Against my chest, I felt the corner of her lips rise. I pulled her away from me and followed her wandering eyes. She was zoned in on Alec. I rolled my eyes and released her. She recovered faster than I’d thought. Her eyes shifted to Josh and Sam and then back to me. She wrinkled her nose with disgust. I knew the feeling.
After a few minutes, Cindy found herself glued to Tony’s hip. He patted at her head unenthusiastically, looking at me to save him. She was his problem now. I had enough to deal with, what with the broken Barbie being my responsibility and all.
While the group chatted amongst themselves, I headed toward the water. The silence was haunting. I already missed the frantic noise of seagulls squawking and children laughing. I longed for the commotion that used to be my life. I stepped into the foamy water, keeping a safe distance from the violent waves. The salty bubbles tingled as the washed over my toes.
“Do you honestly expect me to believe that?” Samantha roared.
“Yes,” Alec retaliated, “actually, I do. You don’t really have much of a choice in the matter now do you, princess?”
It looked like there was already trouble in paradise. That hadn’t taken very long.
“Have you all lost your damn minds? Josh, what are we even doing here?” Sam screamed, furious.
I shot a look over my shoulder, unsure of what all the commotion was about. An argument had erupted between Alec and Samantha. She was lucky that Jade wasn’t around. Alec was much more patient.
“You people are crazy!” she raged on.
As amusing as she was when she was angry, something bigger caught my attention. I snapped my head back to the ocean. I took a few steps into the dark abyss as the water rushed out to sea, retreating from the shoreline.
“No,” I breathed.
I was standing between Alec and Samantha in less than a second. “We need to get out of here! Now!”
Josh seemed to be the only one to notice me. The others continued to yell and snarl at one another like rabid animals. We didn’t have time for petty fights. I cupped a hand over Samantha’s mouth, somewhat careful not to break her teeth. She squirmed under my grip. Now I had everyone’s attention. I guess sometimes actions did speak louder than words. I pointed toward the ocean. “Run!”
A hush fell over the group as six pairs of eyes focused on the darkness. Cindy scampered back, screaming.
The water surged out, lifting and forming one enormous tidal wave. It hissed and groaned as it lunged toward the Earth.
Within seconds, we were sprinting through the uneven sand, Alec and I trying to slow our pace so that the others could keep up. We stumbled over the boardwalk wall. “There,” Tony shouted, “the new arcade!” He pointed toward a three-story building that was holding strong after both earthquakes. It was our best chance. It was our only chance.
We ran, tripping over broken slabs of concrete and fallen game huts. Cheaply made stuffed animal prizes were scattered across the ground. Tony rounded the side of the arcade and tugged hard on the door. It wouldn’t budge. Alec shoved him out of the way and kicked the glass in with his bare foot. We piled into the arcade and darted up three flights of stairs.
My ears tried to block out the sound of rushing water as the wave smashed against the side of the building. It shook as it tilted on its foundation. I wasn’t sure it was going to hold.
We huddled together in a corner on the top floor and prayed. There was nothing else we could do. Gallons of water surged up the stairs. Bricks soared through the air around us, arcade games tumbling over. Someone cried out in the darkness. It was only a matter of seconds before the water rushed to the third floor, cascading over the lip of the top stair. Ice-cold liquid ran over my fingers and I bit my lip.
Another brick flew through the darkness and then another, plowing into my leg. I screamed as the bone snapped. Salt water stung at my open wounds and I slammed my fists into the water, willing myself to heal faster.
I stood up, my leg still throbbing. I tried to take a step toward the group, but my broken leg wouldn’t budge. It was caught on something on the floor. The water rushed up to my thighs and I cursed under my breath.
“Tony, you need to get them out of here,” I hollered over the roar of rushing water.
“Me?” Tony choked. “Zo, I can’t–”
“Yes, you can!” I shouted. “You’re the best damn swimmer I know. Get them out of here!”
