Elemental (20 page)

CHAPTER 38

M
y insides twisted. I couldn't inhale. I only had one thought:
This is the end
.

I was falling so fast that I didn't even feel the impact of the water. I just knew that one moment I was in air, the next I was fully submerged, breathless, with no idea which way was up. If I was hurt, I wasn't aware of it; all I could feel was the desperate need to breathe again.

I kicked to what I thought should be the surface, but I was still underwater. Somehow I thought of Rose in that moment—of how, years ago, she'd taught me to blow bubbles to find out which way was up. I tried it now, and although I couldn't see anything, I felt them running by my left cheek. So I turned to the side and swam. Moments later, I broke the surface.

I had just enough time to snatch a breath before the wave hit me. It pushed me straight under again, but I fought my way back up and looked for Alice's boat.

“Thomas!” I heard her voice, but she sounded miles away. “Thomas!”

I saw another wave coming and stole a deep breath before ducking under it. It rolled me over, but I surfaced easily.

“Thomas!”

I tried to shout back, but water sprayed against my face. I couldn't see the boat, or Griffin.

“Thomas!” She sounded desperate, but now I could tell exactly where her voice was coming from.

I turned and made out the silhouette of the mast. “Alice.” Her name came out quiet. But the boat was being driven toward me by the waves. If I could just swim a few strokes, she might see me.

Another wave—this one big enough to lift the boat half a yard. I didn't even try to swim into that wave. I just took another deep breath and headed straight down. Then I swam underwater for several strokes. When I emerged again, Alice's boat was only five yards away, and I could see that Griffin was beside her.

Griffin was alive.

“Thomas!” Alice was turned away from me. She sounded desolate. “Thomas. Please, Thomas.
Please.
”

I was about to swim toward her again when I heard something crashing into the water. I didn't need to see to know it was one of the pirates. And he was close.

“Alice!” I summoned the word from a place deep inside me. Somehow she heard. She spun around, grabbed an oar, and held it out for me.

I heard a grunt to my left. I kicked hard to stay afloat while I stole a glance. It was a pirate, all right. He battered the water around him, trying to get to me, but he was no stronger a swimmer than I was.

Another splash. This one to my right.

I grasped the oar. The wood was wet and slick, and I struggled to hold tight as Alice dragged me to the side of the boat. I got hold of the edge and tried to pull myself up, but another wave tipped the boat toward me. It was all I could do not to let go.

Another splash, closer again. They must have spotted us from the bridge and were taking aim.

“We need to go!” Alice screamed. “They're on us.”

Before I was even fully on board, she slipped to the opposite side of the boat and pulled the rope that drew in the sail.

I felt the tug of the water as we began to move. It forced my legs out to the side, but still I held tight to the boat. I'd survived chasing pirates and a massive fall. I wasn't going to let the undertow take me now.

Griffin grabbed the material of my sleeve to keep me locked in place, but as my legs dragged in the water, I could feel my grip loosening. His too.

“We're not moving fast enough. You've got to get in,” Alice shouted over the wind and rain.

With a final effort I pulled myself onto the edge of the boat. Most of my body was out of the water now, and the undertow lost its hold on me. I swung my legs over the side. Before I crashed into the boat, Griffin grabbed the oar again and swung it toward my leg.

A cry split the air. When I tilted my head I saw one of the pirates drifting behind us, left in our wake.

“Behind me,” shouted Alice.

I snatched the oar from Griffin and brought it down with a sickening crack. The pirate didn't make a sound as he fell away from us, but I'd splintered the wood.

More splashdowns now—not one or two, but several, getting faster and closer. It was madness: men leaping into stormy waters in a do-or-die effort to capture the solution.

“Two ahead,” said Alice.

“Then turn,” I shouted.

“Can't.”

The boat drove toward the two figures bobbing in the water. I tried to knock one away with the oar, but he grasped it and almost pulled me in with him. By the time I let go, the pirate to our right had one hand on the side of the boat. His other hand swiped at Alice's tunic. When he got a fistful he whipped her backward.

I dove at him and gripped his arm. We were moving fast, but he was dragging us to the right. The sail protested by flapping awkwardly in the wind. We were slowing down. More pirates were landing nearby.

I tried to pull him away from Alice, but he wouldn't let go—not at first, anyway. But when our eyes met, I channeled all my anger and grasped his arm as though I intended to snap it in two. Immediately, his expression changed. He looked as if he was in agony. A moment later, he let go.

Another two ahead of us, but this time Alice didn't attempt to slide between them. She just tugged the rope, pulled the tiller toward her, and accelerated toward the one on the left. I heard his head collide with the hull.

“Watch the back,” she instructed.

I did as she said, but there was no one there. Just as well, as I felt like I was watching in slow motion. Even the sound of their screaming was muffled.

Alice grunted. “Don't listen. They would've killed us, if they'd had the chance.”

