ECHO // #Wattys2017

CHAPTER 4 ~ WITNESS

Bursts of chaos erupted all around me, playing out like an action sequence often does in the movies; it slowed enough for me to fully digest the impending disaster, yet left me powerless to stop it.

First, on either side of our boat were two Jet Skis vying for position on the wakes; one fire engine red and the other florescent green. The wakes propelled them through the air, crossing them over my tow line, recklessly close to my tube. The skiers whipped back around, barreling straight towards me, the driver on my right looking away. I reflexively tried to scream, but no sound escaped.

Then it came. Just as it had every other time. The ringing in my ears that drowns out the world and the pain that leaves me crippled and without control of my own body.  My grip betrayed me, shooting me off the tube. I squeezed my eyes shut as I tumbled across the water, each rotation concluding with a lung deflating slam that registered a new wave of pain thumping over every cell in my body. Before the world went black and my broken mind transported me to another time, a hazy figure appeared in the water. A woman. Lifeless and drifting away.

The biggest snowflakes I had ever seen floated down from a still nights' sky, and nearby, party music spilled from the patio of a house. I watched from a short distance as a small group left out the back door. Their faces young; late teens, I estimated.

They ran slowly and awkwardly through the foot-deep snow towards a large wooded area. I followed them on the outer edge, out of sight, but curious. The frosty air was electric, filled with their laughter and excited chatter; the sounds of friendship. Though I didn't recognize any of their faces, I felt a strange sense that I should.

One of the girls, a tall blonde with fair, radiant skin, ran up beside another girl whose auburn hair was peeping out from under a knitted hat. They hooked their arms together as they ran. The blonde's voice sounded soft and friendly as she spoke, but her words too muffled to be understood. From the hazy sky, the moon shone down a ghostly pale through the tall trees as they went deeper into the woods, the blonde veering the other girl further from the group.

Their breath came quickly with the effort of each step; hanging suspended in the air like thick fog. My own lungs burned as I struggled to keep up without being noticed. Soon, the rest of the group was completely out of sight. When the girls finally stopped at the end of a clearing, they stood looking over the edge of the rocky cliff side. Inwardly, I warned them to not get too close.

The view from where I stood captivated me. I was awed by the sparkling, snow-covered wonderland that stretched for miles into the horizon. Shimmery, white powder dusted every surface and twinkled when the wind blew it just right.

For several minutes, the girls sat silent on a boulder overlooking a large, frozen lake. The winter must have been bitter; so cold that small waves were held captive in frozen perfection on the shore. They gleamed like glass sculptures under the glow of the full moon.

After some time, voices came in the distance, calling for the girls to return to the house. My heart, anxious of an overwhelming yet irrational awareness that time was slipping from me. My vision rattled violently, shattering my sight into thousands of chaotic shards. When it settled, the change of perspective was staggering. It was as if I were watching the girl in the hat through the blonde's eyes.

The girl in the hat stood too quickly, and lost her footing on the edge of a loose rock. She collapsed clumsily, the sharpness of the pain evident on her face as she hit the frozen ground. She slid a few feet, precariously close to the edge of the embankment. I grabbed her wrist and held her steady. A long pause passed restlessly, the girl looking up at me, terror filling her eyes. I wondered what she saw in mine. I wondered why I hadn't started to pull the girl up. I just stared at her. Then, I heard the blondes voice speak. She asked, "Where is she?" Her voice was calm but commanding and dark. I was confused by the question as was the girl in the hat. But the question did not override our panic. "Help me up!" the girl cried, reaching her free hand for mine. But I didn't help her. I couldn't. My mind couldn't make my body do what I demanded it to. I had no control.