by Willow Rose
I shook my head. "I can't believe you. Since when did you become so cynical? Of course, I can help a girl if she needs me. This is how you change the world, Morten. One person at a time. Showing kindness to those that are put in your life. Skye came to me for whatever reason, and I take her life very seriously. Right now, I am the only one to protect her from whatever she ran away from. She's my responsibility."
"No, she's not, Emma. She's dangerous. Don't you understand? I’m just concerned about your safety."
I looked at my boyfriend and realized he would never understand. He hadn't seen the look on Daniel's face when he spoke about the place with the cords.
The place where no one hears you scream.
I sipped my wine and shook my head. "I have to protect her."
"I’m not suggesting giving her to those goons out there, Emma. That's not what I’m saying. Call Social Services. They'll find her another home in case she doesn’t have one. It's the right thing to do."
I bit my lip. I understood what he was trying to say and, believe me, I had thought about it a thousand times, but something inside of me told me Social Services didn't exactly know how to deal with a girl like Skye. She had obviously never been among ordinary people since she had no idea that people had never seen anyone like her. She didn't even try to hide her strange abilities. If she had been a part of the world, she would know to hide it. That's what worried me. She didn't even speak. How would she get by? How would the world receive her?
I knew how the world looked at Victor and he was even used to it and knew how to navigate it better, but still, he never found his place there. They had no idea how to deal with him. What would they do to a girl like Skye?
I gave Morten a smile, knowing he would never understand.
"I'll look into it after the weekend," I said, mostly to calm him down. All I wanted right now was just some peace and quiet.
Morten sat down with a satisfied sigh and grabbed my hand in his. We sat like that and enjoyed each other's company and the peace and quiet.
It lasted about fifteen minutes.
Chapter Fifty-Four
Maria's body jolted upright in bed. Her mind seemed to race around in circles. Something was off, but what?
She had been dreaming about Hanne. They were back at the lab during some of their trials when the glass had broken, and their test subject had attacked Hanne. Maria had been standing there, paralyzed, and not done anything while Hanne was killed, choked to death. She didn't understand why she couldn't react, why she couldn't move, why she didn't help her poor co-worker against this threat, and as Hanne slowly died, Maria wondered if it was because she knew she deserved what she got. She knew they all deserved to die for what they had done. No matter how they argued that it was for the betterment of humanity, they had still done the inexcusable. They had been careless, and it was unforgivable.
Hanne had stared at her till the end. Her pleading eyes hadn't left Maria's. Meanwhile, Maria had watched the life of her co-worker slowly ooze out of her. Hanne's eyes had pleaded for her help. She had even reached out her hand toward Maria like she expected her to take it, why? Because she was her accomplice. Because they had been in this together. But Maria hadn't offered her a hand. She hadn't helped her.
Next, Maria had found herself inside water, being pulled down and down into it, seeing the light disappear in the distance, trying to swim for the surface, but not moving at all. She remembered feeling how her lungs were filled with water, how she gurgled and couldn't breathe and that was when she woke up, gasping for air. The sensation of suffocation was overwhelming, and even though she knew it had just been a dream, she was still coughing, holding a hand to her throat, trying to get rid of the feeling that still lingered heavily in her body.
Now, she was sitting upright in her bed, listening to the sounds of the night, wondering what was going on. Something wasn't right. It wasn't just the dream. Something was different.
She calmed down her breathing and her galloping heart to listen better. There was a sound, a buzzing or almost humming sound in the house. One that most certainly wasn't supposed to be there.
Maria shot her eyes wide open when realizing what it was. What it could only be.
Water! Someone has turned on the water!
Maria gasped again, then pulled off the covers and jumped out of her bed. She listened a second time just to be sure, but there was no doubt in her mind. That was the sound of water running and the pipes groaning in the old house. Someone had turned on the water. Someone was in the shower.
Alex, she thought. It had to be Alex. But why? Why would he shower at midnight?
Maria realized it didn't really matter and stormed into the hallway. She ran toward the bathroom door when she heard a loud scream coming from behind it.
A scream that most certainly didn't come from her oldest son.
Chapter Fifty-Five
The water felt wonderful on Maya's face. Alex had left the bathroom to let her wash off the urine stench, and now she was in the shower, letting the water caress her body. She felt tears press in her eyes once again when thinking about this night and how those girls had treated her and how Alex's friends had talked about her. She knew she wasn't exactly popular, but she had never expected them to act that way. Was it simply because she was dating Alex? He seemed to think so. Because they felt she was a threat from the outside, he had told her. Maya knew the girls were just jealous; there was no doubt there. Alex was a popular guy, one every girl in the school dreamed of dating, but the guys? Why would they be so mean? What did they get out of it? Was it just for the fun of it? Just because they could?
Maya shook the thought. She couldn't let them get to her. This was exactly what they wanted. To make her cry, to make her lose it and maybe decide to never see Alex again. But she wasn't going to do that. She liked him, and he liked her.
"I’m not going to let them get between us. I will not let them," she said to herself while closing her eyes and letting the water wash the stench and feeling of utter disgust off of her.
