The Light (Morpheus Road) (28 page)

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you're right, I don't know how Cooper could have survived."

"He's alive," I said with absolute conviction. "And we're going to find him."

Britt nodded, gunned the engine, and took off. She wasn't worried about breaking any powerboat rules anymore. She flew over the water as fast as she could safely go. She was soon out of sight and the whine of the Jet Ski faded. I leaned over the powerful boat to examine the damage. I thought back to the night when the Foleys and I had heard the sound of the cigarette boat on the lake. It was crazy to have such a powerful boat on a lake like Thistledown with all the speedboats and Jet Skis and kayaks. At night it would be worse. The lake wasn't more than seven or eight miles long. This kind of boat could hit a hundred miles per hour. Driving at night was suicide.

Or murder.

I pushed that thought away. Cooper was alive. I was sure of it. He could have been lying on the shore only a couple of miles from the house and we wouldn't know it. I can't explain the cosmic stuff, but I believed Cooper was somehow trying to contact me. Not his ghost . . . Cooper. What I didn't know was why some other force was trying just as hard to stop me. Whatever the answers were, I felt certain that it would all end when we found him.

"She's a beauty, isn't she?" came a voice from behind me.

I stood up quickly to see Mr. Reilly strolling toward me along the floats. Did he know what had happened? Had Cayden fessed up?

"My boy can be reckless, but he's a good kid," Reilly said. "He isn't afraid to take chances. I applaud that. It's why he'll succeed in life. He never looks back."

"He didn't look back, all right," I said. "He didn't stop to see what he hit."

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"I heard it was a rock," Reilly said.

"Rocks aren't blue."

Reilly looked me square in the eye without flinching. He knew exactly what had happened. He strolled along the float to the stern of the speedboat.

"That's true," he said casually. "Things happen."

"How can you say that?" I yelled. "My friend has been missing for days. I think your kid hit him and he's out there somewhere, hurt. Maybe it was an accident, but he should have reported it."

Reilly chuckled. I couldn't believe he was being so casual.

"You think it's funny?" I yelled.

"I do," he said. "You're right about one thing. Cayden
did
hit your friend, but you are very wrong about something else."

I stared at the guy, not sure of what to say.

He smiled and added, "Why do you assume it was an accident?"

The force of his words nearly knocked me over. Seriously. I had to move my feet apart or I would have lost my balance.

"Cayden
tried
to hit Cooper?" I said, barely above a whisper.

Reilly reached into the stern of the boat and pulled out a length of rope. "Perhaps. Perhaps not. However, I do find it amusing that you believe there's only one life at stake here."

"What?" I gasped.

Reilly smiled. "I've seen. I know. Soon we'll all be on the road, and what happened to your friend will be nothing more than an inconsequential memory."

Uh-oh.

He whipped the rope out of the boat. In his other hand was the sharp, metal boat anchor. I was frozen, not believing what I was seeing.

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"Enjoy the journey," he said, then raised the anchor . . . and attacked.

He threw the heavy anchor as if it were plastic. I ducked to my right as the anchor whipped past me and crashed onto the deck, gouging out a chunk of wood.

We were on the last float of the marina. There was only one way off. I ran for the next float back, but Reilly cut me off, blocking the way. His eyes were wild. He was breathing hard. It was like George O. and Sheriff Vrtiak. This guy wasn't just out to protect his son. He was being controlled. The guy rubbed his hands nervously. He looked confused, just like Vrtiak had. When he looked at me, I saw fear and even confusion.

"I don't want to do this," he said in a strained whine. It was as if for that brief moment he was trying to fight the demons that were forcing him to attack me. "I'm sorry." He rubbed his eyes. He was crying. He looked to the sky and screamed, "Don't make me do this!"

He turned and started to run off the float but suddenly stopped. I saw why. Standing in his way on the far end of the next float was Gravedigger. The demon hovered a few inches off the dock, floating our way. His silver pick sparkled in the moonlight. Reilly let out a pained cry as if it physically hurt to resist. Or maybe his fear was complete and he had lost his mind.

