here so long, spying and prodding through everyone’s personal life, literally trudging unabated through their dirty laundry.
I tore the page out and shoved it into my jeans’ pocket – I’d read the rest of it later – and headed to the hall.
#
The heavy rain that had been rolling over the last few days subsided come nightfall. We’d been locked in our own little world all day. The mystery surrounding everyone’s disappearance hadn’t come knocking on our door quite as o ften as it had in days gone by, so when Logan said we should head to the pier after dinner to check for boats, I knew it was an excuse to get me outdoors more than anything else, probably so I would stop pestering him about where he’d been all afternoon. The moon was waning gibbous, so it was plausible there would be something to see.
I’d dressed up for the occasion. I’d found the jeans a day before rummaging around in the other girls’ rooms. They were label, a couple of sizes too small . I put on a sweater, something athletic.
Outside, I took the lead. I was glad I’d worn a sweater. The wind was whipping around in a fervor. It had a distinctly fresh chill about it. I could feel the tip of my nose reddening.
“At least it’s not raining,” Logan declared in optimism, raising his voice over the weather.
“Maybe we’ll see something out there tonight. But then what are we going to do? Send up smoke signals?”
“It’s an option.”
We walked on, down the hill toward the pier.
“ You know, everyone’s still missing and everything, but I had fun today,” he said.
I nodded. “I don’t know if I want to be found, rescued, whatever.”
I hoped for a response along the lines of ‘I don’t want to be found either,’ but there was only wind singing in my ears.
There was plenty of light. We were, however, careful where we placed our footing as we made our way down the hill. The ground was rocky, and there was little medical aid should one of us fall and break something.
Eventually, we stood side by side looking down the length of the pier. A string of lights ran down the right-hand side, but one was out in the middle, giving the impression there were, in fact, two piers with a break in the middle.
Logan was concentrating, eyes locked on the ocean, which rushed in and away from the rocky beach beside us. “Can you see anything?”
I couldn’t. There were clouds, cumulus, if I remembered correctly. That was all. The ocean stretched out ahead, empty and barren.
Logan spoke. “Maybe we should walk to the end. It looks a bit lighter up there.”
“Sure,” I agreed. I’d skip to the moon and back if it meant being by his side.
We started walking up the pier. I jumped ahead again. The wind shifted and hit me directly in the face, forcing me to look sideways. I pulled my arms inwards to fend off the temperature drop and tilted my head away, walking blindly.
I was halfway down the pier, right in the area where the light was out, when I stepped on something. It slid out from under my foot and was enough to throw me off balance. I began to fall right. My arms went out trying to regain balance, but I was too far gone.
The railing was close. I knew that. As I fell, I reached for it with my right hand. It connected, solid, my full weight following behind. And then there was a sharp wince before the railing broke free completely and gravity took hold.
I felt myself fall further, without control, my left arm catching on something in my periphery. I hit water and spiraled down into the darkness. The mass and temperature around me pushed the air out of lungs. My b ones pulled together like purse-strings in shock. I struggled, but the weight of my clothes dragged me deeper.
I spun , unable to stabilize myself in the wash and black. Screaming in silence, I breathed out a string of bubbles and watched them climb through the water. I followed them in instinct, thrusting past each as their shapes bloated and distorted like airy sea
I tore the page out and shoved it into my jeans’ pocket – I’d read the rest of it later – and headed to the hall.
#
The heavy rain that had been rolling over the last few days subsided come nightfall. We’d been locked in our own little world all day. The mystery surrounding everyone’s disappearance hadn’t come knocking on our door quite as o ften as it had in days gone by, so when Logan said we should head to the pier after dinner to check for boats, I knew it was an excuse to get me outdoors more than anything else, probably so I would stop pestering him about where he’d been all afternoon. The moon was waning gibbous, so it was plausible there would be something to see.
I’d dressed up for the occasion. I’d found the jeans a day before rummaging around in the other girls’ rooms. They were label, a couple of sizes too small . I put on a sweater, something athletic.
Outside, I took the lead. I was glad I’d worn a sweater. The wind was whipping around in a fervor. It had a distinctly fresh chill about it. I could feel the tip of my nose reddening.
“At least it’s not raining,” Logan declared in optimism, raising his voice over the weather.
“Maybe we’ll see something out there tonight. But then what are we going to do? Send up smoke signals?”
“It’s an option.”
We walked on, down the hill toward the pier.
“ You know, everyone’s still missing and everything, but I had fun today,” he said.
I nodded. “I don’t know if I want to be found, rescued, whatever.”
I hoped for a response along the lines of ‘I don’t want to be found either,’ but there was only wind singing in my ears.
There was plenty of light. We were, however, careful where we placed our footing as we made our way down the hill. The ground was rocky, and there was little medical aid should one of us fall and break something.
Eventually, we stood side by side looking down the length of the pier. A string of lights ran down the right-hand side, but one was out in the middle, giving the impression there were, in fact, two piers with a break in the middle.
Logan was concentrating, eyes locked on the ocean, which rushed in and away from the rocky beach beside us. “Can you see anything?”
I couldn’t. There were clouds, cumulus, if I remembered correctly. That was all. The ocean stretched out ahead, empty and barren.
Logan spoke. “Maybe we should walk to the end. It looks a bit lighter up there.”
“Sure,” I agreed. I’d skip to the moon and back if it meant being by his side.
We started walking up the pier. I jumped ahead again. The wind shifted and hit me directly in the face, forcing me to look sideways. I pulled my arms inwards to fend off the temperature drop and tilted my head away, walking blindly.
I was halfway down the pier, right in the area where the light was out, when I stepped on something. It slid out from under my foot and was enough to throw me off balance. I began to fall right. My arms went out trying to regain balance, but I was too far gone.
The railing was close. I knew that. As I fell, I reached for it with my right hand. It connected, solid, my full weight following behind. And then there was a sharp wince before the railing broke free completely and gravity took hold.
I felt myself fall further, without control, my left arm catching on something in my periphery. I hit water and spiraled down into the darkness. The mass and temperature around me pushed the air out of lungs. My b ones pulled together like purse-strings in shock. I struggled, but the weight of my clothes dragged me deeper.
I spun , unable to stabilize myself in the wash and black. Screaming in silence, I breathed out a string of bubbles and watched them climb through the water. I followed them in instinct, thrusting past each as their shapes bloated and distorted like airy sea
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