Shine: Season One (Shine Season Book 1)

by William Bernhardt

  He looped the rope around my foot, but he made a boneheaded mistake. He squatted inches from my legs. I kicked with every ounce of strength I could muster. My foot caught his cheek. He stumbled back.

  I raced for the door when the world tilted sideways. Sounds of crashing echoed through the ship.

  “Get back here,” Slash shouted behind me.

  I’d hoped to knock him out. Guess I wasn’t so lucky.

  The ship righted itself. We tumbled to the floor. Hard wood smacked my shoulder and hip.

  “Memphis,” Slash yelled from the doorway. “Get in here!”

  Tats stumbled into the room. Fire burned through my shoulder every time the ship rocked.

  “Take her,” Slash said.

  Tats looked from me to the door. “But we’ve got damage from the ice field and a foot of water onboard. You seriously want me to babysit while the ship is going down?”

  Slash held the rope as if it burned a hole through his hand. “We can’t let her go anywhere.” He shoved the rope into Tats’s hands and then stumbled outside.

  Tats caught my arms and tightened the rope around my wrists. He pulled the cords tight, and then placed me on the floor. I tried to fight back, but he held my arms in a vice-grip.

  A yell came from the hallway. “Water in the engine room!”

  Tats’s eyes darkened as he knelt beside me.

  “Are we going down?” I asked him.

  “I don’t know,” his voice sounded calm, though I felt the nervousness in his heartbeats. He left the room.

  I sat on the floor, hands tied, listening to the sounds of frantic shouting. The room tilted, pushing me over and onto my side.

  I scrambled onto my knees. A cascade of wispy brown hair fell into my eyes. It tickled my cheeks, taunting me to push it away.

  I blew out my breath, but my hair refused to move out of my eyes.

  Crawling to a wooden crate, I used it to push into a standing position.

  Yells erupted below deck.

  Water rushed into the room.

  This couldn’t be good.

  Red emergency lights activated overheard. The shrill whine of a siren blared through the ship. It pierced my eardrums.

  Not only had the Revens captured me, but they’d put me on a boat they couldn’t keep afloat. Razor.

  Green sea water rushed from the hallway and into the room. When it lapped at my boots and soaked my ankles, I bit back a shriek.

  Cold.

  So cold it stabbed through my skin as though a knife sheared my flesh.

  I sloshed toward the door. The water shimmered under the red emergency lights. I tried to ignore my freezing toes and feet, but found it impossible.

  Water filled the hallway, so fast the current caught my legs and almost pulled me down.

  I focused on the door at the end of the hallway. I had to get out of here.

  Panic sped my heart. The water reached halfway to my knees by the time I made it to the end of the hall.

  Staring at the door, hands tied behind my back, I realized getting out alive would be a miracle.

  I turned backwards and grabbed the doorknob. Moisture slicked my fingertips. The knob wouldn’t move.

  I tried again when the door flung open. Water gushed out. It caught me in its wake and pulled me down.

  There’s no feeling that describes being completely engulfed in icy water. My mind stopped. My muscles froze. My only thought was that I had to get out.

  I thrashed until I found my feet. I stood.

  I should’ve felt better being out of the water, but it soaked me so badly I barely noticed the difference.

  I rushed out of the hall and searched for a way to the deck. A ladder stretched to the top level. Water rushed from the open port hole above me.

  The deck was only a stair’s climb away. But without my hands, I had no idea how to climb up. I strained against the ropes binding my wrists.

  A thought struck me.

  I was going to die down here.

  No, no, no.

  Katelyn needed me. If I died, she’d be more than crushed. She’d lose her will to live. It couldn’t happen. I refused to let this ocean take me.

  I would live so she could.

  The current pushed me away from the ladder.

  I felt as though the universe was against me.

  Shouts came from up above. “Get the lifeboat!”

  “Hello?” I called. “Help!”

  A wave tossed the ship. I lost my balance and hit the wall, but managed to stay upright. I worked my hands back and forth, trying to loosen the ropes.

  “Can anyone hear me?” I shouted over the blaring siren.