“We aren’t gonna make it,” Cindy shrieked. I wondered what man she was clinging to in her final minutes. She would never die alone.
“Alright, listen up,” Tony shouted. “We’re going to have to swim out of here. Get a full breath of air when the water reaches the ceiling. The current should settle as the water pressure equalizes. Follow me out. We’ll swim to the surface.”
“Are y-you insane?” Samantha’s teeth chattered.
“It’s that or die,” Alec snapped. “Your choice.”
The water rose to my neck and I started to panic, tugging harder on my leg. I ducked under the water and tried to feel for what had a hold of me. My fingers coiled around what felt like a metal wire. I came up for another breath, struggling as the water rose.
“Zoë?” Alec was at my side.
“My foot’s stuck,” I said, spitting out salty water.
“I’m not leaving you,” he muttered, wrapping his fingers around my face, trying to keep my head above water.
“Don’t be a fool, these guys need you. Go,” I demanded, pushing him away.
“No,” he growled.
“Alec, go! I’ll be fine!” I shouted. Though, I wasn’t so sure I would be. “You know I’ll be fi–” And, with that, my head went under.
I stopped struggling for the surface, trying to focus. I felt the vibrations of movement as the others treaded water above me. A dark figure dove down beside me and began tugging at the wire tangled around my foot. My fingers bled as I tried to help pull it from my flesh. Blood clouded the water around us.
My chest ached, my lungs burned; my whole body convulsed, demanding air. I released the wire and thrashed in the water, trying to reach the surface. The body beside me pushed off of the floor and kicked to the surface. Loneliness consumed me. My muscles slowed, a black fog creeping along the outer edge of my vision.
Large hands found my face, steadying it. The person put their lips to mine and electricity pulsed through my body, jump-starting my heart. They filled my lungs with air and my heart with fire. And, with that, they were gone again.
I squirmed in the water, reaching over my back and unsheathing my sword. I pressed my body into the floor and tried to hold the wire taut. There was no other choice. I began slicing the blade through the water, hoping I didn’t cut off my own foot.
Chapter Twelve
With every kick, salt water stung at the open wound on my ankle. It burned as the skin sealed back together. I kept one hand on the slanted ceiling, searching for a break in the water. Just as my lungs started to scream from within my chest, a burst of cold air fluttered over my fingertips. A few more kicks and my head broke through the surface.
I sucked in as much of the thin air as I could, filling my lungs to capacity. I found an exposed support beam on the ceiling and wrapped my arms around it. The darkness of the water gnawed at my fleeting sanity. I was being watched – I could feel it.
I cursed as my toes collided with something hard beneath the surface. I fondled it with my foot, trying to make out its smooth texture. It was a bathroom stall. I had somehow ended up in one of the third floor restrooms. I could care less where I was, as long as there was air. I balanced myself on the narrow edge, tightening my grip around the overhead beam. Splinters slice through my pruned skin like needles, but I didn’t care. I couldn’t swim anymore.
Human flesh brushed against my leg and a head bobbled in the water. I thrashed and kicked to push it away. It was a dead body. It had to be. I turned away, avoiding its face as it floated in front of me.
“Zoë? Is that you?”
&n
bsp; “Josh?” I let out a sigh of relief as he turned toward me. His face was a sight for sore eyes. “Oh, thank God. You’re okay?”
“I’m fine,” he said, choking on water. He was struggling to stay afloat. I reached out for him, grazing his bare chest with the tips of my fingers – it was so smooth. I grabbed hold of his forearm and towed him toward the beam. He slung his arm over it with a loud huff and slumped back into the water, too weak to move.
“The others?”
“I don’t know,” he breathed.
While I was grateful not to be alone, I’d hoped that Josh had made it out with the rest of the group.
“We need to get out of here,” I stated the obvious. I kept my eyes glued to his face, avoiding the murky water. Something or someone was watching me and I didn’t mean Josh.
“We’ll find a way out. Unless we run out of air first.” He added the second part under his breath, not intending for me to hear. I did, of course. Every word.
