Deep

by Leesa Birch

  “Ivy, I gave you this ear-piece for a reason.” Drew sounded annoyed. I started to remove the rubble.

  “I hear you, Drew. I’m a little busy at the moment, can I take a message?” He scoffed on the other end.

  “Funny, Ivy, the seismographs were dancing all over the place up here. What’s it like down there?” As I moved the larger rock from my leg, I reached for the torch and took a closer look. A small piece of pipe had penetrated my shin. It was going to hurt to pull out. I took off my pack and pulled out water and bandages.

  “Well, it was raining dirt and rocks for a while here. I have a slight issue with impalement going on though. Not to panic, Drew, is Grogan still there?” I washed some of the dirt off so I could see what I was doing, before taking hold of the piece of metal and pulling.

  It came out easy enough but I still screamed. Pouring more water over the wound to clean it, I wrapped it as tightly as I could.

  “Sorry, Ivy, he had to go and help another team. Are you alright?” I wavered a little and drank as much water as I could.

  I stood carefully and checked out my leg. It would have to do.

  “I’m good, Drew. There are more people down here, expect them soon.”

  Feeling dizzy, I used the wall to help myself progress further. It wasn’t long before the voices became people, about eight of them, arguing over which way was the safest to go.

  “Hi, excuse me! Thanks, my name is Ivy. I’m a rescue worker, the way out is behind me. You need to walk in an orderly fashion through the tunnel, keeping together at all times. The tunnel opens out into a large sink hole - find your way to what was the hardware store. There is a cable attached to it. Follow the cable out of here. Any questions?”

  They all started speaking at once. I held up my hands.

  “One at a time, please!” They weren’t listening, then I smelt what I had earlier, it was stronger here. It was gas!

  “Drew, Drew! Did anyone shut off the gas to this part of town?” He didn’t have time to answer. An explosion in the distance shook the walls. “Everybody down!” I yelled as a ball of fire roared through the tunnel.

  People lay face down in the dirt covering themselves as the fire passed over us. The blast was over quickly and no one was injured, they were all a little shaken though. As they helped each other up, parts of the tunnel started to fall in. The familiar sound of rushing water came from the same direction as the explosion.

  “I think you should all move quickly now.” I had started to herd the people down the tunnel that I’d come from when water reached my feet.

  “Okay people, change of plan, I need you all to run!”

  As the people started to move, I held out my hands to the water. The sound of panicking grew more distant as the water grew in front of me.

  The water filled the tunnel in front of me. I quickly glanced over my shoulder to make sure no one had stayed behind. The force of the water pushed me back a few feet, but I held the wall steady.

  “I need help down here, people!” At this point I wasn’t sure how they could help. The moment I weakened, the wall of water would fall, enveloping me. I would drown.

  “Guys?” After some static, Drew answered. “We managed to shut off the gas, Ivy. Sorry about that, things are just so hectic up here at the moment.”

  “It’s a little late for that, the tunnel is flooded. I don’t know how long I can hold it for. What do I do?” I looked down at my wobbling leg. Blood had soaked through the bandages. I tried to stay focused.

  “Er, how exactly are you holding it, Ivy?” I thought as he knew about out healing abilities, someone might have told him about the water weaving. It didn’t matter.

  “Look, Drew, I don’t have time to explain. I need help.” There was no answer. I tried the ear-piece several times; it was dead. I faced the growing anger of the water in front.

  My arms started to shake. I was glad I hadn’t taken any of Grogan’s tea yet or it would already be over. A noise from behind startled me.

  “Ivy, how are you holding up?” I glanced over my shoulder.

  “Barrett, how did you get here so quickly? And why are you naked?” He grinned and pulled the rope off his shoulder.

  “I wasn’t going to ruin my suit, now was I?” I was a little shocked.

  “Did people see you come down here like that?” The water pushed hard against my hold and I fell to my knees. “Hope you have a plan Barrett because I can’t hold this much longer.”

  My waist singed slightly as he reached around me. I scowled at the pain.

  “Sorry, Ivy,” he said, “ I need to tie this around you. Of course I have a plan. I don’t strip for just anybody you know. Okay, that’s a slight fabrication, I would strip for anyone. I need you to try and stay calm for me. I’m going to shift in front of you. Try to keep hold of the water until I’m done. Then take a deep breath and release the water.”

  “What! Seriously?” I was pushed further back in the mud. I tried to concentrate on the water. Was he really going to change in front of me? I wanted to watch but I knew I wouldn’t maintain my hold if I did.

  “Are you ready, Ivy? Once I’ve changed I’ll grab the rope, then you can drop your arms.”

  His face started to distort. The sound of bones snapping as he fell forward was horrifying. I turned back to the water. I was scared. My heart pounded vigorously in my chest. I didn’t want to drown; I had enough nightmares about that.

  I heard a low yelping noise behind me. I turned to face a large, grey seal looking at me. I don’t know why I was surprised - it didn’t matter, it grabbed for the rope as I lost control of the water.

