Just Breathe (20 page)

I ask worried, “What does that mean?”

She looks up at me and says, “It’s really you, isn’t it?”

I’m completely confused.

I ask, “What do you mean, does my dream mean something bad?"

She shakes her head, “I have no idea what your dream means except that maybe you have seen where Jack is. I am amazed at this, because it has been said in the sea that someday Seamus, would be challenged by a very powerful mer-person from the land. I am beginning to think it might be you.”

I shake my head, “No probably not me, I am only here for Jack.”

She nods, “I know but the more ‘wills’ you exhibit, the more, I think you might be the person in the stories. I have never heard of someone having ‘wills’ within their dreams. That displays… a lot of power.”

I brush her off and decide I don’t want to talk about some old mer-people story. I might just lose my nerve to help Jack.

We plan to leave the next morning. Apparently I will be able to ‘will’ legs to walk back on land. Jack and my Gam-aw told me some tall tales to scare me away from the sea, obviously it didn’t work.

I am not familiar with the California landscape, but I’m guessing Jack parked his car near the beach and hiked up into the mountains nearby, that overlook the ocean. The cliff in my dream looks out over the ocean. The cave can’t be far, just a matter of looking. I tell Amber we will have to go into the local town first to get supplies, there is no way to know how far we will have to hike and I want to be prepared. She is very uneasy about the whole plan, especially taking me back out of the ocean, but I assure her I would not implicate her in anything. Who am I kidding, I have no idea what I am up against, if I do get caught by Seamus or Jaspen. The only thing I know for sure is that I need Jack and I won’t be happy until I find him. What comes later, I will at least have Jack with me to face whatever it is.

We wake early the next morning and she ‘wills’ water again. Just getting used to the legs again and here's the fin. We start out the door and turn left. Amber leads us out of the city towards the deep water as they call it instead of the beach. She says that we have to leave where there are less people, especially since they might know I’m here now, due to my brief encounter yesterday. As we swim, I begin to get the feeling as if someone is following us. I glance back and spot three mermen about a block behind us.

I speed up and tell Amber, “I think we’re being followed.”

She looks back, “Oh great, those are castle mermen. They must know you are here.”

She takes my hand and we speed up turning around a corner down a path between two structures.

She tells me, “We probably won’t be able to outswim them. You’re going to have to use a ‘will’.” I look at her dumbfounded.

She takes my hands and tells me, “Focus Ever, think of something to slow them down.”

I close my eyes and imagine a huge bubble. Nothing else comes to my mind. When I open my eyes Amber is glancing around the corner.

She exclaims, “Ever, you are incredible.”

I glance around the corner and all three mermen are trapped in a bubble of air.

I freeze and worriedly ask, “Will they be alright in the air like that?”

She smiles and squeezes my shoulder, “They will be fine.” We take off towards the deep. I’m thinking that I might really get into trouble now.

It takes half the day to get out of the city and circle back around. When we drag ourselves up onto the beach, we are completely exhausted. I notice my clothes are still in the pile where I left them on the beach, in what seems like weeks ago. I gather them up and find my keys, exactly where I left them. Amber notices Jack’s car as we walk through the lot.

She asks, “Did he leave it here?”

I shrug my shoulders, “I guess. It was here when I came the other day, doesn’t seem like it’s been touched since.” She climbs into the passenger side of the jeep. She seems very uncomfortable.

I assure her, “Amber, everything will be fine.”

She looks at me, “I’m just not used to being on land.”

I laugh, “Funny, guess things come full circle now that our roles are reversed.” She smiles. I think of Jack and I get butterflies in my stomach.
Here we go.

We pull up to a small sporting goods shop. I have clothes but Amber is still only wearing her bikini. We decide, she will stay in the jeep while I get the supplies. I head in and pick up snacks, water, backpacks, clothes for Amber, a jacket and hiking shoes for both of us, rope, and a couple of items the clerk said I couldn’t go hiking without like a tent. Fortunately, I have my mom’s emergency credit card to pay for everything. Unfortunately, I feel terribly guilty without calling home. If I don’t call, this will lead them on a wild goose chase trying to solve my disappearance.

I slip around the back of the store and use the payphone, trying to come up with a good story.

My mom picks up on the first ring, “Ever, is that you?”

“Yeah mom it is, Sorry for not calling sooner.”

She takes a deep breath. I can tell she’s been crying.

“Where are you, honey, we’ve been so worried. Are you alright?”

I nod, as if she can see me,
ridiculous
, “Yes, mom I’m fine. I just needed some time away… I’m…uh… eighteen now. I am perfectly fine and I love you both.”

My cryptic answer doesn’t seem to help.

She pleads, “Where are you, please come home.”

Maybe calling was a bad idea. At least they know I’m still alive.

“Mom, I’ll be home in a couple of days. Please don’t worry, I am fine, I just need… some time.”

She assents, “Okay honey, please call again to let us know how you are.”

As I am hanging up the phone, a shadow falls across the sidewalk, I jump, Amber is standing there staring at me like I’ve committed the ultimate of crimes.

