What Waits in the Water

by Kieran Scott

  They both heard footsteps and glanced back to find Katie and Jacob racing toward them. “Are you okay?” Katie asked Hannah.

  “We’re fine,” Colin answered for her. “Apparently I’m terrifying.”

  Katie rolled her eyes. “Don’t scream like that! You’re going to give me a heart attack!”

  Shaking her head, Katie turned to walk back to the house, and Jacob slowly followed, but not before casting an unreadable look back over his shoulder at Hannah and Colin. Was it forlorn? Angry? Jealous? Impossible to tell in the waning light.

  “Were you … following me?” Hannah asked Colin once the others were gone.

  A cool breeze tickled the back of her neck, then disappeared, allowing the thick warmth of the evening to surround her again.

  “Yeah, I guess I was. But not because I … well, not like that.” Colin shuffled back a step. “It’s getting dark. I thought it’d be safer if someone went with you. Even though Jacob is right—you’re never gonna find a signal.”

  Interesting that Colin had been concerned enough for her well-being that he’d come after her, and Jacob had not, of course. Playing catch with his new girlfriend was clearly far more important.

  “Well, I have to try,” Hannah said, holding up her phone. “Although it is pretty creepy out there.”

  Somewhere in the distance, someone shrieked. A girl. It was impossible to tell whether she was happy or scared. Was it Alessandra? Or …

  Hannah glanced across the lake toward Prandya’s house again. Now that it was darker, the lights glowed even brighter. It was almost as if they were mocking her.

  Nah nah nah nah nah nah! We have Wi-Fi! We have cell service! We have air-conditioning!

  Colin’s brow knit and he turned to follow her gaze.

  “If Prandya’s home, why hasn’t she called the police?” Hannah asked.

  “Maybe it’s not her. Maybe her parents came home early.” He turned Hannah’s phone toward him so he could see the time. “Honestly, on foot, she probably wouldn’t be back there yet.”

  “Okay, don’t you think it’s weird that they have power and we don’t?” Hannah asked.

  “Are you kidding? Her family’s rolling in money,” Colin said with a scoff. “They probably have one of those generators that powers the whole house. Or an in with the power company.”

  Hannah nodded, but she still didn’t like it. She glanced uphill along the trail.

  “If we’re gonna go, we should probably go now,” she said.

  “Yeah. Let’s see how far we can get before it’s so dark we can’t see our hands in front of our faces.”

  Colin nudged her jokingly with his elbow and started up the path. Hannah glanced back one more time at the lights in the distance before ducking into the trees after him. She held her phone out in front of her, both for the comfort of the screen’s light and to keep an eye on the signal. Colin trudged ahead, showing her where to skirt around rocks and holding aside low tree branches so she didn’t get smacked in the face. It wasn’t long before she was sweating, tiny droplets coursing from her temples and down her cheeks. At a leveling of the trail, Colin stopped abruptly and Hannah walked right into him.

  “Oof, sorry,” she said, dropping her phone.

  It bounced a couple of times and tumbled off the trail into the wet underbrush.

  “Dang,” Colin said.

  “I got it,” she replied. Her heart began to thrum when she realized exactly how dark it had gotten. The world around her was a deep purple and every tree branch and leaf cast a menacing shadow. Hannah bent down and felt for her phone and suddenly, her toe tipped over a ledge and she was falling. Falling into pitch-black weeds.

  “Colin!”

  He grabbed her arm at the last second, wrenching her shoulder, but yanking her upright. The momentum pulled her to him and they were chest to chest, his arms around her waist, her fingers digging into his biceps. She could feel his warm breath on her face, though she could barely see his features in the dark.

  “Are you okay?” His voice was low.

  “Fine,” she said. “Thanks … thank you. I’m so embarrassed.”

  Colin brushed her cheek with the back of his fingers. “Don’t be,” he said.

  And then his lips were on hers. She had no idea how he’d even found them in the dark, but he had. The pressure of his own lips was sweet, soft, insistent.

  It was her first kiss and it was exhilarating, scary, but exciting. It was, in a word, perfect.

