Neversink (Flash Version)

Zac and I had decided to escape the falling debris of our parents’ messy divorce and spend the remaining weeks of summer vacation at the family cottage in Neversink. Zac was leaving for Cornell soon, so we made a pact to make the most of our trip. Why he then decided to invite Elias Baker, a slimy slacker in his homeroom, I have no freakin’ clue. This guy had a God-given gift to undermine everyone he encountered; he’d call me ‘Andrea’ constantly. He didn’t even pronounce it right. He knew it was Andy, he knew it. Asshole. The car ride was torture, Elias droned on and on about how hard his life was; the silver spoon in his mouth just begged to be shoved down his throat. I bolted toward Neversink Reservoir when we arrived, practically jumping out of a moving vehicle to escape. ‘Hold up! You can’t go out by yourself. We’ll tag along. Come on Elias,’ Zac called out. I rolled my eyes. I liked being alone. It was tiring having to impress people all the time. I wasn’t like Zac. People seemed to swarm to him. He craved attention; it was his oxygen. I preferred mine a bit fresher. As we reached Neversink Reservoir, the sun disappeared and bruised clouds stole the sky. I started to feel nauseous. ‘Hey! Look at that old thing.’ Zac pointed to a beat-up, abandoned blue rowing boat. Elias jumped onto the front of it and opened his arms wide. ‘I’m the king of the world. Waaahoooo!’ he yelled, copying the scene from the new Titanic film everyone was talking about. ‘We so have to go out in it,’ Elias grinned. ‘Give it a push, dude.’ ‘Wait, we can’t just take it, someone might own it,’ I said. Elias glared at me. ‘No one owns this pile of garbage. Are you scared Andrea? Did no one teach you how to swim?’ He jumped out of the boat and stared me square in the face. His features were sharp. He was good-looking but there was something unnerving about him. I stared at the ground and then at Zac. He didn’t say anything. Elias smirked and let the silence linger. I folded my arms and sat down in the boat, avoiding his gaze. They started to push the little boat into the water. The reservoir resisted. It had become choppy and they struggled to shove it a decent distance from the edge. I heard the whistling of an eagle and looked up into the sky. A faint amber outlined the threatening clouds like the edge of a piece of paper that had just been set alight. The boys competed in the power of their rowing strokes, making the boat rock even more. I placed my head in my hands and counted the cracks in the wood to stop the world from spinning. A zingy, sweet fragrance hit my nostrils. Shit. I was about to tell them to turn back when a sudden flash of lightening ripped through the sky and illuminated the reservoir. The boys dropped their oars. A growl of thunder followed, causing my heart beat to echo through my body. The water became more turbulent and I grabbed the sides of the boat. We were almost in the dead centre of the reservoir. ‘I think we better go back,’ Zac said. I nodded in agreement. ‘Don’t have a cow, man. It’s not that bad.’ Elias sounded confident but I could sense a hidden unease in his voice. Zac ignored him and smiled reassuringly at me. As he bent down to pick up the oars, the boat jerked and he was flipped over the side. I gasped and reached out to grab him but the water pushed against the boat, separating us. Elias and I flew back, hitting our heads against the wood. The wind pressed into my face with all its force, suffocating. I looked over toward Elias, his expression was that of sheer panic. He seized the oars and started to row back. With all my strength I managed to pull myself up. ‘Where is Zac? Where the hell is Zac?’ I screamed. ‘He’s too far away,’ he yelled. I scanned the water and spotted his blonde hair in the distance. ‘We can save him. What are you doing? Turn around. We can’t just abandon him. Elias!’ Another crack of thunder. Rain started to fall from the sky. He didn’t stop. I reached for the oars but he elbowed me in the stomach. And then the face. I slammed onto my back, couldn’t move. I opened my mouth and cried out, choking on rain. My cry hovered in the air in front of me. It never travelled any further. A sour taste swarmed my mouth. My vision blurred and my ears rang with alarm. Everything seemed to slow but my heart raced. The rain felt like nails piercing my skin and my drenched overalls hammered me to the boat. In that moment, something within me was swept away, leaving me trembling and empty. Flashes of lightning veined the abyss above. I had to do something. But my body didn’t move. I was completely numb. I glanced in Elias’ direction, but he was gone.

The violent rocking had stopped. A shockwave gushed through my limbs and I jolted forward. I was safely on land, but there was no sight of my brother. Awareness of what had just happened started to sink in. My nose began to bleed. I watched as the blood dripped onto the blue, chipped paint and became diluted by the rain. Zac was a strong swimmer. He’d got out. He wasn’t gone. I vaulted out of the boat and shoved it back into the reservoir. I was not going to leave him. The waves battled against me and water started to fill the boat. I screamed his name over and over, but only the thunder replied, warning me to turn back. But I wouldn’t. I couldn’t. Forgive me.

#flash #fiction