“NaNoWriMo 2020 Pt. 22”

Author’s Note: This is a Take Ten to Write story and has not been proofread for errors. If I feel inspired or if there’s interest in the story, I’ll post a revised, edited, and extended version at a later date. Happy reading!

Additional note: In honour of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), all 30 stories written in the month of November will (hopefully) create a single multi-part story that will reach its conclusion by the end of the month. Stay tuned for a new story part every day!

Read the compiled NaNoWriMo TTtW story here!

MASON’S POV

I spend the rest of my day trying desperately to find an exit. I mean, I wasn’t exactly expecting one to be in plain sight, but I can’t help but be disappointed that this one tiny little thing that I want isn’t happening.

Sure, okay, at least I have actual food and a bed and, somehow, a job, but there’s something about this place that just gives me the creeps. And then there’s Maddie and that weirdo Ryan.

But, like I said before, I suppose I’m going to have plenty of time to figure this all out.

Finally, I give up. I head back out to the balcony where I’d last seen Maddie but she’s gone now. I take her place to look out over the ocean.

Let me just get this out there: I’m terrified of the ocean. Just looking out there right now makes me want to throw up, but I force myself to keep looking because I’m on a freaking island so the only way out is obviously over the ocean.

“Dude, calm down,” Garrett says, putting a hand on my shoulder. “Remember the first time we went to the ocean?”

“Yeah,” I mutter, shivering at the memory. “It was horrible.”

Garrett frowns. “No, the very first time. You loved the ocean. You said that you wanted to become a fish so that you could swim around all day.”

I scoff, clenching the railing so hard that my knuckles turn white. “That doesn’t sound like me at all.”

“The next time we went swimming, you kept going out farther and farther from the coast,” Garrett continues. “You refused to come back, even when Mom threatened to take away your TV time for the day. You said that you were a fish, and that you could swim forever.

“But then the waves picked up and swept you under. You almost drowned, but Dad swam out to get you. You’re thinking of the next time we went to the beach, where we tried to get you to go into the water and you freaked out.”

I nod and suck in a sharp breath. “Yeah, the ocean isn’t a fun place,” I say. “I could die down there.”

“Maybe,” Garrett says. “But there are lots of other things underwater.”

I take a deep breath and force myself to look down at the waves. I’m literally about to throw up when I see something below the water.

A blinking red light. But it’s moving.

“A submarine,” I breathe. “That’s how I can get off the island.”

“Who are you talking to?”

I spin around to see Ryan standing behind me, his eyes narrowed.

“Uh, myself,” I mutter, backing away from him. My back is pressed against the railing and my heart pounds; if he takes a step toward me, I’m probably going to topple over backward and into the ocean.

Garrett puts a hand on my arm to steady me. If only he were actually here to do that.

Ryan continues staring at me for a moment. “You’re the new kid, aren’t you?” he asks. “The one Maddie’s training.”

I nod slowly. “Yeah…”

“And she’s already showed you her special place,” Ryan mutters under his breath, shaking his head.

“What?”

His eyes snap back up to mine. He strides forward and grabs my shirt collar, leaning in close.

“Listen, kid,” he snarls, “you stay away from Maddie, do you hear me?”

“We work together though,” I squeak, staring back at him with wide eyes.

He shakes me slightly and I yell, “Okay! Okay, I’ll stay away from her. Just let me go!”

He scoffs and drops me. I collapse onto the ground at his feet.

“See you around, kid,” he calls over his shoulder before striding out of view.

Final Comments: A bit of an abrupt ending, but I wasn’t really sure how to continue that one…

Overall Rating: 😳