  The initial impact of the water knocked out any air I had in me. I hit the wall of the tunnel as the rope tightened around my waist.

  Barrett swam as fast as he could, which turned out to be very fast indeed. I tried not to breathe in any water, but my lungs were burning for air. As the seal swam majestically ahead of me I watched as his grey tail went in and out of focus. The pressure of the water was too much; finally I couldn’t wait any longer and I breathed in.

  I felt someone’s lips over mine, only he wasn’t kissing me. I opened my eyes. Drew’s face was above me, with his lips coming back down. I sat up too quickly and started coughing up water.

  “What the hell happened down there, Ivy?” I looked around for any sign of Barrett. There was a large crowd of people surrounding me. I hunched over as more water exited my body.

  “Where’s Barrett, did he make it?” Some of the crowd parted as a blanket was thrown around me. There he was, he was talking to Grogan as he got dressed. He seemed a little exhausted but was straightening his suit when he noticed me watching him.

  I looked down at my waist and loosened the rope; that was going to leave a mark.

  “You need to let someone look at your leg, Ivy.” I looked at Drew, then back over at Barrett. I’ll never look at a selkie the same way again.

  “I’ll be fine, Drew, thanks for all your help.” I stood and went to walk over to Grogan. I stopped and turned back. “You saved my life, Drew, thank you.” He smiled, very pleased with himself.

  As I made my way over to where Grogan and Barrett were standing, a news crew stuck a microphone in my face. All manner of questions were being asked. I stood still like a rabbit caught in headlights. All I could think was: I hope Griffin wasn’t watching this. Soldiers herded the journalists away as Grogan came over.

  “I didn’t say anything, I swear.” I spoke quickly. Grogan took my arm and walked me towards the vans.

  “That feels nasty, want me to fix it?” I nodded. I didn’t want Kane to see it. As it stood I didn’t think he’d let me out of his sight ever again. Not that that was a bad thing.

  Inside the van, Grogan removed the wet bandages and shifted his eyes.

  “Maybe I should leave the hero stuff to the others.” I tried to make light of the situation. Grogan squeezed my leg as he healed it; he obviously wasn’t in the mood. The van wobbled as Barrett climbed i
nto the front. “Thank you,” I said meekly. I didn’t know what else to say.

  “My pleasure, Ivy,” he said as he smiled.

  No one really spoke on the way back. I wanted to get out of these overalls. As we hit the dirt road, I remembered Grogan’s tea. He was right, it was nasty. I drank it nonetheless and saved some for later.

  Kane was waiting on the porch as the van pulled up. He helped me out of the van as I said goodbye to Grogan and Barrett. The van drove away, leaving us alone.

  “Rough day, sweetheart?” he asked, looking at my blood-soaked trouser leg.

  “Glad to be home,” I said.

  Inside the cabin, Kane sat on the couch watching me change through the bathroom door,

  “No bath today, Ivy?” I wrapped my dressing gown around me and sat next to him. For the first time in my life I think I’d seen too much water.

  “Okay, who told you?” I asked suspiciously. He leant back and raised his eyebrows.

  “I don’t know what you mean, Ivy” He was waiting for me to confess to yet another disaster.

  “Fine. I rescued a few people, cut my leg a little bit and almost drowned.” My stomach turned at the word, and through what had almost happened this morning. I looked away.

  “Still worried about this morning?” he asked, leaning forward. He put his hand on my knee. “Ivy.” His voice was so tender. I looked up at him; his hair fell from behind his ear as he tilted his head. I almost forgot why I was worried. As he leant in, his hand moved up my thigh. I jumped off the couch.

  “No, absolutely not! Kane, we agreed.” He sat on the edge of the couch with simmering passion, his eyes as black as night. The silence was deafening. Looking at him, I started to second guess my decision.

  I slowly moved back to the couch and sat down. Kane gently slipped the robe off my shoulder. I stiffened as warm lips met my cold skin. I shuddered, waiting for signs of water disturbance as I felt my eyes shift but none came. All my hesitation disappeared as his mouth reached my neck.

  “If I ask you to stop, will you?” I said, breathlessly.

  His lips worked their way round to mine, stopping just for a moment.

  “No,” he murmured as he pulled my robe open.

  It was dark outside by the time Kane had worked off two weeks of pent up sexual tension. The clock showed it was just after seven.

  “You still want me to stay at Agatha’s tonight?” he asked, playing with my hair. I was sleepy and hoped that he wouldn’t argue.

  “Yes, I do,” I said softly. He moved himself from beneath my hold. Rolling me over, he moved his lips close to mine and said, “I’ll see you later then.” The tease; I threw a cushion in his general direction as he headed out the door.

  Sighing, I looked around the room. Cushions were everywhere. I seriously needed to tidy up. It wasn’t too bad, considering I’d been missing for two weeks, then rampant with fever for several days.

  After a bit of cleaning, I grabbed some food from the cupboard. I was famished. Kane always left me feeling hungry. Eating enough processed food to drop a rhino, I decided I should try to walk it off.

