Cascadia's Fault

Wet and More Wet

He pulled the knit cap down a little tighter, tucking his hair messily into it and hoping he would spend hours combing out tangles. Jem fell into step beside him while Caz and CJ walked several yards ahead. She hip-checked him, making him peel his eyes away from the bright green hair and look down at his sister.

“So,” Jem drew out the word, “I’ve never seen you not flirt with a pretty girl. Are you sick?”

“Shut up, Jemmy.”

“Uh huh.”

“Uh huh, what?”

“Nothing. Just thinking.”

“You’re thinking really loud.”

“Am I?”

Jem kept her eyes firmly forward even as she wore what Johnny recognized as the smug female smile. He scowled, “Yeah, you are.”

“Well, you know, I’ve heard they’ve done studies about twins being able to read each other’s minds…”

“And that just magically started now?”

“She is pretty, in a totally not your type kind of way. CJ is awesome. Way too smart for his age, and a complete geek, but awesome once you get him talking.”

“And you’re mentioning all this why?” His shoulders hunched against the wind gust that shook the treetops and in defense against his sister.

Jem’s smile turned feline, “Because, my brother, you’ve got it bad, and you don’t even know it yet.” With that, she quickened her step to catch up with Caz and CJ leaving her brother to trail after them into the meeting hall.

Johnny didn’t consider himself the brooding type as his eyes slid toward Caz where she sat with her head back, eyes closed, and earbuds back in. At some point between the first meeting and lunch, she’d braided her curly hair down her back. It was also clear that she was doing her best to shut out Jem and CJ talking over her head about what powers ogres had and if they were better than elves in the post-apocalyptic world of Earthdawn, or if mages were better than both. He had no idea what they were talking about, but if it had to do with magic, Jem could keep that debate running for hours.

The noise level and roughhousing came to an almost complete stop when a long line of adults in the bright yellow T-shirts came filing in from another door. Everyone seemed to weigh the authoritarian possibilities and came up with it would be better to quiet down and pay attention.

“Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us. I know the morning meeting was chaotic, so I’d like to first express my gratitude to all of you and our leaders here for your quick responses and patience after this morning’s excitement. While we do schedule a tsunami drill, we’ve never had a tremor come up as everyone was arriving. It was because of your willingness to follow directions, reflexes, and cooperation that we got everyone out of the camp safely and back again.

“For those of you who missed the excitement, I’m Nils, Camp Director. We have counselors and campers here from all over the Pacific Northwest and California. Each of you signed up for a variety of activities when your parents sent in your registration. On the wall outside this building is a list of classes and workshops. When we dismiss, take a blank schedule from the table by the door, find your name, then fill it in. There is also time built in for free time, meals, and chores – everyone chips into keep this place running – and get-togethers. Make sure you mark down what you’re supposed to be doing this week. After that, the rest of the day is free for you to explore the various classrooms, go to the beach with a group, or grab a nap. Tomorrow, you’ll be glad I gave you time for extra sleep,” Nils surveyed the room again, “What questions do you have?”

Hands popped up and Nils addressed each one in turn, answering questions about how they were supposed to do chores when they were just kids, and were they really going to use bows and arrow, and so on. Johnny watched them go back and forth until Nils dismissed the group and the mass exodus toward the doors began. Johnny stayed where he was, having no desire to trample or be trampled, and figured they had all day to figure out what their schedules were.

Besides, sitting on the beach sounded awfully good.

It didn’t matter how cold it was.

Why was June so freaking cold here?

Caz had popped her earbuds back in during the Q&A period and closed her eyes. Johnny had to wonder how bad her head still hurt, her neck? She had completely blocked out everyone, including him, and if he was being honest with himself, he wasn’t used to being barely acknowledged. Generally, if he flirted, the girl would flirt back, but Caz didn’t seem to notice that he existed.

It was beginning to give him a complex.

So, maybe it really was the apocalypse?

Jem elbowed him, “You ready to see what our parents decided was good for us?”

