Shores of Truth

Ch. 17, Fog

Travis

The sun was rising. It cast its light on a restless night. Travis found the silence of the morning deafening. He couldn't stand the inactivity any longer. He went for a run where the crashing of the waves beat against his mind. The mist was heavy which reflected his troubled mind. Travis ran over and over last night. Nyxeria never ceased impressing him. She knew probably everything about him and liked him anyways. Him. Just him. Not the fantasy or idea of him, she really liked him as he was. And then they said goodbye. She cared enough to let him go. He expected his heart to be broken. He expected to shed tears. He expected to be miserable. He also expected he would move on and find love again. Although he would classify himself as a romantic, he was a realist as well. There would be someone else one day.

 Travis plopped down in the sand. He ran his hand through his hair. Something he was doing a lot of late. His breathing was still heavy from the run. The water looked mystical in the fog. There could be other girls, but they wouldn't be Nyxeria. She was strong, caring, happy, brave, intelligent, funny, and--he felt right with her.

 What was he going to do? It wasn't long after Nyxeria left that he realized how stupid breaking up was. The problem was he had no idea how to make it work. He wasn't going to make Nyxeria do anything. He was going to have to change. That was the only way to keep her. Focusing on a plan he didn't notice a figure approaching him through the mist.

Nyx

 A little earlier that morning Nyxeria was awaken by Max's braying howl. "What the…?" she mumbled to herself. Her hair was ratted and stuck to her face. She still wore her clothes from yesterday. Her throat was parched. Her head was pounding. Max was restless. Nyxeria threw her hair in a bun. He must have to use the bathroom, she thought.

 "Hold on. Hold on."

 She went down stairs and let him out. Then she went to the kitchen to down a cup of juice. Looking out the kitchen window she could not see Max in the yard. This wasn't normal. Something was wrong. She checked Mrs. Page's room. It was still very early in the morning; her mother should be in bed. Her mother was not there. Nyxeria grabbed her coat. Sprinting out the door she called for Max.

Once she reached the sand she saw Max's paw prints and knew she was going in the right direction. Even better she saw small human prints. That must be her mother. She didn't have time to think about what her mother was doing. She had to find them. It was difficult to see anything in the morning fog. She finally heard barking. Three figures were in the distance. She recognized the doglike figure as Max. One person was facing out towards the lake. The last figure stood a ways behind with arm out stretched holding something. Then she heard a gunshot.

 Nyxeria took off towards the noise. When she got close enough for the fog to clear, her heart stopped at the sight. Her mother held a gun. Travis lay bloody on the sand. She ran to him. He was unconscious, but still breathing. It was a chest wound. She held pressure on it. It is all my fault, she thought.

 Her mother came up behind her. "He was leaving you."

 "Call 911 then go home."

 "He was leaving you like your father was leaving me. I'm so sorry, honey, I had to,” her mother begged.

 "Go home, Mom." Nyxeria’s eyes never left Travis.

 Silence. Her mother had left. His breathing was slowing. She risked moving one hand to grab her phone and dial.

 "I need an ambulance."

 Please live, oh god, please live, she prayed.