The Oak Hotel - Watty Awards 2013 Finalist

Chapter Thirty-eight - Owl and Unicorn

Chapter Thirty-eight

Owl and Unicorn

They stopped at the stairs.

Kayleigh stood staring into the darkness beneath the boardwalk, then turned to Lincoln.

"Get to the carousel as quickly as you can," he said. "I'll go under the boardwalk."

But Kayleigh only shook her head.

"It's not supposed to work that way," she said slowly. "I have to face whatever is under there."

"I hate the thought of splitting up," Lincoln murmured.

They turned to see the hunched form of Truman Stitch tearing open the old backpack. He stopped, looked up at them and waved. It took a second for Lincoln to realize he wasn't really waving, but pushing them onward with his hand as if to say, "Go already! Off with you now!"

"If I find the button," Kayleigh began, “I'm going to stay by it and keep pressing it over and over."

"You mean when you find it," Lincoln said.

"Yes. When I find it," she amended. "You just get to the carousel and the keypad."

Lincoln grabbed her and held her close, carful not to bump her fingers. He turned his head and spoke quietly into her ear, "I am not going to lose you."

Kayleigh gave him a quick kiss and gently pushed him away, still holding onto his shoulders. Lincoln had difficulty registering her expression. She was smiling, but with half-formed tears in her eyes. It's like she knows something but won’t tell me, he thought.

"I'm not gong to lose you," he repeated aloud, though his voice was unsteady. What made it worse was the fact that Kayleigh did not reply. Instead, she turned, ducked her head beneath the raised floorboards and allowed the darkness beneath the boardwalk to swallow her.

Lincoln only stood there, staring at the place she'd been. For a horrible moment, it felt as if she was gone forever.

"Go!" Stitch screeched madly from behind him.

Lincoln's malaise snapped. With no further thought, he took the wooden stairs two at a time and bolted quickly down the boardwalk. Nearly falling twice, Lincoln didn't stop until he reached the entrance to the Valley of the Oaks Carousel.

*     *     *

The ground beneath the boardwalk was an unending series of sandy ridges. Kayleigh imagined that, beneath a real boardwalk, rainfall leaking down would probably cause this physical pattern. Here, she had no clue as to the source. The wind, maybe?

Moving blindly in the darkness, she decided that if she'd come down here earlier, there might have been a bit of light from above.

"But that would have made this easier," she said to herself. "Nothing about this is supposed to be easy, is it?"

A breathy, bass hoot filled the enclosed space; it was difficult to determine from which direction it came.

Kayleigh closed her eyes and took a long, deep breath.

"I know you're there," she called out shakily. "But I'm still going to find that button."

Did that sound brave? she wondered. Probably not, but it was the best she could do. She did her best to force down the horrible, cold knot in her stomach. To ignore the staccato flutter in her chest. Try not to think that Lincoln is somewhere above you because even if he was, he wouldn't be able to get to you if you really needed him.