by S Mays
“So just good friends?” she said, inching closer. “You’ve never thought of me in any other way?”
“N-no, I don’t know what you are talking about,” he lied. For the past two years, he had felt his feelings for her change. He’d started to notice her long, dark hair, her smooth skin, and her beautiful eyes. He looked at other couples with envy, and then Natalie always came to mind for some reason.
“I think you’re lying,” she said, closer now. “I think there’s more to it. Sometimes I catch you looking at me, and it’s different from the way you used to.”
“Don’t be ridiculous...” he started, before she interrupted.
“What if I told you I feel the same way, Alex. I think, I really like you now. I mean, ‘like’ like. I’ve been trying to figure it out myself, but I don’t want things to get weird between us. I know you might have trouble with intimacy.”
“Why are you acting so weird all of a sudden?” he asked.
“I guess it’s just this room, spending time with you, alone, so far from anyone else. Don’t you feel it? There’s an energy in here. It’s romantic, alive.”
He paused, closing his eyes to see if he could feel what she was talking about, but aside from his head reeling at the fact Nat was flirting with him, he didn’t feel anything. He opened his eyes again, and she was standing in front of him, her face inches from his, expressionless. He stumbled back several feet.
“How’d you get...” he asked, fumbling for the words, while also looking behind him, to make sure she wasn’t in two places at once.
“You know I’m very cat-like when I want to be,” she replied, inching forward.
“Okay, I think it’s time to get going, it’s dark out, and going to take a while to get back,” he said, looking over his shoulder as he repeatedly walked backwards away from her.
“What’s the rush? We’ve stayed out way later than this before,” she countered, slowly continuing forward.
“Well, you know...” he said, scrambling for a reason.
“I think you are looking for a reason to run away from something you really want.”
He stopped abruptly, when the back of his leg hit the edge of the basin. He threw his hand behind him to steady himself. She stopped inches away from him again. He turned his face away, but she turned it back towards her.
“Come in with me. Just let go for a second. Stop overanalyzing everything and just do something you want to do. There’s no one to tell you it’s wrong. Just me.”
He looked over his shoulder at the water, then back at her. “It’s going to be cold outside, and I don’t want to...” he started, but she put one finger on his lips.
“You’re always looking for a reason not to do something, even when there’s a good reason to do it,” she said, stepping past him back into the pool. She let her hand fall to his, and gently grasped it. He looked at the water, then back at her. He stepped over the edge and into the water.
“You’re right, it is warm!”
“I told you. It feels really good. It’s like you just want to lay down and go to sleep.”
“Yeah, I’m not laying down.”
“That’s fine, just close your eyes and relax. It’s so quiet in here.”
He did as she instructed, closing his eyes while listening. Aside from his breathing, there was silence. He felt like he was floating away, the water gently caressing his submerged feet. He felt something soft and warm brush his lips. His eyes burst open, expecting to see Natalie trying to kiss him, but she was several feet away. She had been staring at him. The edges of her lips curled into a devious smile.
“See what I mean? It’s bliss. Unending contentment.”
“Did - did you just try and...” he asked, rubbing the back of his hand across his lips.
She slowly waded across the gap between them. “Did I try and do what?”
“Never mind, I thought...” he started, before she quickly grabbed him and pressed her lips into his. Shocked, he started to protest, but then relaxed and let her continue kissing him. He turned his head a bit more and pressed back, his lips parting slightly. It was his first real kiss.
“See? See how enjoyable life can be when you just live it?” she whispered.
“Are you sure we should be doing this?” he said breathlessly.
“There’s no one to tell us not to,” she replied, kissing him again. “You’re like a broomstick. Loosen up some. I’m not going to hurt you.” She grabbed his hand and put it on her waist as if they were slow dancing. He blushed profusely.
“Still analyzing?” she said, reaching around to grab him. She pulled him close and kissed him forcefully. He resisted again slightly, then relaxed, savoring the taste of her lips. She broke away after a minute, smiling.
“Now you’re getting the idea,” she said, slightly out of breath. The light flickered and danced across her face as the small waves they made in the pool bounced the light around the room.
“That was...something else,” he breathed, hardly believing what had happened.
“And that’s just the beginning. We should have done this a long time ago,” she said, bending down again, scooping up water in her hand.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Just try it. I swear it’s the best thing you’ve ever tasted. It’s a hundred times better than just standing in it. My mind feels like it’s been opened to a whole new world,” she said, rising and moving her hand toward his mouth.
“No, I said I don’t want it. I think there’s something wrong with this water, maybe some kind of drug has leaked into it,” said he, backing away.
She quickly moved closer and put the liquid back up to his lips. “Who cares what’s in it? It makes you feel fantastic, I swear.”
He batted her hand away, sending the water splashing out onto the floor. “No, Nat. Stop it.”
She looked at the water that had fallen to the floor. Her smile faded. Bending over, she quickly grabbed more, and moved purposefully towards him.
“One sip, okay? Just one little sip. We’ll do whatever you want after that. It makes you feel strong, fearless.”
