Lukas closed his eyes to find himself, not facing darkness, but staring downhill, his toes digging on damp soil. He turned his head slowly to the left. There, at the foot of the hill, was a lake. He started downward.
Somewhere below, he strayed from the winding gravel road onto wet grass, heading straight for the lake with nothing but sheer passion pushing him further down. He had to get there.
Deeper down he went, and was beginning to pick up pace, when he halted, groaning in pain. White hot pain shot from his toe to his spine. Lukas looked down at the source; his foot had uprooted a solitary stone which was hiding under the damp grass.
He picked it up, giving it a dazed look before he took in his surroundings, and stiffened when he caught sight of a mouse scuttling from bush to bush. His mind was racing, searching frantically for answers. Where am I? And how the hell did I get here? He thought, smelling, for the first time, wet grass.
Lukas had never seen this part of Queenstown before. In fact, he wasn’t even certain whether he was still in Queenstown and, to add fuel to the fire, he was in his underwear, lost.
Then he heard it. Not the distant hoot of an owl, but a gurgling sound. It came from a shallow stream somewhere and, judging from the noise level and the steepness of the hill, Lukas had a vague idea of where it led to. The lake…
Once again, Lukas was staring – unseeing – at the lake. At night, it was a huge mass of ink, which stole the sky’s glory.
Without a warning, a strong desire seized him. He wanted to erase all distance between him and the lake, but the little that was left of his reasoning was still fighting, screaming at him whenever he resolved to moving forward. Nonetheless, sanity was promising to abandon him soon.
He had to drown to its depths. He had to. It made no sense to him to stand there and do nothing while destiny called him by name.
Stop! Said a voice somewhere in his head, causing him to pause mid-step, what about those who need me? Think!
But that’s stupid, said another voice, more pronounced. No one needs me. I made sure of that. They’re all better off without me.
At these words, Lukas shivered, as he felt an unwelcomed presence approach him with the cool night wind.
He must drown. He must.
But Gracie…
She survived a year without me; she’ll survive many more when I’m dead.
Then, all reasoning was swept away and Lukas proceeded forward.
**
Invisible hands were pulling him downwards, deeper into the lake’s depths. From above, the little bit of light which remained was thinning, and he was becoming dizzy… Lukas breathed out, letting go. His breath came out in bubbles, which rose rapidly… the darkness around him was thickening… he breathed in and water flooded through his nose and mouth to his lungs… he needed air.
His limbs began thrashing in protest. Air…
A pair of hands seized his arms, pulling him down the deep with alarming strength.
Don’t fight… There’s peace on the other side, Ava’s voice echoed.
His brain was already soaked in water. Ava stared at him hungrily with coal black and bottomless eyes. Hers would be the last face Lukas would see.
Indeed, the tables were turning.
