Thirty Nine Minutes (COMPLETE)

Chapter Fourteen: One Last Gesture

Helen was starting to believe that travel really did broaden the mind.

She sat in the private garden of the hotel, sipping on the frothy milk of her latte; all memories of filter coffee had been left on the plane as soon as she'd stepped into the blanket heat of the island of Sicily. A gentle babbling from the gargoyle's mouth on the wall trickled down past the fake ivy and over the real stone. The waitress brought her another tray of cured meats and fresh fruit. Memories of sugary, fluffy pancakes doused in equally sugary maple syrup were fast becoming something she would crinkle her nose at now. Melon wrapped in prosciutto had eclipsed her overly sweet diet of back home.

In one hour, she would catch a local train to the coast, using the map Neil had marked for her to find the right cove they had taken Craig. Her thoughts had rarely strayed from him, for the majority of the flight or last night in the thin linen sheets. She felt like an infatuated teenager, chasing after creatures she used to doodle on her school books. Mermaids were the reason she'd got interested in the ocean and scuba diving in the first place. The great unknown, indeterminable secrets in its depths. To her, the dark and the deep was something exciting, exotic and enticing. She popped a piece of melon into her mouth and chewed it thoughtfully, before calling over a waitress to book a cab.

The man wouldn't stop snoring.

The lady beside him, presumably his wife, kept nudging him as his head nodded, only to start snoring again. It was hot, and stuffy. Helen gazed out of the window as the vinyards and various crops starved for water rolled past. Pale yellows and dark greens blurred into the other and the train made its merry way along the coast. The bluest of waters stretched from the land, meeting the equally azure sky above, void of clouds or rain.

Helen had packed lightly, only a backpack slung over her shoulders as she stepped off into the unforgiving heat: even by the coast, the zephyrs just made Helen sweat even more. She looked out. A few miles from the train station stood her destination: a forgotten cove difficult to access without a solid pair of hiking boots and maybe a climbing rope. Taking a few minutes to ensure her water bottle was accessible, Helen adjusted her hat and took the first step towards the clifftop path.

*****

Craig fought. He fought with his fists until they tied them behind his back, then he tried to fight them with his tail until that got tied too.

"You can't treat me like this! Why don't you just give me the drugs again if this is what you want to do?" He was splayed out on the beach, struggling against the bonds and glaring at Mr. Kotohiki, who ignored him. Craig kind of had an idea why they no longer doped him up beyond the point of delusion. They needed him aware, and it seemed they were going to any lengths possible to make him accustomed to the cold, deep water of the ocean.

There was nothing but fear there for Craig. Fear and bad memories from when he was ten, left here to fend for himself in the endless expanse. Just the thought of it was sending his heart to spike. He struggled again, covering himself in the course sand. "Let me go! I won't do this for you anymore!"

"Oh, but you will. I'm sorry to do this to you, Craig, but we have some leverage in case you decided to be defiant." Mr. Kotohiki knelt to Craig's level and flashed his phone screen at him. Craig looked up into her face. Helen's face on the glaring screen looking back at him.

"Your body betrays you, Craig. I was hoping I wouldn't have to resort to blackmail, but if you don't do as we ask, I'm afraid I can't guarantee her safety."

"Screw you!"

"Make as many threats as you want. But you will do as we say, for her sake if not for yours."

"But...but I can't!"

"Find a way then."

An angry knot tangled in Craig's throat. Anger and terror swelled in him as some lackies approached. Every time he'd tried to dive, he went beyond the point of panic. unstoppable, he couldn't prevent it. Would they strap oxygen to his back again in case he started hyperventilating? As two lackies grabbed him under the shoulders to haul him into a shallow box for transport onto the boat, his began his last attempt at liberty, thrashing and shouting but it fell on deaf ears. He grabbed one last desperate look at Neil, who stood motionless, staring out to sea. He was only five years older than him, and yet he couldn't look more different from the fifteen year old that hauled him up a decade ago. With options severely limited, Craig went for broke.

"Help me, please Neil!" He grunted as he tried to shake the lackies off him. "Neil! Don't let them do this!" Craig strained to something in his eyes, but Neil remained stone faced, only flicking his eyes upwards towards the cliff.

"Stay here, Agent Cole," said Mr. Kotohiki. Neil nodded.

"Affirmative."

The box closed, and then there was nothing.

*****

The boat was leaving. From her vantage point on the clifftop, Helen sunk lower in the long, thick grasses. It was now mid morning and the heat was unbearable already, her skin prickled in the blazing sun. She could hear him screaming, and it wrenched at her heart. Even just seeing him again was enough to send her stomach somersaulting.

She had been too far away to hear their conversations though, and she huffed impotently as the boat made its way out towards the horizon. Only one remained on the beach, and thankfully, it was Neil.

He turned as Helen stumbled onto the sand, and she scowled at his smirk. "Are they gone?" she asked. Neil nodded and the smile melted away.

"If either of us get caught, we'll probably meet an unfortunate end in the hooded eyes of prison. Plenty of treasoners meet their end at a sudden suicide." He gave her a pointed look. "This is where I stop helping you. You're on your own. I brought your equipment last night, it should be behind those rocks."

"Thanks, Neil. Maybe I'll see you again one day."

"I highly doubt that, Helen."