Beloved Evangeline (21 page)

At first I thought the stress from this was causing me to see spots, because I saw light ahead in the distance, but then I heard a rustling of branches and was abruptly pulled from my fantasizing back into the real world. Someone else was out here, here in the middle of a swamp, in the middle of the night, in the middle of nowhere. No one up to any good could possibly be here. I instinctively ducked into some brush, realizing too late that the brush I’d chosen was actually a large gathering of blackberry bushes, complete with thorns. I winced as the thorns poked through my shirt and ever so slightly through my jeans. They tugged at my hair, but I kept quiet and still.

“
Are you sure this is the right place?” a male voice asked.

“
Yes
. Positive. She has to be around somewhere,” an anxious female voice replied.

Their voices were familiar, but weirdly out of context. It made no sense...

No
. What would they be doing
here
?

The light reached me and the two became clearly visible: Nicky and... Simon.

I emerged from the bushes, ripping through the thorns attached to my clothes, hair, and skin.

Nicky jumped back and shrieked. Simon whirled around, flashing the light on me.

“
Guys, guys, it’s just me,” I tried my best to not look like an idiot while disentangling my hair from the brambles. “What in the world are you doing out here?”

“
Oh,” Nicky gasped with her hand on her chest. “Thank God. Wait. What do you mean? You texted me—told me to bring a flashlight, so we brought three. You said you needed help?”

“
No” I replied, shaking my head confusedly, “I definitely did
not
text you.” But I pulled the phone out of my pocket to check my sent messages, anyway. I had to turn it back on—I turned it off on the way here so as not to attract any unwanted attention, Sure enough, there it was: “Need ur help at the underground waterfall. Tonight. Midnight. Bring flashlight. E.”

“
That is... Not. Possible,” was all I could manage. I never signed messages with just an initial. I continued to stare at my phone.
Was I going crazy?

“
Well, we’re here
now
,” Simon interjected impatiently. “Maybe you could clue us in on what it is you’re doing? Some of us would like to get home sometime before dawn....”

“
What are you doing here? And where’s Gavin?” I couldn’t help asking.

“
Oh, so you’re worried about Gavin now? What do you think? His heart’s broken. He’s not about to do anything for you.” Simon answered coldly. “I couldn’t let poor Nicky come out to this deathtrap on her own, or
believe me
, I wouldn’t be here, either.”

I had an odd, unfamiliar sensation—his words stung me. So much for being aloof.

I shook my head slightly, in a ridiculous effort to shake off the affront.

“
Look, I really appreciate you both coming out here like this, but I need you to go. I’m not sure what’s going to happen when I find what I’m looking for...”

“
Stop the bullshit, Evangeline,” Simon interrupted. “We’ve already come all the way out here to the middle of nowhere—we’re not just going to leave now. Just tell us what you’re doing, we’ll help you—
like you asked—
and then we can all get back home, like
normal
people...”

“
Remember what we talked about, Simon?” I asked, furrowing my brow, “This would be one of those times that I
really
need to be on my own.”

“
You can drop the code. I already told Nicky.”

“
But... you... promised...”

“
Technically, my promise was conditioned on you making me a promise, which you refused to do.
So
I’m not bound by any promise I made to you.” Simon exhaled, turning his head away. “Maybe if I were a filthy rich total jack-ass you’d have listened...” Simon added under his breath.

“
Let’s all just calm down a minute,” Nicky had a look on her face that meant business. “I’m not going anywhere without you, Evangeline. So just tell us what you need and get this over with.”

How could I tell her no without hurting her feelings or making her feel useless? No options came to me. They were going to have to come with me. There seemed to be no other choice.

“
So what
are we doing
? Cough it up.” Simon demanded.

I let out a sigh. “There’s a treasure of some kind—part of my inheritance from my grandfather. It’s buried out here.”

“
What’s in it? Why do you need it tonight? What...” Simon continued.

“
If you guys want to come with me,” I said, cutting him off, “then we need to go
now
. No questions asked.”

Simon turned away from me and shook his head. I swear I heard him muttering “Gavin” and several expletives under his breath. Nicky grabbed me by the wrist and nodded encouragingly. And so we began.

We started off following one of the many streams that meandered toward a larger creek, which was always the best way to reach the underground waterfall. Nicky and I exchanged glances now and again as we walked, but none of us spoke. I couldn’t think of a single thing to say. One thought alone raced and raced through my head: I had knowingly dragged them into my private hell. I knew the probable consequences of my actions—they did not.

We passed a makeshift fort where Nicky and I had played as children. I had so many fond memories of our childhood adventures. At this point, the streams began to merge, forming a sizeable swamp. Sloshing through the swamp, in the dark, was all but impossible. I’m reasonably athletic, but my feet became stuck often in the oozing muck. I lost one or both shoes several times, and had to resort to rooting around for them in the slime. At times, the water was knee-deep, at others, waist deep. Still, like the fountain behind my grandfather’s house, this place caused a stirring in my soul.

I expected more complaining out of Simon, but he continued his silence—failing to make a fuss even after we had to help him retrieve both of his expensive-looking shoes. I really wished he would just leave. I couldn’t bear the way he was looking at me; the loathing in his eyes was unspeakable.