She decided to think about something nice and pleasant instead, and soon she could only think about the kiss they had shared a few minutes before she stepped into the shower. It had been so soft and sweet and so very gentle. Nothing like when she had kissed Samuel. No, Alex was different. He was actually a lot different than what she had thought he would be. And when she thought about it, they had a lot more in common than what she had believed initially. Both their brothers went to Fishy Pines. Both their mothers were a little wacko, and they both liked Anime. Thinking of it, she had more in common with him than she did with Christina, who was her best friend.
I actually told him about Victor, and he didn't even look at me strangely. He didn't judge me.
It had filled her with such a great sense of relief and, while thinking about it again, she began to chuckle.
She grabbed some shampoo that Alex had told her she could use and washed her hair, rubbing it in thoroughly, making sure to get all the stench off of her. The urine had mostly hit her dress, but she felt like it was all over her body and in her hair too. She felt so dirty.
She turned to wash out all the shampoo when a noise made her open her eyes. It sounded like it came from beneath her and she looked down at the drain with a light gasp. It sounded almost like the drain was groaning, and the groaning soon turned to a loud humming that soon became like a banging.
"Probably just the old pipes," Maya told herself. She said it loudly because it made her feel calmer.
She knew this entire island had very old pipes underneath it and she had often heard that they complained, especially in the older houses. She had heard it in her own house too, but never this loud. Maya stood for a few seconds and listened. It was almost like the banging was rhythmical. Like there was a rhythm to it. Like it was playing a melody.
CLINK-CLANK-CLINK. CLINK-CLANK-CLINK.
And then it stopped.
Maya stared at the drain below her, then shrugged. She
returned to her showering and closed her eyes to wash off the rest of the shampoo when she heard another sound, the distinct sound of something slithering and gliding, and then she felt something touch her foot, something wet and slimy.
Maya opened her eyes with a loud gasp and looked down. A set of very blue eyes stared back up at her from the drain. Clawed hands shaped from clear water reached up toward her.
As they grabbed her, Maya finally screamed.
Chapter Fifty-Six
Oh, dear Lord, someone is in trouble!
Hearing the screams, Maria rushed for the bathroom door, then opened it, slamming it up against the wall. Inside, she saw exactly what she had feared to see one day.
Maria couldn't breathe. The girl—whom she had no idea who was—screamed and cried for help as the water creature used her legs to pull itself out of the drain, slithering up her body, then began gushing water into her, forcing it into her. She gurgled and spurted, tried to block the water or move away from it, but clearly could not breathe properly.
"Oh, my God, Maya."
The voice was Alexander's. He came up behind Maria and was about to jump to the girl's aid when Maria grabbed him and pulled him back forcefully.
"Don't, Alex."
He stared at his mother, confusion in his terror-filled eyes.
"What are you talking about, Mom? I have to help Maya. She's in trouble," Alex yelled.
"You'll be killed," Maria said, her heart pounding in her chest as she remembered Hanne lying on the floor of the restroom. Maria stood firm, holding her son back, and while Maya fought for her life, Maria remained paralyzed just like she had been in that awful dream.
"Mom, let go of me. I need to help her!"
Alex yelled and screamed at her, then finally managed to tear himself loose and ran toward the girl in the shower. As he did, the water-creature gave up on the girl, turned its blobby head, looked at Alex, then like a wave, threw itself at Maria's son, overwhelming him and forcing him to the tiles, pressing him down underneath the massive wave of gushing water.
"NO!"
Exhausted, Maya fell to the bathroom floor, coughing and throwing up water, gasping and gurgling. Meanwhile, Maria stared at her poor son, but the creature wasn't very interested in him, she could tell. And she knew why.
It hadn't come for the girl or for Alex. It had come for her. Maria had been hiding for so long. It was time to face her fate.
"I'm here," she said, stepping forward into the light, knowing that the creature couldn't see very well in brightly-lit surroundings. Its eyes were better at night or in complete darkness where it could navigate through the drains and pipes.
"I’m the one you’ve come for. I'm the one you want, right? So, take me. Take me instead."
At the sound of her voice, the creature let go of Alexander immediately and focused on Maria instead. Turning itself into a wave, it rushed toward her, flushing water at her so fast she was knocked to the floor. Through the pouring water, she spotted her youngest son, staring back at her.
His eyes were the last thing she ever saw.
Chapter Fifty-Seven
I had just finished my wine when I received the call. Morten and I were sitting in silence till the sound of my vibrating phone cut through it.
It was Maya. She was crying heavily, and it was hard for me to understand what she was saying.
"Mom. Please come. Something happened. Something terrible," was what I got out of her. That and that she was at Alex's house.
It was all I needed.
"What's going on?" Morten asked when I hung up. I rushed to the hallway and grabbed my coat, then put on my boots, not caring that I put them on the wrong feet, while yelling at him.
"Maya is in trouble. Stay here with Victor and Skye."
