Deep

by Leesa Birch

  The last thought stopped my daydreaming. I hadn’t told Sylvia about the nice dream - the dream where I was part of a happy family, with a house, kids and a loving husband who never held back with me.

  I was going to tell her, but she looked troubled about the news I’d already given her. Or the news I still had coming.

  What followed was a restless night; when I wasn’t having nightmares about the girl they had found in the woods by the lake, I tossed and turned with the cold. No amount of thermal underwear or fluffy socks could keep me warm. I must have dragged myself out of bed three times in the night to check my heating. In the end I lit my fire, wrapped myself in my quilt and huddled up in front of it. Glory had said that my drop in temperature was matching the lake’s. I hoped that they’d fix it before winter set in, this was getting ridiculous.

  Morning came around soon enough. The fire had just died down when Grogan dropped by.

  “It’s hotter than hell in here, Ivy, are you alright? Here, let me check you.” I didn’t get a chance to say no. Grogan was fast for an older guy. “Hmm, there doesn’t appear to anything wrong with you, yet you feel slightly cold to the touch.” I waited until his eyes had returned to normal before I spoke.

  “I don’t have to train in the stream today, do I, Grogan? Because I don’t think I’m up to getting slapped about by freezing water this morning.”

  Grogan laughed heartily. “No, I don’t think it would be wise, however, you could practice in the bath, if you were careful.” I smiled, then thought of the mess it would create. After Grogan left, I sat on my couch becoming more bored. I had to get out of there. I was starting to pace so I wrapped up as warm as I could and went in search for someone to play with.

  Gary was just heading out on some errands so I begged him to let me go along. He huffed and sighed a lot before agreeing. Was I really that bad a travel companion? At least the heater in the van worked.

  “So where are we headed today?” Gary never answered. I frowned at him. “I promise I won’t get into trouble today, just for you.” He scoffed and changed gears. “Did you have a date or something you’re not letting on about? Because you should have said if you did.” Gary held up his hand.

  “No, I don’t have a date or anything. Despite the fact that you have the inability to stay out of trouble, Ivy, not that I mind the overtime with you, I thought I’d be doing this alone. It’s a really long drive, you’ll be bored.” He clicked on the radio and turned it down low. I would probably be bored but it was better than sitting in my cabin pulling my hair out, wondering when Kane was coming home and what I was going to say to him. It’s not like I could discuss it with Gary.

  The motion of the van was relaxing and I must have fallen asleep. When I opened my eyes, I was in a small rowing boat out on a lake I didn’t recognise. The water was choppy and it had just started to rain. Looking down at myself, I was wearing a long white lace dress covered in tiny silver beading. The hem of the dress was hanging over the side of the small boat, in the water. I noticed the ring on my finger as I reached for the overlapping hem. The dwindling light caught it as I drew my hand in for a closer look. It was engraved, but I just couldn’t read what it said.

  I leant over the boat and tried to pull the dress in. It was heavy, and I struggled. I only stopped when I caught sight of my face in the water. My skin looked distorted in the choppy water. I squinted to get a better look. The boat tipped and I fell into the freezing water, the weight of the beautiful dress pulling me down.

  I choked as the lake found its way into my lungs. The engraved ring slipped off my finger as I sank deeper. I reached out for it frantically…

  “Ivy, watch what you’re doing!” The van swerved across the road. I had woken up flailing my arms around, inadvertently hitting Gary in the face.

  “I’m so sorry, Gary, I must have dropped off. Did I hurt you?” I asked, trying to slow my breathing. I tried to see, only to have my hand knocked away.

  “It’s fine, I’ve had worse. What was that you said about not being trouble?” he asked, rubbing his jaw.

  I sat quietly for the remainder of the journey. We had stopped several times while Gary met with people of varying degrees of shiftiness. After lunch, which was eaten in the van to save time, we pulled into a gas station for refuelling.

  Gary came back to the van looking concerned. He handed me a newspaper he had just bought. He pointed to a section at the bottom of the page. There was an article about a travelling carnival nearby.

  “And?” I said.

  “Read on.” He pointed further down the article. I read further, with still no idea what the issue was. “Just spoke to the council, Crosby & Sons’ carnival appears to have a person of interest. We have to go and check it out.”

  I folded the paper as the van took off. I waited for a further explanation. None came.

  “So, what’s that in English, Gary?” He looked at me, realising that I wasn’t a council guard and continued.

  “These carnivals are full of, how should I say, unusual people. There’s a rumour that they have a Lake Dweller there, held against her will. We get to go and see if it’s true.

  “What happens if it is, do you call in more guards, or what? We can’t leave her there.” I felt for the girl. Gary pulled off the highway and onto a small road.

  “I just knew today wasn’t going to be plain sailing,” he murmured.

  We parked by the large Crosby & Sons sign and stepped out into the cold. Big, old tents were being erected by men dressed in fifties work clothes. Sledge hammers were being swung at head height to knock the ground pegs in. These tents had seen better days; they were faded and torn in places. We passed by stalls of unusual looking food. A bearded lady knocked me as she blundered by. Gary stayed close, he didn’t exactly fit in with his suit and dark glasses - especially because no one else wore shades in autumn.