I turned to Griffin. He was slumped against the side of the boat, massaging his leg. We'd escaped the pirates, but neither of us was smiling.

“You survived,” Alice shouted as we crashed into another giant wave. “You're alive.”

I shivered. It wasn't cold, but the wind felt sharp against my saturated clothes. I was exhausted too, as if someone had sucked away my remaining energy. My body felt strange—not mine, somehow.

“You survived,” she said again, looking straight at me. Her expression made it clear how afraid she had been for us.

“Yes.”

Alice relaxed the sail. “You need to get down. We're going about.”

Down,
I told Griffin. I slithered beside him. Alice turned us around and the wind caught the sail once more, snapped it back and jolted us southward.

“It's only a couple miles,” she said. “We're moving fast, but we can't risk capsizing. If we go over, we'll never get the sail out of the water.”

I struggled to focus. “Should you loosen it?”

“No. As bad as it is, it's going to get worse.”

She was right. As the waves picked up speed and size, they smacked the edge of the boat and spilled over the side. I cupped my hands and tried to bail, but my arms weren't responding. It was pointless anyway—the water was coming in too fast.

“Forget it,” Alice yelled. “I need you to lie out over the water. I can't hold the boat down much longer. I'm not heavy enough.”

I found the foot strap just inside the boat. So did Griffin. We eased ourselves over the edge, and the boat righted. Alice pulled the sail in tighter, and the boat rose up on our side again. With a deep breath I extended myself fully. The edge of the boat pressed into my calf muscles. When the boat righted once more, waves clipped the back of my head.

To either side of me, Alice and Griffin were lying out too: three horizontal bodies, fighting nature.

“Less than two miles,” Alice shouted over the roar of the wind. “We'll be there soon. You have to hold your position.”

I glanced to my left. “I can't see it,” I mumbled.

“Trust me. Hold still.”

I closed my eyes and let the wind and rain pummel me. I wanted to hold still for her, but I didn't have the strength to support myself anymore. My knees began to bend and my torso dipped lower.

“Hold steady. I need you full out.”

“Can't,” I said. It was just a fact: I had nothing left.

“Yes, you can! I need you to do this, Thom. Please.”

Griffin was even worse off than me. He was supporting his weight on one leg. When he started to lose his form, he grabbed my arm. I felt the shock, the momentary pain, and Griffin screamed, but then his body stretched out again.

It had taken something from me as well, though, and left me breathless. It was terrifying to feel that way, so I tried to shut out everything but a single thought: Stay strong for Alice and Griffin.

I heard the words
one mile,
but they meant nothing to me. It seemed as though every time Alice screamed at us, Griffin touched me again, and a part of me disappeared.

I heard her say “almost there,” but it sounded like she was talking to me from a mile away. She shouted “pull up,” but I heard them as sounds, not words. I didn't know it was an instruction. I wouldn't have been able to act on it, even if I had.

The boat slowed. I was still stretched out.

“Up, Thom!”

My head glanced the surface of the water, and then dipped deep.

Griffin took my arm. I felt the familiar jolt, and the crushing emptiness that followed. Then the undertow torqued my body and ripped me from the boat.

CHAPTER 39

U
nderwater again. But this time was different. The current was even stronger than before, and I couldn't fight it; not just because I had nothing left, but because I was spinning endlessly, as helpless as a leaf in the wind. I didn't know how long my breath would last. I couldn't seem to care, either.

It was strangely peaceful in the water, away from the destructive groans of the hurricane and the shouts of the pirates. The water was powerful, but it cushioned and supported me. It seemed to be taking me somewhere.

Something brushed by me. I was vaguely aware of movement to my left. Then, from behind, two hands dug into my armpits. When I turned my head, I felt something slide across my cheek. A rope perhaps.

Suddenly I was moving again, propelled by someone a thousand times stronger than me. My pulse seemed to jolt to life. Energy coursed through me. I was conscious again. Alive again. And I needed air desperately.

Panic overtook me.

We broke the surface and carried on climbing until my entire body up to my knees was clear of the water. I gulped air before we splashed down. Still the hands remained clasped against me. I seemed to be skimming over the surface of the water, feet clipping the crest of every wave.

With no energy left, I drew what I could from the person behind me. My power surged in response.

When I finally stopped moving, I heard Alice's voice beside me.

“Stay awake.” She tied a rope around my waist. “We can't lose you again.”

I was next to the sailboat. Rose was beside me, bobbing up and down. She tried to pull herself onto the boat, but slid back into the water. Griffin held her fast and dragged her on board.

I knew Rose had saved me. I even tried to smile for her, but when she stared back at me I saw nothing but pain in her eyes.

Alice tied the rope around me in a tight knot. “You're not going anywhere now,” she said. She turned to Rose. “Are you okay?”

Rose shook her head, no. She didn't speak.

