I can anticipate.
“We’re not going to make it,” I murmur against his neck, fear finally bleeding through my composure.
He doesn’t answer, only tightens his grip on my calves. I do the same, tightening my hold around his torso and leaning my head against the back of his. He keeps moving. A wave of foam crashes into him, sending us flying backward, but he quickly rights himself, using one hand to grip jagged edges of the stone walls, guiding us forward. The strain of his muscle is evident beneath my tight grip. My hand rests above his heart, the heavy beats mimicking the pattern of the storm.
Christian is able to make it close enough to the cove’s entrance but we still have the crevasse to contend with. “Hold on!” he roars. The next surge overwhelms us as the tunnel floods. Water swallows everything. I lose my grip and we separate, limbs tangling in the violent churn. I fight upward blindly, lungs burning, until I break the surface long enough to inhale a sharp breath before the current drags again.
“Just breathe!” he shouts somewhere near me. “I’ve got you!”
My chest tightens as I flail in the crushing water. Panic is doing me no good as I collide into a wall and shooting pain flares up my spine. I feel Christian’s arm wrap around my waist, anchoring me to him. But the darkness is creeping in. A familiar buzzing sensation returns, that electric, dissociative hum that accompanied my time locked in the darkness of my mind.
The edges of my vision blur.
Christian surfaces with me in his right arm and swims with the other. All I think about is Christian, how I’ll die here below these depths and never be able to tell him how I feel. His determined face is the last thing I see before darkness consumes me.
“Stay with me, baby.”
