To the Depths of My Heart

Submerged

Tom woke with a start, his soft veil of sleep perforated by the shriek of surprise that came from Cora's side of the room. He opened his eyes and turned toward her, his mouth open and ready to say comforting words to her, to assure her everything was going to be alright, but he caught two shadows as they moved, pulling a third, Cora, from the mass of blankets and pillows on the bed and towards the doorway. He had no idea what was going on, who the people were, but he was certain they were not any of the three residents of the house. "Hey!" he shouted, making one of them start. "What are you doing with her?"

A light from the hallway flicked on and flooded the doorway, a blinding distraction that made his eyes water for a moment. He blinked away the tears and leaped from his bed as a voice from one from one of the figures whispered fiercely from the enclave, "You have no business in this matter."

"The hell I don't," Tom retorted as he sped after them and grabbed the arm of the figure closest to him as the trio began to descend the cabin stairs. "She is my concern!" He grunted as he threw himself into a backwards force that hurled the person back onto the floor of the upper landing, loosening the grip on Cora's arm.

"Hey!" the other said, turning around and coming back up the stairs, tugging Cora along with. It was a man who had the chiseled hardness of the FBI in his features. "You need to desist now!" His voice boomed throughout the interior of the cabin and he seemed unconcerned about whether it would wake Diana, David, or Dr. Coruma.

Cora was frozen in her fright, terror reflected in her eyes like a gleam of unnatural light. Her breath was quick and shallow as she was tugged back up the stairs like an unwilling rag doll. "Tom, no," she mouthed. She managed to shake her head just enough so that he could see her out of the corner of his eye as he swung a fist towards her captor.

The agent who he'd grabbed initially recovered and was on his feet, strong-arming Tom as his back was turned. "In that case, you need to come with us," he hissed in Tom's ear.

"No!" Tom yelled. "Let us go!" He struggled as his hands were bound behind his back, secured with a plastic zip-tie that dug into the tender flesh of his wrists. His eyes locked with Cora's and he found, within the turmoil of the moment and the anguish that roiled beneath her surface, a calm resolve. His resistance dissolved and he took a deep breath. "Alright," he said, his voice low, even, "As long as you don't hurt Cora or me. Please."

"We're not in that business," the man who had Cora answered. "The girl's well-being is our main priority and if that is yours as well, then we're on the same team."

"I'm not sure about that," Tom grumbled under his breath as he was jerked down the stairs, forced to follow Cora and her captor down the flight, past the groggy eyes of their hosts, who still hadn't quite registered that their guests were wanted by the feds.

Diana reached out to Cora as though she wanted to touch her, ethereal being to ethereal being, but her hand recoiled in the wisp of air that brushed past as Cora was hurried toward the door. "Wait..." she whispered. Her word hung in the air like smoke that curled in a gossamer tendril, hovering in the blackness of night that surrounded them in the room, it's sheen illuminated only by the sliver of moon just outside the bay window.

Cora shot a desperate glance back, her eyes sweeping over Diana and settling on Tom. The earlier fright that resided there was gone, replaced by worry, concern, confusion. "Tom," she cried. She was silenced by a hand over her mouth.

"You'd best stay quiet," the agent said as he manhandled her out through the door. "The less you say now, the better off you'll be." She nodded in compliance.

Tom's agent followed suit, shoving him unceremoniously over the threshold and out into the cool night air.

The yard looked different in the moonlight, the forest through which they'd arrived carried an air of mystery. There were no cars on the gravel drive, which confused both Tom and Cora, until they were steered to the east of the house and heard the telltale sound of a helicopter in the distance. "I hope you're not afraid of flying," one of the agents remarked as he produced a small flashlight from his pocket. His colleague followed suit. Cora replied, "I don't know." Tom only shook his head.