by Tara Ellis
Fighting rising goosebumps, Sam looks sideways at her dad and briefly considers telling him about their encounter on the boat. Now that the threat of being found out has passed, it doesn’t seem as important. In fact, it all feels somewhat silly, and she wonders why she was even so upset about it. If she were to tell him now, he would feel obligated to track the boat owners down and apologize himself. It would make him look bad, and possibly spoil his whole week.
No, Sam decides. I’m not going to let something that I did ruin this job for my dad. He doesn’t need to know.
Feeling better about things, Sam’s step is a bit lighter when they get back. Everyone had a good day, and they all exchange stories over dinner that evening.
Sam and Ally go to bed early, having had just a few hours of sleep the night before. Setting the odd-looking sea creature on the nightstand next to the bed, Sam falls asleep staring at it, wondering if something like it could actually exist.
***
Waking with a start, Sam sits up abruptly and looks around the dark room, confused. It takes a moment to shake the weird images of sea monsters from her head and remember where she is.
“It was just a dream,” she whispers to herself, looking over at the figurine to assure herself that it wasn’t real. Getting up from the soft bed, she walks quietly over to the big, double glass doors that lead to the balcony. The room is stuffy, and she desperately needs some fresh air.
Pushing the doors open, Sam steps out into the blessedly cool, nighttime air. Leaning against the railing, she becomes fully awake, the dream already almost forgotten. Looking out at the beach, she can hardly see the water in the oily blackness. The moon lends little light as it’s hidden behind a solid wall of thick fog rolling in off the crashing waves.
Beginning to shiver from the dramatic change in temperature, Sam turns to go back inside, but pauses when she hears an odd sound. Straining to hear it, she tilts her head and closes her eyes. There! Mixed in with the booming surf is a high-pitched wail unlike anything she’s ever heard before. Eyes flying open, she turns to where she knows the lighthouse stands in the distance. To her astonishment, a dim light glows in the dark!
10
TRAIL OF CONFUSION
The sound still haunts Sam the next morning as she absently eats a big bowl of cereal. She’d dragged Ally out of bed the night before, but by the time they got out on the deck, both the wailing and the light were gone. Half convinced now that she’d still been dreaming, Sam’s reluctant to tell anyone else about it. Her brothers would tease her for months!
It had taken a long time to fall back asleep with the weird mix of thoughts tumbling around in her head. Only Ally’s threat of pouring water on her face finally got her up.
Already after nine, her father left for work hours ago. The twins are outside with the boys, playing in the sand. Her mom has left a note on the table, explaining that she’s gone into town.
Sam considers the events of the past two days. “I think we need to try and forget about our neighbors and all of this other weird stuff,” she finally says, looking hopefully at Ally. “Let’s just try to have fun today.”
Surprised by the uncharacteristic announcement by her friend, Ally lowers her own spoon and stares back at her. The whole experience last night must have scared Sam more than she’s willing to admit. Eager to help put her at ease, Ally nods in agreement. “I think that’s a great idea, Sam,” she says lightly. “It’s a perfect day outside! We can spend it working on our tans.”
By the time Sam’s mom returns home, the boys have left to go swimming with their new friends, and Sam and Ally have taken over watching the twins. They’re happy to unload the groceries and make lunch while Kathy gets the two-year-olds changed and ready to eat.
It’s close to one in the afternoon when the girls finally get to spread their towels out and fulfill their goal for the day. Tabitha and Addison are down for their afternoon nap, so they don’t even have to worry about them. And their older brothers won’t be bothering them for a while.
“I saw a sign in town the other day for a theatre,” Ally says lazily. “Do you think your parents would let us go to a movie later?”
“I don’t see why not,” Sam answers, propping herself up on her elbows. “Maybe Dad would let John take us all in the van? He’s past his probation, isn’t he?” In the state of Washington, the rules for teen drivers are strict. For the first six months, they aren’t allowed to drive anyone that isn’t a family member unless there’s an adult present.
