Falling Awake

by T. A Richards Neville

  “Right.”

  “There’s a blanket under your seat.” I looked down at the leather seat underneath me. “You’re crazy if you think I’m standing up in this thing,” I told him with a firm shake of my head.

  “Why not?”

  “You’re going so fast I will probably fall over the edge. Uh-uh, now way. I would rather freeze,” I said stubbornly. He shook his arms free of his jacket and tossed it towards me, leaving his arms bare. “Here, have this then. It might help, but I doubt it.”

  “I crammed by body into the jacket. It clung to me because it was slim fit, but it did help a little. “Thank you,” I said.

  “No problem. Can’t have you sitting there freezing now can I?” His eyes rove over me in his coat, and he smiled when I caught him watching me. I gave him a smile back and puled the collar of his jacket up, burying my face into it. I inhaled the scent that rose up from the jacket, it was detergent and something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. A freshness that only belonged to Ressler. It soothed me nonetheless, and I continued to deliberately breathe it in.

  We’d been driving for what felt like forever. “How much further?” I asked him, pulling my hair free from my ponytail. I’d become used to the cold wind, and it actually felt good to feel my hair swept up in it. I felt free.

  “About two hours,” he said, looking me up and down. He seemed to be doing that a lot tonight. I checked my IPhone. It was three fifteen in the morning, and I didn’t feel the slightest bit tired. I was however, becoming anxious about what would happen when we actually got there, and what we would find. I pulled out my pack of painkillers from my jacket pocket and swallowed two, to take the edge off the pain in my leg and my side.

  “You okay there? Ressler asked, looking at the silver packet I was shoving back into my pocket.

  “I’ll be fine,” I said. “How do you know where you’re going anyway?” I asked him. The bleakness of the sea was leading in no particular direction, and I was too unfamiliar with boating equipment to see if he was using any kind of sat nav. I leaned over the side of the boat to glimpse the frothy water below us. I shivered at the empty darkness of it; there really was something incredibly terrifying about the sea at night. I imagined all kinds of slimy and deadly creatures lurking just below the surface.

  “Sat nav,” he said, nodding towards the multiple dials and screens in front of him just as I pulled my head back inside of the boat. “Oh.”

  “That, and I’ve been all over the world, multiple times.”

  So that was how. “I see,” I said, with understanding dawning on me at how little life experience I had compared to him. Even though we looked of a similar age, he was so much older and wiser than I was- It was scary.

  “So, out of every place you’ve travelled, where’s the best?” I asked, glad I had him here distracting me from what seemed like the impossible task of finding my dad.

  “You want me to answer that honestly?”

  I let my gaze fall to where his hand clutched the handle of the boat firmly. His bracelet hung in its place, the wings swaying back and forth.

  “Yes.”

  “Friday Harbor.”

  “Why?” I asked, and once I’d said it, I knew I shouldn’t have. I heard his answer before it was even spoken.

  “Because that was where I met you,” he said, his eyes wandering over to me and I shifted my focus ahead, refusing to acknowledge the pounding of my heart. It was supposed to be me and Caleb, not me and Ressler. So why was I so shaken up by his response?

  He took his hand off the control handle and used his teeth to free the bracelet from around his wrist.

  “Here,” he said, offering me the bracelet.

  “What?” I asked dumbfounded.

  “It’s yours; I know how much you like it. You keep staring at it.”

  “I…Ressler, I can’t take this.” I stared down at the delicate silver in his hand.

  “You can.”

  “No, I can’t. It was a gift to you.”

  “And now it’s a gift to you,” he said, shoving it further towards me.

  “Really?”

  “Yes, really. Take it.” I took it from him and secured it around my own wrist. It hung more loosely than it did on him, but it didn’t fall off.

  “Ressler, I don’t know what to say. I love it, I really do. Thank you.” I reached over and hugged him. I could feel him smiling against me.

  “You’re welcome,” he said, as I released him from my grip.

  “Why were you given this?” I asked, tracing the outline of the wings with my fingers. I loved it so much.

  “As a reminder of what I was. Where I came from.”

  “Why would you give it to me though?”