“No-no, what’s wrong with you? Why do you want me to drink it so badly?”
He moved to knock her hand away again, but she caught his wrist. She had a look of disappointment on her face. “I thought I meant more to you than that, Alex.”
He attempted to jerk his hand away, but her grip was like a vice. Slowly, she started to twist his wrist back, sending lances of pain down his arm. He grabbed her hand in an attempt to wrest himself free, but was unable to break her grip. His mouth contorted in pain, causing her to bring the water up once again.
Looking into her eyes, he wondered why she was doing this, but found no answers in her remorseless expression. Her strength was inhuman. His whole body shook as he tried to break her grip, but she passively held him in check with one hand, with no hint of fatigue or difficulty. Just as the water was about to enter his mouth, a look of cruel satisfaction crossed her face.
“No!” he shouted, twisting his whole body sideways. Slipping his leg between hers, he planted himself to throw her off balance. It was a poor attempt at one of the martial arts moves she had showed him, but it worked. Losing her balance, she fell sideways, landing face-first in the water, as he fell in the opposite direction.
Jumping to his feet, he staggered backwards. “What is wrong with you? Why’d you do that?” he shouted. She remained face-down in the water.
“I’m not falling for it, Nat. Can you hear me? What’s gotten into you?” She remained immobile. Seconds ticked by.
“Nat?” he queried, leaning forward.
A small blossom of red expanded out from one side of her head.
“Nat?” he asked, inching closer with caution. She did not respond. Panicked, he rushed over, looking at the crimson water that was now spreading at an alarming rate. He grabbed her, struggling to turn her over. Pulling back her hair revealed a cut on the side of her head, and a hug
e knot already forming. He looked nearby and saw that the edge of the pool had been closer than he had realized.
“No, Nat, no, wake up!” he shouted, splashing a bit of water on her face. He attempted to press against the wound to stem the flow of blood, but it wasn’t working.
“Oh god, what - what do I do?” There was an extra t-shirt in his pack. It might help slow the flow of blood. Attempting to drag Natalie out proved fruitless. She was only an inch or so taller than he was, but weighed too much. He brought her as far as he could, propping her head upon the raised stone lip. He jumped out, dashing to his pack.
“Where is it? Where is it?” he whispered, tossing random items out of the backpack onto the spotless floor. Pausing, he looked around the room again. The pale blue light was now an angry red, violently reflecting to and fro. He blinked quickly, trying to block it out, but it was as if the color itself was attacking him. He looked back at the pool and noticed it was now illuminated by a dark crimson light. That’s when he noticed Natalie was slowly sliding down back into the water.
He flew across the room, almost sliding on the now slippery floor. It was like the room itself was trying to halt his efforts. He reached the edge just as her head sank beneath the water. Lunging both hands into the water, he attempted to grab her, but caught nothing. Again, and again he reached into the water, but couldn’t find her. Jumping in, he waded around, feeling under the water with his hands.
“How...where are you? It’s only about a foot deep!” he cried, struggling to find her.” Natalie! Natalie!” he cried again and again. He circled the basin several times, knowing that the longer he took, the more likely she was to drown. After five minutes, he’d covered every inch of the pool several times, but couldn’t locate her.
“Is there some kind of hole or something?” he said, feeling the bottom with his feet and hands, but finding nothing. He jumped back up on the edge to see if he could locate her with a slightly higher vantage point, but he could see nothing. In fact, he now noticed there was almost no light in the room. The crimson water had dimmed until it was almost black.
He hopped down and ran over to his light, then walked around the pool, shining his light into it and across it. It was perfectly still. Slipping, he almost dropped the flashlight into the water. Retrieving it, he noticed the liquid was almost black now. His light flickered a few times, as if warning it was dying. He thought about the long trip home, by himself. He looked back at the pool, tears welling up in his eyes.
“I’m going to get help Nat, wait, wait, just be OK, just don’t die,” he said, running towards the crack in the wall.
***
Ten minutes after dashing from the cave, he thought to use his cell phone, but then realized he must have left it on the floor of the cave when he was looking for the shirt. Running blindly through the black night, sobbing, with tears and snot streaming down his face, he attempted to retrace his steps.
Unless Natalie had awoken while he was running, she was long dead. The image of her face before she had tried to force the water on him flashed into his mind again and again. That wasn’t Natalie. No, of course it was her. She was playing one of her games again, and it had gotten out of hand. She was probably following him right now, trying not to give away her position by laughing.
Stopping quickly, he flashed the light behind him and listened. Nothing. She wasn’t playing around, and he was fooling himself to think so. That was her blood filling the water. He raced on. He just had to believe that she’d revived and climbed out of the pool, and was on her way home too. It took four hours for him to find his way back. Bursting out of the woods onto a side street, he realized that he was far off from where they normally entered the woods. Recognizing the street, he knew he was still twenty minutes away from home. Shortly, he crashed through the front door of his house, sweating, and gasping for breath. His parents immediately started to berate him for being late, but quickly realized something was wrong.
