her.
The walkers jostled for a safe perch. The granite surface was difficult for their boots to grip and sloped gently but meaningfully towards the pumping sea. The platform on which they stood had commenced life as part of the mountain somewhere far above, and apparently had ambitions to one day become part of the ocean floor. Behind Bryan, the restless bay made a monochrome backdrop in the dull light—black water, white foam, steely sky. One careless step backwards would be enough to take him off the edge, dropping at least the height of a two-story building into that demented water. Part of her was tempted to give him a shove, after the horror he’d put them through. The other part knew they couldn’t afford to lose the safety and navigational gear that he carried—not just yet.
Callie could see she wasn’t the only one who found the setting intimidating. Erica was breathing hard. Kain looked uneasy. Sharon teetered and gasped, almost losing her balance. Rachel grabbed the hand she thrust out sideways, steadying her. Behind them, the fortress of forested rock rose steeply above, offering no refuge.
“Where’s the boat?” said Sharon. “Have we missed it?”
“We’re at the end of our journey,” Bryan announced.
Cold fingers of foreboding ran down Callie’s spine. He was much too close to the edge. And how could anything but a very large vessel collect them from this high platform?
“Welcome to Poison Bay.” Bryan’s voice was like dry ice.
Kain said, “What do you mean? Why is it poison?”
Bryan flushed. “That’s its name: Poison Bay.”
“Why is it called that?”
Jack said, “Kain, I think the point is why Bryan has brought us here instead of to Milford Sound.”
“Why have you brought us here, Bryan?” said Callie. She used her television voice, calm and strong. Her insides felt more like the sea.
“Because the Shadow Land told me that I must bring you to the bay of poison.”
He sounded like a Tolkien character, but no one teased him.
“This day and this hour is ten years, the time of completion. My suffering is ending, and yours is beginning. I have earned my release. It has been a battle to get you all here at the appointed time. But it is finished, and now the Shadow Land will purify us all.”
They stared, speechless, and then Jack spoke. “Purify us from what?”
“How can you be so complacent that you forget what you owe? You must pay for the murder of Liana and her baby!”
“Bryan, we didn’t murder Liana,” Callie said. “We all let her down in different ways. We were gutted by her death, and we will see it in our heads forever. But we didn’t kill Liana, and neither did you. Liana killed Liana.”
“You did kill her! Some of you did wicked things. Others avoided doing the right things. You all know the secrets you carry. For ten years Liana and her baby have lain in the cemetery, waiting for justice. I have paid and paid, and now you will too.” He paused and stared at them, one by one. Callie found herself transfixed by the way his nostrils flared in and out with each breath. “You know what you deserve. Not one of you will leave the Shadow Land alive!”
He took a decisive step backwards, the arch of his sole connecting firmly with the angled edge of the rock. He pushed hard, launching his body up and out. The weight of the rucksack tipped him as he fell, so that he hit the ocean spreadeagled. The black water rose up and swallowed him whole.
7
The oxygen was sucked out of the universe and time stopped for one second, two seconds, three seconds.
Callie started as Jack and Adam moved simultaneously. In swift silence, they unclipped harnesses, piled packs against the rock wall with jackets, followed by boots. Jack shoved his camera, still rolling, into Callie’s hand and she stared at it, her mind stuck. It only dislodged itself as the two men leaped off that awful edge, following Bryan into the water.
“Jack! Adam!” she
The walkers jostled for a safe perch. The granite surface was difficult for their boots to grip and sloped gently but meaningfully towards the pumping sea. The platform on which they stood had commenced life as part of the mountain somewhere far above, and apparently had ambitions to one day become part of the ocean floor. Behind Bryan, the restless bay made a monochrome backdrop in the dull light—black water, white foam, steely sky. One careless step backwards would be enough to take him off the edge, dropping at least the height of a two-story building into that demented water. Part of her was tempted to give him a shove, after the horror he’d put them through. The other part knew they couldn’t afford to lose the safety and navigational gear that he carried—not just yet.
Callie could see she wasn’t the only one who found the setting intimidating. Erica was breathing hard. Kain looked uneasy. Sharon teetered and gasped, almost losing her balance. Rachel grabbed the hand she thrust out sideways, steadying her. Behind them, the fortress of forested rock rose steeply above, offering no refuge.
“Where’s the boat?” said Sharon. “Have we missed it?”
“We’re at the end of our journey,” Bryan announced.
Cold fingers of foreboding ran down Callie’s spine. He was much too close to the edge. And how could anything but a very large vessel collect them from this high platform?
“Welcome to Poison Bay.” Bryan’s voice was like dry ice.
Kain said, “What do you mean? Why is it poison?”
Bryan flushed. “That’s its name: Poison Bay.”
“Why is it called that?”
Jack said, “Kain, I think the point is why Bryan has brought us here instead of to Milford Sound.”
“Why have you brought us here, Bryan?” said Callie. She used her television voice, calm and strong. Her insides felt more like the sea.
“Because the Shadow Land told me that I must bring you to the bay of poison.”
He sounded like a Tolkien character, but no one teased him.
“This day and this hour is ten years, the time of completion. My suffering is ending, and yours is beginning. I have earned my release. It has been a battle to get you all here at the appointed time. But it is finished, and now the Shadow Land will purify us all.”
They stared, speechless, and then Jack spoke. “Purify us from what?”
“How can you be so complacent that you forget what you owe? You must pay for the murder of Liana and her baby!”
“Bryan, we didn’t murder Liana,” Callie said. “We all let her down in different ways. We were gutted by her death, and we will see it in our heads forever. But we didn’t kill Liana, and neither did you. Liana killed Liana.”
“You did kill her! Some of you did wicked things. Others avoided doing the right things. You all know the secrets you carry. For ten years Liana and her baby have lain in the cemetery, waiting for justice. I have paid and paid, and now you will too.” He paused and stared at them, one by one. Callie found herself transfixed by the way his nostrils flared in and out with each breath. “You know what you deserve. Not one of you will leave the Shadow Land alive!”
He took a decisive step backwards, the arch of his sole connecting firmly with the angled edge of the rock. He pushed hard, launching his body up and out. The weight of the rucksack tipped him as he fell, so that he hit the ocean spreadeagled. The black water rose up and swallowed him whole.
7
The oxygen was sucked out of the universe and time stopped for one second, two seconds, three seconds.
Callie started as Jack and Adam moved simultaneously. In swift silence, they unclipped harnesses, piled packs against the rock wall with jackets, followed by boots. Jack shoved his camera, still rolling, into Callie’s hand and she stared at it, her mind stuck. It only dislodged itself as the two men leaped off that awful edge, following Bryan into the water.
“Jack! Adam!” she
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