Page 30

The Bubble

Calvin

I climb back onto the WaveRunner. “It’s crazy. I have no idea how we’re going to open that box, let alone move it. It’s made of thick wooden planks, and it’s wrapped tightly with rope. Maybe we could cut the rope.” Haley hands me my vest, and I put it on.

“You’ll figure it out. I know it!” she says into my ear and wraps her arms around my waist.

Thank fuck the WaveRunner slides right into gear.

The light outside the cave has changed drastically as I head back out.

I’m shocked at how much darker it’s become.

Clouds hang low overhead. It’s only a matter of minutes, if not seconds, before a storm lands on top of us, overtakes us.

There’s thunder in the distance—this has come out of nowhere.

Haley tucks her head into my back, her fingers locked around my sides.

When the rain starts, it doesn’t do that gentle one-or-two-drops thing; no, it comes down in sheets, like someone’s throwing us into the waves.

The ocean has gone from pure glass to nothing but 100% chop.

The WaveRunner rides up the sides of the strong waves and crashes down.

We’re trying to slide against the current, and it’s putting the machine to the test. My stomach is somewhere underneath my ears.

Holy fuck, I’ve never gotten seasick on a WaveRunner before, but I guess there’s a first time for everything. “Hold on!” I yell back at Haley. “This is gonna get worse.”

“Just go,” she says. “Go, go.” There’s a light panic in her voice, but she’s holding on.

The ride that took us eight minutes to get to the cave takes at least twenty-five minutes back.

We’re still not past the bluffs. I’m starting to worry we might run out of fuel.

I give the fuel gauge a tap. When we round the corner to our beach, the big rock welcomes us back.

Thank fuck. I know where all the rocks are, but if the waves want to throw us into them, there’s nothing I’m going to be able to do to stop it. I avoid one, then two, then a third rock. When I see a fourth one coming, I yell to Haley, “Bail!”

We’re close enough to shore that the waves are going to push her in and not out, I hope. She jumps, and the momentum of her jumping off is just enough to get me to the opposite side of the rock that was coming straight at us.

I run the WaveRunner right onto the sand, hitting the off button as I bail, taking large steps, going back to find her. Zane and Easton are running down to the shore. Haley’s stumbling out of the water. Zane wraps her in his arms and heads for camp.

I go back to the WaveRunner. Easton’s there. We move it to the sled and haul it to the tree line.

“You good?” Easton yells into the wind.

I wipe my hand through my hair. “Yeah. Let’s get off the beach.” Storms this time of year haven’t been lasting long. But hell if I know what’s going to happen.

Easton’s ten steps in front of me as I head up to camp.

Haley’s discarded life jacket is on the living room platform.

I put mine with hers and climb up the ladder.

The shutters are drawn tight, and the door is pulled shut.

Sam opens it for me as I approach and seals it tightly behind him. Everyone’s on the sleeping platform.

“Are you okay?” Haley hands me a towel, even as Dante’s trying to dry her off.

“Thanks,” I say, running the towel through my hair, peeling my wet clothes from my body. When I have dry shorts and a T-shirt on, I turn and face the four other guys, all glaring at me.

Sam opens his mouth, but it’s Dante who steps forward. “What the hell do you think you were doing?” he demands.

“It’s not his fault.” Haley raises her hand to put it on Dante’s chest.

“Like hell it’s not,” Dante replies. “He knows better. What if the WaveRunner had stopped and you were next to the bluff?”

“It didn’t stop,” Calvin says.

“But it could have.” Sam’s voice is deep. He’s not happy.

Haley holds her hands up to Sam this time. “There’s no way we could have known the weather was going to change that abruptly.”

“And I know what’s going to be said next,” I mutter.

Sam and Zane say together, “Prepare for the worst.” It’s Sam’s motto, and one that Zane has taken as his own.

“We’re fine,” Haley says. “We’re fine, we’re fine, we’re fine.”

“I’m glad you’re fine, Sassy, but numb-nuts over here could have really gotten you both hurt.”

“He didn’t, and we’re fine,” Haley repeats.

“Where did the damn dog go?” Sam ducks his head outside. “Come home,” he yells out into the jungle. “Penny, home.” He cups his hands and yells it again, “Home!”

“Besides, we discovered something really exciting,” she says.

“Oh yeah, what was that, Little Bird?” Zane asks, smiling at her.

“Calvin, you tell him. You’re the one who dove and saw it.”

