Page 55 of Beneath the Surface
Fuck. I’d totally lost track of time.
“Sorry. I got caught up. I’m…uh…I was doing research. For my digital marketing assignment. I’m on my way back now.”
“Fine.” He ended the call, and I groaned again, letting my head fall back against the wall. Time to go.
I poked my head back into Grayson’s room. “I’ve gotta go. That was my dad. I was supposed to be home an hour ago for dinner.”
Ava glanced at her phone and grimaced. “I lost track of time, too. I’m supposed to be heading up a group study session at my sorority in an hour, and I have nothing prepared. I’d better go.”
“I’m not staying here with Cross,” Cruz said instantly, launching himself up from the bed. He winced, rubbing at his ribs, but as soon as he noticed me watching, he straightened up, masking his expression, acting as if he wasn’t in pain.
“Keep researching,” Grayson ordered us. “We’ll work out something about that fence. No fucking idea what, but we’ll do something. I wanna do a proper circuit of the roads around the outside of the lake, see if we can find anything. A fence that big…something has to be visible from the other side.”
I barely heard him after “keep researching.” I needed to do my part. I was an experienced photographer, and it was time I put that into action.
It had seemed like a good idea at the time, but now I was here at the lake, I realized what an epically stupid idea this was. I’d wanted to make it here before dawn, so I could remain undetected in the unlikely event that there was anyone else around, and time it so I could take the photographs as it was getting light. But now I was here on the beach, having secured the tiny rowboat I’d “borrowed” from the small docks that lay to the west of the lake, I was having second thoughts. The wind whistled through the trees, rustling the leaves, and every rustle and soft crunch coming from the wooded area up ahead sounded magnified to my ears. There could be anything out there. Anything.
I hadn’t even told anyone I was going to be here.
Quickly pulling out my phone and unzipping my hoodie, I shielded the screen, so the brightness was hidden by the dark fabric, and tapped out a quick message to Grayson—I knew Ava would worry too much if I told her, and I was nowhere near thetexting stage with Cruz—letting him know that I’d come back to the lake to investigate, and I’d call him later. I knew he’d be asleep for another couple of hours before he was up for his early morning practice, so I had time before he inevitably decided to blow up my phone and berate me for my rash actions.
That done, I made my way over to the trees at the left of the small path I could make out in the predawn haze, settling down with my back against a trunk as I unzipped my camera backpack as quietly as possible. I screwed on my zoom lens and fiddled with the aperture and shutter speed until I was certain I had everything set up to give me decent pictures without needing to get too close. Then I settled back to wait.
When the sky had lightened just enough for me to be able to pick out details of my surroundings, I lifted my camera, placing the strap around my neck. Looking through my viewfinder, I focused on the small pile of rocks, snapping a series of images. I climbed to my feet, shouldering my camera backpack, and moved around the cairn, taking photos from every angle until I was sure I’d captured every detail. Once that was done, I focused on the path leading into the trees, snapping more images. Swallowing hard, I gathered up my courage and moved onto the path. My heart was pounding, and my palms were sweaty, and my breaths sounded way too loud in the silence. It took everything I had to keep going, to not lose my nerve.
A gasp tore from my throat, and I came to a dead stop when the mausoleum—or whatever the structure was—came into view. It was exactly as Grayson had described it, yet even worse. It was the creepiest fucking thing I’d ever laid eyes on. Biting down on my lip, I lifted my camera again and began to photograph the structure, willing my hands not to shake. We needed these photos.
I was zooming in on a strange symbol carved into one of the stones above the entryway, when there was a loud screechingsound. A flock of cawing crows took flight, and I squeezed my eyes shut for a second, my heart beating out of my chest as I pressed the shutter button and then lowered my camera as silently as I could.
Then…the mausoleum gate began to open with a long, drawn-out creak that set my teeth on edge and my nerves on fire.
Scrambling backward, I pressed into the undergrowth, branches lashing at me and catching on my clothes as I pushed deeper, panicked, my fight-or-flight instinct blaring at me to run. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of a hooded figure dressed in black, but I didn’t dare to turn my head any further in case I was spotted. I buried my nose and mouth into my hoodie sleeve, hoping that it would muffle the sound of my breathing.
Everything seemed to still, even the wind in the trees.
Then, there was a loud whistle, followed by a distant bark.
Fuck.
I had to get out of here. Now.
Slowly, I pushed backward. I knew the path back to the beach was to my right, and if I could reach it…
A branch snapped.
I held my breath.
The whistle sounded again, and the answering bark made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up straight. It wasso close.
Throwing caution to the wind, I twisted to the right, bursting out of the undergrowth onto the path, and ran for my fucking life.
33
CRUZ
Iprided myself on not being stupid. I had to live my life being two steps ahead of everyone if I wanted to succeed. It had been a solid plan—up until now.
Yesterday was a mind-fuck. It cemented the fact that we had fucked up that night. Would it have been better to involve the cops that night? Did our fear make everything worse? What would have happened if we had spoken up a year ago? Maybe it was easier for me to say that since I had the least to lose.