Page 54 of Waves
After I dove beneath the surface, I came back up with a huff through my nostrils. A small group sprawled on the rocks nearby, likely hoping to snag something when the fishermen returned to the marina. I hauled myself out of the water and growled at another seal who dared to question my claim to this spot. I spent the rest of the day going back and forth between hunting along the coastline and napping on small, empty beaches. When the sun began to set in the sky, I searched for a place to sleep for the night when I heard a horn in the distance, and I actually remembered. Now was not the time for napping.
Thinking about Ezra was enough for me to feel uncomfortable in the water. I took the urge to shed as a good sign, and that my body got what it wanted out of this excursion. I swam a good distance today, and a familiar strip of sandy beach was in sight. I met Ezra on that beach. I could get out there and walk back in the dark. Ezra might still be upset when I came home, but he would get over it when he...
I woke up face-down in the water while the crashing ocean waves pushed me to the shore. I couldn’t remember what happened, but the stinging across my back wasn’t a good omen. I moved my flippers and twisted my body, and everything responded fine aside from the fire spreading across my spine. This was not like the painful desire of wanting to go ashore or the burning itch to return to the sea.
Since I was stuck in the shallows, I waited for the next wave before I tried to shed my coat. Changing never hurt like this before. Typically, the shift into my human form was as fluid and painless as removing a piece of clothing. Not this time—this time, I actually felt as if I left behind skin when I peeled the fur from my flesh.
The ocean pushed me the rest of the way to the beach and I clawed at the sandy shoreline while I pulled myself from the water and collapsed on land. I couldn’t stay here, but I needed a moment to catch my breath. I gripped the wet sand in my fist and tried to push myself up. All my limbs worked fine, and I was still able to stand. What was wrong with my back? I twisted an arm and reached between my shoulder blades. I felt wet, dripping wet. Once I pulled my hand back, a dark liquid shined on my fingers under the moonlight. This was not good.
I lifted my coat from the sand and trudged down the beach to the road. This wasn’t a long walk, but getting home took me longer than it should while each step felt heavier than the last. I let out a sigh of relief when I spotted Ezra’s house illuminated against the night. The garage door was still open, exactly as I left it. That was nice of him. Dropping my coat in an empty bucket by the base of the steps, I turned the door handle in my hand, but it was locked.
“Ezra,” I croaked while knocking on the door.
The house sounded quiet on the other side of the door. Then Ishmael barreled down the hall after a few seconds, leaping up onto the door while he barked. As happy as I was to hear his greeting, I needed someone with thumbs right now.
This entire time, I willfully ignored the fact that I was bleeding, but this was a lot harder to do in a lit room. I left a trail of drops when I came into the garage, and a startling amount dripped down my sides onto the stairs below me.
“Ezra, please, I’m sorry. Don’t be mad,” I said more urgently. “I need you.”
Ishmael barked, and his nails clicked across the floor while he raced away. I waited for my retriever buddy to get Ezra and leaned against the door by putting most of my weight against the frame. The floor sloshed beneath me while my eyelids became heavier and heavier. Ezra might have been onto something when we discussed longevity versus immortality.
* * *
EZRA
The day passed with me moping in bed, playing depressing music way too loudly through the speakers of my phone while I crushed another round of my favorite matching game. I almost dropped my phone on my face when Ishmael came running down the hall, jumping from the door to the bed in a single leap and barking like a madman. He nudged my arm with his snout relentlessly, but I happened to know he ate and went to the bathroom already. I was in no mood for a late-night walk or a game of fetch. Even when I rolled over to get away from him, he kept at it.
“Ishmael, go lie down,” I snapped, pointing to the floor.
Ishmael’s ears pinned back before he jumped to the floor, but the stinker walked in a circle then came right back to my side of the bed. He nudged his noggin against my shoulder and whined then pawed at the bed without jumping. Once I pocketed my phone, he immediately rushed to the bedroom door, stopping to glance back at me and then looking down the hall again while he whimpered.
“You better piss a lake out there,” I said before I swung my legs from the bed to the floor.
Ishmael trotted ahead of me while his tail whipped in such a wide arc, he almost hit the walls. Instead of turning and racing to the slider when we entered the kitchen, Ishmael went right to the door connecting to the garage. I saw his lobster abandoned there, meaning he must want company while keeping guard for Kai.
I hooked my hand in his collar to drag Ishmael away from the door since my patience was nonexistent right now. If he barked, I wouldn’t have heard a damn thing. Instead, Ishmael let out the most pathetic whine when I dragged him across the linoleum, barely audible even to me. Then I noticed what caught his attention: the soft tap-tapping coming from the other side of the door. I released my dog and twisted the locks with fumbling hands, then swung the door open, caution totally gone to the wind.
My heart leaped into my throat. Kai stood in front me; his fist still raised from knocking. When he lifted his head and smiled right at me, I couldn’t believe he was happy—to see me, that is. Kai looked so relieved in that brief instant our gazes met, then his eyes rolled back, and he dropped like a sack of potatoes. Without even thinking, I threw my hands out to catch him, but he was dead weight in my arms.
My heart sank in the time it took me to close the door and carry (but mostly drag) Kai over to the couch. Once I heaved Kai down onto his side, I left him only to rush over to the wall of the living room and flick on the overhead lights. I was trying not to panic. I might not be a medical professional, but I knew the difference between passed out and dead. Kai was definitely not dead. Besides, he couldn’t die. He’d told me so himself, and I chose now to hold him to his word.
I crouched down beside Kai’s face, giving his cheek a few light taps. “Hey,” I said. “You need to open your eyes, babe.”
Kai didn’t move an inch, but he groaned.
That was good enough for me. My fingers rested on his wrist to check his pulse, but his skin felt freezing compared to mine. I dragged the blanket off the couch to cover him, stuffing around the edges of his body to trap the heat.
My hand came back wet, but I brushed that off since his hair left a damp circle on the cushion. Only when I noticed the red smeared on my fingers did my eyes drift to the floor, where Ishmael sniffed a trail of crimson dots across the kitchen and living room.
I took a calming breath and told myself this was probably not that bad. Lots of injuries bled a lot, making it look much worse than it really was. Kai made it here in one piece. He couldn’t be hurt that badly. I lifted the blanket and quickly scanned him but didn’t notice any cuts or scrapes, so I rolled him onto his stomach to look at his other side.
“Oh no,” I mumbled.
How did I almost miss it? Kai looked as if he lost a fight with a deli slicer because something tried to filet a strip of skin off his back. My first response should be to gag, but when my stomach churned, I told myself there was no time for me to freak out or puke. I pulled out my phone and typed at the speed of light before I slammed the call button.
“Ezra?” Mary asked. Not even a hello.
“I-need-ya-ta-come-over-right-now.” I mumbled my request so fast, the sentence became one long word.