  Having an urge to see the lake, I wrapped myself up warm and headed out. Following the fairy lights along the trail, I could see my breath in the cold night air. Autumn was well and truly here.

  It was late in the evening and a few clouds drifted past the moon. The lake seemed more crowded than usual for a cleansing. I could see Kane amongst the large group standing maybe thirty feet in. They looked so peaceful, I didn’t want to disturb them.

  Pulling my cardigan in close, I sat, hugging my knees on the soft ground a few feet from the edge. The low, eerie glow emanating from the lake bed suddenly grew intensely bright. All the Lake Dwellers, including Kane, turned all at once to face the same direction. Towards me!

  The sudden movement made me stumble to a standing position. It was freaking me out. All at once they opened their eyes. They had no colour, no green or black - just a white glow matching the light of the lake. Covering my mouth with my hands to stifle a scream, I backed away.

  Their jaws opened simultaneously. Surely it must be one of my nightmares that I was experiencing, that’s all. Now was a really good time to wake up, though. I took another step backwards, stopping suddenly as the whole group of Lake Dwellers spoke as one.

  With a strange voice, they uttered two words: “Help us.” As these words finished resonating across the water, the glow diminished and the lake released its hold on the people.

  A few stumbled while others just shook their heads, looking at each other in confusion.

  Nathan was one of the first to make his way out of the lake. “What happened?” he asked, rubbing his temples. I still had my hands over my mouth, hoping I’d wake up. I jumped when someone touched my arm, interrupting my shock.

  “Kane, are you okay? What happened, do you remember anything?” He still looked a little unfocused. Glancing at the crowd, they all had the same expression - disbelief.

  The lake had used them to ask for help. Was it wrong to wish that the lake had asked someone else?

  6

  The evening was too cold for everyone to just stand around the lake in wet clothes. Some of the people who had experienced the strange occurrence in the lake went home. The rest of us went to Agatha’s. The fires in the foyer of the lodge were in full flame. Towels were handed around while we waited for other council members to turn up. I sat in the large armchair in the corner, hoping no one would question me about what had happened.

  I think Nathan was still in shock, he sat without speaking. He looked a little pale. Kane had changed into some dry clothes he’d brought over earlier. He squeezed onto the chair with me, wrapping his arm around my waist, pulling me in close. I was glad for the warmth; I never did like the cold much, and he was always warmer than me.

  The conversations in the room were loud, with everybody talking at once. They only quietened down when Elder Glory arrived. She checked on Nathan first; he seemed more affected by the incident than the others. Agatha passed around hot drinks while her nephew exchanged wet towels for dry ones.

  “Are you alright, Kane? You haven’t said much.” He kissed the top of my head,

  “Sure, Ivy, I’m fine. It just felt a little weird, you know? I could see you on the shore, I just had no control over what I was doing. How’d it look from where you were sat?” I shuddered.

  “It was creepy, really creepy.” I was wondering why weird stuff kept happening to me when Glory interrupted my train of thought.

  “Kane, may I have a word with Ivy for a moment?” He slipped out of the chair, leaving me alone with the Elder.

  “How are you feeling, Ivy?” I had difficulty choosing just one emotion to describe, so I shrugged my shoulders. Agatha’s nephew brought a chair over for Glory and she sat down facing me.

  “I think you should know, Ivy, that the incident at the lake was not exclusive to just this lake. It happened at a lot of other lakes simultaneously. Tell me, Ivy, do you have nightmares about the lake?” She sat patiently for an answer.

  “Yes. I’ve always had strange and vivid dreams, but lately they’re more about the lake. Why?” Glory rubbed her head, she seemed tired. Then she shifted in her seat awkwardly.

  “Remember the dreams that turned out to be about Gabe? You’ve had other dreams that have been quite prophetic, haven’t you?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “I need you to tell me of any strange dreams or nightmares you’ve had lately. They may give us a clue as to what is happening to the lakes; the change in water temperature, the plant life dying around it, what the lake tried to show you and tonight’s incident. I suppose you’ve heard about a few Lake Dwellers going missing? Kaya is amongst them.” I wasn’t aware they still hadn’t found Kaya. I felt bad for blaming her for the auction/Spencer disaster.

  I told Glory about the nightmare I’d had at the motel and the repetitive dream about Kane drowning. She looked at me with pity in her eyes. I guessed Grogan had told her I nearly d
rowned him myself. She leant forward and placed her hand on my knee.

  “Don’t worry about that, honey; I’ve made arrangements for you and a small team to go back to the lab tomorrow. We’ll get your sea stone back.” Glory smiled reassuringly at me then searched the room for Nathan.

  “Excuse me, Ivy, I need to find Nathan again, it seems the lake cleansed everyone but didn’t rejuvenate them properly.”

  As Glory circulated the room, Kane wandered back over to where I was sat.

  “Everything okay?” he asked. I nodded

  “She was asking me about my dreams. Told me not to worry, that the lakes had spoken to others tonight and that we’re off to Arizona tomorrow to get my necklace back.” He took my hands, pulling me out of the chair; he seemed pleased at the news.