  After a moment or ten years, Colin pulled away, but not so far that he let go of her waist.

  “I’m sure this is going to sound totally cheesy,” Colin said at a whisper. “But I feel like I’ve been looking for you my whole life.”

  Hannah didn’t know how to respond. It was cheesy. But also incredibly romantic.

  “That’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me,” she said honestly.

  She saw the flash of his smile in the darkness, before he leaned in and kissed her once more.

  Dear Future Me,

  I’m freaking out. When I came home today, this journal wasn’t where I left it. I mean, it was where I left it—where I always leave it—between my mattress and my box spring—but it was facedown. I never leave it facedown. For some reason it feels unlucky to leave it that way. I don’t know why. I know. I’m weird. But I always leave it with the cover up.

  Did my mom find it and read it? Maybe she came in here to straighten up and found it? But who am I kidding? She never straightens up my room, and all my clothes are on the floor exactly where I left them. So who the heck was in my room?

  The other weird thing is, I keep feeling like someone is watching me. At first I thought maybe it was N because maybe he was trying to figure out a way to talk to me. But clearly that’s wishful thinking. As far as I can tell, he hasn’t even looked at me since we broke up.

  But there are all these little things, like I’ll hear a footstep crunch behind me, but when I look no one is there. Or I’ll see a shadow and in the next second it disappears. I’m kind of scared, to be honest. Is it possible that someone’s been following me and that same person snuck in here and read my journal?

  Oh, God. The thought of that made me shiver just sitting here. But what am I supposed to do? Go to the police and tell them I see shadows? That my diary was turned over in its hiding spot?

  Ugh. I just need school to be over and then I’m going to spend the entire summer on the beach wallowing in my jerkdom. Also, I need a new hiding place for this journal.

  Dear Future Me,

  OMG, I’m so happy! N wants to see me! He left me a note in my locker today—the last day of school (woo-hoo!)—and he wants me to meet him tonight at our special place. I don’t know why he didn’t just text me or come over or just TALK to me in class. I mean, he ignored me all day long just like he’s been doing ever since that stupid thing with S.B. But whatever. It doesn’t matter. I can’t wait to talk to him. I’ll apologize all night if I have to. I love him so much. I just want to spend the whole summer with him.

  I hope he’s ready to get back together. Please don’t let me have ruined everything.

  “Does anyone know what time it is?” Hannah asked, leaning forward in her Adirondack chair next to the fire. She didn’t have her phone on her. She’d managed to rescue it from where it fell, but now she had left it inside the house. It was stashed inside her bag, along with the journal—the journal she’d finally finished reading.

  And she kind of wished she hadn’t. Because if that was Claudia’s journal, and she really had written in it for the very last time right before going out to meet N, aka Nick, who’d left her a note …

  Then Nick—Jacob and Colin’s friend Nick—could be a murderer.

  “It’s just after eight,” Colin said, checking his phone.

  Less than sixteen hours, Hannah thought. In less than sixteen hours, Jacob’s parents will be home and this nightmare will be over. In actuality, she had no idea what time Jacob’s parents plan
ned on returning, but putting a number on it somehow made her feel better. She leaned back in her chair and blew out a sigh.

  Jacob had found some old plastic furniture in the shed, hosed it off, and dragged it out so they could sit by the fire pit and not spend the whole time shifting on the uncomfortable benches. The electricity was still not working, so the firelight was the only real light they had. Hannah had made sure that her chair was positioned so that her back was to the lake.

  Colin reached over to hand her a napkin, and when their hands brushed her entire body reacted. Even with all the questions and worries crowding her head, she couldn’t help smiling, and he grinned back.

  Part of her couldn’t believe they had actually kissed. She couldn’t believe it for any number of reasons, but the biggest of those was the fact that last night, they’d basically watched a girl die. Every time she thought about the kiss, she felt a heady sense of euphoria, followed by a sinking, swirling, acidic guilt.

  So before she even broke eye contact with Colin, her face fell. And then so did his.

  “The hot dogs are good,” Colin said, looking across the fire at Jacob. “Where’d you get them?”

