Page 36 of Provoke You

11

A Remote Beach with Two Dead Bodies

Ela

When I was little, I used to have nightmares about not being able to breathe. Dad would come in my room in the middle of the night and read to me to calm me down. Sometimes he’d even bring milk and cookies.

“What was it this time?” he’d asked. “Did we forget you in the mall again?”

“No. Not this time.” I’d hug my blanket, taking deep breaths. “I dreamed I fell in the pool and couldn’t swim.”

“I see.” Dad ran his fingers through my hair to soothe me. “Next time try remembering that you can swim and order yourself to wake up. Just say 'Ela, wake up!' "

“I can do that. But, Daddy, it was so horrible. I couldn’t breathe. No matter how much air I tried to swallow, nothing would happen. It burned my chest, like I was on fire inside.”

“Let me see.” Dad sat closer to me. “Bite your teeth together.”

I did as he asked and tried not to giggle as he used my chin to move my head one way and then the other. “What is it?”

“Hmmm. Looks like you might need braces. Maybe that’s why you can’t breathe when you sleep. But we can fix that.” He reached over and grabbed a couple of decorative pillows and stuffed them under my head. “There. Go back to sleep. I promise no more nightmares. I’ll stay until you fall asleep.” He stayed with me until morning, just as he’d promised.

That nightmare and that night stuck with me for years. By the time I visited an orthodontist, Dad had vanished from my life, always busy, always working. “Ela, wake up,” he’d said to me once. I’d used that many times to chase the nightmares away, to breathe again when there was no air, to turn on the light, to survive.

I swallowed, urging my lips to part, but nothing happened. My tongue lay thick and heavy. My lungs and muscles ached, and no matter what I did, there was no respite, no oxygen, just darkness.

“Ela, wake up.” Matt’s voice pierced my eardrum. Everything hurt. His cold, wet mouth captured mine and puffed a stream of relief. I regained control of my body. My eyes and mouth flew open as I tried to gulp down more of that precious oxygen, but instead managed to fill my sore throat with water. “Ela, calm down. I’m here. I got you, but you need to relax.”

I swung my arms to keep my head above the dark liquid surrounding us. What the hell was I doing in the lake? My body thrashed around while Matt worked the ropes around my ankles. I wanted to stop, but the need to stay afloat was stronger than any logic. Twice my flailing elbow and fists connected with his head until he turned me around and hooked his arm around my abdomen. He tucked me in so close to him I spewed out a bunch of water.

“Can you kick your legs?”

I shook my head. Now that I was free, all I could do was tremble uncontrollably. “Where are we?”

“We’re still at the lake house.” His face was no more than a shadow, but the urgency in his movements told me we were still in danger. “Focus on breathing.”

A shot followed by a hissing noise jerked me out of my panic attack. The flare lighting the sky showed me exactly what kind of trouble we were in. Two dark figures on kayaks crept toward us. Bullets pelted several feet away from us and made them retreat, but just enough to stay out of range.

“What is it?” Why was he treading water in what felt like the middle of some dark abyss?

“I have to go after them. I want answers.” He pressed his face to my cheek. “You’re gonna have to swim back.” As soon as he loosened his hold on me, I sunk. “Kick your feet.”

I did and broke the surface again. I wanted answers too. This was my worst nightmare, swimming in a dark lake with actual monsters chasing me. Tears streamed down my face, but I had to do what Matt needed me to do. “Which way?”

He grabbed my shoulders and turned me toward the lake house. “Keep your eyes on the house light. I’ll be right behind you.”

I swam as hard as I could, but my weak legs could only carry me a bit at a time. Fear inched up my spine. I’d never felt actual physical fear in my whole life. The shooting pain stopped me in my tracks. I flipped, belly up, and concentrated on inhaling and exhaling.

Another flare lit up the lake, and I got to see Matt use some of his survival swimming skills. I had to assume the two guys chasing us were the same guys who grabbed me earlier tonight. They never said anything. If I’d known they were going to dump me in the middle of the lake, I would have fought harder. It was impossible to believe they’d want to do me that kind of harm. For sure they were counting on my naiveté. My inability to understand just how evil people could be.

Matt, on the other hand, understood what kind of monsters those guys were. He slid through the water like it was nothing. When he reached the first kayak, half his body launched out as his right fist knocked the guy off the boat.

I kicked my legs and swam a small circle. A part of me wanted to help Matt, or at least, stay and make sure he was fine. But someone needed to tell Chase and Kitt to stop shooting. Or did they already know Matt was in the line of fire?

In the end, I opted to do what Matt had asked me to do and swam back to shore, keeping the house light in front of me. Several strokes in, a hand wrapped around my ankle and yanked me down. How much money were these guys getting paid to come after me with such resoluteness?

I threw a punch, but it barely hit his forearm. “You just can’t do as you’re told, you spoiled brat.”

The implication that this asshole knew me froze me in place. I pushed the thought aside and tried to inflict as much damage as I could, punching and scratching. But like before, he grabbed me like I was no more than a sack of potatoes and pushed me down into the water, holding my shoulders with an iron grip. My eyes stung, but I did my best to keep them wide open. I was back in my nightmare. No matter how much effort I put into every strike, none of them were strong enough to hurt him. None of them made a difference.

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