The White Lilac by Christina J Adams

Author:Christina J Adams
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: scifi, young adult, sacrifice, futuristic, dystopian, political conspiracy, gritty adventure
Publisher: Christina J Adams

Chapter Seventeen: Caryn

The water’s green-brown color doesn’t look as menacing as I sit against the side of the tree facing the lake. I don’t know how long it would take Kai to check those sunken ships, but I start to worry because, by my estimate, he has been underwater for five minutes straight. Silently I try to calculate how long the average person can hold their breath underwater and none of the numbers I remember are good. I tell myself to wait one more minute and if he does not show up by then, I am going in.

Just being this close to water makes me want to run, but I can’t leave him. Rusty nails and wooden planks warped dark gray by water makes the dock creak and sway as I walk to its end and look over the edge. The lake’s gentle waves show no sign of disturbance and the murkiness of the water prevents me from seeing much under the surface. For a moment I can sense the walls of the aquarium, but the bright light from the suns jars the memory away.

“Come on,” I say out loud, as if by the sound of my voice he would hear and rise to the surface.

Then, because I cannot stand the silence, I dive into the water. It difficult to see very far, but my body responds immediately to being in the water again and I strike out diving deeper. I swim in a circle to get a hold of my surroundings. The water is thicker, heavier than the water I am used to swimming in. It is only after being underwater for a few strokes that I realize I don’t feel claustrophobic yet. My heart beats faster than normal, but I can think rationally and plan.

There are no wreckages under the dock. Kai did mention sunken ships so I change to a zigzag motion away from the dock. I see a rotting rowboat and swim beyond it hoping other wreckages will follow, however, after staring at nothing but rocks and mud for a full minute I turn back. My arms whip past my head as I make up for time lost. I try to calculate how much time has passed by now and I figure at least ten minutes. Unless I missed him, or we crossed paths with him on his way up and me on my way down, I’m afraid I will find him dead.

The ground takes a sharp drop down and I follow it. Then in the distance I see a shadow. The shadow separates into three smaller boats and one larger shadow hardening into a ship as I swim closer. This has to be what Kai was talking about. I swim faster and circle the first boat, then the second. I am about to swim on to the third when I see something white on the lake floor. It is lying in a rocky section of ground between the boats and the ship and looks like a pile of debris.

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