“Yeah, he’s been able to drive his friends around for a couple of months now, but Mom and Dad have their own set of rules. Taking us to the movies would be fine, though.”
“Do you think it’d be worth it?” Sam asks, biting at her lower lip. “Or would they torment us through the whole show?”
“Nah…John isn’t like that anymore,” Ally counters. “We’d sit far away from them, anyway. I think it’d be fun!” Agreeing to look into what movies were playing later that afternoon, they spend the next hour sweating under the blazing summer sun until they can’t stand it anymore. Even with their existing tans and generous amounts of sunscreen, they’re starting to burn.
Running for shade, they end up walking along the edge of the woods and soon find themselves at the mysterious trailhead. To Sam’s surprise, she isn’t that tempted to explore it. Intuition tells her that there’s a very real danger involving that lighthouse. She’s learned to listen to her instincts. Normally, she would at least suggest they walk parallel to the trail for a little ways, so that they could see what was around the first bend without really going on it. Her curiosity stirs a bit at that thought, but her brother abruptly interrupts it.
“Did you already forget what Dad told you, Sam?” Hunter announces loudly right next to her ear, causing her to jump. Laughing at her reaction, he takes a few steps onto the overgrown path and then turns back. “What’s the matter? Feeling a bit guilty at being caught trying to break the rules?”
“We weren’t even on the trail, Hunter!” Ally shouts, stepping forward.
Both Hunter and John look at her in silence, startled by the venom in her voice.
“We don’t even want to go to the lighthouse anymore…not after what happened last-”
Sam reaches for Ally, but fails to stop her in time from saying too much. She gives Ally a warning look, letting her friend know she doesn’t want to talk about it.
“What happened?” John asks,
“Nothing,” Sam replies, much too quickly.
“No…really,” Hunter urges, without any hint of sarcasm. “What did you hear?”
Staring at her older brother, Sam notes the way he’s shifting from foot-to-foot, looking over his shoulder into the woods nervously. Something’s spooked him, too. “Wait,” she says, as Hunter’s last question sinks in. “What makes you think that we heard something?”
John and Hunter exchange a look, obviously trying to decide what to tell the girls. “Because we had a strange…experience the first night we were here,” John finally says.
“How?” Ally presses, hands firmly planted on her hips. “Your room is on the back of the house, away from the water.”
Again, the boys hesitate. Running his hands through his blonde hair in frustration, John shrugs sheepishly. “The guys we met on Monday invited us to go body surfing by moonlight,” he admits. “They’re good guys,” he’s quick to add, when he sees shock register on the girls’ faces as they realize that their brothers had snuck out. “They live here, and do it all the time, but we knew your parents probably wouldn’t approve so rather than ask and be told no…we just, well…we just went.”
“We aren’t going to go again,” Hunter tells them, cutting off the expected reprimands. “It’s no big deal, we were just swimming. But…” He looks over his shoulder again, into the woods. “After about an hour, this thick fog started to build up, totally blocking the moonlight so we couldn’t see very well. The other guys got all weird and said we had to go.
On our way back, there was this bizarre wailing sound.”
“At first, we thought someone might be in the water and need help,” John says, picking up the story. “But when we stopped and tried to figure out where it was coming from, it was like it was all around us, in the fog. Freakiest thing I ever heard. We ran the rest of the way back!”
Sam is encouraged by the story, and shares her own experience from the night before.
“I didn’t see any lights out there,” Hunter says to Sam, gesturing in the direction of the lighthouse. “But I didn’t really look, either.”
After a moment of silence, Ally shakes her head. “I know that I’m the only one who hasn’t heard it,” she begins. “But don’t you all think you’re letting the whole sea legend thing get the best of you? It’s got to be some sort of strange atmospheric thing involving the fog, and shape of the cove, and maybe the waves on the rocks or something.”
Impressed with Ally’s rational explanation, Sam is just glad that someone else did hear it, so she knows that she isn’t going crazy. “Whatever it is,” she says, stepping up to loop an arm through Ally’s, “it’s definitely interesting!”
