The Navigator

Part II

Chapter 3 

I don't know what finally woke me up. I think it was the wind howling and the trees banging against the building that jolted me out of sleep. I sat up, feeling panicked for some unknown reason, my heart pounding in my chest. And then I heard it. My Soul Pager. 

I moaned, but got out of bed to find it as it continued to beep incessantly somewhere in the dark. I stumbled over a pile of dirty clothes in the corner and stubbed my toe on the dresser twice before I finally located the small, round, black pager. Holding it up to my face, I pressed the button on the front and the screen came on, the eerie green light shining on my face and the surrounding room.  

I watched as the LSD words scrolled across the screen quickly, over and over again. Navigator: Needed urgently. Get to Chesapeake Bay as quickly as possible. Don't delay. Navigator... 

I threw the pager onto the bed and slipped out of my pajamas, quickly locating a pair of pants and shirt. I threw them on and raced out of the room. Pausing only to grab my jacket on the way out the door, I bolted down the seven flights of stairs and out to my car.  

Jumping in the front seat, I turned to key in the ignition. The car sputtered for a moment and then grew silent. I bit back a curse under my breath. The car could not die on me now. Not when I was in the biggest hurry of my life. I twisted the key again and was relieved to hear the car splutter to life. I revved the engine a few times and then, without bothering to turn on the heater, zoomed out of the parking lot.  

When I was nearing Chesapeake Bay, I started to slow down because a thick fog was rolling in off the ocean. I crept along, drumming my fingers on the steering wheel until I finally located the gate to enter the beach area. I pulled my car into a parking space and jumped out, leaving the solid ground of the parking lot for the unstable ground of the rocky beach. I stumbled over rocks and trees until I had reached the water's edge. I stood for a moment, breathing hard in the cold air, until I heard voices echoing up to me from farther down the shoreline.  

Following the voices, I walked down the shoreline until I could see a group of teenagers standing at the water's edge, holding flashlights. They were all frantically calling someone's name, but with the thick fog, it was no use.  

I watched them for a moment, trying to figure out who was lost...and dying. Who I was picking up tonight.  

Finally, I began moving forward again so that I soon stood behind the group of kids. There were a few boys, but most of the group was composed of girls. They were all in bathing suits and bikinis and were shivering violently in the autumn night. I listened as one girl, a short girl with dark hair, turned to the others and whispered, "We should have never let her go out there alone. We'll never find her in all of this fog."  

"Yeah, it moved in really fast. Creepy." Another girl, a tall blonde, shivered nervously as she wrapped her towel more securely around her shoulders.  

I watched the group for another small moment and then headed toward the water, pulling my inflatable raft out of my kit as I did so. Pulling the tab, I inflated the raft and set it into the water, climbing in with arms outstretched to brace myself as it tipped from side to side in the current. After I had gained my equilibrium, I grabbed the oars and began to row out into the silent, fog covered harbor.  

I had been rowing for about ten minutes when I caught sight of something through the fog. I picked up my pace and soon came upon what I had seen. It was a canoe, flipped over and half-sunken with water. The oars had long since floated away and all that remained was a girl, wearing a life jacket and holding onto the ledge of the canoe with shaking, blue hands. I knew she was dying as she shuddered and tried to bring in each breath fully.