Page 6 of High Noon

Chapter Two

Eve

When Hotah said ‘a short walk’,he really meant miles. I didn’t complain, though, because I liked walking, loved holding Enoch’s hand and listening to him tell me about the land and Hotah’s tribe, and wasn’t particularly excited to catch up to the grumpy Kohana.

Then there were the moments that Enoch pulled me behind a tree to steal kisses, pinning me to the trunk and acting like no matter how long or how many times he captured my lips, it would never be enough.

Those moments were fleeting, but each one sent butterflies fluttering around my stomach. Each one chased reality away and let me pretend there was only him and me and that nothing else existed or mattered.

We would catch back up with his friends, and on what was happening in this time in between. But I longed for something out of reach, something impossible. I longed for this entire mess to be over so that I really could just be with him. So it really would just be him and me and everything else would melt away, because nothing was as significant as us.

Enoch hadn’t seen Titus or Abram since I landed, or before, and it had been months since he crossed paths with one of my clones. Though he was frank when he said the encounter didn’t end pleasantly for her. The chill in his voice sent a shiver up my spine.

Too soon, the stolen moments ended and a feeling of dread settled over me. Enoch became as quiet as the wind that blew, but didn’t rustle the treetops above.

We climbed a tall hill comprised of loose rocks that was pocked with boulders, lofty pine trees stubbornly rooted to the mountainside. But the higher we climbed, the sparser those became. Halfway up the tallest mound, we came to a place where the pines disappeared. Steam rose into the cool, night air as we approached Kohana, who waited patiently on a boulder near the spring.

I expected clear water ringed by rocks and maybe some gentle bubbling action, but this was different.

The water glowed a vibrant, rich, powder blue, and the bubbling wasn’t gentle at all. The surface churned with a force rooted deep beneath the earth. Something powerful. Primal. I felt a strange energy pulsing all around me. This place had a very different feel from the area surrounding it.

Kohana said something I didn’t understand, gesturing toward the spring. Hotah translated, “Angry waters.”

Enoch squeezed my hand. “You’re tense.”

The waters were troubled, but they troubled me as well. The smell of sulphur overwhelmed me, but it was the way the water frothed and fought against the rocks that made me uneasy. “It’s safe to get in, right?”

“What do you mean?” Enoch asked.

“I mean, it’s not acidic water that’s going to melt my flesh off or anything, is it?”

Enoch stifled a laugh. “I wouldn’t let anything harm you. I just caught you, didn’t I?”

Yes, he had… So, despite Kohana’s stern face and the way he jutted his hand toward the angry waters with an attitude I didn’t entirely appreciate, and despite Hotah looking somewhat embarrassed of his brother, but also looking expectantly between me and said water, I dipped a toe into the glowing, agitated blue.

Kohana shifted into a crouch, watching me closely.

It was almost like he thought I was dangerous. Or maybe he just wanted whatever vision he thought I’d get so badly, he couldn’t stand to wait a second longer.

My tech suit shone brightly in the darkness surrounding us, the faces of Enoch and my new friends cast in an eerie sapphire shade. I sunk one foot into the water, feeling the smooth pebbles shift under my weight. Then I stepped in. The pool wasn’t enormous, but it wasn’t small, either. And it was deeper than I expected. As I waded in, the water went from calf-deep to chest-deep in only a few feet. “I can’t swim well,” I admitted to Enoch. “Is this far enough?”

He said something to Kohana, but the angry brother merely shook his head and gestured for me to go farther.

“You have to be in the center of the spring,” Enoch explained, confirming my worries. I didn’t think I’d be able to touch the bottom there. “You have to go under to receive a vision. All the way under.”

Damn it.

I didn’t like water. I hadn’t loved it before traveling, not that we Assets were able to go swimming for fun, but still. And I absolutely hated it after landing in the ocean.

At least this wasn’t salt water, and Enoch was within reach. He wouldn’t let me drown. It wasn’t a big deal to wade out a little farther and dunk my head under the water for a second or two. I was just being silly. Hearing Kohana say he knew my face and insisting I come here had spooked me. That was all.

I kept Enoch in sight as I crept closer to the center of the spring. The tips of my toes were the only things touching the earth, and that was a stretch considering that the only earth underfoot were tiny pebbles, as shifting and unsteady as grains of sand.

Holding my nose, I took a deep breath through my mouth, closed my eyes, and ducked beneath the surface of the water. What began as a small tickle of bubbles became a surge so forceful, my eyes popped open. But instead of seeing glowing water, I saw infinite darkness. Not a void, but a dark so thick and suffocating, it could swallow me up where even Enoch would never be able to find me.

I’m falling again, but this time, there is no earth below me and no sky above. It’s just me and a hollowness that feels like despair, thicker than tar. Dread settles into the pit of my stomach. This time I don’t panic because I know what landing feels like, I panic because I’m falling with no destination in sight. Could I be lost in a void of time and space? A hollow place filled to the brim with anger and disgust, desperation and fear? Or am I the one who feels this way?

Is the darkness me?

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