I wasn't far behind.

Reilly spun toward me. The anguish in his face was replaced by a look that I can only describe as one of rage.

"This will end now!" he screamed . . . and charged at me.

I took a few steps back, but to go where? He was on me in a second. Both his hands wrapped around my throat and squeezed. He was trying to strangle me! The guy was insane. He was crying and laughing and growling in agony

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as he fought with himself. And with me. Reilly didn't want to kill me. Whatever had taken control of him did.

I couldn't breathe. He was crushing my windpipe. I felt the pressure build up in my head like blood was rushing to my brain. I tried to pry his hands away, but the guy was much bigger than me, and strong. I think his insanity made him even more powerful. I tried to knee him where it counts, but he was ready for that. His body was twisted away, so all I did was jam my knee into his leg. If it hurt, he didn't show it.

Gravedigger stood on the float behind him. He didn't move. He didn't react. I had no doubt that he was driving Reilly to do what he was doing. To kill me.

I had never hit anybody in my life, but this was survival. I gave up trying to pry his hands from my neck. Instead I went for the throat. Literally. I made a fist and shot my arm straight out, hitting him square in the Adam's apple. The pressure from his hands released instantly. He made a pained, choking sound and lost focus. I didn't wait to see how long it would last. I drove both my hands between his and thrust them out, breaking his grip. I had bought myself a few seconds.

I couldn't run off the float. Even if I got by Reilly, I'd be running straight into Gravedigger. There was only one place for me to go . . . into the water. Again. I whipped around, ran the few steps to the edge of the float, and dove in headfirst. After what had happened to me back at the Foleys', the water was the last place I wanted to be. I take that back. The last place I wanted to be was on the float, being choked by Reilly. The water was a close second. I surfaced and swam for my life. I didn't even think about the terrifying images that Gravedigger might throw at me. It was all about getting away from Reilly.

The splash behind me said that the guy wasn't giving

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up. A quick look back showed me that he had recovered and jumped in after me, swimming hard. All I could do was put my head down and swim as fast as I could. I ripped through the water, fueled by terror, only looking up long enough to find a place to pull myself out. I didn't even look back to see if Reilly was closing. Seconds counted. I heard the splash of his frantic strokes. The longer I was in the water, the better chance he had to catch me.

I churned past rows of boats that were tied up to floats, making only one turn to try and lose him. It didn't work. He was right after me. I was getting tired. I didn't want to have to swim all the way to shore, which was still about fifty yards away. I didn't think I could stay ahead of him for that long. I had to find a length of dock where I could pull myself up, but every place I passed was crammed with boats.

Finally, I spotted the gas dock. No boats were tied up there. I pushed hard and hit the empty float within seconds. I grabbed on to the edge with both hands and popped out of the water in one quick move. My arms were tired, but the adrenaline pumping through my system did the job. I took one look over my shoulder to see that Reilly was headed my way. He was only twenty yards out and closing fast. It was time to get lost.

I sprinted off the float, hit the shore, and ran. I had no plan other than to get away from the crazed guy. Once I lost him, I'd figure out how to get back to Britt. The only smart choice was to run toward Main Street. There were places to hide there. I didn't need to turn around to know that Reilly was out of the water and chasing me. I didn't hear him splashing anymore. He was definitely on foot. I hit the row of stores and turned into the parking lot of the mini golf course. Everything was dark and quiet.

I ran into the closed course, winding my way past wind-

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mills, open-mouth whales, and mermaids. Sydney had shown me a break in the fence behind the golf course earlier. Hopefully Reilly didn't know about it. I jumped behind a miniature lighthouse and looked back toward the parking lot. Everything was closed, which meant it was deathly quiet. I didn't see Reilly. Had he kept running straight along Main Street? I waited a few minutes to see if he was creeping up through the kiddie rides but didn't see him. Moving quickly but quietly, I worked my way to the far side of the golf course and into the trees. The break in the fence was right where Sydney had showed me. I snuck through and came out on the edge of the giant parking lot of the drive-in movie. I had to stay near the fence and the trees because there was nowhere to hide in that wide-open field. That was okay. If somebody was creeping up on me, I'd see them.

