Carter's Beloved

child’s play

Madison P.O.V

“Absolutely not! I will not paddle that damn boat!” Carter screams from the deck. I shake my head at the instructor and pull him in. He twists in my grasp but sits down, head facing the sky.

“It’s not a big deal. If both of us paddle at the same speed, we will definitely reach the end point.” I assure him and he continues to stare at the cloudless sky. He throws a loathing look at me and reaches out for the paddle.  I smile and stick mine into the water.

“I can’t believe I’m out on such an amazing day paddling with my boss.” I hear him mumble and hit him on the head.

“This is an honor, anybody else in your position would flatter me every chance they got.” I speak from experience and stroke the water. Carter does the same. Soon we’re moving ahead steadily and the deck becomes smaller and smaller.

“How does it feel to be in the nature?” I ask him wryly and he grunts. The water is a light turquoise shade and the soft sound of waves surrounds me.

“How did I end up here?” He mumbles exasperatedly. After the almost moment we had in my Father’s backyard, I dragged him canoeing to move my mind off things. Carter revealed he had a huge fear of deep waters, didn’t know how to swim and had seasickness, but I ignored his complaints.

Now, I’m feeling that I regret the decision. The chances of us drowning into the water because one of the person in the boat is doing a crappy job at paddling is 70/30. The lake is crowded with families enjoying themselves on a Saturday evening outdoors, and I can spot tiny boats with fishermen every mile or so.

“When will this end?” Carter wails from the front and I laugh. I quickly shut my idea of having an outdoor peaceful weekend get away after knowing my partner doesn’t know to camp, swim or make a bonfire.

“Soon.” I point out the beach in front of us and  he breathes a breath of relief.  Our boat bumps with the small wooden deck and a short redheaded girl pulls us out of the canoe. I take off my life jacket and pass it to the girl. My hair blow across my face and I taste the faint taste of salt in my hair.

I beam at Carter while he pukes in a paper bag. After some time, his sea sickness subsides and I drag him to the bonfire site. The sun is setting in the distance and I glance back at my company.

The beach is littered with tents and fires.  We sit with some tourists and listen to their stories.  I look around after dinner for a plastic bag to throw the trash in, but my eyes meet with a familiar person. His black mask covers his face, but his eyes are the same. Piercing black, staring into mine.

I muster up courage and speak to him, but one glance later, his seat is empty. I casually look around, but he’s gone as quick as the wind. I feel a hollow sinking feeling as if someone slipped an ice cube down my throat.

“We’re leaving soon.” Carter warns me and continues to speak to the tour guide. I roll my eyes and find the plastic bag. My thoughts return to the odd figure near the lake often. What if I’m in danger?

We leave the lake and head back to our houses. Dusk has fallen outside, and rain pours. In a few minutes, the streets are filled with buckets of water and it’s getting hard to turn in the lanes. Soon my grip on the steering wheel is wet and slick, yet we are nowhere near my neighborhood.

“Should we stop and wait for the storm to end?” I ask Carter. He shakes his head and shows me the weather reports. The rain will worsen during the next few hours.

“Everything will be flooded. Major power break outs.” He informs me from the latest news report and I nod. I did not plan on getting stuck in a storm with a person I used to know. He has changed little.

We end up leaving the jam-packed highway; the roads are slippery. The black SUV in front of keeps stopping in the worst of times, I almost bumped into it twice. It’s obnoxiously slow, and the driver doesn’t understand any of my horns.

“Overtake him.” He tells me for the fifth time and I shake my head. I desperately want to reach home without dying. My temper’s rising and soon, the car stops in front of me. Thinking his engine failed, I drive on wards until he reverses beside me.

I take my chance and drive forwards. The next few moments everything is normal until with a deathly roar the car starts. I look in my rear-view mirror and see the car driving fast towards us. The thicket of trees on the turning block my view, so I shift to the side lane. I don’t want to be driven over after my first canoeing trip. The road leads me to a bridge, the SUV in the back follows me carefully until we reach the top of the bridge.

Suddenly, my car lurches forward, sending carter’s phone toppling over his seat. My head hits the steering wheel and I can feel something wet on my forehead. I look back and see the car heading my way. I speed up, but it’s too late. It budges into my car from the right, the sound of steel on steel pierces through my ears until the booming noise of my car being forced into concrete.

I realize too late what is happening and I try my best to speed forwards but it’s to no avail. My heart beats through every part of my chest. This great pounding, this great pressure; every beat. I couldn’t hear it, but I could feel it. The lights in my car dim, the last energy of my coupe leaves, and we’re left in silence.

“Are you okay?” I hear Carter whisper distantly. The part of the bridge which we collided with broke, now we are hanging on for dear life. With a forty-feet drop into an empty lane, this not the way to die.  I look through my window to see the car driving by, my eyes meet his and I realize too late who he is. The black eyes, mask and clothes are too odd to miss.