Part 13 (1/2)

I waved my arms, and the movement made the big, bloated fish turn and wander off.

My head hurt-dull, throbbing pain-and my back felt hot, exposed. Everything sore. Only my gills were humming along at normal speed. I rolled over. The lake surface was a couple feet above me, the TrueSky pale blue, with the occasional puffy SimCloud floating by. I righted myself and swam up, sticking my head out of the water and opening my throat to gulp in air.

The Aquinara was to my right. The city was another half mile up the sh.o.r.e, humming with activity. A couple sailboats and yachts were cruising nearby. And there was another buzzing sound, closer: a motor.

”Owen!”

I looked toward the Aquinara and saw a small boat headed right for me. The camp motorboat. Paul was standing at the wheel. Leech was with him.

I thought about diving under, but I felt too exhausted. And they were already pulling up, Paul turning off the motor, the boat drifting close to me, bringing a tingling electrostatic smell from its hydrogen-cell engine.

He gazed down at me from the shade of his black hat and sungla.s.ses. He had on a short-sleeved b.u.t.ton-down s.h.i.+rt, but still wore a tie tight against his neck. ”Well, look what we found.”

”Hey,” I mumbled, not knowing what else to say. My thoughts were racing, trying to figure out how I was going to explain what I was doing out here....

”Looks like someone got up early for the polar bear swim,” said Paul.

”Oh,” I said, ”yeah.”

”I think, technically, the rules are that you stay in the camp swimming area.” Paul looked around as if to point out how far away that was. ”You needed a little more exercise, I take it.” He looked back down at me.

”I guess,” I said.

He knew something, I felt sure of it, except, as usual, I couldn't make out his expression.

”Well,” said Paul, ”why don't you climb in.” It didn't sound like a question.

I grabbed the edge of the boat and dragged myself over the side. I thought it would be hard, but maybe the last couple nights of swimming had given me some added strength. I slid onto the floor and then sat up on one of the bench seats, on a slippery white vinyl cus.h.i.+on.

Leech sat across from me, silent. His short hair was this-way-and-that, like he'd rolled out of bed early again. He had his black pole case beside him, and that little black notebook in his lap, closed, but he had a pen in his hand like he'd been sketching before I showed up. The bandage was off his other hand.

Paul keyed the engine to life and the boat lurched forward, accelerating across the lake.

”Guess your neck really is feeling better,” said Paul.

”Oh, yeah,” I said.

”The cramps too, I take it.” This didn't sound like a question either, but more like he was checking off things in his mind. ”Did you realize you'd gone over two kilometers from camp?”

”Nah, not really, I was just going along,” I said, gazing at my puffy, waterlogged hands. ”And I, um, lost track of where I was.”

Leech made a slight coughing sound at this, but when I looked over he was squinting out at the water.

I glanced up at Paul, wondering what question would come next, but he just looked ahead, guiding the boat along. He doesn't need to ask anything else because he knows He doesn't need to ask anything else because he knows, Lilly would probably say. He knows what's happening. He knows what's happening. Then I wondered: Then I wondered: Does he know about the siren? Does he know about the siren? How could he? How could he?

”You guys been fis.h.i.+ng again?” I asked Paul.

”Yes indeed,” said Paul, his gla.s.ses reflecting the water. ”Some of the deepest water in the lake is down here by the Aquinara, right, Carey?”

Leech didn't respond.

”This is where all the gill breathers like it best,” said Paul. No smile. No head movement. But that comment...

I tried to act like everything was normal. ”Did you catch anything?” I asked, looking around the boat for a bucket of fish or something, but other than Paul's fis.h.i.+ng pole, there was nothing. Not even, like, a box for bait or whatever they'd need.

”They weren't biting today,” said Paul. ”You know how fickle fish can be.”

”I saw some big koi down there,” I said.

”Did you?” Paul looked at me. ”Well, do me a favor, Owen, and let's just keep that between us. People over in town get all worked up about the environment environment, as if they have anything to complain about. We keep the koi contained, just like everything else, so they can enjoy their day.” Paul waved a hand toward a sailboat in the distance.

It surprised me to hear that note of disdain, as if Paul looked down on the people in EdenWest.

”Heads up,” he said, and I looked up to see him tossing me a dark-green towel. ”You look cold.”

”Thanks.” I wrapped it around my s.h.i.+vering shoulders, and squinted through the glare of sun and water, watching the leafy coastline slide by. The motor and the wind created a drone that made it easy to just sit there and get lost in your thoughts.