  I didn’t want to die. I’d never contemplated my own death before. It had always seemed so far away, a termination to my humanity that would come after a long life.

  Not now.

  Waves rocked the ship. I collided with a wall. I spun around and found a steep staircase leading above deck. It wouldn’t be easy to climb, but at least I wouldn’t need my hands to do it.

  My drenched skirt tugged me down, but I managed to traverse the staircase without using my hands. I stumbled above deck.

  Around me, chaos reigned. Waves smashed the hull. Bits of broken wood floated in the frothing surf. Water covered half the deck. The crow’s nest stuck out as if nothing were beneath it.

  Three Revens gathered around an inflatable lifeboat. Frantic shouts filled the air. Why did I get the feeling that they had no clue what they were doing?

  “Hey!” I tried to get their attention.

  No response. Could they hear me from this far away? I waded through the water. The ocean swelled, pulling on my ankles, and then surging to my waist. The ship tilted to one side. Water rushed over the bow. It dragged me under.

  Most of the time I can deal with fear. Hearing my own heartbeat helps me realize when I’m afraid, or stressed, or nervous, and if I concentrate hard enough, I can keep my cool.

  Being in the water stripped away all my self-control.

  I’d never felt true fear until that moment.

  Salt burned my nostrils. It stung my eyes. Darkness engulfed me. I struggled to free my hands from the ropes. My muscles throbbed with the movement.

  Help! I wanted to yell, but even if I could, no one would hear me.

  With my arms tied, I dropped like an anchor. I kicked my legs with as much thrust as my body allowed, but still I sank. Waves tossed me through the dark sea.

  I panicked.

  I knew I shouldn’t have, knew it would only make my situation worse, but instinct took over.

  My lungs screamed for oxygen. I choked on the water. Thrashing with my legs was the only thing I could do. I strained to see anything but blackness.

  Please God, don’t let me die.

  Something grabbed my arm. I felt it tug me to the surface. Cold, refreshing wind slapped my face as they hauled me into the life raft. Water burned my nose and mouth as it poured out.

  I coughed until I couldn’t breathe.

  A hand patted my back.

  “Just let it out,” a familiar voice said.

  Through a curtain of wet lashes, I focused on the person’s face.

  Blake Hawthorne.

  What in the name of Gandhi was he doing here?

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  “I wondered when you would discover me,” Blake said.

  My pampered, boy-band wanna be prom date was on a boat full of homicidal Reven warriors. I couldn’t speak.

  “What…the flick,” I finally sputtered.

  Blake cut the ropes on my wrists. I shivered so badly he nicked my skin.

  “Ouch.”

  “Sorry,” he said. “You okay?”

  My wrists were raw from rope burn, and a tiny drop of blood spilled from the knife wound. “It’s not bad.”

  “How do you feel?”

  “Confused. And very cold.”

  “Someone get her a blanket,” he called to the three Revens on board. I doubted they heard him.
They clutched paddles, their eyes wide with fear as the huge schooner sank below us.

  I tried to make sense of my situation. I’d been captured by Revens who’d put me on a boat that they’d sunk. I’d nearly drowned. My pseudo boyfriend had rescued me.

  And I was seriously cold.

  My teeth chattered so hard I thought they would shatter.

  I couldn’t think through the cold. I had so many questions for Blake. Was he one of them?

  But my frozen brain couldn’t concentrate long enough for me to form words. Something dry and warm wrapped my shoulders. A blanket.

  It was made from cheap nylon wool, but to me it felt like heaven.

  Blake sat across from me and held my hand. Usually I would’ve pushed him away. Instead, I buried my head against his heart. His warmth spread through me. Tears blurred my vision.

  I didn’t mean to cry. I hate crying. It’s messy and makes me look hideous with my nose red and swollen. But something inside me just snapped. I guess almost dying does that to you.

  A nagging voice said that he was probably part of this clownfest, but I didn’t care. Right now, I was happy to breathe.

  “I’d wanted to surprise you,” he said, “when we got to the island. Slash was supposed to keep it a secret.”