We hovered together, our legs bumping against one another as we shared the lip of the bathroom stall. The wheels in my head turned, my brain going over every possible exit. I could think of none. Neither of us mentioned trying to make the long swim out. We were far too weak. Reaching the surface was starting to seem impossible.
“Run out of air,” I thought aloud.
“Zoë, I didn’t mean for you–”
“The ventilation system! This is a restroom, right? So there has to be a vent somewhere. It should lead up to the roof.” I released the beam and splashed around in water, searching the ceiling for the vent that would lead to our freedom.
“Doesn’t that only work in the movies?” he asked, sounding rather skeptical.
“You got a better idea?” I snapped. “Because I’m open to suggestions.”
Without another word, Josh joined in the hunt. He swam alongside of me, never straying too far.
“Zoë, over here,” he called.
For anyone else, “here” would’ve been the worst possible direction to give in a pitch-black room. I swam for him.
Josh tore something from the slanted ceiling and hurled it over his shoulder. Gentle hands found my waist as he hoisted me into the air. I gripped the cool walls of the vent, trying to crawl up its slanted tunnel. One slip was all it took. I tumbled down, crashing into Josh and plummeting us both deep into the water.
I struggled to get my foot unstuck from behind the side of one of the toilets, kicking wildly until it slipped free. I coughed up sour liquid when my head broke through the surface.
“Shouldn’t this be easy for you?”
“Do I look like Spiderman to you, Josh?”
He mumbled an apology, pulling me back into his arms. “Again.” He lifted me over his head once more, using the last of his energy. I could hear him struggling to keep his head above water.
As I reentered the vent, I flipped onto my back and pressed my hands and feet against the thin wall across from me. I paused, finding my footing before inching my way up the long tunnel. Josh groaned below me as he tried to pull himself into the small opening.
I shuffled up the dark vent, pressing the balls of my feet so hard into the thin metal that it bent under the weight. Dust filled my lungs and it took everything in me not to start coughing.
Water sloshed around vent walls. Just when I started to worry that they wouldn’t be able to hold both Josh’s and my weight, I finally reached a dead end. Dim light from outside shimmered into the ventilation shaft. My forearm slammed into the cold steel. It didn’t budge. I cursed under my breath, hitting it again.
“Shit, shit, shit,” I hissed, punching the metal grate until blood spiraled down my knuckles.
“What’s wrong?” he called up to me.
“I can’t get it open,” I said, looking down at him. In six years, I’d never felt so weak. I didn’t like it. If I were older, like William or Alec even, it wouldn’t have been such a problem, but the long swim and lack of oxygen had drained me. I turned my attention back to our only exit, taking a deep breath of the toxic air.
“I need to squeeze by you, Zo.” Josh was already on the move. He climbed toward my feet and I braced myself. If I slipped, we’d both fall and have to start the whole tiresome journey again. I didn’t know if we had the strength. I certainly didn’t.
I felt like a contortionist as I molded my back into the vent wall, distorting my arms and legs so that they could hold me firmly in place as he passed by. It was hard to cling to slick walls with wet palms. Josh would have to make do with what little room he had.
He reached my legs, creeping closer to the steel bars above us. I caught a glimpse of his contracting biceps as he pulled himself higher, struggling against the sheer weight of his muscular body. It was a tight squeeze. I counted every soft ripple on his abdominal wall as it brushed against my ribcage. The lack of personal space between us broke every rule in the boundaries of friendship. My heart beat wildly in my chest and I prayed he wouldn’t hear. I looked up, attempting to distract myself with thoughts of what might be outside our temporary prison. It didn’t work.
As he reached up for the metal grate, his forearm brushed lightly against my breasts and I forgot to breathe. Josh bit the side of his lip as the smallest amount of embarrassment reached the surface of his flawless cheekbones. Something long and hard pressed against my stomach and I just about died. He looked like he was trying his best not to smile. He was still a man, a gentleman, but a man nonetheless. Hell, and I was still a woman – one whose thoughts were traveling into forbidden territory.