My neck was sore. For sure there would be black and blue marks where Reilly's fingers had dug into my skin as he tried to crush the life out of me. I needed to rest but didn't want to waste too much time. Cooper's life could depend on it. Who knew what kind of shape he was in? His boat was smashed days before. I knew that for certain now. How long could he survive? And what did Reilly mean when he said it wasn't an accident? Was Cayden being controlled by Gravedigger the same as the people who were after me? It was possible, I guess, but the question then became . . . why? Why would this figment of my imagination, this evil spirit or whatever it was, want to hurt Cooper? It added a whole 'nother level of confusion to a situation that had plenty going on already. The only thing I could do was to stay focused on finding my friend. I'd deal with the rest after that.

I figured my best hope was to get to Cayden and force him to say where the accident happened. From there the search could begin. The State Police would make sure of

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that. No more dealing with Sheriff Nut burger. The damage to the cigarette boat would be all the proof they would need to search the lakefront. All I had to do was stay alive long enough to make sure it all happened. My wind was back. I felt better. I was about to start making my way along the fence toward town and the marina when I saw a flicker of light come from the projection hut in the center of the parking lot. That was strange. The drive-in was closed. There wasn't a single car around. I thought maybe the owner was doing maintenance on the projector.

The giant screen came to life with a movie that showed a nighttime shot of a beautiful lake. The sky was loaded with stars. There was no music, just a wide shot that slowly panned across the water. The shot continued to move until it showed a small boat floating in the dead center of the serene lake. That's where the shot stopped. It was such a wide view that the boat looked tiny. It bobbed on the water peacefully. I actually thought that whoever the character in this movie was, he was an idiot for being out on the lake with no running lights.

That's when I heard the sound. It was the same sound I'd heard on the lake the night before. It was the deep growl of an oncoming boat engine. A big engine.

I stood up straight.

The camera slowly zoomed in on the small boat. The blue boat. It didn't take long for me to recognize it.

"Oh god, no," I whispered.

The movie cut to an overhead view, looking straight down on the little boat. With a quick move-in the blue boat filled the screen, along with its passenger. Lying flat on his back, gazing up at the stars, was Cooper. His head was on a red pillow . . . his Davis Gregory football jacket. He didn't have on shoes.

The rumble of the approaching boat grew. I realized

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with horror that I was being shown the shadows of events that had happened several nights before. I didn't want to watch, but I knew I had to. Gravedigger was no longer content with simply trying to kill me. He wanted to torture me.

The sound of the cigarette boat grew louder. I didn't have to see it to know it was moving fast. Seeing Cooper looking up at the stars with a smile on his face, oblivious to the danger that was speeding toward him, made my gut twist. I realized why he didn't know something was headed his way. He was listening to his iPod and tapping his feet to the rhythm of a song. Knowing Cooper, the volume was cranked.

The sound of the oncoming boat grew deafening. It filled the space of the empty parking lot. I thought for sure that people would hear it and come running to see what was happening at the drive-in. Or maybe it was an illusion and I was the only one who could hear it. I wanted to turn away. I didn't want to see the impact. I forced myself to stay focused. I braced myself as if the boat was going to hit me. The event lasted barely a second. The giant white boat entered the frame, obliterated the smaller craft, and was gone. It happened so quickly, so violently, that I wasn't sure if I saw exactly what happened. For that I was grateful. My eyes had been on Cooper's face, but I hadn't seen him register a thing. He truly didn't know what hit him. The roar of the engine was so loud that there wasn't any sound of the crash itself. The monster boat had completely overwhelmed the pitifully small fishing boat in every way. It flew through the frame and was gone instantly, leaving nothing but wake on the water.

The
Galileo
was gone. Cooper was gone. I expected the shot to move out wider to let me see the aftermath. I wanted to see Cooper clinging to a piece of the shattered boat and drifting away. It didn't happen. All I could see was the turbulent water as the roar of the cigarette boat faded.