  “They’re just regular hot dogs. They taste better because I’m a total grilling genius,” Jacob joked half-heartedly.

  “Or it’s because we went for a hike first, and worked up an appetite,” Colin suggested, shooting Hannah an almost hopeful look.

  “Or it’s because you’re so giddy from this whole flirty thing you two have got going on that anything would taste good,” Katie said, popping the last bite of her hot dog into her mouth.

  Hannah shot Katie a look of death, then glanced away, her face ten times hotter than the fire.

  “Okay, that’s gross. Let’s talk about something else.” There was an edge in Jacob’s voice that brought Hannah up short. What was he, jealous now? What a joke. She stared at his profile and saw his jaw working. If they had been alone at that moment, she would have flicked his earlobe as hard as she could. Instead, she pulled her hoodie closer around her and stared at the fire.

  “Where do you think Prandya is?” Katie said, glancing out at the lake. There was no more rain, but the clouds were still thick.

  “Honestly? She might not even have gotten home yet,” Jacob said.

  “Then who turned all their lights on?” Hannah asked.

  Jacob shrugged. “It’s gotta be her parents, right? They came back early?”

  Hannah shifted in her chair. Something wasn’t right. It just didn’t make sense that Prandya’s house was alive and kicking while Jacob’s cottage was dead as a doornail. Jacob reached over and rubbed her back.

  “Don’t worry, Champ. It’s gonna be okay,” he said.

  Hannah turned and looked into his eyes and felt herself relax. It was just Jacob. Just her best friend. He wasn’t the enemy. When she turned to face forward again, Colin was staring at her, his expression tight.

  Hannah’s heart thunked. Was he jealous? How sweet. And since when was she such a heartbreaker?

  “I have an idea,” Colin said, brightening suddenly. “What if we go up to Killer Point and try to signal them from there?”

  Hannah’s chest tightened. Killer Point?

  “Signal them? How?” Jacob asked, leaning back again.

  “We could light a fire or something,” Colin said. “Prandya’s parents can see the cliff from their place. If they notice a fire up there, they’ll call it in.”

  There was a long moment of silence, filled only by the crackling of the flames in the pit. Katie watched Hannah expectantly.

  “What?” Hannah said.

  “Aren’t you going to ask?” Katie said.

  Hannah scowled. “Ask what?” she demanded, even though she knew exactly what Katie was thinking.

  Katie sighed. “Okay, fine. I’ll ask. What’s Killer Point?”

  “It’s just a drop-off with a really unfortunate nickname,” Colin said, spearing another hot dog on a skewer and holding it over the fire. “People used to cliff dive off of it, apparently.”

  “Used to?” Hannah asked.

  “It’s kinda high,” Jacob said. “There were some accidents, so people stopped going.”

  Colin pulled out the hot dog and checked it. “I don’t know. I went hiking up there with my family a couple weeks ago and the cliff’s not that high. They say it’s not the height that’ll kill you, it’s the rocks down below. You’ve gotta know exactly where to jump or you’ll break your skull.”

  Hannah cringed.

  “And your legs and your arms and your ribs …” Jacob muttered, sucking some mustard off his thumb.

  “Stop it,” Katie ordered.

  “But we’re not talking about jumping off it. We’re just talking about trying to get rescued, right?” Hannah said, feeling a little zing of hope.

  Katie glanced warily at Hannah, like she’d been counting on Hannah to shoot down the plan.

  “What? This could work,” Hannah said.

  “I don’t know,” Katie replied. “I think we should just stay here and wait for Jacob’s parents.”

  “I can’t,” Hannah said. Now that there was a plan on the table, her whole body felt jittery. Katie and Jacob exchanged surprised looks. “I can’t just sit here anymore. If there’s a chance we could get help tonight, I say we try it.”

  * * *

  “When did it get so cold?” Hannah asked, shivering as she clutched her hoodie tight around her torso. Jacob and Colin were walking on either side of her, close enough that their mutual body heat should have been keeping her warm, but it wasn’t working. Katie trudged behind them, head down, scowl on. “I swear the weather out here has commitment issues.”

