Page 23 of Blue in the Deep Blue Sea

A chill crawled down my spine.

“They matched the fingerprints,” she continued. “It belongs to Gianni.”

For a second, I couldn’t breathe.

“What?”

“Gianni found a map a few weeks ago. He said it pointed to some old treasure hidden near the islands.” She swallowed. “They only wanted to borrow the yacht.”

My pulse raised as I finally managed to speak up.

“What are you talking about?”

“I think whatever he found…” Another sniffle. “…was never supposed to be found.”

Silence settled between us.

“Gabby?” she whispered.

“Yeah?”

“What if they’re all dead?”

“Don’t say that.”

“I mean it.” Her breathing came louder. “They’ve been gone for two nights. I haven’t gotten a single call or message. Now the police show up asking questions…” Her voice trailed off.

A knot tightened in my stomach.

“Isabella?”

The line crackled.

“Isabella?” I called her name again.

“I think someone’s outside,” she whispered. “I have to go.”

The line fell silent, followed by the beep as she hung up. I lowered my arm, my hand trembling as I set the phone on the nightstand. My eyes moved from one finger to the next while my mind spiraled, wondering which finger Gianni might have lost and how it had happened. Had they left it there by accident, or on purpose to cover up whatever happened on the yacht?

My gaze dropped to the angry red marks on my skin. They still burned, and some had already begun to bruise. But they didn’t hurt as much as the news about him.

When I was about twelve, I used to watch the black-and-whiteDoctor Who. I remember wanting to leave home so badly that I climbed to the top of the hill near my school, squeezed my eyes shut, and wished the Doctor would appear in theTARDIS. I imagined him taking me away on some space adventure, and I would choose to stay, helping him fight whatever threatened the world. I wanted him to save me, too.

Looking back, it feels childish. Silly. But I still wish for it.

I still wish someone would come and save me, pull me out of this awful place. Deep down, though, I know that if anyone is going to do it, it has to be me.?? A loud crash came from outside, making me push myself onto my trembling legs. I moved slowly to the window.

When I looked outside, I found the source of the noise. A man was tied to a street lamp with his trousers around his ankles.Something had been scrawled across his bare ass in thick blue marker. I squinted, trying to make out the words, and a smile tugged at the corner of my lips as I read.“Look, Mom, I’m a real-life boy.”

Between his cries, he sang,

“Call not her name when fog is near,

The drowned still watch, the drowned still hear.

A lantern glows where none should be…

Another soul belongs to the sea.”