Unfortunately for Nicky, however, I was selfishly grateful for
her
company. Though I wanted more than anything for her to be safe, at the same time, greedily, I enjoyed being on an adventure with her again. I think the last time we were together in this place, we were like 12. A lump began forming in my throat as I thought of the last conversation I’d had with her. It had all been for nothing. No matter how hard a pushed them away, the ones I loved snapped back to me. I held onto the hope that things would somehow be different this time as though my life depended on it. Still, no matter how hard I hoped and prayed, my shoulders simply would not relax, tensed in nervous anticipation, as always, for the worst.

The sounds of a small waterfall slowly began to mingle with the whir of bugs, the cricket’s song, and our own trudging. We were nearly there. Unfortunately, it hadn’t occurred to me until that moment, that a sizeable pond, an inlet that eventually led to the creek, was at the mouth of the cave, and I had no idea how deep that inlet was.

On either bank, where Nicky and I used to play, the jungle had grown so dense that there was no possible way through it, especially not in the dark. Had this occurred to me sooner, I might have prepared better by bringing a rope or other useful equipment. Now, my only options were to choose between wading through the inlet from here or trying to find another way around and then lowering myself into the water near the mouth of the cave. Neither was appealing.

When we reached the edge of the water, I glanced back and could just barely see Nicky’s shadow trailing far behind us. She wouldn’t be able to keep up with me; she would be a safe distance away. I quickly took a step into the water before Simon grabbed me by the sleeve.

“
You’re not seriously thinking about going in there.”

“
Well...
yeah
. Do you have any better idea about how to get to that bank over there? Please, if you do, let’s have it.”

Simon shot me an angry look.

“
You know, I never actually invited you to come here. I did try explaining. So feel free to go whenever you like.”

“
Sure, Evangeline. Asking poor Nicky to come out here on her own—you’re right, very responsible.” He lowered his voice to a whisper. “You know she has pins in her thighs and hips, right? She had a crushed pelvis once. She shouldn’t be out here at all, for God’s sake. What are you thinking asking her to come out here? You know she’d do anything for you, so of course she’s not going to say no. Don’t you care at all about her husband and kids? Do you think only of yourself?”

That was it. He had said just the right thing to boil my blood. “I didn’t ask her to come here Simon! I know the message came from my phone; I don’t know how to explain it. I’m trying to get across this alligator pit before she catches up to us, understand? So let go of my arm before she gets any closer, and don’t you dare let her follow me!”

“
What are you guys fighting about now? I’m beginning to feel left out—maybe I need to start arguing more.” Nicky called from somewhere behind us.

“
Nothing,” I called back, “Simon and I were just flipping a coin to see who goes in.
I won.
” I glared at him. “Shine the light on the water for me, will you?”

Simon begrudging shone the light on the water. The surface was completely obscured by very thick brownish-green algae. Air bubbles occasionally broke the surface, and there was a faint swaying of the muck.

“
This is insane, Evangeline,” Simon whispered as he shone the flashlight around the pond, “
Anything
could be in that water.”

“
I know. But this is important. It’s the only thing that’s been important to me in a long time, in fact. I
have
to do this. I wish it was just me alone here, though.”

“
What, so you can succeed in killing yourself? No one in their right mind would do something like this by themselves. Is that it, do you want to commit suicide?” He studied me for a moment. “That’s it. I can’t let you do this. I must be losing it, but, I’m going in. Stand back,” Simon protested.

“
I appreciate the chivalry, Simon, but I really need to be the one who goes in. I think I will somehow...
know
... where to find it. That sounds weird, but I just have a feeling...”

There was a rustling sound behind us as Nicky’s footfall drew nearer. Simon turned to see if she needed help. With his attention turned toward her, I grabbed the small spare flashlight from his belt and quickly took three large strides, dragging my legs through the water, cutting Simon off before he could argue with me. His arm swiped the air as he tried to pull me back on the bank, but he was too late. I was already wading through the muck toward the cave before he even knew what was happening. Simon had started in after me, but stopped as he realized Nicky was just catching up and was sure to follow.

I pointed at him, angry-faced, to remind him to keep her safe. He reluctantly obeyed.

The water was only a few feet deep. In no time at all I was half way across. Just as I was thinking this task was going to be cake, my foot found no holding and I sank indefinitely. Caught unaware, I mistakenly inhaled the murky water, choking as it filled my lungs. Underwater for several terrifying heartbeats, I finally gasped my way up to the surface, coughing furiously and treading water.

Simon and Nicky cried out in unison from the bank.

“
Evangeline, get your ass back here!” Simon shouted angrily.

“
It’s too late now, I’m already wet and… unbelievably filthy. Just keep shining the light in front of me.”

Not wanting to see their concerned faces, I just didn’t turn back.

I swam the rest of the way to the mouth of the cave. Thoughts of what might be underneath or around me assaulted me. The water was freezing, my teeth chattered uncontrollably, but I managed to muscle my way through it. The ground beneath me finally rose steadily until I was standing in only a few inches of water. The cave suddenly loomed before me as my body shivered in the freezing air.