by S. M. Wilson
Storm couldn’t wipe the smile from her face. This was too good to be true. Her injured hand wouldn’t stop her swimming. It might still be painful, but she would manage. It wouldn’t stop her diving in the loch she dived in just about every day.
She felt a nudge at her shoulder and her stomach plummeted. Dell. She hadn’t even considered him. He would hate this Trial. Hate it. There was every chance he would refuse to take part. He didn’t even like being near the water – let alone in it.
But it wasn’t Dell. And it wasn’t Lincoln. It was the stocky man who’d beaten them up the cliff – Galen. “Do you know this area?” His voice was hoarse, his presence threatening.
She wasn’t quite sure how to answer. Words were sticking in her throat. The lies just wouldn’t populate on her tongue. His dark eyes were staring at her and it forced the truth from her mouth. “I grew up around here.”
“Then it seems you have an unfair advantage. You know this loch. You’ll know where they would hide things.” His eyes narrowed. “I don’t like it when someone has an advantage. I like the balance to be in my favour. You can be part of my team.”
“But…but, I, I already…” She felt desperate. There was something about him. Something that made her want to run off in the other direction and not look back.
He leaned forward and hissed at her, “You’ll do what I say.”
“She’s part of my team.” Lincoln’s hand slid into hers. For a girl who wasn’t used to physical contact it was the most welcome touch she’d ever felt. Lincoln gestured over to where his three blond companions were standing. “We’re working together. It’s already arranged.” His voice sounded authoritative – older than his years.
Galen spat at him, “When did you arrange this?”
“Yesterday.” Lincoln didn’t seem to have any problem letting lies spill from his lips. She nodded quickly despite the fact she didn’t even know the names of the other guys. Could they even swim? Would they be any use?
Galen grabbed her arm, his fingers pinching her skin. “I don’t think so, little boy. She’s with me.”
Even though Lincoln was half the breadth of Galen, he was still a head taller. He stepped right up, his hand clenching hers tightly. “You’re wrong. Storm gets to decide which team she’s on.”
She held her breath. She hadn’t thought he had it in him. Something about Galen was just terrifying, but Lincoln’s jaw was clenched and his teeth were gritted.
“What’s the problem?” Reban Don’s voice boomed next to them.
Lincoln got there first. “No problem. Storm has chosen to be on our team. Galen was just making small talk.”
Reban Don looked suspicious. There was no way he believed a single word of that.
His black cloak was swirling in the breeze from the lake. He glanced at her in disgust. She got the distinct impression that he couldn’t bear being around her. So, when he finally spoke to her she almost jumped out her skin. “It appears – for reasons that I can’t fathom – that people are fighting over you. We have a Trial to commence. Which team are you on?”
“Lincoln’s,” she said quickly, letting her breath out in a rush. “I’m on Lincoln’s team.”
Galen threw up his hands in disgust and stalked off. “This isn’t over,” he muttered over his shoulder.
Reban Don gave her a cold, hard stare. “Don’t delay one of the Trials again.”
It sounded like a threat.
Lincoln’s hand was still holding hers and he tugged her over to the other three guys. She pulled her hand away from his and tucked it under her other arm. He’d held it just a few seconds longer than necessary.
“What was that about?”
“Galen? Or Reban?”
He shook his head. “Oh, I know what Galen is about. Be careful. If you get in his way he’ll do you harm.” His steps slowed. “Reban Don. He seems to have an issue with you.”
All her defences rose. “I’ll admit, he doesn’t seem to like me – but then, he doesn’t seem to like anyone much. What does it matter anyway?”
She was angry now. How should she know why Reban had reacted so strangely to her? She’d wondered before if he’d known her mother, but no – her mother had refused to have anything to do with the Stipulators. She’d had a distinct dislike of them. She’d spent most of her life ignoring them, or turning in the other direction if they appeared. At the first flash of a black cloak her mother had always herded her away.
Lincoln stared at his palm for a second before rubbing it against his tunic. “You’re right. It doesn’t matter. Now let’s get this Trial done. Come and meet the guys.”
He nodded towards them. “Leif, Kronar, Rune – this is Stormchaser. She’ll be joining our team.”
She could see the wary glances shooting between them. This obviously hadn’t been part of their plan. Lincoln had improvised.
One held out his hand towards her. She hesitated for a second – knowing it would be rude to refuse – before giving the quickest handshake in history. “I know this area. This won’t be hard.” Why was she saying this? Why was she trying to convince them to let her be part of their team?
There was a couple of seconds of silence. She could see Leif and Rune looking around, first at Galen, then at Reban Don. Kronar kept his eyes firmly on the lake.
She took a final glance to try and spot Dell. He had to be here somewhere. Would he want to join her?
There. He was standing with a group of people she didn’t know. Did one of them bunk next to Dell? He was talking quite agitatedly. She could hear him warning them about the plesiosaurs in the loch. Would that stop any of them from attempting the Trial?
She would have to find a way to break the news to her team more gently – to demonstrate there was nothing to be afraid of.