“I wish I could remember actually seeing the brochure for this place. I have a feeling they just randomly ticked off boxes, and I have this horrible fear that I’m going to be in basket weaving all summer. Or maybe macrame.”

His head tipped at Caz’s snort. Okay, so maybe she wasn’t completely ignoring him, after all.

Good to know.

He wasn’t ready to do back handsprings yet. CJ was already up and wandering toward the door now that the crowd had thinned out, but Caz made no move to join him. Johnny had also noticed Noa and a girl who had to be her sister – they looked too alike to be anything other than related – still hanging around outside, but that kind of happy could get on his nerves quick.

Caz stood, using the wall to push herself up. Jem was already there with a hand outstretched to help her to her feet. He was definitely third-wheeling, now.

“Feeling better?”

Way to go, dummy. Ask cute girl lame question. That will totally get her attention.

Caz rolled her head from side to side, eyes squeezed shut. “Stiff. Sore. Wishing they had something more powerful than Extra-Strength Tylenol, but I’ll live. The idea of wrestling my way through that mob, though, sounds about as appealing as running n***d through camp while singing along to Miley Cyrus.”

Jem’s bawdy laugh filled the room, turning heads their way, and even Johnny’s grin was wicked, “And thank you so much for putting that picture in my head. You running n***d might have been worth seeing, but then you had to ruin it with images of Miley on a giant ball swinging around like a maniac.”

“I do what I can,” Caz replied as she leaned against the wall, keeping her eye on CJ.

Johnny moved back in front of her. Jem took the hint to follow the younger boy. “Seriously, Caz, it’s not too late to have Joan take you in for the scan. Have you talked to your parents?”

Caz rolled her shoulders front to back, “No and no. I’ve always been a fast healer. I’ll be fine by tomorrow. I just need to get out of the crowds and find some quiet, maybe stretch.”

She looked ridiculously small and pale standing in her chunky boots, hoodie, and vest. It was obvious that she was tired, that she was pushing through because she didn’t feel like she could stop. That she felt obligated to be there.

“Come on. Let’s get out of here. Jem will help CJ; the two of them have completely bonded over gaming.” Johnny opened the sliding door behind them, taking them away from the crowds.

Caz scrubbed her hands over her face, “We’re supposed to be getting our schedules so you can find out when your first basket weaving and macrame classes are.”

“And it’s not going anywhere for the next hour.”

They walked in silence, meandering their way toward the ocean. All the beaches in Oregon were public, so there were still people who passed them going both directions. No one was brave enough to try swimming in that freezing water, but children and families laughed and splashed and built sandcastles despite the cold and wind.

Apparently, they were used it.

They walked along the sand until they came to spot that seemed mostly abandoned; a small outcropping of rocks and sand not as friendly to playing. Johnny found a boulder to sit on well away from the surf. He had been warned as soon as they’d moved about “sneaker waves,” where the surf would be mellow and then all of a sudden a huge wave would come crashing through. People died every year because of them. He had no intention of adding himself to those statistics.

Caz, on the other hand, pulled off her socks and boots, rolled up her jeans, and waded in just enough that the tide would brush at her feet. The cold didn’t seem to faze her in the least, but then again, she’d been raised there. Johnny shivered just thinking about it.

And then she began to move.

Slow.

Methodical.

Fluid.

Johnny didn’t recognize the moves or motions. Arms, legs, and body flowed up, down. Reaching. Sweeping out, in. It wasn’t yoga, but it also didn’t appear to be Tai Chi or whatever, either. Whatever she was doing, she seemed to keep one foot on dry land and the other in the water.

And she watched.

Or seemed to watch the movement of the ocean and sand and sky.

Johnny realized he might as well not have been there.

He would have been insulted if it hadn’t been fascinating.

She had forgotten about him completely.

In the misty, foggy light, the gusty wind calmed, and her green-tipped hair glimmered blue and white. Falling into the tempo of her movements, to Johnny it seemed like everything – the wind, the clouds, the water – were all moving with her.

And that was the moment when he also realized he had not only lost it, but he was way more tired than he thought.