  I pulled away. I wanted to ask what he meant, but our tiny raft rocked as a violent wave smashed the side. Ropes lined the edges of the boat. I grabbed one and held tight as the sea tossed us.

  We weren’t away from the slaughter yet.

  “Watch out for the rocks!” Slash yelled from the front of the raft.

  Jagged icebergs peeked from the ocean. We scraped past. Waves splashed into the boat. Chains sat near me with a bucket, bailing the water barely fast enough to keep us afloat.

  “We’re almost to the beach,” Tats shouted. He hefted a heavy-duty flashlight. I followed the beam of light and found a bank of gray sand far in the distance.

  My fingers grew numb as I held to the rope. Shivers racked my body. The waves pushed us away from shore, and soon the beach disappeared.

  “We’ve got to row faster,” Slash shouted over the breakers.

  Wind billowed past, so strong it nearly tipped our dinghy.

  Sea spray stung my eyes. I held to the rope, knowing that if I fell back into that ocean, I would be dead within minutes. The chill sea breeze whipped my damp hair across my face. The sea spray turned to ice on my cheeks.

  Tats shone his flashlight around the ocean. White-capped breakers crashed around us. After what felt like hours of rowing, the sea began to calm. The booming thunder of the waves quieted to a gentle churn.

  Pins and needles pricked my toes and fingers. Though they were cold, they throbbed as if they were on fire.

  Waves sloshed against the raft and rocked us with a motion that seemed peaceful compared to what we’d been through.

  As the storm diminished, I took stock of my situation.

  All that remained of the schooner was a debris field. Chairs and plastic cups and broken bits of wood floated with us as we drifted to shore.

  “There,” Tats shouted. The flashlight beam shone on the shoreline. I’d never seen anything so beautiful. We bobbed along the ocean and slowly made our way to the beach. No one spoke. A million questions buzzed through my head, but my mouth felt incapable of forming words.

  I glanced at Blake. He stared ahead at the beach with a dazed look on his face. What was he doing here?

  The black sky lightened to a pale gray. Our boat hit the sand. Tats jumped out and pulled the raft to shore. Once the boat stopped, we climbed out.

  My boots crunched the sand as I landed on the beach. It was time to toss the boots before I lost my toes. With frozen fingers, I untied the laces, then pulled off my soggy shoes. My socks came next.

  I needed a minute to catch my breath, but Slash grabbed me under the arms and hauled me up. “No time to waste. Let’s get her in before she’s frozen solid.”

  “Get me where?” I asked.

  He tugged me across the beach. We crested a small hill dotted with scrub grass. The view was more than I expected.

  The sun rose over a broad valley. A building sat square in the center of the dale. It reminded me of an old Victorian-style plantation home, with steep gables and pillars supporting a broad front porch. But I’d never seen a home as huge as this place. It surrounded a courtyard. A castle rose at its center, complete with towers and parapets, as if someone had engineered a hybrid Victorian home/Medieval castle.

  Fishing boats bobbed along a harbor down the coast, their rusted steel hulls glinting in the morning sun. A highway led away from the fishing village and over the hill.

  “Green Wood Pointe. This is your new home,” Blake said as he crested the hill to stand beside me. I rounded on him. The puzzle pieces fell into place as my brain thawed. Blake Hawthorne had been manipulating me from the very beginning.

  “You set me up,” I said.

  “Yes.”

  “You’re depraved.”

  “That’s not very nice.”

  Anger boiled inside. It made sense now. He’d seen me talking to Sara at the prom. He’d captured her, knowing I would come after her. But why?

  I didn’t know how, but he must’ve found out that I was a Shine. The temptation of reward money must’ve been too much for his stupid, spoiled, simple-headed brain to handle. He knew I’d stop him if I’d found out that he was behind it all. That’s why he stayed hidden.

  “I should kill you,” I said through gritted teeth.

  “Let me explain first?”

  “You don’t have to explain anything. I get it. You wanted money. I’m an easy target. You’re a loser with no morals. I get it.”

