Wet

“Keep them closed!”

“I am.”

Daniel felt the weight of various forces. Gravity pulled down on him attempting to knock him over every rock and root protruding from the dirt path. His heavy framed backpack tugged him backward, threatening to topple him. The force he didn't seem to mind was the gentle guidance of Caitlin's soft hand leading him onward. Sunlight, filtered through the branches of an endless forest, danced across his closed eyelids.

“You're not taking me out in the middle of nowhere to kill me, are you?”

Caitlin laughed.

“Relax. This place is magical.”

Daniel could feel the smile in her voice and it brought one to his lips as well. He had been anticipating this camping trip ever since Caitlin asked him three weeks ago. This was his chance to get to know her better. She squeezed his hand and led him deeper into the forest.

“Hang on.”

Caitlin was tightening the straps around his chest.

“Can I open my eyes now?”

“Almost. Hold still.”

Daniel did as he was told. The sun was everywhere now - they had left the safety of the treeline. He could hear the unmistakable sound of crashing water beneath him. Before he had time to consider these new sensations, Caitlin's hands were on his shoulders, turning his back to the sound.

“Do you trust me?”

“Well let's see, you drag me through...”

His thought was cut off as she pressed her lips against his. The kiss broke as he was sent reeling over the cliff behind him, guided by her gentle hands. He heard her voice from far above.

“You can open your eyes now!”

But they were already wide. It took them a moment to adjust and before he could make sense of his surroundings he found himself underwater struggling for breath. He opened his eyes and nearly choked as he opened his mouth in awe. Through the haze he realized that he was not in the pool below him but suspended in a sphere of water floating above the surface. He held his breath and watched Caitlin leap from the cliff and land in a second bubble. Both bubbles drifted toward the graveled shore below, and deposited them gently on the banks.

“I should be mad at you, but I can't stop thinking about what happened.”

“Don't bother, you'll have plenty reason to be mad at me later.”

He looked up at her and saw a momentary sadness in her eyes. And then it vanished.

“Kidding,” she smiled, “Oh, you won't need that.”

He had been pulling things out of his backpack. Sleeping bag, tent, change of clothes, but it was the water purifier towards which she gestured.

“Why not?”

“I'll show you.”

Caitlin began running her hand through the water. They were standing at the base of an enormous pool which funneled downstream into a steady river. He looked up at an impossibly tall waterfall. Giant redwoods towered over them and a breed of mountain sorrel dotted the sandy shoal. Just upstream, emerged a creature unlike any he had ever seen. Soon another emerged, followed by three more.

At first glance they looked like koalas, though in place of the oversized ears were large translucent eyes. Under their arctic blue otter-like fur were flaps that could only be gills. The creatures approached Caitlin on their awkwardly shaped webbed paws, which would have looked comical if it weren't for the serrated claws extending from them. She leaned down unflinchingly and scratched the chin of one of the creatures.

“What are they?”

“These are the little guys that just saved our lives.”

“How?”

“Watch.”

She tilted her head toward the river. One of the creatures scampered toward the shore. It began to roll the water like a child making a snowball and surprisingly, it retained its shape. Daniel followed the ball of water with his eyes as it wafted toward his face.

“Is it safe?”

The girl nodded. He leaned forward and sipped the water from the air.

“Cannonball!”

Daniel connected with a floating bubble three times his size, bursting it upon impact. Water erupted in every direction and rained down on the lake below. He fell, arms flailing, into the cool refreshing water.

“This is amazing! I can't believe you found this place.”

He splashed water at Caitlin only to have it redirected at his own face by a passing creature. Overhead the creatures swam and leapt between floating orbs of water doing flips and twists along the way. Caitlin smiled then submerged and Daniel followed. He opened his eyes and saw one of the blue creatures expunging the water around his head. Suddenly he could breathe! It was like having a personal air bubble. Caitlin swam off and Daniel swam straight down to explore.

When he reached the bottom of the pool he was surprised to see a few bones. He followed the floor and nearly lost his breath when he saw a human skull. He continued swimming and found the entire bottom of the lake was covered in bones. This wasn't just a lake, it was a mass graveyard. Panic kicked in and he swam as fast as he could toward the surface but found the current working against him. Suddenly the bubble of safe air around his head vanished. Through the water he could make out the blurry shape of Caitlin swimming towards him.

“I'm sorry.”

Daniel couldn't hear her words but the movement of her lips was unmistakable. She placed a hand against his cheek but he could not feel her warmth through the chill of the deep. She held her hand there a moment longer before pulling away. He watched her swim to the surface and struggled to do the same as a swarm of the blue creatures surrounded him. The fur on their otherwise innocuous muzzles peeled back to reveal rows of ghastly fangs. Inhaling one last time, his lungs began to fill with water as darkness swallowed him.

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Wet was written by Daniel Weinell and illustrated by Maribel Navarro.