She called out once more and within seconds, she heard a splash. Stefan swam to her aid and as he neared, she curled her toes in her flippers, fearing the grasp of the dead man would come once more.
“What’s wrong?”
“There— There’s something—” She was hysterical and aware of her inability to generate a clear sentence.
“What? Is Trevor okay?”
She shook her head to say she didn’t know, but Stefan took it as he was in trouble. Unable to find words quick enough to correct him, Stefan filled her BCD up to the max for her to remain floating, and before she could say no, he plunged down to retrieve Trevor with only flippers and a snorkel mask.
Will it come to the surface for me?
After about a minute, the shock began to wear off and she realized that she could simply swim back to the boat and get the hell out of the water. As she did, Stefan penetrated the surface, took a large breath, and darted back down before she could get his attention. She kicked as hard as she could, carving her arms through the water until reaching the boat and pulling herself to safety. The ladder was down in the back and she pulled her flippers off, refusing to look down at the water below her. He’d be there waiting for her. Erin climbed the stepladder and launched herself onto the boat. Her ankle was in horrible pain, radiating sharp pulses from the crushing grip of the dead man.
Finger touching her foot gently, she hesitated. When she rolled the spandex suit up her leg, expecting terrible swelling, she found nothing. The pain was gone.
Stefan and Trevor swam over to the boat. Trevor had something in his hand. He placed a trident over the edge of the boat and called out, “Erin, what happened?”
She was paralyzed. “Nothing,” she mumbled.
He pulled himself onto the boat, removing his flippers. “What happened?”
She couldn’t find anything sane to say. Her brain was mush.
He looked at her like she was in shock. She was.
“Just tell me what happened. You choke on some water? Panic attack?”
She turned, a pressurized feeling in her chest taking over, and then— She puked up water and bile onto the side of the boat, followed by some violent coughs. His hand was on her back immediately, trying to coax her through it.
“Let it all out.”
She wiped her mouth, feeling relief. She looked into Trevor’s and Stefan’s desperate eyes and finally spoke. “I saw something.”
“What did you see?” asked Trevor.
“A body.”
Trevor recoiled. “You’re sure?”
She could only muster a nod, tears trying to break through the surface. She couldn’t stop thinking about the water flooding her lungs, her heart ripping from her chest as she scrambled to get to the surface, wanting so badly to take a breath in. Feeling faint, she fell back into her seat.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Trevor sneaked in behind her and cradled her, wrapping his strong arms around her. He whispered into her ear, comforting her. “You’re safe now. You won’t go back in that water. We’ll drive back in and get you some food, okay? Maybe a cool shower, yeah?”
Stefan leaned in with a look of concern. “Erin. You’re sure you saw a body?” he asked. “Like bones?”
She shook her head. “A full body. Dead. But not.”
Stefan was obviously keen to ask more questions, but Trevor gave him a look that said “leave it be for now.”
“Okay, you stay with Erin. I’ll quickly go check it out.”
“No!”
“It’s okay, I’ll be right back.” He hoisted up a BCD vest with the tank already installed, put it on, and stepped off the boat and into the water. She was too weak to plead. Instead, she curled up with Trevor, and her body continued to vibrate.
The sun was warm and the clouds were few and far between.
Ashton and Skye made their way back to the boat and she couldn’t hide the horror. She wanted to be normal to avoid questions, but she wasn’t strong enough for that. She was still on the floor with Trevor’s arms wrapped around her, and they asked right away, “What’s going on?”
Her explanation was fragmented. They all thought she was crazy, and she didn’t feel like arguing her case.
When Stefan got back onto the boat, his answer was exactly as she had suspected. “There’s nothing down there.”
As they drove back, Erin stared at the weapon that Trevor had found at the bottom of the water. As he had suspected, it was a trident. Poseidon’s trident and the third weapon. There must be four, total… Four family members. It was just as authentic as the other two. Rusted, used, weathered. The sight of it made her whole body tremble. Trevor squeezed her shoulders.
“There was no message,” Trevor said to Stefan.
He stared straight ahead as he steered the boat. “Let’s put a pause on it. See how things are tomorrow.”
She knew what she saw. There was no convincing her otherwise.
The whole gang was getting ready for bed. The day had been ruined.
Sipping tea at the dinner table, she could hear the shower running. Trevor always took such long showers.
She couldn’t shake the feeling of that hand around her ankle, the power of the pull. His dead white skin glowing off the blue light… Would Stefan go this far for some entertainment? I could’ve died. What if there was a body there? There was. No, a dead body can’t grab you.
As she sipped her tea, reliving the scuba terror, her hand twitched, dumping half the hot cup into her lap. She shot out of the chair, eyes laser focused on a noise that came from the front door. A note had been slid under the frame, and she had watched it happen in the corner of her eye. The burning in her legs subsided as she inched her way toward the door. The shower was still running; she wanted to go get him first, but she was drawn to it.
She didn’t even bend down to pick up the message. She could read it while standing. The paper was not the same as the other notes they had discovered. This was a plain white sheet of paper, no different than you’d get from Office Depot. She locked the door. It read, “There’s no leaving.”
Chapter Ten - Trevor
Erin scratched repeatedly at some peeled finish on their kitchen table. The scratching proceeded as she dropped deeper into her transient haze.
“Erin, I honestly think this is all part of it.”
“It was a real body,” she muttered monotonously.
“Tomorrow we are going to ask Stefan where the note came from. I’m sure he’s just messing with us. In fact, I’m positive. It’s all part of his big show.”
Her voice was quiet. “I know what I saw.”
“I know you did, but remember one thing… The depth of his pockets is infinite. I’m sure the sick bastard had a cadaver down there and some creep hiding in the cave pulling at your ankle.”
“It shouldn’t have hurt like that. Not like that.”
He ran his hand through her hair. “Let’s get some sleep. We’ll get answers in the morning, and if we don’t like what we hear, we’ll go home. I shouldn’t have taken this much time off anyway.”
Trevor reached across her and turned the lamp off, leaving them in dark. She was quick to comment. “Can we leave the light on?”
“There’s no way we’ll get any sleep,” he said. “Just relax, okay? I’m not going anywhere. Have a good sleep.”
He felt her shiver once more.
Gunfire.
Trevor’s back arched off the bed. He didn’t know if the blast came from within his mind or from shore. Erin remained asleep, so he lay back down.