He explained that they’d been exploring in the woods like they’d always done, and found a cave and a pool inside, and that Natalie had fallen into the water and gotten hurt. He said he couldn’t wake her up, and left to get help. He left out the intimate parts, their struggle and the blood. So much blood. His parents called Natalie’s parents. He could hear them shouting from their end of the line, practically screaming. His mom dialed 911 while his dad said they were driving out to meet Natalie’s parents at the edge of the forest. His father grabbed a first aid kit, a flashlight and rushed out the door.
They met up with Natalie’s dad at the spot where they usually started their trek from. His father quickly explained what had happened. Her father was furious, but Alexander knew it was just because he was concerned. As they explained, a sheriff’s car zoomed up, followed shortly by an ambulance. They quickly debriefed the new arrivals on the situation and plunged into the forest.
Alexander’s poor sense of direction got him lost on the best and brightest of days. Now, panicked and with the darkness of night blanketing the land, it was almost impossible to retrace his steps. He unintentionally led them in circles several times. No one in the group had ever heard of any cave in these woods.
After several hours of walking aimlessly, Natalie’s father grabbed Alexander and violently shook him, yelling at him to take him to his daughter. Alexander merely flopped lifelessly, his mouth agape. He wanted to take them to her, but he didn’t know how. The deputy rushed over and separated them. He was confused and exhausted, but he tried to lead them as best he could. Several times during the night, a helicopter swooped down low, its bright search beam illuminating the area around them. He heard other voices joining in the search, maybe other police or rescue workers.
Around dawn, Alexander found the rock where Natalie had surprised him the day before. He excitedly explained that the cave was just a short distance away. The group quickened their pace and fanned out, shouting with renewed vigor. Alexander spotted a large pile of brush in the distance and ran directly for it. He felt as if he would pass out at any moment, but the thought that he’d finally found the cave rejuvenated him. Several of the group behind him gave chase, and called out to others to join them. However, after getting within a few feet of the brush, he realized it wasn’t the right spot.
He turned and looked at his father and the group and started to explain, but his knees buckled from beneath him. His father helped him to his feet, and put his arm around him.
“It’s alright, son. Don’t worry, we’ll find her.”
***
He awoke with a jerk, thinking he’d heard Natalie screaming. Apparently, he had called out in his sleep, because his mom looked in the room, then rushed over to his bed. She explained he’d slept the entire day and it was almost midnight.
He had hoped it was all just a dream, but the look of concern on her face verified it wasn’t.
“Alex, I’ll get you something to eat. I know you must be starving, but...there are some men here that want to ask you some questions. I know you are probably tired, but just answer them as best you can. It’ll help if you tell them everything you know, every little detail,” she said, getting up from his bed.
He could tell she was worried about something else that she wasn’t mentioning. After she left, his dad and several men came in. One of them was a police officer. His dad walked over to his bed and explained that the men wanted to know everything that had happened — it would help with the investigation.
He explained as best he could, stating that he wasn’t leaving out anything when the men suggested he was. One of the men asked if he was sure he was telling the whole story, before pulling out a large transparent bag which contained Alexander’s clothes from the day before in it. Blood lined the bottom of his pants and spots on his shirt. The look of fear on Alexander’s face seemed to satisfy their suspicions.
***
His family had to go down to the police station to fill out reports the following day. They took his photo and fingerprints, but let him
go home with his parents. His parents said it was all procedural, but he knew that he should have told the entire story from the start. How could he explain that Natalie had vanished completely?
***
Over the next several days, he was homebound. The news provided daily updates about “The Search for Natalie Colson”, as they called it. An unnamed juvenile was listed as the sole suspect in her disappearance, but so far, no body had been found. He plead with his parents to let him go out to search, but they stated he had to remain in the house. Hundreds of people from the town and neighboring areas joined in on the search. His parents told him to stop watching the news. Hope in the community faded over the coming days.
***
Formal charges were brought against him not long after. The attorney his family hired managed to get the case moved to juvenile court, despite strong arguments against it from the district attorney. The prosecution wanted to charge him with first degree murder as well as sexual assault, but after months of legal wrangling, his family’s attorney arranged for a plea bargain for aggravated assault. Without a body, it would have been a tough case to prove murder. They had evidence of bruises on his wrist, and scratches, which could have been from a struggle, but it was an inconclusive theory. The blood on his clothes was Natalie’s, but his tale that she was injured while they were hiking through the woods might sway some people. He had no criminal background and was a model student.
Alexander came across as a nice, quiet, normal kid. Painting him as a sexual predator and murderer would be an uphill battle. In the end, he was remanded to a juvenile detention facility until he turned eighteen.
His lawyer and parents were ecstatic and stated it was the best outcome possible, but it wasn’t their freedom in question. He knew he was innocent. All he could think about was that night in the cave with Natalie. Her twisted face haunted his waking hours and his dreams, day and night. Then the image of her prone body floating in the bloody pool. Perhaps he deserved his punishment. If he hadn’t fought with her, she’d still be alive today. He should have gone along with her and just drank the damn water.