Before he could object, I was out of the house, running to my car. I had no idea what I was going to face, but I could tell Maya was terrified, and that was enough for me. I fumbled with the keys, jumped inside the car, and rushed off, driving through the snow, my heart throbbing in my chest.
What was she doing at Alex's house? What could have scared her so much? Was it Alex? Had he hurt her somehow?
Luckily, they lived so close that it took me less than a minute to get there. I didn't even turn off the car. I simply hit the brakes, then jumped out, leaving it with the keys in it and everything.
"Oh, God, please let her be all right. Please, let her be fine."
She called you. That means she's good, right?
"Maya," I called as I knocked on the door and pressed the doorbell again and again like some maniac. It took a few seconds before it opened. I can't remember ever being happier to see my daughter's face, even though she was wearing nothing but a towel. I attacked her in a huge embrace.
"Maya. Oh, you scared me. Are you okay?"
She was soaking wet. I touched her hair while she hugged me.
"It was awful, Mom…I…"
"Have you been in the shower? What are you doing here? Maya? I don't understand anything right now; please explain."
Maya looked into my eyes. Then she started to cry. "She's dead."
"Who's dead?" I asked, startled.
"Alex's mother. There was something in the drain…I…I was taking a shower, and something came up and grabbed me, and then his mom came out and…and then Alex was there and he…then he was attacked and then his mom…she…she…"
Maya could hardly speak anymore. Tears were streaming across her cheeks, and her words were hard to understand because she was speaking between gasps.
"Who killed her, Maya?" I asked, worried it was Alex and that Maya once again had fallen in love with a serial killer.
"A thing…I don't know what it was. It was water, and then it was not…then it had eyes and hands…hands with claws, and it reached up toward me and grabbed me…and it had a face, Mommy; oh, it was so gross, so nasty."
Maya shuddered and hugged me tighter. I held her for a few seconds more. There were so many things I didn't understand right now, like why my daughter was naked, showering at her boyfriend's house, but I decided now was not the time.
"Where are Alex and Daniel?" I asked.
"Upstairs."
"And the animal or creature or whatever you'd call it?"
"Disappeared into the drain after it killed her. I am never taking a shower again, Mom. Never."
Chapter Fifty-Eight
"You said there was another boy? She had another son?"
Morten's colleague, Allan looked up from his pad. I had called the police station after finding the body of Marie Finnerup in the bathroom. I was now sitting in her living room with Maya leaning her head on my shoulder and Alexander seated in a chair across from us, hiding his face between his hands.
"Yes," I said. "Daniel is his name. He's her youngest. He was here earlier, right, Maya?"
Maya nodded. She was still shaking and clinging to me. "I’m pretty sure I saw him here when…when his mother…he was standing in the hallway and he saw her. It all went so fast, though. I'm not sure what I saw anymore."
"But he's not here now," I said. "He wasn't here when I got here either. He might have run away when he saw what happened to his mother."
"We'll look for him," Allan said, then sighed and tapped his pen on the pad where he had written down everything we had told him.
"And you say that the water spurted up from the drain and simply drowned her?" he continued.
"Yes," I said. "It flooded everything. Must have been a cracked pipe or something. The kids were lucky they survived."
It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the truth either. I had told both kids that there was no way the police would believe them if they began to talk about a liquefied creature seeping up through the drains to attack them. They would end up like Nurse Laila Lund. The world wasn't ready to know the truth.
"I’ve called their dad in California, and he's gonna try and get back as fast as possible," he said.
"The kids can stay with me till he comes," I said.
"All right," Allan said. "Guess we'll go search for Daniel, then. As soon as Dr. Williamsen finishes up. But you're free to go. Do you want me to take you home or can you drive?"
"I'm fine," I said and got up.
Maya was still holding onto me like she was afraid I might leave her. I kissed the top of her head, and we walked over to Alex. I reached out my hand and put it on his shoulder.
"Come on, Alex. We're leaving now."
He didn't look up. He rose to his feet and simply followed us outside. I put my arm around his shoulder and guided him to the car. Maya got in the back with him, and they held onto each other while I drove back to my house, where Morten was waiting in the kitchen. He got up when we came inside. I had called ahead and told him what had happened. I had told him there was a leak and that Alex's mother had been killed by the water. I didn't enjoy lying to him, but Morten simply wouldn't understand. And I didn't want to discuss it with him. I was afraid he would just claim that Alex and Maya were drunk. They had, after all, been to a party.
"You want something to drink?" Morten asked me after Maya had helped Alex up the stairs. I had told her he could sleep in the room next to hers, but I had a feeling they were going to hang out in her room for a little while. Alex had to be very worried about his younger brother, and I didn't think he'd be able to sleep till he was found if he would sleep at all tonight, the poor kid. He seemed in such a deep state of shock I wasn't sure he even realized what had happened.
"I could do with a whiskey right now," I said.
"That bad, huh?" he asked and found two glasses. He went to the cabinet in the living room then came back with an old bottle and poured us each a whiskey. He handed me one.
"It was supposed to be such a great night for us," I said. "I’m sorry."