Rune gave a sigh. “Right, let’s find out what we’re doing.” He walked over to where the Stipulator was handing out the list of instructions. He wrinkled his nose as he read them on his way back. “This doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.”
He handed the piece of paper over to Lincoln. “Red, blue, purple and green. What does this mean?”
Stormchaser looked around. There was a sea of puzzled faces, no one seemed to understand. She could see people whispering, wondering whether to go and ask Reban for some clarification.
She walked over to the edge of the water. More than six hundred people would be diving in her loch. It felt like a violation. This was her place. Hers.
How would the plesiosaurs respond? She knew that Milo would be confused by the sudden invasion of his territory. She could only hope that he wouldn’t be here – that he’d be out in the ocean right now.
She was trying to reason how this Trial would work. She spun around. “Come here.” She waded into the water.
Lincoln frowned but took a few tentative steps behind her. The others followed, allowing the water to swish around their ankles. Storm was up to her waist by now. “The loch is deceptive. The first hundred steps or so aren’t deep. But there’s a platform here. If you aren’t aware of it, it could take you by surprise.”
“What do you mean, a platform?” Leif looked confused.
Storm held out her hands. “The ground falls away, almost as if you drop off the side of a cliff. The loch is much deeper than it looks. It’s why the plesiosaurs can live here.”
“There are dinosaurs in this lake?” Kronar looked horrified.
“Plesiosaurs,” she corrected. “Friendly ones.”
Rune was quick to jump in. “None of these creatures are friendly.”
“Yes, yes they are.”
“But they kill people! I’ve heard the reports.”
Storm shook her head. “No. Plesiosaurs are not like that. Yes, boats have been overturned before by other marine reptiles. People have been lost in the great ocean. But not here. Not in this loch.”
Her words sounded forced. This was more personal for her than any of the others could ever imagine.
“I’m not sure I wan
t to dive in a loch that has dinosaurs. And to retrieve what? These instructions don’t even make sense.” Rune waved the piece of paper in his hand.
Storm shielded her eyes with her hand and looked out across the shimmering water, scanning the pale blue. “Look, there!” she hissed, keeping her voice low to stop others hearing her. People had started to wade into the water around them. They might not understand their task, but they understood the concept of diving in the loch.
“I can’t see anything.” Lincoln was right next to her shoulder.
“Look again, there under the water, can you see something yellow?” She pointed with her finger. “And there, there, and there again. We must have to dive to collect one of the coloured items.”
Kronar tilted his head. “But there’s only yellow. What about the other colours?” The furrow across his brow was growing deeper by the second.
“They must be further in. Off the edge of the platform. We’ll probably have to go much deeper to get them.” She spun round. “How long can you hold your breath for?”
Lincoln groaned and ignored the question. “Why isn’t yellow on our list?”
“I’m assuming it’s random. I guess we’ll just need to go a bit further in.” She kept wading. “Let’s go, guys.”
Leif and Rune hurried to join her while Lincoln stopped to talk to Kronar. It was a few minutes before Lincoln joined them, shoulder-deep in water.
“What kept you?”
His eyes darted to Leif. “There’s no point us all being in the loch.” He pointed up towards a nearby hill. “I told Kronar to get to a good vantage point. That way he might be able to see the colours a bit more easily and shout to us.” He swished his arm around, creating waves. “The water here is remarkably clear, maybe he’ll be able to see something we can’t.”
Leif and Rune nodded readily in agreement. Several other teams had started swimming around them, one was even nearing a yellow sunken box. Lincoln was quick to change the focus. “Let’s get started.”
Their feet had barely left the platform when Rune spotted the first green box beneath them. He signalled and then dived down. Storm hesitated. This was her lake. She was familiar with everything beneath the surface but she was having to learn what it meant to be part of a team. A few body lengths beneath them, Rune seemed to be struggling. He was trying to hoist the box into his arms and pushing off from the bottom with his feet. He broke the surface next to them and thrust the box towards Lincoln.
“Whoa!” Lincoln sunk beneath the surface for a few seconds then spluttered up again.
“What is it?” She put her hand underneath the box and was struck by the sheer weight of it. “What on earth…?”
Rune’s face was scarlet. “I had no idea it would be so heavy.” He was treading water, trying to take some of the weight in his free hand. “We’re all going to need to haul this back to the shore.”
Lincoln nodded and they tried to distribute the weight between them. But trying to swim in formation around a box was virtually impossible. It kept slipping from their grasp. It was a relief to finally reach the edge of the platform and wade to the shore again.
Storm placed her hands on her wet tunic top, then pulled it over her head. If all the boxes were like that, she’d be a fool to let anything else weigh her down. Lincoln and the other guys averted their eyes for a second, then finally realized she’d something on underneath. Granted, the dark-coloured vest was skimpy, but at least it kept everything covered.
Storm could almost hear the intake of breath behind her. Feel their probing eyes on her skin, looking at the ugly scar tissue around her back and sides.
But they were wise. No one spoke. No one said a thing.
They followed suit, pulling their shirts over their heads. Kronar had reached the top of the hill. He put his hands to his mouth to shout, then shook his head.
“What’s wrong? Why isn’t he telling us which way to swim?”
