Chapter 26-Disappearing Beneath the Sea

The next morning we all sat in the living room looking depressed. There hadn’t been any sign of Kat or who had attacked her. I kept hearing her call for me in my mind and I felt like yelling in frustration that I hadn’t been able to do anything. Mitch hadn’t stopped swearing the whole morning. He kept describing just what he was going to do when he found the bastards who had done this. If Kat were here, she would have no doubt teased him about not being able to do what he was saying. If she were here…

Cerant approached us, looking ragged. I don’t think he had been to sleep all night. He disappeared to look for her and I didn’t ever see him come back. I hadn’t returned to my bedroom and chose to sleep in the living room, so I would have heard him. Joseph insisted on staying out there with me. He had slept on a couch across from the one I mostly just lay on. I didn’t really sleep much. I kept hearing what had gone on. When I did sleep I had dreams that exaggerated my feelings of not being able to do anything. Kat would be only a few feet away from me but I couldn’t do anything to help her. I’d struggled and slam my fists into the thin air but someone masked in shadows would drag her away from me. Kyle and Joseph always seemed to be brooding. It wasn’t unlike Joseph to but I didn’t think I had seen Kyle brood before. I guess we hadn’t ever had something as bad as this happen though. Madeline and Hugh seemed to try to avoid their master but stuck near us and offered whatever they could to help.

Cerant broke the depressing silence. "I haven’t been able to find any trace of her," he said. "Whoever did this covered up their trail frustratingly well."

"Yes, whoever it was," said Mitch. "Does anyone have any ideas of who it could be? I mean, who else is on this island? Are there any little mole men who live in the tunnels beneath this island?"

I glanced over at him when he mentioned tunnels and listened. It was a good point. Who had done it? My skin suddenly crawled at the thought that it could be someone in this room. In fact, it was likely the killer was since there didn’t appear to be anyone else here.

"As far as I know," said Cerant. "This room’s inhabitants are the only people on the island." Everyone seemed to draw back and regard the rest of the room suspiciously.

"Have you heard anything from the rest of your servants?" asked Kyle.

Cerant seemed to look even more burdened than he had before. "No," he said with a sigh. "That’s another problem. I’m worried about them. It’s certainly not normal for them to be gone this long." He seemed strained and ready to break. I stood up and walked over to him slowly then hugged him. I didn’t exactly know why, it just seemed like the thing to do.

"They’ll come back," I found myself saying. "And we’ll find Kat."

Cerant looked at me with a humble gratitude and smiled. "Thank you Melanie," he said. Then he looked determined and said, "We should break into groups and search every inch of the island. Leave no stone unturned, no tree unclimbed, no depth of water unexplored. Hugh and Madeline, you go together. I’ll go alone and you four can decide how you’ll go." With that he gave us a slight bow and strode outside purposefully. Hugh and Madeline quickly followed and we were left alone.

"Well," said Mitch. "How should we do this?"

"Groups of two," said Joseph. "Mel and I will go together, and you two can as well."

"I get stuck with him all day?" asked Kyle with a weak chuckle.

I mustered a smile. "We’ll meet back here in a few hours and take a break to eat and whatever," I replied. "After that we can make different groups if we haven’t found her. Which I’m sure we will."

"Of course," said Kyle. "What am I saying. We’ll find her. We will."

I tucked my hair behind my ear as we stepped out into the morning air. It was breezy and slightly overcast. Everything seemed to have lost a bit of sheen, perhaps because of the weather and perhaps because of the mood. Mitch and Kyle broke away from us to search one side of the island and Joseph and I broke to the other side.

We walked in silence for a good deal of time, dwelling in our own thoughts, before Joseph broke it. "Did you hear anything that might have said who it was?" he asked.

I shrugged. "Not really," I said. "The voice sounded male and Kat said "he," but the only people that rules out are Madeline and I." Joseph nodded and walked ahead. "I don’t think it’s any of us though," I said.

"Who could it be then?" he asked.

"I don’t know," I admitted. "Some passing lunatic, Modab, one of the "missing" servants. Who knows?" We were on the side of the island with the jungle and searched through it. Tearing at vines and calling out for Kat. I showed Joseph the tunnel into the glade and we looked through it quickly. There was nothing out of ordinary there though, except a spot of dark moss that was stained by the tiger’s blood.

