Chapter Four 'Darkness and Drowning'
1694 Words
Darkness and Drowning
The instant the mirror broke, the world came crashing down.
Selene never had time to scream again. The sea poured through the lighthouse, consuming everything. Frosty water enfolded her limbs, drawing her down, pulling her into darkness.
She kicked, thrashed, but there was nothing to hold onto. Only dark, dark space.
Something grazed her leg.
A hand.
No—hundreds of hands.
Selene's lungs seared. The pressure slammed her ribs as she was pulled deeper, deeper, deeper—
Then—
Silence.
The weight was lifted. The cold disappeared.
And poof, she was elsewhere.
---
A Place Outside of Time
Selene gasped, inhaling air. Not water. Air.
She wasn't drowning.
She was standing.
The lighthouse had disappeared. The storm, the waves, the broken mirror—all were gone.
In its place, she stood in a location that couldn't be there.
A shoreline.
But unlike any she'd ever known.
The sand underfoot was smooth, as black as obsidian. The sea stretched out before her, its surface still, unruffled by wind or tide.
The sky was off. A heavy, violet-gray with no sun, no moon. Only the barest glimmer on the horizon, lighting the waves with an otherworldly silver glow.
And in the distance—
A second lighthouse.
It sat on the outermost rim of the black sand, just like the one she'd just emerged from. But this one was untouched by the touch of time, its walls unblemished, its golden lantern aglow.
Selene's heart thudded in her ears. This wasn't real.
It couldn't be.
Where was Caius?
She turned around.
And stopped.
Because he was there.
Lying on the sand, motionless.
---
Caius, Lost and Found
Selene ran.
Her knees barely sank into the sand as she fell to them beside him. His clothes were wet, sticking to his body, his dark hair stuck to his forehead.
She laid a shaking hand against his chest. Still.
"Caius," she whispered, shaking his shoulder.
No reaction.
Her breathing grew faster. No, no, no.
She held his shirt. "Wake up!"
Still nothing.
A wave of panic washed over her. Was this it? Had he been swept away after all?
"No," she grunted, digging both hands against his chest. She wasn't going to lose him to the sea. Not again.
She pushed down, once, twice, three times.
And then—
Caius gasped.
His whole body convulsed, his chest heaving as he inhaled.
Selene staggered back, her heart pounding.
Caius coughed, shuddered, then slowly turned his head toward her. His storm-dark eyes were unfocused, dazed.
Selene exhaled shakily. “You’re alive.”
He blinked, breathing heavily. Then—he sat up abruptly.
His hands shot out, grabbing Selene’s arms.
“We’re not supposed to be here.”
His voice was raw, frantic. Terrified.
Selene’s stomach twisted.
“Where are we?” she whispered.
Caius’s grip tightened.
“The place where the lost go.”
---
The Lighthouse That Should Not Exist
The lighthouse in the distance glowed unnaturally.
Selene did not want to get anywhere near it.
But she and Caius didn't have a choice.
The sky still was that weird violet-gray, no breeze, no shift. Time just stood still.
Walking toward the lighthouse seemed unnatural. Sand made almost no marks. Sea water did not break the sound.
And with how much closer they approached it, Selene had this nagging feeling like they were being watched.
Not the lighthouse.
Something in it.
Carved names suddenly echoed in her mind.
Caius Merrow.
Selene Vaughn.
They had been here before.
She simply didn't recall.
Caius strode beside her in silence, his jaw set.
At last, she asked, "What do you recall?"
He hesitated.
Then, softly, he said: "I recall drowning."
Selene shivered.
Caius gazed straight ahead, towards the lighthouse.
"And I recall you."
---
The Truth Beneath the Waves
The door to the lighthouse was already ajar.
They entered.
The instant they stepped across the threshold, Selene sensed it.
The burden of a thousand lost lives.
The walls throbbed. The golden lantern light above didn't flicker—it breathed.
And then—
The whispers came back.
Not from the wind. Not from the sea.
From the walls.
Caius's breath caught. "They're here."
Selene spun around in a slow circle. "Who?"
The whispering grew louder.
Then—the lantern room above them illuminated.
Caius swallowed hard. "The ones who didn't escape."
A door at the foot of the spiral staircase was slightly open.
Selene hesitated, but she had to know.
She opened the door.
And entered.
---
The Forgotten Room
Inside the hidden chamber, the walls were mirrored.
Not a single one. Dozens.
Each reflected a different version of the lighthouse. Some were crumbling ruins, consumed by the sea. Others were pure and untouched by time.
But in every one of them—there were people trapped inside.
Figures loomed behind the glass, their hands flat against the surface.
Selene's throat constricted. "They're trapped."