Chuckling now at their fear, it’s easy for the boys to imagine that it wasn’t all that bad, while standing in the daylight. “So we were going to explore this trail now,” John says, happy to change the subject. “You can come with us, if you want.”
“Nah,” Hunter mocks. “Look at ‘em,” he says to John. “They’re too scared.”
Almost relieved to have her brother behaving more like his normal self, Sam takes the bait. “We’ll just see which one of us is really scared!” she retorts, pushing past him to lead the way. Ally has no choice but to follow, her arm still securely locked in Sam’s.
Within minutes, they’re transported to a different world, one filled with evergreens covered in hanging moss, and dense underbrush. Unlike the woods they were in at camp that had little groundcover other than dried pine needles, the rain forest has a spongy surface filled with ferns and moss. Fallen, rotting trees are hosts to huge mushrooms.
Any fears quickly forgotten, Sam and Ally race along the narrow path dappled in sunlight, where it manages to break through the canopy overhead.
After half an hour, the level trail begins to climb uphill. Before long, it becomes obstructed with deadfall and small rockslides. Still in their sandals, the girls struggle to get through.
“Maybe we should wait for the guys to catch up,” Ally suggests. Standing with one foot up on a particularly large boulder in the middle of the trail, she looks back the way they came. Nearly falling off the top of a huge log she’s climbing over, Sam is about to agree when she’s interrupted by someone yelling for help!
“Please! If anyone can hear me….help!” It’s the voice of a woman, and it isn’t that far ahead of them. Spinning around towards the source, Sam doesn’t wait for Ally, but starts running awkwardly up the slope.
“I’m coming!” Sam shouts, her feet slipping. She nearly falls as she reaches the crest.
“Carrie!” This time it’s a little girl screaming the name in desperation. “Carrie!” she cries again, drawing closer.
Sam can hear footsteps coming towards her, and is shocked when the little girl from next door suddenly comes into view. Her blonde hair is matted to her face, stuck there by mud and tears.
“Erica?” Sam says in disbelief.
“Oh…I thought you were Carrie.” The small child says in dismay. Fresh tears course down her pale cheeks.
“Who’s Carrie?” Sam asks, kneeling down in front of Erica and gently taking her by the shoulders.
“My sister,” Erica whispers, looking back the way she had come. “We’re trying to find her.”
“Who?” Sam presses, as Ally joins them, looking bewildered by the scene. “Where’s your mom? Is she the one calling for help?”
“Mommy!” Erica jerks away from Sam, as if remembering why she was running. “She fell, trying to find Carrie. Can you help her?”
Taking the girl by the hand, Sam leads her back up the trail. “Of course we will! Show us where she is, Erica.”
It doesn’t take long to reach the top of the slope, where it opens up to expose a huge bluff nearly bare of trees, overlooking the ocean far below. To the right is a vertical cliff of jagged rock protruding far above them.
Originally, the trail had followed a narrow span of dirt at the base of the rocks, cut into the hillside. To the left of it, a steep slope descends a couple of hundred feet down to the water. At one time, it allowed a fairly wide surface to walk across to the other side, where it disappears back into the trees. However, at some point, a massive rock and mudslide washed it out, leaving behind a dangerous course to navigate.
Shading her eyes against the sudden onslaught of sunlight, Sam tries to find the source of the cries for help, which have gotten fainter. Unbelievably, she sees Erica’s mom about halfway across the destroyed trail. She must have been trying to get to the other side when she lost her footing, and nearly plunged to her death. The only thing that saved her is a rotten-looking branch of a tree that was knocked over and caught up in the slide. Her body is tangled up in it a few feet from the top, precariously balanced, and with no way to get back up.
Without even thinking about what she’s doing, Sam orders Ally to keep Erica there, and then runs out onto the cliff.
11
A DARING RESCUE!
