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I push open the door and grab my surfboard from the roof rack, thinking over what he just said. I need to know what happened to me after we got there and why I don’t remember. I’d usually be able to ask Cooper any and all, but right now, I know that if I ask him what happened, and that I don’t remember, it will only make him spiral down the rabbit hole of whatever weird game the big, dark stranger had us all playing.
The water is cold around my legs, and the more I walk out, the more I want to sink farther beneath the crashing waves. My mind is warped and twisted and turned as I try to lift my foot from the sand, but it sinks farther and farther in. The sound of waves crashing and crows squawking fill the space around me. Why don’t I remember? Not one thing. Cooper catches wave after wave, and eventually I swim back to shore. The fatigue is rooted deep in my bones, and I know that if I force myself out here any longer, Cooper will know something is wrong. I need a bigger distraction than dead-end questions this time, and I hope that eventually when, or if, I can tell him, he won’t hate me for what I’m about to do.
I pull my phone out and open a text to Dani.
We are down at the beach. He wants to talk with you.
Just as I hit send, another message pops up.
Swim out to The Landing.
The number isn’t in my phone, and besides that, it doesn’t have any numbers at all. I know who it is.
Can’t. I’m not alone.
I stare back down at my phone screen, waiting for him to continue.
Do I look like the type of person you say no to, Shiloh?
Tossing my phone onto the shore, I start walking down the beach until I know I’m away from Cooper. He’s way out at the break and too far to see what I’m doing, so I quickly skim into the water and start paddling out to the jump. The closer you are to the rocks, the angrier the water, and it’s not until I’m halfway there that I turn over my shoulder, sitting up on my board to see how far I’ve gone. I’ve been out here a lot, but never alone. The water gets choppy the farther out you get, and it doesn’t calm down until you’ve swum into the cave entrance. The sky rumbles up above me as a single raindrop falls, hitting me on the edge of my nose.
“Great.” Lying back down on my tummy, I keep paddling through the water until I hit the opening, peeking down over my board to make sure I don’t see any shark activity. I’ve seen a few in my years, but none that have come too close.
Sitting up on my board again, I slow my paddling when I see a tall figure standing at the edge of the shoreline. I keep paddling in farther, noticing the speedboat that’s beached. As soon as I know I can touch the ground, I slip off my board and walk through the water.
The man turns around and I notice him as the same one from yesterday. Tonight, he’s wearing a dark hoodie and jeans—a complete difference to his getup last night.
“Your first task,” he says, and I shiver once my body is exposed to the air. At least…I think that’s why I shiver.
“So quick,” I mumble, dumping my board onto the sand and squeezing the excess water out of my long hair. My eyes find his and I pause when I notice him watching my hand movement. “What?”
“Here…” He hands me a gold envelope, and I stare down at it blankly.
“What’s this for?” I ask, ripping the edge. I look up at him briefly. “I mean, why is everyone obsessed with this game?”
“People are obsessed with this game?” he asks, a brow arched. “I find that hard to believe.”
“Well, the people I know,” I counter, pulling out the card that’s inside. When he doesn’t answer me, I look back up at him again, noticing he has taken a few steps back.
“They clearly haven’t been chosen before.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
He points to the envelope. “This one is easy. I’m guessing you know how to skipper a boat. Punch the coordinates into the GPS and follow the map.”
I read over the coordinates a few times before glaring back at him. “I know where this is. Why would I go there?”
His mouth falls open slightly, but not enough to be obvious that I caught him off guard. I’ve been around these waters all my life, of course I know where this is.
He chuckles, brushing past me and falling onto a spot on the sand. “Go. I’ll wait here for you to return the package.”
I take the steps toward the boat, not wanting to give him any other satisfaction, much less questions asking why I can’t remember what the hell happened to me that night.
“Shiloh?”
I stop walking when he calls my name, but I don’t turn around. Silence stretches between us before I feel the warmth of a blanket over my shoulders.
“You have sixty minutes.”