  He flexed his jaw. “I knew you would be this way—too stubborn to know what’s best for you.”

  Slash tightened his grip on my arms. “Let’s go.” He pushed me forward.

  “No.” I ground my heels into the sand. “I won’t go anywhere until I get answers.”

  “Shines don’t deserve answers,” Slash said.

  “Lay off her,” Blake said. He looked at me. “I joined the Revens three months ago. My parents thought I was spending too much time online. They said I needed to learn responsibility. Whatever. They wanted me to get a real job. We argued for awhile until I got a gig with the Revens. I told my parents I was working at the drugstore.” He laughed. “They didn’t think to check in on me. I showed them the money I’d earned and they laid off me.”

  Slash pushed me forward. We stumbled down the hill toward the valley. Chains and Tats followed behind us.

  I seethed with rage. I didn’t feel the cold anymore.

  “I liked working with the Revens. It was easy money. Most of the girls we caught didn’t put up a fight. I guess we must have scared them too much.”

  My skin crawled. What had I ever seen in this guy? I felt as if I were looking at someone else. I realized I’d never known Blake Hawthorne. His popularity had been a mask that he’d worn well.

  “Eventually my parents found out. I thought they’d be furious. Instead they congratulated me.” His laugh sounded cocky. “They said I was serving our community by helping to nullify the Shine problem.”

  My stomach sank. How could his parents feel that way?

  “Everything changed when I found out you were a Shine,” Blake said. “Your dad let it slip after the election party. I don’t think he meant to. He’d been drinking.”

  I pressed my eyes closed. Dad. I should have known.

  “I knew sooner or later the rest of the guys would find out. I tried to keep it from them. I tried to warn you, but you wouldn’t listen to me. You never do.”

  “Do you blame me?”

  He shrugged. “I convinced the guys to take Sara. I thought it would get them off your trail. But then you had to tell Memphis about your Shine. There was only one thing I could do after that. I called my parents. We came up with a plan. Memphis wanted to take you to Mordock. I convinced him not to.”
r />   “Mordock?” The name sent shivers down my spine.

  “He was dead set on it.”

  I glanced from Blake to Tats. “Mordock?” I asked him.

  Tats spoke with an emotionless voice. “They pay more,” he said, as if that explained his inhumanity.

  I narrowed my eyes at him. I still hated Blake, but I loathed Tats more. Why on earth would he take me to that place? I had done nothing to deserve it.

  “You’ll like Green Wood Pointe,” Blake said. “I’ve done all the research and it’s the best Shine rehab in the country—better than that place in Santa Monica before it got wiped out.

  “Anyway, not many people know about Green Wood because it’s private. When my parents found out what had happened, they agreed to pay your tuition for the first semester. I promise you’ll love it here.”

  “Razor. Does it come with some ocean front property in Kansas?”

  “I’m serious, June.”

  “If it’s so great, why are you guys getting paid to dump me?”

  “It’s not like that.”

  “Then explain it to me.”

  Slash shoved me over a clump of scrub brush. We descended into the valley where purple periwinkles dotted the thick carpet of grass. The sun crested the pink, snow-covered mountain tops. The view became breathtaking. Norman Rockwell couldn’t paint a place this majestic.

  But that didn’t make my situation any better. I wouldn’t see my family for who knew how long, and my sister needed me. She had to be worried sick.

  “The Revens collect from the public police force, separate from the facilities. They could’ve taken you anywhere. But because of me, they took you here. Someday you’ll thank me.”

  “Not likely.”

  The rising sun dried my skin. Birdsong filled the crisp, spring air. My anger simmered. Either that, or I felt too tired to argue anymore.

  “Are we still in the States?” I asked.

  “No. This is off the coast of Prince Edward Island,” Blake answered. “It’s not on most maps.”

  My bare feet crunched over the dewy grass, tickling my legs and ankles. Hair hung limp in my eyes. I didn’t want to imagine what I looked like.

  Bells rang in the distance, musical and otherworldly, as if we’d entered another time. I’d done some research on Shine facilities, realizing that someday I might be a resident at one.