36. Ava

Chapter thirty-six

Ava

Earlier

T he dark, moonless night leaves nothing but the black cast of the trees lining the forest, making them look like ghosts or wraiths looming over me.

And then, there is the buzzing. It swarms from all directions as if closing in, a maddening sound that rings in my ears and pricks the hair on my skin.

I think I can hear Mari over it all. Calling for something, someone. She sounds distant, hollow, like a voice echoing through a canyon. It's a voice, but where it originates is a complete mystery.

"Mari! Yera!" I yell into the blank space, all of the wonder and whimsy of this forest drained in the stagnant dark.

My voice dies, sucked up into that place voices go when there is no one to hear them.

The buzz, that buzz. Like electronics or a beehive. Something constant, something building, something operating at a frequency that scrambles my thoughts.

Walk away. Return to camp, and everyone will meet back there ; it's a logical solution. Whether or not it is possible has yet to be determined.

I turn. My dark eyes scan the forest, resigning myself to the only option I have.

There is nothing I can do for either of them. I'm not woodsy or, for that matter, strong. I go on these trips every year because I trust my friends to lead.

I don't know if I'm going in the right direction. It just felt right to turn this way, like an instinct. There is still no light. I don't know what the hell happened to my flashlight. Or Mari's or Yera's, for that matter.

None of this is computing. Like the perfect confluence of circumstances is pulling us all in opposite directions. But that doesn't make any sense.

I keep walking, letting my heavy boots crunch in the dry grass.

Something still doesn't seem right. I'm moving away from the sounds, the insistent timbre fading into the night. But I can't help but feel like I'm being watched, stalked even.

I pick up my pace, wanting to expand the distance between me and whatever is out in these woods.

Then, like a mirror or a gate, a wall of white flashes into the night sky, dropping in front of me like a silver gleaming barrier.

What the actual fuck is this? Curiosity has my fingers tingling to touch it, but logic gets the best of me. I turn and run back to the sound, where my friends might be, away from whatever the hell that was.

It flashes again, blocking my path and caging me in. I run parallel now, pumping my arms and legs so hard that sweat slicks my skin and my breathing becomes ragged. It flashes again, and I catch myself before barreling into it.

That perfect wall of what looks like pure starlight.

I turn again.This time, I'm not sure which direction to take; I just know it needs to be away—away from whatever is chasing me.Aliens, maybe—crazy, yes; possible, absolutely. Nothing from Earth could be doing this, that much I know.

I run and run, my body aching and shaking from the effort.

When I think it's over, when I think I'm finally free, my boot catches on a root, throwing me to the forest floor. But the ground doesn't break my fall. Instead, I crash into that wall of white waiting for the opportunity to catch me.

I smash into it like breaking glass. But instead of shards, it breaks away into flying orbs—just a piece of the greater whole.

The white light envelops me, and I break through something.

I can't tell where I am or when I am. All I know is that I'm falling, the comforting, solid forest floor now broken and flying by me in pieces, being absorbed or eaten into the white space around it.

I fall and fall. Not knowing when it will end or where I'm going.

Maybe I'm already dead.

The sting of freezing, briny waters hits my skin.

I kick and thrash, the shock of cold making a long-dormant part of my brain light up and causing my adrenaline to surge.

You're underwater. Swim, swim, move your arms, you idiot.

I do. I pump my already exhausted body to the point of pain, stroking and stroking as my lungs burn. I break the surface and take a gasp of the salty air.

I have no time to consider what happened.

A wave crashes over my head, pulling me under once more. The saltwater is stinging my eyes and nose.

My head surfaces again, and I cough and gag out the water that has forced its way into my body.

Another wave, then another, and another. I can't open my eyes all the way. They burn; they burn so fucking much. I force them to focus. Anything I can do to orient myself in this fucking cauldron of waves and death. All I see is a gray sky and an angry sea. Walls of white-capped waves moving like beasts. No land, just water.

A wave hits me at just the right angle to pull me into the barrel, spinning me under the surface until I don't know how deep I am or in which direction I'm going. If I could cry, I would. This is the end. I swim and swim harder than I've ever fought for anything.

Then, it all goes dark.