  “Because I don’t need a bracelet to remind me that I used to be an angel. I know what I was, and that’s not me anymore.” He glanced over at me and I looked up just in time to see the sincerity in his eyes. “But I want you to wear that and know that you are an angel. You’re my angel.”

  Cape Flattery

  I knew my dreams had morphed into reality, when the vast waters surrounding us narrowed ahead, and gave way to the perfect scenery I had only envisioned whilst sleeping. “This is it,” Ressler said, pulling on the control handle and steering the boat into the idyllic rocky setting. The night had turned to morning, and I could see clearly the natural beauty around me. I had never seen anything like it before. The boat slowed as Ressler manoeuvred it alongside the cliff face and into what must be Cape Flattery. My dad was here, I was sure of it. I could feel it.

  “He’s here,” I whispered, and without another thought, I shrugged myself free of Ressler’s and my own jacket, and jumped overboard. The Impact of the icy cold water was numbing, and I fought hard for my breath as I forced myself to move forward. I broke the surface of the water, and I could see the entrance of the cove up ahead, an empty blackness tearing into the rock face. It looked so near from the boat, but in the freezing depths of the pacific, it couldn’t be any further away. I pushed myself back under the water and swam as fast as my despondent body would allow. I felt like a thousand tiny needles were stabbing me all over, but I couldn’t stop. I had to keep moving. It wasn’t far I told myself, just keep swimming. A heated pain ripped through my body from the stab wound on my hip, to my leg, every time I kicked my legs out behind me.

  I had almost reached the cove, when as hard as I tried to move my legs, I could feel them growing heavier and weaker, and even though I pushed myself forward with every ounce of strength I had, it was no use. My arms felt like lead balloons as I tried to wade through the suffocating sea, to the surface, and I was dragged under by own body, no longer able to feel my limbs. Where was Ressler? Why had he not followed me? Before I could give him anymore thought, I was colliding full force with a rock that jutted out of nowhere, and sent me barrelling further down. I could feel myself slipping in and out of consciousness, and could do nothing to stop myself from drowning. My legs wouldn’t move, my arms weren’t moving, and I fought hard with my brain, commanding it to kick into action; but it wouldn’t listen. I was sinking, fast. When absolute darkness finally came, whether hallucination or reality, I distantly felt arms wrap around my waist and pull me upwards. I was totally weightless, the surge of the water rushing past my ears the only sound I could hear.

  The sound of violent coughing and sputtering rang loudly in my ears, and I soon realised it was my own as I threw myself forward and brought up a lung full of salty water. A pair of strong calloused hands gripped my face hard and I stared into Caleb’s face. “I won’t ask what you’re doing here,” he said, without releasing his grip. “I’m not happy about it though. You just nearly died.”

  “You didn’t leave me,” I said, summoning what I could of my voice. I shivered as the cold soaked through to my bones and settled its self deep within me.

  “Why would I do a thing like that?”

  “Because I told you to.”

  “I’ll never leave you.” He looked
offended by the accusation.

  “We both know that’s not true.” The mental image Of Caleb and his wings flashed behind my eyes, and I switched my emotions off before they had a chance to really surface. This wasn’t about Caleb, or me for that matter.

  “My dad…I need to go to him.”

  “You’re not going anywhere,” he said with a smile that said he thought I was crazy.

  “He’s in there isn’t he?” I said, looking in the direction of the cove. I sat upon a cluster of rocks that peeked just above the water, and Caleb was right by my side, facing in the opposite direction. White capped waves sloshed over my legs every now and then, but I was so cold I could no longer feel anything.

  “You’re not going in there,” he said firmly. “I don’t know what Ressler was thinking bringing you out here, but he’s going to turn that boat around and take you right back home, got it?” I pulled my face free of his hands and glared at him.

  “How can you say that to me? What part of that’s my dad in there do you not understand?” As far as I was concerned, we were wasting valuable time just sitting here even discussing this. I should be in there with him now.

  “I don’t care what you say; I’m not letting you in there.”

  “It’s funny you should say that because I really don’t remember asking for your permission.” I was angry, fuming even, and I wasn’t about to sit here and let him dictate what I could and could not do.

