Page 8 of Lethal Weakness

It’s a brightly lit, turquoise blue, in-ground pool that probably looks wildly appealing to a child. Especially a little girl who doesn’t know how to swim.

I don’t hesitate, running as fast as I can to get to her. The lower part of the patio has more people mingling, though, and my shoves through the crowd are far from subtle.

One clear opening shows me just how close she is to the pool steps. “Avery!” I yell, but my voice is lost in the noise of conversation and live instruments.

I shoulder through a large group of men, ignoring their grunts of annoyance, but get a slight angle of an adult down by the pool near Avery.

Oh, thank God. No person in their right mind would let a little girl drown. I suck in a lungful of air but keep moving towards her with just a little less panic now.

My high-heels click across the paved surface around the pool, drawing the man’s attention towards me, where he squats in front of Avery at eye level.

He’s an unassuming guy, probably twice my age, but definitely clean-cut like the rest of the perfect partygoers.

“Thank you so much for coming down here. I lost sight of her and panicked when I saw her near the pool.”

“Not a problem. I figured she belonged to someone here. We were just chatting about mermaids.” His voice is calm, but there is a twinkle of charm in his eyes.

“Oh, perfect. One of her favorite subjects,” I chuckle politely, but stiffly. I am not interested in men’s charms. “Come on, Avery. It’s getting late. We need to get home and get to bed.”

“Otay, Mommy.” She skips around the pool to my side and grabs my outstretched hand. I bend to her level so she hears me clearly and knows I mean business.

“Don’t go by the pool alone anymore, okay?”

“But–”

I silence her with a look. “Pools are for buddies. You need a grownup.”

“Otay.”

“Go say bye to your grandparents. I’ll be right behind you.” I kiss her cheek and point her in the right direction before standing.

When I turn to thank the man for stepping in again, though, he’s gone. I do a slow circle, making sure that I’m not missing him, but I’m completely alone.

There is no clear way back to the party except for up these steps behind me. The only thing surrounding the pool area is a lush garden area, and trees older than the home that sits here.

It’s dark outside the perimeter of the pool deck, though, almost eerily so. I take a few hesitant steps towards the other side where I last saw him, and can’t make myself go any further.

It’s pitch black past the concrete walkway. I can’t see anything. Even if he just snuck away to take a leak behind the pool shed, I don’t want anything to do with that.

But for some reason, I can’t seem to look away from the depths of the blackness in front of me.

The longer that I look, the more each shadow has its own outline. Each tree and bush hides whatever is beyond them. And next to the small pool shed, just beside the thick garden area, is a shadow that resembles something all too familiar.

It’s like a nightmare you have as a kid… You wake up seeing a monster standing in the corner of your room, and lose sleep staring at it until dawn creeps through your windows. Only for the sun to illuminate the teddy bear wearing a cowboy hat, sitting on top of your laundry pile that you forgot to put away.

Except this shadow doesn’t look like a monster. It looks like a man.

A man staring directly back at me.

I don’t move. I don’t even blink, staring at the figure and waiting for it to reveal itself as a pool net.

But it doesn’t.

A spotlight turns on behind me, welcoming someone to make a speech on the band’s stage on the terrace, and that bright flash is all I get.

It’s not a man. It’s a soldier.

No… It’s not anything that resembles any color other than black, but he looks like a soldier nonetheless.