How long did it take to drown?
How long until all the oxygen was burned up inside your cells? How long until your lungs shriveled and screamed, deflated and died?
It wasn’t quiet down here beneath the surface. Death by Lake Loch was not peaceful. It wasn’t at all how Amnesia explained the way she felt that night, how she floated peacefully, almost blissfully through a dark, quiet universe of tranquility.
Amnesia.
Reality rushed back like a ten-inch needle driven into my spine. Clarity returned, and my lungs hurt so bad I thought even if I got some air, they would still never be the same.
It didn’t matter.
Half dead wasn’t dead. There was still life in me.
There was still fight.
I was the only thing standing between Amnesia and this monster.
He might be strong, but I was stronger.
Using every last bit of energy I had, I twisted my entire body and bucked. His grip loosened just a fraction, and my hand shot up out of the water and claimed a handful of his balls.
I wasn’t above fighting dirty. There was nothing clean about this psycho.
His hold completely dislodged, and I surged up, gasping for breath as I twisted his balls so forcefully my knuckles ached. He screamed and punched at me. I took the blows and held on. His knees buckled, but I twisted harder.
The splash he made was huge. I let him fall, releasing his nads. I took advantage of his pain to deliver a few swift punches to the side of his head, then delivered another against his cheek, the same spot I’d cracked the bone earlier.
Bubbles erupted at the surface. He propelled up, but I shoved him down.
His body fought and jerked. I felt like a fisherman trying to reel in the catch of a lifetime.
Visions of the way Amnesia looked floating in the lake swam before me. The innocent way she clung to the hoodie the first time I wrapped it around her. The first time she smiled. Her face when she talked about a banana. The way she whispered my name when we made love.
I shoved him farther beneath the surface, his kicks connecting, but I didn’t care.
I pictured Sadie huddled in that hole, the see-through gown covering her body. I thought of the baby that was beaten out of her. The way she must have suffered.
With an angry yell, I picked the man up, bringing his gasping face out of the water. He sputtered and yelled.
I spit in his face. Then I punched him again. His teeth cut into my knuckles. Blood started streaming in thin rivulets across the back of my hand.
“You sick son of a bitch!” I roared, thrusting him back under the water.
To hold him down, I sat on him. He fought and struggled… until he ceased.
The second I felt his body go slack, I shoved away from him, sick.
I didn’t regret killing him. Hell, it was almost too kind for a man like him.
Cold, aching, and terrified out of my mind, I yelled Amnesia’s name. The water put up less resistance this time, and I rushed to the shore. I heard a muffled yell inside the house, and I knew something was wrong.
My foot hit the grass, and I started to run. A heavy, wet figure rammed into me from behind, leaping on me like an elephant wanting a piggyback ride. I made a startled sound and planted my feet into the ground, bucking upward, tossing him over my head. He landed in front of me and rolled. Chest heaving, I looked down to see him with a busted, bruising face and half the buttons missing from his shirt.
“I always come back.” He started to laugh. “Always.”
I punched him in the side of the head, and his laugh turned to a cough. Glancing around, I saw his boat rocking nearby, and I rushed toward it, grasped the oar, and yanked it free from its clamp.
He was on his knees when I made it back. Without hesitation, I swung the oar like a bat, landing a solid blow right to his ribs. He fell flat on his stomach, sprawling out.
I wasn’t about to take any chances, so I hit him again in the back of the head. His body went immobile, and I felt around, unfortunately still finding a pulse. At least he was out cold.
For now.
The sound of a piercing scream cut through the night, and my head shot up.
“Amnesia!” I roared.
She screamed again.
The sound of the screen door banging alarmed me.
“Eddie!” she pleaded.
Bang, bang, bang.
It was as if she were trying to get out, but something was holding her back, keeping her contained.
I moved toward the sound, jerking to a stop, and every curse word I knew slipped out of my mouth. Glancing behind me at the man I wished was dead, but wasn’t, I scowled.
Quickly, I grabbed his arm and started to run, dragging his body over the ground behind me like stock supply from Loch Gen.
I wasn’t about to leave him so close to the shore. I wasn’t giving him a chance to escape.
I let go of him halfway to the back door, not wanting to drag him too close. Even though this situation was pretty fucking dire, I still had enough wits about me to not want Amnesia to get a look at him.
I had no idea what kind of flashbacks his face would bring up, but I knew she might not recover.
Just before I made it to the porch, a blur burst out from inside, causing the door to slam against the side of the house.
“Eddie!” she yelled hysterically. “Help me!”
I barely had time to brace myself before she flung herself into my arms and practically crawled up my body. She trembled like a leaf, her face buried into my neck. Long strands of silky hair blew out over my bare shoulder. Instinctively, my arms locked around her, offering solace and protection.
Water dripped from my hair, down into my eyes.
“She’s trying to kill me,” she said against my neck. “Please protect me. Don’t let me get hurt again.”
“Shh.” I soothed as movement in the doorway caught my attention and a figure staggered slowly outside. Her hand was pressed against her side, her shoulders hunched. She was hurt, bleeding.
“Amnesia,” I whispered.
Sadie pulled back from my arms, her hands still clasped behind my neck. “Yes, Amnesia, Eddie,” she answered. “She’s trying to kill me. She wants to keep us apart.”
And then I realized something.
The lake wasn’t friend or foe. Not to me.
It was its own entity, an omega.
It had its own set of rules and balances. Its own system of justice and punishment.
It took Sadie but gave me Amnesia.
Then Sadie came back. I had one too many of its secrets.
Lake Loch might have warned me, but it wasn’t without consequence. It wasn’t without blame.
I was going to have to choose. Here and now. Past or present.
Sadie or Amnesia…
The girl I lost or the girl I found.