  “You don’t know what’s in there,” he said, trying to reason with me.

  “And you do?”

  “Yes, and you’re no match trust me.” He spoke with bitter laughter in his voice, and a smile tipped his lips, but it wasn’t from amusement.

  “Then I’ll be the judge of that,” I said, and pushing him away from me, I stood and dove back into the icy water, swimming toward the mouth of the cove using every thread of anger in me to get my weary legs to respond. Somehow, and I had no idea how, I was getting closer. I looked behind me; Caleb was close, too close.

  “Pria,” he shouted, forcing his way through the waves with extreme power. He was fast, abnormally fast. I looked ahead of me, ignoring him, and swam faster until the darkness swallowed me up.

  I could hear Caleb behind me, thrashing through the water. He was gaining momentum. I felt a tug on my leg and my head dipped under the water. I kicked my leg free of his grasp and tried to move faster. A dim light broke through the natural darkness, and a boulder up ahead sat illuminated with candles. The golden wicks flickered under the spell of the damp and drafty cove, and the shadows flicked over the shape of a body lying on top of the flat boulder. I stopped swimming, frozen in position as my brain caught up with what my eyes saw, and I registered what was in front of me. My dad lay there as dead as the night, with a long wooden spear protruding from his chest, pinning him to the rock.

  “No,” I breathed. Please don’t be dead. I broke free of the horror that held me in place and started moving forward. A hand closed around my ankle before I barely had a chance to move and tugged so hard, that I was pulled under. Caleb wrapped his arms around my waist and swam with me secured in his hold back the way we came in. We broke the surface of the water, and he heaved me up onto a rocky ledge just on the inside of the entrance of the cove. The outside misty grey light spilled in through the opening, providing a safeness I couldn’t explain. The light was what was real. That thing in there, my dad’s body, that couldn’t be real.

  Caleb pushed his dripping hair back and shook his head, swiping the water from his face. “What do you think you’re doing?” he said with controlled anger through his teeth. He obviously didn’t want to be heard.

  “What am I doing?” What are you doing? My dad’s in there, dead for all I know, and you drag me back out here!” He clamped a hand over my mouth.

  “Sshh,” he warned. “No one can know you’re here.”

  I tried to say I didn’t care but his hand wasn’t budging. “Your dad’s not dead,” he said. “He’s alive, but if you go barging in there, he will probably end up dead, and you too. So do as I say okay?” He looked at me with raised eyebrows, his eyes sending me a silent warning. Getting the message loud and clear, I nodded and he slowly released his hand from my mouth. “What do you want me to do Caleb?

  “I want you to get out of here, go home. Let me handle this.”

  “What’s happened to my dad?” I asked. “Who’s done this to him?”

  “I don’t know. I got here too late. But I do know he’s alive.”

  “How can he be alive after a spear through the heart? And why aren’t you doing anything to help him?” He looked momentarily stunned by what I had just asked. His grip tightened on the ledge and he stared back at me, silent.

  “Where’s Ressler?” I asked him.

  At last, he spoke. “He’s in the boat waiting for you.” I couldn’t sit here and do nothing, no matter what Caleb said. I had to do something. I wouldn’t get back in that boat until we had my dad with us. As if reading my mind, Caleb said, “Let me go first. Stay behind me and don’t make a sound.”

  “Okay.” He helped me down into the water and his hands slid up over my bare skin as he held me. “Pria…” I looked up into his eyes. They shone through the depths of the darkness and my heart contracted in my chest, overwhelmed by their hold over me. He traced the curve of my lips with his fingers and pushed his hand through my hair. Grabbing a fist full- he pressed my body against his own. I flinched from the pain as his hand struck my injured side, and with the tug of a dark smile, he slowly lifted me up out of the water and kissed the place where my exposed waterproof dressing protected my knife wound. I looked down at him and held onto his shoulders as he gently lowered me back into the water. His chest was bare and we were millimetres apart, only our breaths touching. He and his presence paralyzed me and I lost the ability to speak.