  “Where are we?” Jacob asked, gazing into the sameness of the trees all around them.

  “This is the north side of the lake,” Colin replied, hands stuffed in the pockets of his sweatshirt. “My grandfather says they haven’t built any houses up here because it’s basically solid rock.”

  “You know, it’s not too late to turn around,” Katie muttered. “I still can’t believe you agreed to this, Hannah.”

  Hannah paused, and everyone else did, too. Colin, Jacob, and Katie all looked at her expectantly, as if truly interested in what she was about to say. For the first time in the past two days, Hannah actually didn’t feel invisible. She had the sense that if she told them she wanted to go back, they would, and if she told them she wanted to keep going, they would. Since when did she wield this kind of power? For half a second, it felt exciting, and then her stomach clenched. She didn’t want to be responsible for everyone.

  “I still think it’s worth a shot,” Hannah said, glancing at the duffel bag Colin was carrying. They’d packed it with a few logs, a fire-starter nugget, and a box of matches.

  Katie shivered. “Fine. If you guys think it’ll work.” She looked around at the trees crowding the path. “But if we burn down the forest, it’s your fault.”

  “We’re not gonna burn down the forest,” Jacob said.

  “But if something goes wrong, we can’t even call the police,” Katie said. “Anybody think about that?”

  Jacob and Hannah locked eyes and his lips twitched. A laugh bubbled up in Hannah’s throat and she doubled over. It was one of those laughs fueled both by humor and nervousness, and it took over her whole body. Jacob cracked up, too, and Katie looked at them like they were crazy. But Hannah couldn’t stop. She laughed so hard she had to wipe at her eyes with the sleeves of her sweatshirt.

  “What’s so funny?” Katie asked finally.

  Hannah leaned one hand on Colin’s strong shoulder as if for balance. “Nothing, it’s just—”

  “It’s like you switched personalities,” Jacob supplied. Having already gotten control of himself, he pointed back and forth from Hannah to Katie. “And it’s totally freaking me out.”

  “Sorry. Sorry. I’m not laughing at you, I swear. It’s just … funny,” Hannah said.

  “Yeah, well. Someone’s go
tta be the levelheaded one around here,” Katie snapped.

  And that just made Hannah laugh harder. Finally, Katie let out a frustrated groan and trudged ahead up the path. Colin adjusted his grip on the duffel bag strap and followed, leaving Hannah and Jacob behind. Alone. For the first time since they stood on the dock yesterday morning. That seemed like a lifetime ago.

  “Dude,” Jacob said as Hannah’s laughter turned into high-pitched gales. “Are you okay?”

  “No.” Hannah shook her head, hugging herself around her waist. “I think I might be delirious.”

  Jacob narrowed his eyes at her. “H, come on.”

  “Sorry. I’m sorry.” She took a deep breath and blew it out. Her abs were sore from laughing. She looked at Jacob again, and saw that his expression had turned somber. “Everything okay? I mean, aside from the obvious.”

  “You’re not upset, are you?” he asked. “About me and Katie?”

  Hannah pondered this for a second. A day ago she would have killed to be alone with Jacob. And she would have felt heartbroken about him choosing Katie over her. It did sting, but not half as badly as she would have imagined. Was it because of Colin? Because of one—well, two—stolen kisses in the woods? Was she really that fickle?

  She didn’t have it in her to figure that out right now. All she knew was how she felt, right in this moment.

  “No. I’m really not,” she said, briefly rubbing at her tired eyes.

  “Is it because you’re obsessed with Colin?”

  Hannah snorted, glad that the dark hid her blush. “I’m not obsessed with him. But okay, I don’t know why I’m not upset. I’m just not. If you guys are happy, then I’m happy.”

  “But you are obsessed with Colin,” he said flatly. “Just so we’re clear.”

  Hannah sighed. “Jacob, you’ve been texting Katie behind my back for months. You’re not allowed to be jealous of me and Colin.”

  Jacob’s knee bounced as he pushed his hands deeper into the pockets of his hoodie and looked away. After a long pause he finally said, “Well, if you guys are happy, then I’m happy.”

  “Thank you.”