“Right. It’s thick oak wood, something really water-tolerant, wrapped in heavy, old-style boat rope. There’s no way we’re gonna get it up. I tried budging it. The thing is really heavy, but we could cut the rope if we wanted to see what’s in there.”

Zane nods. “You think the planks are the same sort of wood as this?” He knocks on the floor. “Because there’s no oak trees around here.”

“Yeah, I do,” Calvin replies.

I study the floor and think back to what I saw underwater. “I do. I think they’re the same.”

“That’s interesting.” Zane rubs his chin. “Maybe it was something the derelict had in its hull. Maybe they were hiding it before they got thrown back onto the shoals.”

“Could be,” I nod, making one last pass with the towel over my head. I slump down into the pile of pillows in the corner, the pile that Penny and Pepper like to sleep in, just as a wet dog comes racing in from the storm.

“What in the hell?” Dante says.

“Only useful thing Jenifer ever did. It’s Penny’s strongest command. She’ll run wherever she thinks of as home.”

“Impressive,” Dante says to Sam, and then he turns to me and gives me a look that says the dog is smarter than me.

I could have really hurt Haley. They’re not wrong. And what the fuck am I doing? Sometimes it’s like I get a burst of energy from the wild, younger me and I stop thinking. They’re right. Of course it could have ended differently.

I close my eyes and listen to the rain on the roof. When I open them, Sam is still glaring while the others have moved along. Zane and Haley have their heads close together, probably talking about Rocky’s agenda or maybe theorizing what could be in the box. But I’ve got bigger worries.

Sam sits down next to me. He doesn’t say anything at first. Fuck, I hate disappointing this man. For a long time, I thought of him as, well, my hero, someone I wanted to be like. It’s a little different now, now that we’re in this... whatever we are in.

“I don’t expect you to live life in a bubble, but I sure as hell think you need to change your perspective.

You’ve been living like we’re already dead, taking chances that don’t need to be taken.

It’s one thing when you do it with yourself; it’s another when you do it with Haley.

I won’t have it.” He raises his eyebrows at me.

I give him one good nod because he’s right. I haven’t really cared about things in a while, certainly not since the pirates. It’s only a matter of time.

I close my eyes, the rain on the metal roof thankfully drowning out the rest of the group. Sam moves to the other side of the platform, not waiting for my response.

The warm ball of fuzz—Pepper—is pulled away.

“Hey,” Haley says.

I crack open my eyes. Haley’s holding Pepper on her lap, her body parallel with mine.

“You doing okay?” She wraps her arm around mine, intertwining us, and rests her head on my shoulder. “You looked awfully deep in thought.”

I nod. In reality, I was almost asleep. It’s easier just to switch off than to think about things.

“I’m sorry they came down so hard on you,” she says.

“No, they’re right. I shouldn’t have taken you out like that. We should have come back in and waited for the tender to be ready, just in case something happened to the WaveRunner.”

“It’s not your fault. I could have stopped you.”

I cock my head at her. “Nice try.”

She playfully slaps my arm. “I could have,” she insists.

“That’s cute,” I think, because I’m awfully stubborn and when I get an idea in my head, be it good or bad, it’s just there.

“The guys had some good points, though.” She looks up at me, her clear blue eyes darker now in the low light of the storm.

“But we’re fine, we’re good, and we’ll just move on from here.

You don’t need to ruminate on it for days on end.

” She covers her mouth. She does that a lot when she’s regretful of what she said, like she can stop the words from coming out or pull them back in.

“No, they’re right and you’re right,” I say. “But really, what does it matter? We’re gonna die here. It’s just a matter of time.”

Haley snuggles her head down onto my chest. With my free hand, I pet Pepper. She stands up and rubs her face along Haley’s chin.

“Calvin, you need to have hope,” Haley says after a long time. The rain has slowed; there are just fat drops echoing on the metal now. “Really—you need to have more hope. We’re gonna figure this out, right?”

“Right,” I say, too loudly. Pepper scurries away.

“Oh, come on. Now we’ve lost our lap warmer.

” Haley repositions herself, kneeling between my legs.

She holds my forearms in her hands, her chin tilted upwards to look at me.

“I guess it’s no use. I can’t make you feel something that you don’t feel, so I’ll just have to have enough hope for both of us.

” She rises up and kisses me. It’s a light kiss. Then she stands and crosses the room.

I miss her immediately. Why do I have to be this way? Being a realist sucks.