I remembered the dream.... What had that been? It was already fuzzy in my memory. Luk, the siren had said. Was that the name of the boy in that scene, the boy I had become? And what was that skull made of crystal? It seemed like, in the vision, I'd known what was happening to me, like I was expecting to die, maybe even thought it was necessary, and now I sort of felt like it was something that had really happened to me, almost like it was a memory, but... None of that made sense. Then again, neither did the siren. And were these things connected to my gills?

Maybe I had just gotten so tired that I pa.s.sed out, and it had all been a dream or something. Except the whole thing had felt real, and big, too. Like I hadn't just been seeing that vision, I'd also been in it, and connected to something huge.

We started to turn, and I saw the little beach at the edge of the inlet, where Lilly and I had come ash.o.r.e for the flashlight. It had only been a few hours ago, but it seemed like days. We pa.s.sed the blue trampoline raft, the swimming dock. I looked at the raft-empty, no sign of its nighttime occupants-and then I wondered if Lilly had been mad that I left her. I couldn't believe I had, especially in that moment. All that was almost as unbelievable as the vision.... Lilly had actually been hitting on me, and I left! What had I been thinking? But at the time it had seemed like something I had to do. I wondered why she hadn't caught up, but maybe she hadn't understood what she was seeing. Or hadn't seen it at all.

I had that feeling again, and found Leech looking at me. His eyes were narrowed, studying me in that king-of-the-lion-pride kind of way. Or maybe it was just the brightness of the sun. Either way, it reminded me of the day before, of being pushed into the lake.

”Problem?” The word had popped out of my mouth before I even knew I was thinking it.

Now Leech definitely sneered. ”Yeah. You.”

”Now, now, gentlemen,” said Paul.

I turned away from Leech, drying off my hair.

Paul eased the motorboat up to one of the boathouse docks. Leech hopped out, grabbing a rope to tie the bow. I went to do the same with a rope at the stern, but had to watch him out of the corner of my eye to see how to loop the thick, scratchy rope through the cleat, and hated how I needed him for things like that.

I stood up and started folding the towel, gazing at the tied-up sailboats as I did. I felt the light breeze that was always on in the morning. I turned, looking back at the narrow bay. Wind from the southeast... maybe five knots.... Wind from the southeast... maybe five knots.... More thoughts followed along. More thoughts followed along. You'd have to tack east-west to get to the bay mouth; from there, a northwesterly course unless the wind s.h.i.+fted with the open water- You'd have to tack east-west to get to the bay mouth; from there, a northwesterly course unless the wind s.h.i.+fted with the open water- ”You'd better hurry back to your cabin, Owen.” The words snapped me out of a trance. I turned to find Paul already on sh.o.r.e. Leech was nowhere to be seen. ”Flagpole is in thirty minutes.” said Paul. ”I could walk you back-”

His watch started beeping. Paul looked down at it. ”Well, rain check on that.”

”What is it?” I thought to ask, not figuring he'd tell me.

”Looks like the board of directors is requesting a chat link. Well, that's unexpected, but we wouldn't want to keep them waiting.”

Again I looked for some sign of emotion on Paul's face: given yesterday's shouting chat, had the comment just now been sarcastic or sincere? But there was nothing, until he saw me studying him. Then, he seemed to lean forward with interest. ”Unless you have anything pressing you want to get off your chest? I could tell the board to wait....”

I turned and started off the dock, desperate to get away from that gaze. ”No, I'm good. Thanks for picking me up. Sorry I was out there.”

”Like I said before, I'm here for you.” I could feel him watching me as I hurried across the sand, away from the boathouse and toward the swimming dock. My clothes weren't there. They'd probably been found by the polar bear swimmers, ended up in Lost and Found or something.

Crossing the beach, I found myself looking at the water again. What had I been thinking back on the dock? Something about wind direction and sailing. But I'd never sailed before, never even been out in a boat until just now. I noticed the ripples on the water. Yeah, southeasterly. Yeah, southeasterly. There was that thought again. Where was it coming from? And I felt weird, too, maybe had been feeling weird since I'd woken up in the lake, now that I thought about it. Not good or bad, just... different, like my insides were working fine except with new software, like they'd been reorganized. There was that thought again. Where was it coming from? And I felt weird, too, maybe had been feeling weird since I'd woken up in the lake, now that I thought about it. Not good or bad, just... different, like my insides were working fine except with new software, like they'd been reorganized. Wind gusts up to about eight knots... Wind gusts up to about eight knots...