After searching for hours, we headed back to the house to partake in the break we had made each other promise to take. With every step I took, I hoped that Kat would be waiting with Kyle and Mitch back at home. When we got to the house though, they were there alone. Hugh and Madeline searching, there was no one to cook for us but we quickly found food for sandwiches. Some of the stocks were growing older and down though because Cerant’s other servants must have usually gone for food every couple of days. Perhaps they had even been on orders to get the latest batch when they went to St. Vincent. No one complained. We just ate the food thankfully and quickly.

"We promised ourselves a bit more of a break than this," said Kyle and we gave in and agreed. "Let’s go for a swim."

Kyle so loved to swim and he hadn’t been able to very much so I found myself agreeing. The other two did as well but each had something quick they wanted to do first. Kyle and I headed down to the beach immediately though.

"Come on Mel!" said Kyle excitedly as he dashed toward the sea.

I said, "I'm going to put on my sun screen and let it soak until the others get here, you go ahead."

He put on his best sad puppy face but I remained firm and he threw his hands in the air. "Okay, okay," he said before dashing out into the ocean spray. Nothing could keep Kyle from the water for long. I quickly spread the white, slimy substance all over my body and hoped that 30 spf, the highest Cerant had, was strong enough. I spread a beach blanket from the house on the ground and laid back, sinking into the sand. With the warmth of the sun beating against me, the soothing sand beneath me, and the slight wind from the ocean to keep me from overheating, I felt every muscle in my body relax. It almost made me forget the night before but nothing ever would.

Perhaps Cerant's island had drugged us into forgetting simple, harmless situations that frightened us but nothing could make me forget that Kat wouldn't be coming to join us today and perhaps no other day if we couldn't find her. I felt eyes fill up with my tears and I raised my hand to wipe them away. As I wiped I wondered how Kyle was doing and looked up. He was nowhere in sight. I felt my heart begin to pound fiercely in my chest. "Kyle?" I croaked out. Then I screamed, "Kyle!"

Suddenly a shape broke through the surface of the water. It was Kyle and he was struggling like mad. The space around him was a flurry of arms and splash. "Help!" he called. "Someone's trying to pull me under!" Suddenly he vanished from sight again and I began running down the beach toward the water's edge.

"Noo! Kyle!" I called as I ran for him. The thought occurred to me that whoever was pulling him could get me but I said to hell with that. Maybe they would, maybe they wouldn't-I had to help Kyle. As I ran through the water, it slowly grew deeper on me so I dived in and began stroking furiously in the direction where he had been.

I saw him emerge from the sea once when I was running through the water. The terror in his eyes sent a shiver down his spine and I urged myself to move faster. "Mel! Mel" I heard him call one last time then all around me was silent. I kept swimming though with fast and furious strokes. Finally, I reached where he had been but there was not a single trace of him. It was as though the sea itself had swallowed him. Not even the top of the water was disturbed by anything but myself.

"No!" I cried as saltine tears dripped from my eyes and mingled with the salt water below. I seemed to have barely any energy left and let the waves push me back to shore as I wept. "Not Kyle too, please not Kyle," I whispered into the sky. I had failed again. I let the waves slowly rake me across the sharp sand. It had seemed so soft before and now it was like tiny shards of glass trying to tear me apart. I didn't move though. I just lay there in the sand until, eventually people found me.

I suppose I should have known that the waves wouldn't have taken me directly to where my towel was. They had pushed me a little ways down the beach but my mind barely comprehended it. I seemed to lie there forever until I felt myself lift off the ground.

"Is she okay?" I heard Mitch ask from nearby.

"She seems to be," said Joseph. He was the one who had lifted me and his face stared at me in fear and concern. "Mel, honey," he said. "What's wrong? Where's Kyle?"

"He's gone," I said.

"Gone?" asked Mitch, his expression a mix of horror and shock.

I nodded dumbly and tears began to pour down my cheeks. "He's gone, disappeared," I said between sobs. "I tried to help him but I didn't get there in time."

"Where did he go?" asked Joseph, scanning the area.

"Beneath the sea," I murmured, then my tears began anew. "I couldn’t save him, I couldn’t save him."

Joseph and Mitch stared at me in concern. "We need to get her back to the house," said Joseph as he began striding up the beach with me. "Get her stuff," he told Mitch roughly. Mitch shot him a hard glance then looked at me and nodded with a sigh.