Latham's Landing by Tara Fox Hall Page B

blackness.
    “ Go!” Daryl yelled.
    They got outside, slamming the door behind
them. A faint creaking sounded from the other side of the door,
then a soft knock, as if someone had kicked the bottom of the door
from the other side.
    Nikki quickly locked the door with the key,
then took the key out of the lock. “I think that’s enough of ghost
hunting for me,” she said, “Let’s get the others and get out of
here.”
    “ I’m all for it,” Daryl said,
unsettled. “We’ve got what we came for. Let’s get downstairs and
pack the boat. As soon as the storm clears, we’ll
leave.”
    They quickly walked away, leaving the faint
creaking and knocking still issuing from beyond the locked
door.
     
    “ You were right to insist we walk out
here,” Sam said happily. “This place is great, like a giant
prism.”
    Mirrors on the domed ceiling reflected the
waves crashing below, even the faint light through the cut glass
walls refracting and bending. When they’d arrived, light and water
had blended in harmony, the meeting a fantastic and awesome sight
to behold. Now the waves were rough, the light steadily fading into
darkness.
    “ We should head back,” Marie urged, her
eyes on the approaching dark roiling clouds. “We’ve got a long walk
back and it looks like a storm’s coming.”
    “ You’re the one who said we should go
see where the stonework bridge led,” Sam said irritably. “There’s
no point in leaving if a storm’s about to hit. It took us two hours
to walk here.” He sat down on the floor. “I’m not going until the
weather clears. Why don’t you draw or something?”
    Marie didn’t reply, apprehensive. Sam had
been like this all day. He’d been averse to coming out here, saying
he hadn’t signed on for hiking. Why the hell had Daryl asked him to
come, anyway? All he’d accomplished to date was sleep with
Nikki.
    “ The water’s so beautiful,” Sam
murmured.
    High was what the water was, Marie thought.
When they’d walked here in the sun, the lake had been calm and
beautiful. Now not only was a storm coming, but the water looked as
if it had risen at least a few feet. They’d be lucky if the long
bridge wasn’t underwater. “We’ve got to go, Sam. Stay here if you
want, but I’m going.”
    “ You aren’t going,” Sam said
confidently, his eyes on the crashing waves. “There’s no way
out.”
    Marie blinked at him. “What?”
    “ The waves are crashing over the
bridge,” Sam said, getting to his feet. “We’re stuck here for the
evening.” He grinned at her. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep you
warm.”
    Rain pattered lightly against the windows, as
the sky darkened.
    “ What you’ll do is back off,” Marie
said harshly. “Unless you want my knee in your balls.” She turned
and left, stalking down the stairs.
    It was Sam’s turn to blink. “Christ, Marie, I
was only teasing—”
    “ Stop being a jock jerk, and come on,”
she yelled back. “I’m not waiting for you.”
    When Marie emerged from the structure a few
moments later, the wind was in full force, heavy rain pelting her
face painfully. The long bridge stretched before her, still well
above the churning water.
    God, what a relief…
    Marie looked down over the bridge’s railing.
As she watched in growing terror, the water rose slowly around the
bridge’s supports, steadily reaching higher.
    Sam appeared behind her. “I’m sorry—”
    “ Just hurry,” Marie yelled to him,
beginning to jog. “The water’s rising fast.”
    They made their way quickly down the bridge,
the paving stones becoming wet and slippery. They struggled on,
even as the rain intensified, the wind beginning to howl. Several
times, they were knocked off their feet, the hard stone jarring and
bruising them as they fell. Then, as if by magic, the wind suddenly
died down, and the waves calmed, even as a mist began to rise from
the lake’s surface.
    Sam stopped, panting. “Please wait, Marie,
please. I need to breathe. We’re more