Sunlight Zone

Chapter Four

NO CELL RECEPTION, my phone flashes, as if yelling at me while I try to dial 911 for the tenth time. I expected the service providers would have patched up all these dead zones across the Cape by now and fixed this awful service, but I guess not. Tossing my phone to the ground, I drop to my knees onto the marsh. Out towards the marina there isn't a light to be seen, trying to yell for help now would be pointless, even with taking into account the echo traveling on.

I look at my scrawny arms, two little twigs with barely an ounce muscle, utterly useless in a time like this. If Austin weren't almost twice my size, I could drag him by his feet back through the marsh. After the events today, I should have enough adrenaline to lift a bus full of people, let alone get him to the parking lot. So much for those famous news stories of people gaining super strength during times of extreme danger.

With the shaking finally subdued, light puffs of Austin's slow but steady breath blow against my arm as I sit cross-legged next to him, each reassuring me I still have time to figure out some plan of action. Running back to the truck to call for help or drive to the police station might be my only options. My stomach turns as I remember, I don't have a clue how to operate a stick shift.

The image of my Papa, sitting in his sun bleached and splintered wooden Adirondack chair out on the back patio emerges in my mind. With a pipe in hand, he'd always tell my Nana, "She should be learning to drive stick shift Hellen, not that fancy automatic crap."

Signaling me to come closer he'd say, "Ava, ya never know what situation you'll be in. It's important to be able to drive every sort of car." Apparently, I should have listened.

I notice the mud covering Austin's face is now starting to crack and crumble, dried by the cool ocean breeze. Much to my surprise, there isn't a bit of gold glimmering goo shining through the little fractures. Gently, I brush around his eyes and work my down towards his neck; wiping piece by piece, making sure it's completely gone. Whatever that mystery gunk was, it's disappeared seemingly without a trace. No dust or slimy residue.

It's strange really, with how fast it was spreading, for it to just vanish. Playing back what happened like a movie in my mind, I can feel my heart start to race. The goo was headed towards Austin's eyes and mouth. What if – I can barely process the thought. What if it's inside him? At that very moment, Austin's blood shot eyes open and he jolts upright, gasping for air.

I let out a scream, louder than I've ever made in my life, and Austin screams back in utter shock. The sounds echo across the marsh and out towards the marina, like wild banshees chasing each other eerily into the distance.

"You scared the hell out of me!" I say out of breath looking at Austin.

Still dazed and confused he replies, "Well you didn't exactly wake me up with a plate of eggs and bacon there either! What happened? The last I remember was this awful burning and then complete darkness."

"The goo, whatever that stuff was, it was like it came alive! I saw it spread and change color. It, well it took over! Your face looked like a golden statue," I explain.

"And the darkness?"

"That was the mud."

"Mud?" He says with a puzzled look, his left eye brow crinkling like it always does when he's in deep thought.

"Well, you see, I panicked. Ideally, I would have thrown water, but that wasn't an option, so I grabbed a fist full of mud and, well, I chucked it right at your face," nervousness and a hint of leftover delirium hits me and out of nowhere I start to laugh uncontrollably.

"Sorry, it's not funny really. Just the thought of it all though," I say wiping a tear from my eye and trying to hold in the last few chuckles, "It's madness. This entire night has been complete madness."