Alice held Rose's hands, a gesture as touching as it was surprising. “You saved his life. What you're feeling now—the shock—it'll pass. Just try to relax. Conserve your strength.”

Rose nodded, but her eyes never left me. She seemed transfixed. And somehow, in that moment, I deciphered her expression: not just pain, but fear too.

“We have to get inside the ship,” shouted Alice.

“I'm passing down a second rope.” Tessa's voice came from high above us.

I looked up and realized we'd made it to the stern of the pirate ship. Tessa had already climbed a rope and taken her position beside the ship's deck rail.

Alice called up to her. “Are there any pirates on board?”

“No. Not above deck anyway. They must've taken shelter on the island.”

“Where are our families?” I asked. The words came out slurred. “We need to get them ashore.”

Alice didn't reply; but then, she didn't need to. I felt the waves threatening to capsize our boat, and the rain driven horizontal by the wind. The time for rescuing was long gone.

She took the rope hanging down from the rail and handed it to Griffin. He gritted his teeth and began to shimmy up the rope, legs dangling below him.

“Where's Dennis?” I asked.

Alice pointed to the sailboat just beside us. The sail had been lowered, and Dennis was sheltering beneath it. The rain formed rivulets that ran through channels in the canvas and off the side of the boat.

“You next, Rose,” said Alice.

Rose didn't move. She'd wrapped her arms around her body and was hugging herself. When I made eye contact with her, she burst into sobs that racked her body.

I'd done this to her. Hurt her. I wanted to apologize again, but what could I say to undo the damage I'd caused?

Alice turned to Dennis instead. “Go up,” she told him. “Follow Tessa.”

He did as he was told. His movements were slow and labored.

“Can you climb, Thom?”

I didn't think so, but there was no other way. “I'll try.”

With a final glance at Rose, I grabbed the rope and coiled my legs around it to anchor myself. My wet clothes whipped against me. Twist by painful twist I forced my hands up the rope, feet locking me in place. The ship pitched from side to side, but I absorbed each shift by holding tight and waiting until I had regained my balance. Tessa shouted encouragement from above, Alice from below, but I could barely hear their words.

As soon as I reached the ship's rail, Griffin and Dennis joined Tessa and grabbed a part of my tunic. They were careful not to touch me, and I didn't blame them. As soon as I could, I swung a leg over the side and collapsed onto the deck. The rain lashed down so hard it stung my face.

“Come on, Thomas,” said Dennis, grimacing. “We . . . we need to keep going.”

At first, I thought he was suffering from seasickness, but that wasn't it, of course. It was his echo in the face of the hurricane. Whatever Tessa had given him was wearing off. We were losing him again.

I pulled myself onto all fours. Even that was difficult, given how much the ship was moving.

“Keep going straight,” shouted Tessa, just in front of me. “There's a hatch door about halfway along. I opened it already. Take the staircase below deck.”

I thought of Alice, still waiting to join us aboard; and Rose, damaged by me. “What about the others?”

“Griffin and I will help them. You need to look for the Guardians.”

I crawled along the deck, arm over arm, slipping on the wet planks. With the door open, the hatch was just a hole. A steep wooden ladder descended into pitch-blackness. I couldn't make out all the steps, so I faced the ladder and hugged it as I half climbed, half slipped down to the floor.

“Father,” I shouted. I waited for a reply, but all I could hear was the wind and rain. I pulled to a stand, spread my legs wide for balance, and ran my hands across the wooden walls.

A sound from above pulled me around: footsteps—someone running across the deck. I recognized Alice's voice from the open hatch. She descended the ladder, and cursed as she slipped down the final few steps. I kept my distance so she wouldn't have to touch me.

“Thom?”

“Here. Is Rose on board?”

“Yes. But if we're all coming down here, we need a light. I can't even see the stairs.”

“Where are we going to find a light?”

“Run your hands along the walls. There must be lamps.”

I couldn't move. “I hurt her, Alice. Badly.”

“Focus,” she growled. “We're not out of this yet. Not by a long shot. Rose saved you. If you can find us a light, you might just be able to save her right back.”

I spread my arms again and shuffled to my left. I felt the rough finish of the wooden walls, and the seams between the planks. I must have gone a couple yards when my fingers brushed against something. It was high up, and I was sure it must be a lamp. I closed my eyes and clamped my fingers around it—quickly, before I could change my mind.

Weak yellow light illuminated a narrow corridor. The dark wood paneling stretched maybe ten yards until it was swallowed in darkness. There were several doors on either side, but they were closed. Keeping hold of the lamp, I turned around so that I could see in the other direction: another corridor, almost identical. If our families were still on board, there was no sign of them. Not a sound.

“Do you see—” I began, but stopped when I saw Alice's face, frozen in horror. “What is it?”

She pointed at the wall behind me, just below the lamp.

I twisted my body to see where she was pointing. Then I let go of the lamp, so I wouldn't have to look at all the blood.