Neither of us spoke. He swatted a sturdy hand at the grate, hitting it three times before it broke loose, ricocheting into the air. For the sake of my pride, I convinced myself that I’d loosened it.
“Go,” he panted.
I crawled off of him, rising to my feet on the uneven rooftop. He placed his hands on the broken concrete and hoisted himself out of the stuffy vent.
We collapsed on the arcade roof, panting. Jade’s shirt clung to my ribcage with each shallow breath I took. A string of lighting electrocuted the dark sky. The rain was back, it poured down on us mercilessly. Neither of us moved. Josh’s hand found mine, patting it absently. We lay like that for what felt like hours, just breathing in the foul air around us. What else was there to do in a city buried thirty feet under water?
“Do you think the others made it out alive, Zo?” Josh asked, breaking the silence.
“One of them,” I muttered. My negative comment was meant for my ears only. I was almost positive he hadn’t heard me. His heavy sigh said otherwise.
“Do you hear that?” I sat up, scanning the black sky in its entirety. I waited, listening.
“Hear what?” He looked up and we listened for a moment.
I shook my head. “Nothing, I guess.”
And then it was back. The ravenous sounds of chopping circled overhead. I jumped to my feet as the large helicopter passed through the thick clouds, a spotlight illuminating the rooftop.
“Hang tight,” the loud speakerphone rang out, “we’re coming to get you. What the–”
A long black shadow swooped toward the helicopter. There was a loud crash above us. The blades cut through the air as the chopper tried to regain control, spinning wildly through the dark gray clouds. Impact was only seconds away.
“Get down!”
I flung myself on top of Josh, shielding him as the helicopter plummeted into the water, bursting into flames. A muffled scream erupted from within the chopper for all of a second. The explosion was thunderous. I thought the force might blow out my eardrums. Bits of fire and sharp metal rained down on me. As quickly as it happened, it was over. The flames dulled to a mild roar and I rolled off of Josh, blood leaching down my spin.
Josh sat up, wide eyes staring at the sinking aircraft. I rose to my feet, taking a step toward the edge of the roof. Another explosion sounded in the distance and a second helicopter fell out of the sky, following the path of the first.
Josh scramb
led to his feet. “What are the odds of two helicopters crashing at the same time?”
I didn’t answer. There were no odds for something like that. I turned my attention back to the sky. The large machines weren’t the only things soaring through the clouds. Long black figures claimed their territory. I wondered if I was hallucinating again.
“You see those, right?” I asked Josh.
“Of course I do. What are those things? More choppers?”
I wished. I reached for my blade, coiling my fingers around the hilt and unsheathing it. I widened my stance as the large black beast soared through the sky. The wingspan was beyond belief. I’d never felt so small.
“Zoë?” Josh took a step. I wasn’t sure if it was toward me or away from me.
“Don’t move.”
A scream pieced my ears as the beast shot out through the clouds. I stumbled back a step as it landed on the ledge, long talons gripping tight to the crumbling rooftop. It was easily twenty times the size of the one I’d seen in the hotel parking lot and my apartment bathroom – the building strained under the weight of its massive body. It’s long scaly tail whipped behind it, lashing at the water. Leather wings extended out past either side of the building as it reared its head back and roared. Rain spiraled down its jagged teeth as it locked eyes with me, steam rising from its nostrils.
Josh tripped over something behind me. The blood-red eyes shifted.
“No!”
The beast lunged at him and I dove. My sword sliced into its elongated neck and the beast howled. I hacked at it again and again. The massive body flopped like a fish out of water, slipping over the edge and sinking like a rock to the bottom of the ocean. Josh gaped at the massive head sitting a foot away from him, black blood oozing from what was left of its neck.
“I told you not to move,” I mumbled, sheathing my weapon.
“What the hell was that?” he yelled once the shock wore off.
Until Dawn: Last Light Page 12