Page 24 of Drenched

Jaime crossed his arms, staring at the wall. “That’s it. We’re at a dead end.”

Jonathan’s eyes flared. “No. We’re not done. We need more time. More tests.”

I snapped. “Jonathan, you saw what happened. This isn’t something we can figure out. It’s beyond us.”

“That’s fear talking,” he growled. “This is the discovery of a lifetime.”

“No. This is a curse.”

Jaime stepped in, calm but firm. “Pearl’s right. We’re dealing with things we don’t understand. After what we saw in the water, it’s not worth it.”

Kim nodded, voice unsteady. “We shouldn’t have taken it.”

Trevor leaned against the wall, cigarette in hand. “Great. So what’s the plan? Wait for the villagers to kill us?”

He took a drag, smoke curling around him. “For what it’s worth, I hid the boat in a cove. If they haven’t found it, it’s still there.”

Kim’s eyes lit up. “We could make it?”

“Maybe. If we’re fast.”

Jaime’s face hardened. “No more diving. We stick to the surface, get to the boat, and leave.”

Jonathan grabbed the algae jar. “We’re not leaving without this.”

The greed in his eyes made my skin crawl.

Jaime ignored him. “We need a distraction. I’ll do it.”

No one argued. No one had to.

Later, as I headed to my room, the storm pounded harder, rain hammering the roof like it wanted to break through. I shut the door behind me and dropped my bag on the floor. The scarf around my neck scratched at my skin, but I didn’t dare take it off. The marks underneath burned, hotter now, almost alive.

I sank onto the bed, hands trembling as I unzipped my bag. The algae jar lay hidden beneath my clothes. I’d grabbed it when no one was looking, its cold weight pressing against my palms. I didn’t trust Jonathan with it. Didn’t trust anyone. If we made it off this island, the algae was coming with me.

Storms stirred up memories. Watching the rain lash the window, I thought of my parents. They loved storms. Dad would say the ocean roared louder during them, like it was alive, like it was singing for us. Mom, always the optimist, called storms a fresh start, something that washed everything clean.

But this storm wasn’t cleansing. It felt furious, like it had waited years to let loose. Like it had been waiting for us to screw up.

The room felt wrong, like the storm had crept inside with me. Papers lay scattered, notes scribbled with words like mutation and parasitic. They stared back like accusations. But notes weren’t enough. They couldn’t explain what this algae was. What it wanted. And I knew it wanted something. I could feel it, watching, waiting for us to mess up even more.

I glanced at the jar on the bed, its glow faint through the shadows. It wasn’t the same vivid green as before. Now it looked sickly, like it was trying to die, to get back to where it belonged.

A floorboard creaked outside my door. Slow, deliberate footsteps. Not Kim or Jaime. They moved carefully. This was someone else. Someone angry.

My stomach knotted. I grabbed the jar, shoving it under the bed. My heartbeat thundered so loud, I swore the whole room could hear it.

The door burst open. Papers flew like startled birds. Jonathan stood in the doorway, dripping wet, eyes wild. He looked like the storm had spat him out.

“Where is it?” His voice cut through the air.

I stepped between him and the bed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t play dumb.” His gaze landed on the faint green glow under the bed. His mouth twisted into a cruel smile. “There it is.”

Panic surged. “You can’t have it,” I said, arms spread wide. My hands shook, and I didn’t try to hide it.

Desperation twisted his face. “Do you know what this is worth? Millions, Pearl. You think I’m walking away from that?”

---