Stepping cautiously over the slippery rocks and debris, Sam quickly makes her way towards the woman. She does her best not to look down, but once she reaches the spot where Erica’s mom slid off, she no longer has a choice. Lying flat on her stomach, Sam inches towards the edge and then peers down into her terrified face.
“Where’s Erica?” she croaks, her voice hoarse from either yelling or fear.
“She’s okay,” Sam reassures her. “My friend Ally has her. I’m Sam…we kind of met the other day, but I don’t know your name.”
“Lisa,” the woman says, somewhat reluctantly. “I don’t know how much longer the dead branch will hold me,” she adds urgently, looking first at the limb under her, and then at the ocean and rocks far below. Staring back up at Sam desperately, a small whimper escapes her and a lone tear spills down her cheek. Even covered in dirt, with her long dark hair a frantic mess…she’s one of the most beautiful women Sam has ever seen. Her large, emerald green eyes are bright and full of intelligence, demanding attention.
“I’m afraid to move,” she tells Sam, which explains why she hasn’t tried to pull herself back up. She’s located just a couple of feet down, but if the branch were to snap under her weight, there’s a good chance she would plummet to her death.
Reaching down as far as she can without slipping off the trail herself, Sam barely touches Lisa’s outstretched hand. Grabbing it firmly, she tries to pull, but it’s immediately obvious that Sam won’t be able to lift her. She tries to get ahold of the black t-shirt Lisa’s wearing, with her other hand, but it’s short-sleeved and she just can’t reach it. Her weight shifting under the strain, Sam starts to panic at the hopeless situation and her own danger.
Suddenly, a much larger hand covers hers in a strong grip, and Sam looks up in surprise at John, who’s stretched out beside her. She was so focused that she hadn’t heard him approach. Then, she’s practically lifted off the ground when Hunter grabs her securely around the waist, preventing her from slipping any farther. Working together, the three of them manage to lift Lisa to safety while Ally and Erica watch anxiously.
Panting from the effort, Sam smiles at her brother and John, who are crouched on either side of her, then turns her attention to Lisa. The older woman is slowly getting to her feet. Having spotted her daughter, she’s intent on reaching her. Without a word to her rescuers, she walks off on wobbly legs. Sam scrambles to follow to make sure she doesn’t fall again.
Did she hit her head or something? Sam wonders, noting her odd, disjointed behavior.
As soon as they’re back
on solid ground, Ally releases Erica’s hand, and the little girl runs to her mother. Kneeling down, Lisa gathers her up and starts murmuring to her that everything is okay.
“What happened?” Sam asks gently.
Looking at her again with those piercing green eyes, Lisa glances towards the lighthouse…visible from the bluff, but still a good distance away. Without a word, she stands and clearly forces all emotion from her features. Tugging once at Erica’s hand, they begin to walk away.
“Wait!” Sam persists, remembering what the little girl had said. “What about Carrie? Do you need help finding her? Should we go call someone?”
Pausing, Lisa’s shoulders go rigid before she slowly turns back to face the four kids. Sam notices gold stitching on the front of her shirt that’s caught in a ray of sunlight as she twists. Even from this distance, she recognizes the same odd diagram that was on the paper in the boat. Briefly distracted, Sam almost misses the raw terror that flashes in Lisa’s eyes.
“What are you talking about?” Lisa says evenly, her eyes darting back and forth among them.
“Erica thought Sam was Carrie,” Ally explains, spreading her arms wide in a non-threatening gesture. “She told us that she was trying to find her sister.”
Lisa lets out a big sigh. Was it relief? Hesitating, she looks fleetingly at Erica before seeming to make up her mind.
“You were already told that Erica has…problems. She made it up. There’s no one named Carrie, and we don’t need your help!” Without another word, she yanks at Erica’s hand and then heads back down the trail at a brisk pace.
“But-” Sam persists, before a hand on her arm stops her.
“She obviously doesn’t want to talk to us, Sam,” Ally tells her. “Just let her go.”
“Yeah,” Hunter agrees. “She didn’t even thank us for risking our lives to help her!”