  Contortionists tried to get us to stop and watch their act but we weren’t here to sight-see - which was a shame, it all looked very fascinating. We didn’t have anything like this in England. Sure we had circuses and the odd travelling acts, but no carnivals as such. I was stood watching a small child handle a large snake when Gary shuddered.

  “You don’t like snakes, Gary?” He shook his head vigorously.

  “Can you possibly sense another Lake Dweller here? I’d like to leave as soon as possible. These people are creepy. I’m surprised you haven’t tried to heal some of them,” he said.

  I had thought about it when I’d first seen them - to perhaps offer my services.

  “I couldn’t if I wanted to, Gary. Most of the deformities you see here are from birth. I can’t change what they were born with. Besides, do any of them look unhappy about it? I love it here.

  Do we have to leave as soon as we find her?” Gary seemed uncomfortable at my suggestion of staying so I took to trying to feel out the girl.

  I wasn’t sure it would work, I’d only felt Lake Dwellers once before when I was at the bus station trying to leave before I was found. But that may have just been my connection to Kane.

  “Sorry, I can’t tell where she is. I guess it’s the old fashioned way then,” I said, as we headed away from the crowds.

  I felt naughty wandering around the backs of tents, peeking up under the skirts.

  “Maybe we should split up?” I offered. It would be quicker.

  “Yeah, because that never goes wrong, Ivy. You stay right where I can see you.” After squeezing through a bunch of women dressed in burlesque outfits, we came to a clearing containing old, wooden trailers. Red and gold paint peeled off them where they had been sat in the sun too long. I jumped and almost knocked Gary over as something growled from under some nearby tarpaulin.

  This end of the carnival was becoming creepier. We checked several empty tents before stumbling onto the right one.

  Gary made sure it was safe before we entered. At the far end of the tent was a small iron cage. I shuddered and shook any thoughts that appeared. There was a smal
l girl huddled into a ball. Her black hair was matted beyond repair and she shifted nervously as we approached. The girl spooked as I got closer and she charged at me. I stepped back, just out of reach, as her arms tried to grab me through the cage. I felt a tear well up in my eye. She was wild, dirty and emaciated.

  “Ivy, you okay? Can you tell from here?” I shook my head and wiped my eyes on my sleeve. I wondered how long she’d been here.

  She didn’t recognise us as friends. “The next time she lunges at you, I’ll grab her arms, okay?”

  I stepped closer to the cage, slowly. The girl paced from side to side then threw herself at the bars. Gary grabbed her by her wrists and pulled her tight against the cage. She struggled without a sound.

  “Okay, Ivy, now what?” I took her wrists from him and told him to stand back. As he did I felt my eyes shift as I checked her.

  “The bastards cut her vocal chords, Gary.” Apart from that, she wasn’t injured. She could have done with a pizza or two though. The girl stopped moving as she saw my eyes. I couldn’t see hers as her hair was so badly tangled over her face.

  “Gary, we have to get her out of here. She’s one of us; our genes feel slightly different to humans. Should I fix her voice so we can ask her questions?”

  Gary frowned and shook his head. “She may scream; we can’t take that chance. If you say she’s a Lake Dweller, we’ll come back later tonight for her. It’s too light out, we’d be seen. Come on, before we’re found.” I reluctantly let go of her and she started rattling the cage hard. Someone was coming. We rolled under the back of the tent’s skirt and blended in with the crowd.

  I insisted we bought Do-nuts in order to blend in further, but in truth, I was hungry. We walked slowly back to the van and drove away. We had some suspicious looks from the carnival folks as we left. Not sure why - nobody saw us in the tent.

  Gary had spoken to the council from the payphone of a nearby truck stop. They were telling him to come home, that someone would be sent to retrieve her. Gary wasn’t having any of it; he made excuses about the line being bad before hanging up. I couldn’t believe he’d hung up on the council.

  Evening took its time coming round. Adrenaline was keeping me from feeling the cold. “Ready, Ivy?” Gary asked, as he turned off the headlights and rolled the van as far as it would go. Exiting the van, we went the rest of the way on foot.

  The lights of Crosby & Sons’ carnival were dim under the power of the generators. Creeping closer, we ducked down into the damp grass as a group of carnies walked by laughing loudly. We looked at each other, wondering if we should have waited for back up.

  Getting into the tent area was easy, finding the right tent wasn’t. They all looked the same in this light. More sneaking was had. We checked carefully under the tent skirts. As we crept through the tarp-covered cages, something scratched my arm.

  “A little help here, Gary,” I whispered. The creature let go as Gary came back for me.

  “Come on, Ivy, we’re wasting time.” Gary led me away from the cage as a furry arm disappeared back under the cover.

  “But it wasn’t an animal, Gary, I swear.” My explanations fell on deaf ears. Gary was here to do one thing only. We finally found the tent with the girl inside. I thought she was sleeping, but Gary found a syringe on the table not far from her cage.

  “Unfortunately, that helps us, you can heal her later, Ivy. For now, we have to get this cage open. Any ideas?” I looked around for a key.