Caius gazed at one of the mirrors. There was his reflection.
But it wasn't him.
It was another Caius.
With hollow eyes, his face wan, his mouth open as if screaming.
Selene took his hand. "We need to leave here."
But before Caius could answer—
The mirror next to them shattered.
Then another one.
And another one.
And the whispers turned into screams.
---
The Sea is Watching
The lighthouse trembled.
The mirrors all shattered at the same time.
And out of the shattered glass, the sea flowed in.
Selene seized Caius's hand and took off.
The water boiled after them, a wave tumbling out of the room, curling through the air in unnatural twists. The sea wasn't stealing them back—she was chasing them.
Caius pulled her toward the stairs. "Go, go!"
They fled up the spiral staircase, their feet pounding on the stone.
Behind them, the water shrieked.
Selene didn't dare look back.
She just ran.
---
The Final Choice
They charged into the lantern room.
The golden light flared.
Before them were two doors.
One back into the unknown.
The other—
Selene knew.
It led home.
But only one of them could go through.
Caius turned to her, his face white.
"You have to go," he said.
Selene shook her head, her eyes brimming with tears.
"No. Not without you."
Caius smiled gently.
"I was never meant to leave."
Selene's eyes blurred.
The sea was seconds away.
She had to decide.
Now.
---
Selene's breath came in harsh, irregular gasps. The sea was seconds away.
The water roared, writhing ridiculously through the air, filling every hidden crevice of the lighthouse. It was pursuing them.
Two doors lay before her.
One opened back—to the world she was familiar with.
The other…
She had no idea where it went.
Caius faced her, his tempest-dark eyes deep and unshifting with something.
"You have to go," he told her, voice soft but firm.
Selene's heart thudded.
"No. Not without you."
Caius breathed slowly, his head shaking.
"I was never supposed to leave."
Selene's eyes went out of focus. The door to freedom was right in front of her. She could still run.
But Caius couldn't.
Why?
The realization struck her. Because he had already died here.
This place—this infinite cycle of sea and memory—was keeping him.
Her fists clenched.
"I won't leave you."
Caius's fingers traced her cheek, briefly. A gentle, impossible touch.
"You must."
The water hurled.
Selene had barely time to think.
She turned—and sprinted through the door.
---
---
The Return to the Shore
Light engulfed her entire body.
A rushing feeling—like falling and floating simultaneously—tore through her.
Then—
She was on the shore.
Selene fell onto the damp sand, panting, her fingers plunged deep into the ground as if anchoring herself.
She rolled onto her back, winded—the sky was normal. The storm dissipated.
But—
The lighthouse.
It wasn't there.
Selene's stomach contorted.
She spun frantically, looking—but the lighthouse vanished. As if it had never been.
And Caius…
Was missing too.
Her airway shut.
Had she dreamed it all? Had it ever happened?
The waves crashed against the shore, peaceful now. Tranquil.
As if they had never wished to engulf her in the first place.
As if the sea had gotten what it had desired.
And left her behind.
---
A Name in the Stone
Selene touched the letters of Caius Merrow's name, her hand shaking against stone.
The sea was still now. Too still.
The lighthouse vanished. As if it had never existed.
She breathed out unsteadily, taking a step back—but then she saw it.
A shadow in the water.
Selene's heart stopped.
For an instant, she thought it was the reflection of the fading sun, an illusion of light on the waves.
But then—
It shifted.
A figure under the surface. Human.
Selene's chest constricted.
Gradually, the body in the water raised its head.
And dark, recognizable eyes met hers.
Her heartbeat thundered.
It was Caius.
Standing in the waist-high waves, his dark hair stuck to his forehead. His face was inscrutable—not afraid. Not relieved. Just… waiting.
Selene's mouth fell open. This isn't real.
She stepped forward.
The wind changed.
And Caius said something in a low voice.
Selene's heart thrashed. She couldn't hear him.
The waves curled around his legs, sucking at him, drawing him back into the depths.
She had to go.
She stepped again—
And the ocean swept towards her.
The wave hit her, winded her. For an instant, she was underwater—floating, bodiless, in cold, infinite black.
And then—
Hands clutched her.
Selene gasped, kicking, splashing the surface—
But she was no longer on the beach.
She stood on black sand.
Violet-gray filled the sky above.
And in front of her—
The lighthouse waited.
A door creaked.
She never returned.
Selene stepped back, her heart racing. "No. This isn't happening."
The sea behind her sighed.
Come home.
Selene turned.
And Caius stood there.
Standing in the doorway of the lighthouse.
Waiting for her.
Smiling.
The door swung wide farther—in on her.
And Selene stepped forward.
---
- Writer
