Apex

25 | wolves of the sea

JULY 11 - 20

MAUD

Apparently, a person could drown on dry land hours after inhaling water during a near-drowning incident. That wasn't what happened to me, though.

The doctors said that I couldn't have been in the water for very long, otherwise I would've sustained significant brain damage. After I was rescued by the Coast Guard, a paramedic named Gabriel revived me. Everything that happened after I remembered only in brief and bright flashes punctuated with sensory details. I suspected that the beeping of machines, the antiseptic stench, and the potent taste of saltwater would haunt me forever.

Keeping track of time was tricky. In one of my early waking moments, Grandfather was sitting at my bedside and cried when he saw that my eyes opened.

"Watashi no chīsana sakana," he told me. My little fish.

The pain in my head was impossible to ignore, but every part of my body felt heavy. As time ticked on, I struggled to piece together the chain of events that landed me in a tiny hospital room. I'd found Zachary Healy and Brenna Quinn in the boathouse. Zachary had hit me on the head. While I'd drifted in and out of consciousness, I heard a gunshot. I wasn't sure how I ended up in the water, but I remembered the cold and the metallic taste of blood in my mouth.

The hospital released me after I recovered from a bad case of hypothermia and my head injury. I'd somehow evaded a concussion. While there was a part of me that felt like I got off lucky, I credited the doctors and paramedics for working the magic that they called science.

When I finally returned home, the first thing I asked of Grandfather was to keep my friends away. He reluctantly agreed, but only obliged for three days. I was resting on my bed when I heard the doorbell ring, and I dragged myself over to the front window. Sydney Atwood's black Prius sat in the driveway. I assumed Syd was coming from somewhere other than his house since he was my neighbor and walking fifty yards would've been the most logical and eco-friendly solution.

The upstairs hallway was quiet, but muffled words carried from downstairs. Unsurprisingly, Grandfather had welcomed Syd inside. He treated him like the son he'd lost.

"You two wait here," Grandfather instructed, and my stomach lurched. Syd wasn't alone. "If she doesn't come down soon, go up. She needs to see friendly faces."

I didn't need to see friendly faces. What I needed was to be alone so that I could continue to wallow in guilt and self-pity. Besides, I had no idea what I would say since a simple thank-you would probably undermine the severity of the situation.

I'd put my friends into an impossible position. That weighed on my conscience as well as Zachary's death. 

"I don't know if Maud will consider me to be a friendly face."

Recognizing the voice, I bit down on my lower lip and tried to ignore the emotion welling up inside of my chest. While I was lurking at the top of the stairs like a little kid, Nicki Watson was standing in my kitchen for the first time.

Grandfather made a swift exit by announcing that he was heading over to the Pacific King office to conduct an interview for the position that recently opened up. Thanks for nothing, Albert.

I silently cursed Grandfather for abandoning me to work through my personal problems, but I supposed that I couldn't keep playing the 'I almost died' card forever. A small eternity ticked by until I summoned the courage to go downstairs. The wooden steps creaked beneath my bare feet as I descended, announcing my presence to the boys.

They'd set up camp in the kitchen. Their quiet conversation stopped the moment I stepped into view, and I walked up to them as carefully as possible. My tear ducts were threatening to burst like a dam.