Dark Tide by Greg Herren

Author:Greg Herren [Herren, Greg]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781626392540
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Published: 2014-09-01T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

I gulped down water and took a quick shower to wash off the sweat before changing back into workout clothes. I was tired of eating sandwiches for dinner, and I needed to return Dr. Ricker’s book to the library. I figured I might as well lift weights and do cardio at the gym since I had to go to the library anyway, and I could grab a late lunch at the Singing Mermaid.

The shower felt good. My skin felt tender. Too much sun, even with the sunscreen. Whenever I touched it, the place where my fingertip pressed turned white before going back to the reddish brown. I’d have to get a stronger sunscreen. I thought I was already tan enough that sunburn wouldn’t be an issue. But the reflected sunlight off the water was apparently too intense.

I lathered up my body. You don’t believe in flesh-eating mermaids. There’s no such thing. There aren’t vampires or werewolves or witches or anything like that. You’re scaring yourself. Like Dr. Ricker said, everything has a plausible explanation. This is all in your head. It’s no wonder you’re having nightmares. You’ve been obsessing about all this shit ever since you got here. If there were such a thing as killer merfolk out there in the water, someone would have discovered them already, it would have been all over the news, there’s no way the Coast Guard or anyone would have allowed this to go on. You know that. You’re making yourself crazy.

I dried off and packed my gym bag. I sat on the bed and stared out the window for a moment.

I’ve never been afraid of the water.

I wasn’t going to start being afraid now.

Zach Patterson’s disappearance had nothing to do with the crazy legends.

I slipped the gym bag’s strap over my shoulder and locked the door behind me. The hallway was hot as an oven, and I was sweating by the time I got to the bottom of the stairs to the third floor. The Inn was silent as always. Cecily was sitting at the desk in the office but I slipped by without saying anything.

The inside of my truck felt like a furnace. I turned the air conditioner up all the way, and after a moment the hot air blowing through the vents turned cold. I backed out of my spot and made a U-turn.

The parking lot at the gym was crowded, and I was lucky to even find a spot to park. I walked over to the library and slipped the book through the return slot. Margery was standing at the counter, sorting books. I waved but she didn’t see me. I jogged back over to the gym. I don’t like going to the gym when it’s crowded. I liked to lift weights best when there was no one around. I never worried about needing a spotter because I never lifted weights too heavy for me to control. I usually only used dumbbells or machines, so getting trapped beneath a barbell wasn’t going to happen.

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