6. Chapter 6 （Hailey）

CHAPTER 6 (HAILEY)

A fter what feels like hours of the worst Mad Hatter teacup ride ever, the waters of the Sawtooth Lake finally calm down. By some miracle, the boat floats right-side-up, although I am submerged in water off the side of the railing. As I cough up gallons of water, I scramble into the boat and just lie in the bottom for a while, taking gulps of air. I should have drowned when the whirlpool collapsed, but somehow, I took periodic small gulps of air while tossed around in the giant washing machine that the lake became.

I wonder if Johnny survived as well, and the thought has me sitting up, scanning the surface of the lake. There’s no sign of him, but something golden glints in the sun on the shore. The trident twinkles mockingly at me.

My first instinct is to ignore it and figure out a way to get back to the resort and then throw myself into the rental SUV and haul ass back to the Tri-Cities. However, Johnny has my home address, and I’m certain that if he survived, his first agenda item would be to eliminate me as a witness. I know all about him finding the trident and murdering Miriam.

The outboard engine didn’t survive the whirlpool collapse, but an oar is still secured with clamps inside the boat. I release it and awkwardly paddle toward the shore where the trident lies. I don’t know why, but I don’t want to touch the metal with my bare skin, so I take off my soggy jacket and wrap it around the shaft. Even with that barrier, carrying the trident gives me a nauseous feeling.

I set off in the direction I think will lead me to the trail back to the resort, but I really have no idea. Thanks to Mount Regan, I know which way is south, but my body has just been centrifuged and my mind can’t remember which direction we came from or where we left the ATVs.

Eventually, the ground evens out into what might be a trail, and since it’s easier to walk on that path, I follow it as exhaustion makes it harder and harder to place one foot in front of the other.

The sun slowly descends into the sky, and the shadows of the trees grow longer. As the temperature drops, my soggy clothes get heavier and colder. Soon, I shudder and shake as much as Miriam did before a zap from the object I’m currently carrying lead to her demise.

I look at the jacket wrapped around the trident. It’s still wet, but wearing it would warm me a little. Magic artifacts are outside my expertise, but I can feel this one leeching energy from me through the fabric. And something inside it wants to be released. That something whispers to me and want to take control over my mind. I have to focus hard to keep my shields up.

Closing my eyes, I breathe deeply and find my center. I whisper a simple ward and the pull from the trident lessens, but now I’m tired from using some of my power.

A sob escapes my throat, and my step wobbles. So does the trident, and I have to use my free hand to steady it by touching the metal. As soon as I do, creepy voices enter my mind, whispering about unlimited powers and taking over the world.

Holy ghost peppers. No wonder Johnny went bonkers.

I quickly release the trident with both hands. It clangs to the ground, but the echo of the voices is still in my mind. Now, they’re laughing at me and calling me a silly girl.

Looking around the area, I search for somewhere to stash this possessed artifact because I do not want to carry it any longer. I like my mind intact and without illusions of grandeur. Thank you very much.

Further up the trail, there’s a large granite outcropping. As I get closer, I see that it’s actually a pile of several large boulders. I climb on top of them, where years of fallen branches and other forest debris have filled in the cracks and formed a small fertile plateau on top of all that granite. Small pine trees grip the dirt with partially exposed roots, and I push the trident into one hollow created underneath them. It’s still wrapped in my jacket. I have no idea what to do with this possessed artifact, but just in case I have to find it again, I scratch a scraggly “H” into one boulder using a small rock.

By the time I continue walking on the trail, the sun sinks into the horizon, and the temperature immediately drops a million degrees as complete darkness envelopes me. If I’d brought my cell phone, I could use the flashlight app. But since I knew there’d be no signal, actually, there’s not even a signal at the resort, I left that handy little device in my room.

I have no wilderness survival skills, but even I know that stopping for the night in cold and soaked clothes is only a good idea if I have a source of heat. And since I don’t know how to make a fire without the aid of a lighter or matches, I continue trudging onward on what I hope is still the trail. My feet grow heavy, and as my teeth start to chatter, I worry about hypothermia.

I keep walking. My only goal is to stay in motion until the sun rises again and I can figure out how to get off this mountain. I’m fairly sure I’ve lost the trail because branches keep slapping me in the face and other parts of my body. They make me angry, and I shout at them out loud every time I get smacked by a new one. “Fuck you, Miriam,” I yell. “And fuck you, Johnny. You’re both the worst mentors ever.”

Anger gives into despair, and I have a little pity party for myself, crying for quite a while. But I keep walking, repeating, “One more step,” under my breath as my teeth chatter hard enough to break my enamel.

At some point, I enter the hypothermia phase of delirium because I imagine hearing voices and music in the forest. And what looks like a lighted window twinkles at me through the branches of what has become very dense woods. I’m definitely way off the trail by now. Branches slap me constantly, but I’ve run out of curse words.

And then I run into another granite boulder. Except this one is so warm, and it talks, so I do the only logical thing I can think of. I wrap my arms around it, rub my face into its smooth surface, and break down into a major, loud, ugly cry.

Strong arms hug me back and then a hand strokes my hair. A deep voice tells me everything is going to be okay and there’s no need to cry.

I take a deep breath as the last fizzle of energy leaves my body and everything fades to black.