Storm tried to follow his line of vision. She was watching another team struggle out of the water with one of the yellow boxes. “Do you think the colours have anything to do with the weight?” She wasn’t sure she’d be able to lift anything heavier than the one they’d just fumbled to shore.
Lincoln shook his head. “I have no idea.” His eyes were fixed on Kronar, watching as he pointed down towards one of the other teams. It took a few seconds before his face broke into a smile.
He lowered his voice. “Look, Kronar’s pointing at that girl in the bright purple tunic. I’m guessing that means he can see one of the purple boxes under the water.”
“Then why on earth hasn’t he just shouted to tell us?” asked Rune. She saw the flicker of recognition on his scarlet face. He was finally beginning to breathe a little more easily. “I get it. If he shouts to tell us, everyone else will hear too.” He glanced around. “We’re the only team with anyone standing on the hill. Once they realize he can see the coloured boxes they’ll all send someone up there. We’ll lose the advantage.”
Kronar was watching the whole area around the loch. For a second he glanced straight at them, then he gestured with one hand to the near side of the loch.
Lincoln nodded. “I guess we know where our purple box is.”
Storm took a deep breath. “I think we’ll all need to go again. Even if one person dives to retrieve the box, the rest of us will need to help get it back to shore.”
The second box was tougher than the first. The water was still clear, but the bed of the loch was littered with debris. The purple box was so heavy it had sunk deeper into the mud and when Leif tried to retrieve it he sent clouds of muddy water rushing up towards them, obliterating their view.
When Leif finally surfaced he was desperate for air. “It was stuck in the mud,” he gasped. It took some effort to drag the box through the water, leaving them breathless at the side of the loch.
Kronar signalled to them again. He gestured towards another team. One of the members wore a striking blue tunic.
“He’s pointing towards the middle of the loch. How deep is it there?”
Rune looked worried and Storm could see Leif mumbling to Lincoln. “It’s deep,” was all she could squeak out. There was no point going into detail. There was no point telling any of them they’d have to hold their breath for over a minute to get down there and back up. They would panic.
They just had to get on with it. “Look, we don’t dive till we get to the middle of the loch. We go down then we come straight back up. It’s a long way to get the box back to shore. This one’s going to be tough.” She looked up to the hill. “Maybe we should ask Kronar to come with us. It could take all five of us.”
“No.” The boys spoke in unison around her. It was bad enough standing in soaking wet clothes with the temperature dropping around them and the wind picking up. But their voices made the chills on her skin feel even worse.
“What’s the deal, guys? What aren’t you telling me?”
Again. The quick glances. It ignited a fire of frustration inside her. Lincoln touched her arm. It felt like a sting and she yanked it back. “What? What is it?” Her voice had risen and several of the other groups looked over towards them.
As the boys closed in around her, Lincoln whispered in her ear, “Kronar can’t swim.”
“What?” This time her voice was even louder and she took a step back out of the circle, her head whipping from one face to the other. “You’re joking, right?” Her eyes fixed on Kronar on the hill. He was standing with his hands on his hips, scanning the loch, still looking for the final box. His head eventually turned towards the group and he gave a little start seeing all their faces fixed on his.
Storm spun to face Lincoln. “You pulled me into this team when you knew he couldn’t swim?” She was losing focus. She couldn’t see past Lincoln’s bright green eyes. “This could wreck everything. What if we need that extra body to pull up the last two boxes? We’ll be out.” The competitive edge in her was bubbling to the surface again. Was this about winni
ng the trial, or giving her the opportunity to join the expedition?
For a second she thought she saw a tiny flare of panic in Lincoln’s eyes, but it vanished in a flash. When he spoke, his voice was calm and measured. “I didn’t know. I only found out when we got here. And why should it be an issue?”
“It’s more than an issue.” She waved her arm. “Kronar is virtually getting a free pass.” She glared at Leif and Rune. “You two obviously knew. Why didn’t you say anything?”
Leif was clearly annoyed. “Get a grip, Storm. This Trial is a team game. We could have been up against anything today. If it had been running, Kronar would have outpaced you within seconds, and he scaled that cliff yesterday better than any of us. Everyone has different skills. What are yours, apart from knowing this loch and being a grouch?”
She didn’t even blink. “I can hold my breath for around four minutes. What about you?”
The words were out before she could think. Rune’s mouth practically fell open and Lincoln’s eyes widened. But Leif looked suspicious. “You can what?”
She folded her arms across her chest. “I can hold my breath for four minutes.”
He wasn’t buying it. “And why would you have to do that?”
Something clicked inside her brain. Kronar was still scouring the loch. He hadn’t found the final red box yet. “I don’t just have basic knowledge of this loch. I’ve mapped it out. I know every single part of it – including the caves where the plesiosaurs nest.”
“They what?” Lincoln’s mouth gaped open.
“They nest here, in caves under the water. I think there’s a link from the loch to the ocean, but I’ve never found it.”
Rune was shaking his head. “You’ve been in the caves where the plesiosaurs nest?”
“Yes.” Their reactions were beginning to unnerve her. She’d never told anyone about this before. Not even Dell.
