Edie stopped in her place along the ceiling. Cassidy was under the water. She could feel that she wasn’t putting up any resistance.
“Cassidy!” Edie called. She tried to move her legs to bring the body to the surface, but in doing so the water rushed Cassidy away.
This time, her eagerness to act had nothing to do with survival. They’d both come too far for Cassidy to die this way and leave Edie alone. Edie let go of the holds and chased after Cassidy. It was easier to control herself going with the flow of the water, but she couldn’t see where she was going or where Cassidy was. She extended her arms in front of her in a stroke, and found Cassidy’s soft form. Edie wrapped her arms around her and easily lifted the woman to the narrow pocket of water at the ceiling, now slightly larger as the urgency of the water to fill the space slowed.
With her right hand hooked to the ceiling and Cassidy draped over her left, all Edie could do was squeeze the body with all her might. But Cassidy remained limp.
“Cassidy!” Edie shouted. She wrapped her arm around Cassidy’s ribs and pumped again and again. “Wake the fuck up you bloody bludger! Don’t you croak on me!”
Edie’s muscles ached from keeping herself upright and squeezing Cassidy’s body. She didn’t want to leave her, but she was going to need to let go if she wanted to get out, and Cassidy’s head still rolled loosely on her shoulders.
“Cassidy!” She put the last of the energy she could spare into one more squeeze, fist right in the center of the woman’s chest. Cassidy’s body spasmed, her arms flailed, and her head flew forward, hitting the ceiling as water poured from her mouth.
Edie let out a sound somewhere between a laugh and a sob. “There you are!”
Cassidy struggled in the dark and mumbled something Edie couldn’t make out.
“Put your hands up and grab onto something!”
She waited for Cassidy to pull her body away and stay in place in the water before letting go. “Head toward the light!” she said and could only hope that Cassidy came with her.
This time, Edie made more meticulous placements, but she felt the strain in her muscles. In a couple places, she couldn’t find hand holds and let go to try swimming, but her body was so exhausted she wasn’t sure if she made any forward progress that way. The light once again got brighter and brighter, and finally the hole was in front of them. Edie thought the wall completely broke away in the collapse, but the light still only poured in from the top half of the tunnel.
“Can you swim?” she shouted to Cassidy.
“What choice do I have?” came the weak reply.
Edie took a deep breath, let go of the ceiling, and immediately the force of the water dragged her back. She gritted her teeth and kicked her arms and legs with as much power as she could muster. Her hands found the half wall with water rushing over it, and she contorted herself to get her foot on the wall and throw her body against the rushing water.
The suction of the water flowing into the tunnel was stronger than the current anywhere else, but Edie didn’t need to swim. Once she got her feet on the wall, her head just barely stayed above the surface of the creek. She took a deep breath of fresh, humid air, full of the scents of wet soil but also living plants and sea breeze. Cassidy appeared next to her, gasping for breath with dark hair plastered to her face.
“Make for the bank!” Edie shouted.
It was easier said than done with the water threatening to pull them back down into the tunnel that appeared in the middle of the creek. Edie’s knees kept buckling with every step, but she held herself against the top of the tunnel opening and slowly made her way to the grass covered bank of the river.
With both hands, she clawed at the ground, desperate to pull herself up. Her muscles couldn’t be relied on anymore, so she dug her elbows into the dirt and forced her body over her wrists until she could move her elbows again, army crawling her way into the trees until the river finally let go of her.
She collapsed in a wet heap on a mossy patch and turned onto her back. The light blue of the sky barely broke through the tops of the trees. Edie closed her eyes and let the tears of relief come. Cassidy eventually threw herself down beside Edie, panting with her cheek pressed to the ground.
Edie reached for her hand and laced their fingers together. “We are going to get off this fucking island.”
Despitehislate-nightvisitfrom Edie and Cassidy, James slept well and awoke refreshed. He fell asleep thinking about power and reveling in the realization that no one else on the island had it figured out, only him. But upon checking his socials, the feelings of superiority deflated by a single glance at the pitiful follower counts on each page.
Magic and illusions were out. His platform flagged in subscriptions and views for years now, but any time he attempted to branch out with his content it always tanked. People who followed for the sleight of hand videos weren’t necessarily interested in fitness content or thirst traps. Followers enjoyed his humor, but he wasn’t a comedian. Video essays that utilized his B.A. in English didn’t exactly bring in big money, and success with creative writing required more luck than even the island could give him.
James ordered a bloody mary at the only bar with a view of the stage and sat, watching the stage crew get everything ready and panicking over the decision he needed to make. As he sat lost in thought and stirring the Tajin deeper into his drink, a man slid onto the neighboring barstool.
“Is this seat taken?” he asked.
James broke out of his stupor and turned his head. Next to him stood a man with a slim build and dark skin. He wore a skirt and high-top sneakers, but no shirt. “Are you here alone?”
James took a sip and regarded the man more closely. “Yep.”
The man smiled. “My name is Allen.”
“James.”
The bartender approached and asked Allen for his order. Allen pointed to James.
