House of Forbiddens [COMPLETE NOVEL]

2: The Newbie Knows

Christine

My brain whirled with thoughts and emotions as I tried to comprehend what I had just seen. In my mind's eye, I see the whirling seas, feel the rain on my face. I also see a green, monstrous head rising out of the waters of the gulf, the water frothing around it as it bares its terrifying teeth- but that can't be possible! Monsters don't exist! Something that I think I remember from when we read the Odyssey in English couldn't be real. I don't know what in this world I saw back on that Sunfish, but it couldn't have been what I remember. Right?

I don't really know what to think. The now-cleaned cut on Audrey's arm is very real. Nobody else appears to be as horrified or anxious about what happened back there as I am. However, Audrey and Kaden seem to be the exception. They seem to know something about it, to understand the situation in a way nether I nor the rest of the Mariners do. They're being so secretive, muttering between themselves, and now Kaden's talking on the phone with someone. Nobody else acted like something was wrong, they just said we had to get out because of the freak weather. Kaden and I had been fairly far out, so we were some of the last girls to reach the shoreline, and we had seen that they had all made it back in- even if I had seen a capsized boat or two. That, however, was nothing to get worked up over, since we could all right them and had been required to before getting our certification.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts. I could feel my train of thought rambling, and I was having trouble focusing because of the shock from the situation I had just found myself in. The facts were that Audrey and Kaden seemed to know important information about what had just gone down, so I should definitely question them. Currently, Kaden is on the phone, so I got up from where I had been pondering the earlier events and went to go talk to Audrey.

"Hey, Audrey," I began hesitantly. She turned towards me quickly. "Did you see anything strange out on the water?" I asked her, afraid that she would write me off as somehow hallucinating or insane. She raised her eyebrows in response to my question, and replied,

"Apart from the weather? That was wild. But I dunno, what did you see?" I froze, and tensed up, then looked her in the eye. She knew something, I was sure. More than that, I knew what I had seen. I could tell her and see what she said. She was testing me, and I didn't plan to fail.

"I think that what I saw was Scylla." I declared slowly, but without my voice wavering. For an endless second, I wanted for her response. Then I watched and gaped at her as she began to laugh heartily at me. I felt my cheeks warming up, and glanced away- I guess I was wrong. She continued to laugh at me, almost tearing up. Then, she put a hand on my shoulder.

"It's a nice change for a newbie to know their mythology!" She said with a warm smile. Now it was my turn to laugh at the sudden change of events.

"What? You can't be serious. You're saying I was right?" I inquired, and she nodded.

"Bingo. You know, Kaden and I can explain more to you if you're able to come over to Karen's house on Sunday," She replied, so I nodded, grabbing my phone from my bag to call my parents. They would probably be okay with me hanging out at a friend's house. They knew a little bit about Kaden, and knew that it was a shorter drive to her house than Casa Marae where we sailed. Once I got in touch with them, they confirmed that I could spend Sunday with Kaden before heading home to get ready for the week ahead. Minutes later, the other Mariners began pouring into the dorms, eager to change and shower. Once we were all ready, we made our way back to the galley to eat dinner. They then herded us into a room to watch a movie, except for Kaden, who had brought a book instead and set herself up in the brightest part of the room. I sat down next to Audrey and instantly had a question for her.

"So, what else can you tell me?" I asked eagerly. She gave me a small grimace, and said, "it's not exactly safe right now. Kaden and I will tell you tomorrow. But for now, shut up! I'm watching the movie!" She gave me a side glance. "Gosh, you're as bad as Kaden. And that's not a compliment!"

The storm that had come into the bay along with Scylla continued to rage on, rain pummeling the roofs and windows of the buildings. The waters were whipped up into a turbulent frenzy of whitecaps and waves and sea foam. Thunder and lightning crackled across the sky in haunting, ethereal trellises of candor black and white.

Once the movie was over, the girls braved the storm, making the mad dash through the soaking rain and back to the dorm. The wind outside was howling, and it provided an eerie backdrop for the events of the nightly routine before bed. Eventually, however, all the girls were split up into the bunk beds, and all were ready to end the long and weird day. As the sun sunk below the horizon and cast their world into darkness, so they closed their eyes and fell away from reality.

Once they were woken up the next morning by the senior Mariners, they saw that the storm had endured on through the night, at a strength that seemed to be impossible. Because the storm was quickly turning the beach into puddle of mud and making the conditions impossible to sail in, the Mariners administration decided to release the girls earlier than the usual two o'clock, and people's parents were called to come pick them up as soon as they could. As the last girls trickled away down the gravel road leading out of camp, Kaden, Audrey, and I checked out and slipped away to the bathrooms. The two girls glanced around warily, the tuned towards me.

"Christine," Kaden began, "do you trust us?"

I thought about my reply, because that was a loaded question if I had ever heard one. But the thing was, I did. I had started off knowing Kaden fairly well from other Mariner events, and felt close to Audrey after the events of last night. So, with bold conviction, I nodded and smiled. "Yeah, I do."

With that, Kaden nodded and smiled, then opened the bathroom door. There was a ripple in the doorjamb, like ripples across still water, then a new scene materialized where the grimy bathroom entrance had been- a house, lit warmly, with a fire dancing in the background. Kaden heard the door open, and Audrey held out her hand- "Ready? Let's go!"

After a moment's hesitation- what was I getting myself into, I had to wonder- I grabbed her hand and left through the doorway.

By: Nightsong