  “Let’s go,” he said, and without another word, he released me and swam back into the cove. Pushing aside the moment, now long lost, I followed him.

  My dad lay undisturbed on the boulder, and Caleb swam over to him, prizing the spear from his chest and throwing it into the water with a silent splash. As I got nearer, the ground began to solidify under my feet and I was now standing shoulder deep in water. My dad’s body floated limp under Caleb’s arms as he waded through the water, and he laid him down where the sea gave way to damp sand. I threw myself down next to my dad and laid my hand over his chest. I was met with stillness, no heartbeat– nothing. A tear rolled down my cheek as I pumped my hands mercilessly against his chest. My fingers worked stiffly as if belonging to someone else, they were so numb with cold. The light from the candles danced over his face, outlining the sharp curve of his cheekbones. He looked hollow and grey. “Come on dad,” I pleaded, repeating the process.

  “It’s no use,” Caleb said, trying to calm me down. He grabbed my arms and pulled me off my dad’s unresponsive body.

  “Get off me!” I shouted, shoving him away. I placed my hands back over my dad’s chest and pumped harder and faster. My fingers weren’t doing what I wanted. They weren’t responding quickly enough. I cupped them around my mouth and blew my warm breath into them. Caleb grabbed me and hauled me to my feet. He held me by my wrists. “That won’t work,” he said firmly.

  “You said he wasn’t dead,” I cried.

  He locked eyes with me. “He’s not dead.” I shook my head defiantly. I didn’t understand. “He’s not dead, and you need to get out of here now.”

  A voice wafted up from behind us with a vivid accent I couldn’t quite place. “What? And leave the party so soon?” Footsteps echoed behind us and I turned in the direction of the offending noise. Caleb let go of my wrists and shoved me behind him protectively, securing me in place with his hand.

  “Ah, two birds with one stone,” the voice said. I peered around Caleb’s shoulder and looked into the blackest, soulless eyes I had ever seen, hidden behind the rings of a white, black, and gold mask, framed by a head of straight white feathers.
His body was naked apart from a green leaf skirt, and heavy jewellery made of animal teeth adorned his wrists, and more white feathers hung around his ankles, brushing across his bare feet. I had no idea of telling his age, but his brown body was solid and masculine.

  “A witch doctor,” Caleb hissed. “What have you done to him?” he said, throwing a fleeting glance towards my dad’s body.

  “Took his memories,” the figure said simply. His physique screamed youth, but his voice was ancient. I had never seen anyone like him before, but I was afraid. Everything about him screamed power. Sabre was nothing compared to this.

  “You did what?” Caleb roared.

  “His memories provided answers, but now I see there was no need. You brought the answers to me. My master will be pleased.”

  “Answers to what?”

  “Well Pria…or should I say Savannah?” he asked, giving me a knowing smile.

  Wait, he thought I was my mom?

  “She’s carrying the most powerful of all magic. Many thought it was a myth, but my master intends to prove it’s alive and it’s in her.”

  “Divine,” I whispered. I had no idea where that came from, but the word slipped easily enough from my mouth. I felt like I’d heard it mentioned somewhere before, but I couldn’t pin it down.

  “Divine.” He nodded in a slow motion. I couldn’t see his mouth, but I knew he was smiling. The strength of it cut into me.

  “Then what?” Caleb asked. His lips pulled back in a snarl.

  “Then, he will take it.”

  “She’s not your’s. I’ll kill you before I let you lay a finger on her.” His grip on me tightened as he spoke.

  “Tell me boy, how do you expect to get yourself out of this mess? He spoke with that smile, the triumphant smile. “Do you think I am going to just let you walk out of here?”

  “I wouldn’t try,” Caleb said.

  “Ah ha!” The witch doctor howled, slamming his golden stick into the ground. The power of it reverberated around the room, and loose rocks freed themselves from the sides of the cove, landing in the water with a splash. I involuntarily flinched. “You think you can stay and fight me? You fallen are all the same.” He waved his hand in the air. “You think you’re invincible. You think you can’t die, but I am here to prove you wrong.” I freed myself from Caleb’s grip and burst into full view of the witch doctor.