  “Can’t you shoot it or something?” I whispered. He gave me a sarcastic look. “Can’t you blow it up or something?” he mocked.

  Maybe if the lock had been rusty, but it wasn’t. Now what, I thought. I leant on the cage and looked down at the poor girl. The cage door moved. I looked at Gary.

  “Or maybe we could just try opening it! You didn’t check?” He walked over to the cage and stepped inside. “Well, you didn’t either,” he said, quietly.

  Gary moved some of the tangled hair from the girl’s face. She couldn’t have been much older than twelve. “Take a look at this, Ivy.” I crouched down as he lifted her eyelids. One of her eyes was green, the other was fully black. We both looked at each other.

  “HEY, YOU!!!” Someone yelled from the tent flap. Gary stood and charged the guy. They rolled out of the tent onto the floor in a pile. I checked the girl for any injuries that could have caused her eye to dilate fully like that without healing. I couldn’t find anything; she could have been born that way - perhaps that’s why she’d been abandoned; you couldn’t hide a child with one large, black demonic looking eye. Still, why would a Lake Dweller dump her child? I supposed something bad could have happened to her. Gary returned to the tent. I guessed he’d won.

  “We have to go now, Ivy. Others are coming.” The drugs were keeping her heavily sedated for now so Gary threw her tiny body over his shoulder and we hurried outside.

  “STOP THEM!!!” yelled a guy with way too many piercings and tattoos. Gary pushed me in the right direction and we both began to run.

  Carnival folk were coming out of their tents to see what the commotion was. The mob behind us grew in size and speed.

  “Now what, Ivy? We can’t outrun them while I’m carrying her.” I frantically looked for water.

  “Over there - head for the water barrels!” We turned, picking up speed as we ran. “Then what?” he yelled. I glanced quickly over my shoulder as Gary caught up. “Then keep going!” I said.

  As Gary passed the large wooden barrels, I stopped and turned. The carnival people weren’t far behind.

  I pushed the barrels hoping to knock them over. They were too heavy; it wasn’t working. “Ivy?” Gary called back to me. “Keep going!” I cried out.

  Looking at the water in the barrels, I concentrated. Breathing as calmly as I could after running that fast, the water in the barrels started to swirl. My eyes shifted as the water quickened. I rocked the barrels with the water’s momentum. I kept rocking them hard until they tipped; cold water flooded out of the barrels in the direction of the mob.

  I helped it along, aiming the water at the people’s legs, snaking it around them until they tripped. After the first few fell, the others backed off with gasps of horror. They would have clearly seen how my eyes had changed by now. I released my hold on the water and turned to run.

  Nobody followed as I ran into the night. I caught up with Gary as he was covering up the girl in the back of the van. “You know, they’re gonna come looking for you now.” I did. But I would have done it again had I thought I could have helped someone.

  The ride back to the lake took most of the night. The girl slept peacefully in the warmth of the blanket. I didn’t know what would happen to her once she came round. She would be so scared.

  Gary dropped me off at my cabin around four a.m. He thanked me for my help and said he’d take the girl to Agatha’s.

  I soaked in a hot, mineral laden bath until I could feel my toes again. I threw extra blankets on the bed, climbed in and hoped for pleasant dreams.

  8

  This morning, the weather seemed to have warmed slightly. Not that I could tell. I hadn’t been by the lake in a while. The Elders had stopped people going in on their own. For now, it was all they could do. Still, I had the urge to be near it. Grabbing my new coat that Sylvia had helped me choose, I headed out to the water.

  The frozen path had thawed slightly, no longer shining back at the sun. I felt uneasy as the lake came into view. Limnophobia really wasn’t an option for me. Who had ever heard of a Lake Dweller having a phobia of lakes? Taking a deep breath to settle my stomach, I walked over to the water’s edge.

  No one was out on the lake this morning. Just as well, as I crouched down to touch the lake I got a small shock. Ripples appeared then disappeared in the centre of the water. I sat watching until Gary disturbed me. “Morning, Ivy, you busy?” I wasn’t sure whether to answer. “I took the girl over to Agatha’s last night. Apparently, she was a bit of a handful when she came to. Luckily,
Glory was there. The little girl bites.” I pulled my attention from the ripples and stood by Gary. “Agatha wants a word with you when you have a minute.”

  Great, what had I done now? Besides disobeying an order from the council, though technically, Gary did the disobeying - I just happened to be there. “Now’s as good a time as any, I suppose. Thanks for last night, Gary. I couldn’t just leave her there until the council turned up. The carnival could have moved on by the time they arrived.” Gary nodded and walked back over to where he had parked.

  I heard a smash as I approached Agatha’s and some screaming. I ran inside to find cups and plates in pieces all over the floor. “Careful, Ivy. No sudden moves.” I looked at where Agatha was pointing. The girl we had rescued last night was crouched in the corner with a cup in each hand. I stifled a laugh and removed my coat.

  “Has she said anything yet? I assume someone has healed her throat.” Agatha looked exhausted at me, shook her head and sat in the nearest chair.