She looks at me so worried, “You called your family? This is so bad, once you go to the sea, you are supposed to stay there and never have contact again.”

“Well obviously, I’m not still in the sea, breaking rule one and two, I just needed to hear my mom’s voice.”

She turns and walks back around the building toward the jeep looking totally defeated.
Great, now I’m guilted from everyone
.

Climbing into the jeep I tell her carefully, “Amber, you said yourself I might be the person your people have been waiting for, right?”

She crosses her arms and looks over at me not convinced. I continue, “Well if that’s the case, everything will change anyway?” She nods looking like she’s about to be sick.

“Are you alright? Are you getting sick from being out of the water?”

She shakes her head and gives a half smile, “No, nothing to do with water, just worried, I will seriously pay for all of this.”

I assure her, “I told you, it’s all me. I‘m the responsible party here.” Giving her my best smile, not sure how convinced I am myself.

We decide to head back over to the beach to start our hike, the higher we can get in the jeep, the better. The beach lot is not the lowest point but the road skirts the coast and climbs up the mountain. I reason, this way we can save some time and search area. Once we reach the highest point and the road levels out, it turns inland and heads around a wooded area. This is exactly where we should start looking. The trees stretch upward as high as you can see.  They seem to touch the sky. Their beauty is incredible. Our trees in Pahrump don’t compare. My dream had woods and the cliff but I don’t remember a road anywhere near. This wooded area looks just like the area I envisioned. We park and get out of the jeep.

I turn and ask Amber, “Are you sure you want to come? I have to do this, but you can go back, I will completely understand.”

She grabs my hand, squeezes and says, “A few months ago Jack was my only family. I’ve seen a change in him and I know you are the cause of it. I only want the best for him and if he believes it is you, then that is good enough for me. If you can sacrifice all that you have known for my brother, then the least I can do is help you find him.”

I grin and squeeze her hand back smiling, “Here we go then.”

We start walking into the woods. None of our surroundings seem familiar yet. After walking for about an hour and still not recognizing anything, we decide to keep going deeper into the trees, but staying within a half mile of the coast.

Amber asks me, “So I didn’t ask before because I was afraid of your answer, but I want to know, was he alright in your dream, Jack?”

I smile remembering, “Amber, in the last dream it was almost like he was expecting me. He was able to hold me and kiss me, it felt so real.” She stops. I stop and turn around to look at her.

“What is it?”

She looks at me like she’s terrified, “You interacted with him in your dream, he…knew you were coming?”

I nod, “It seemed like he knew. But it was only a dream.”

She asks me, “Can we camp here and start again in the morning? I think we need to rethink some things.”

“Whatever you think would be best.”

We set up the tent and start a fire. We eat some of the snacks from the sporting goods store.

Amber starts, “Ever, you need to know that the Erebus are very dark and their ‘wills’ are…different than ours.”

“What can they do?”

“Many of them are able to control others to a point.”

I ask confused, “Can you give me an example?”

She seems to tread carefully, “For instance if you came there in a dream earlier and they somehow saw you, they would be able to control what happens the next time you come.”

I frown, “But there was no one else there when I was in the cave either time and it was only a dream.”

She shakes her head, “No you are misunderstanding, you won’t see anyone but they can sometimes control other people to do what they want. Your dreams seem to tell you things, there is a possibility you are actually there while you are in the dream.”

“You mean I was actually in the cave while I was dreaming, that’s impossible.”

Her tilted smile appears, “No, obviously you are finding many things are not impossible.” I’m at a loss for words, she definitely has a point. Thinking back to the dream and remembering Jack almost waiting for me.

I tell her, “This time was different because Jack was awake as if he was waiting for me. Everything else about the dream was exactly the same as it had been before.”

She looks perplexed, “Maybe they were just observing this time, but Jack wouldn’t know you were going to appear again. Some of the Erebus would though, this I am sure of.”

***

We both wake with the sun. The early morning light over the ocean is beautiful. It saddens me to know that this is something I may be giving up. We get a bite and pack up. By early morning we are back on the search. I am curious why I haven’t had any dreams twice now. Although yesterday it was only a nap, my dreams aren’t choosy about when they appear.

I say to Amber, “So tell me about your life.”

She grins, “Well as you know, I was born in the sea. Jack was born only fifteen years before me.”

“Well if you live for so long, then where are your parents?”

She looks a little uneasy at this question but still answers, “My parents believed in the sea powers. They supported Seamus and all he was doing for our people.”

I chuckle, “Like keeping you prisoner and telling you who you can and cannot love.”

She shakes her head, “No Ever, You only have half of the story.”

I cross my arms, “Then tell me the rest.”

She squirms uneasily and explains, “After Seamus realized the amount of power that comes from land and sea together, he forbade any relationships between the two, not only because he didn’t want to be challenged, that was his own selfish reason. Also, for the good and preservation, of our people. I’ve explained this part to you already. You see my parents believed that keeping our people true, required that we stay in the sea, this they shared with Seamus.”