The sirens are wailing now. Another cop joins in since I haven’t slowed down.
Surely, this is the stupidest, most reckless thing I’ll ever do.
But I refuse to be a coward anymore.
Exit in half a mile.
My eyes glance one more time in the rearview mirror . . .
And then, I fucking floor it.
Chapter 33
By the time I make it to the exit, everything flies by in a blur of green and black and blue. Another cop car has joined. Sirens wail behind me.
I’m off the exit now and flooring it on a side road.
Thirty more seconds, and we’ll be there.
Twenty-nine. Twenty-eight.
If we make it, my life is over. If we don’t make it, my life is also over.
The cops are on my ass.
I lean on the horn, roll down the window, and shout “Get out of the fucking way!” as I pummel through the grassy shoreline that leads to the water.
People jump out of the way. I’ve lost the cops when I drove into the bushes, but they’ll catch up soon enough.
When I shut off the car, I have three minutes to go.
I topple out the door and rush over to Mack’s side.
“Stay with me, Mack! Stay with me!”
His eyes roll back, but he’s still alive, even if just barely. Blood covers everything—the seat, his shirt, his shorts.
I yank him up with every single shred of strength I can muster.
I have to go in with him and fast.
I count in my head as I trudge through the sand, kicking off my shoes as I go.
Behind me are the sounds of the cops. But everything’s a blur.
Two and a half minutes and my feet hit the water. Mack’s dragging and stumbling beside me.
The water is shallow until it’s not, and I stumble before plunging beneath the surface. I’m swimming one handed now, Mack against my chest.
One minute.
I’m pushing hard. I was never a strong swimmer . . . until now. I guess turning into a fish has its advantages.
I push all the air out of my lungs, but the need to inhale is gone.
I swim three meters to the east and then course correct slightly north.
I don’t know what I’m even looking for, but even in the murky water, my vision has cleared.
Ten seconds and I scream under the water when I see it.
A whirling electric circle spinning in the middle of the ocean. Like a goddamn ring light.
The same whirling fiery circles I saw weeks before in my dreams.
Push, Jules. Push. Push.
I’m so close I can sense the electrical pull. The portal is within reach.
And then, suddenly, blackness blankets my vision, slimy strips slapping against my face.
Shit, what was that?
Something’s stuck on my sleeve, plastered against my face and body.
It’s seaweed, sticky and thick like plastic wrap.
It slips around my arms and splatters over Mack’s face.
