JULY 10

ALLIX

The so-called point of no return wasn't always viable. There was no line in the sand or flashing light to give a warning sign. It was all subjective.

In my case specifically, I believed there had been more than one point of no return. The first had been at Cape Blue on May 16th, the second in Conrad Kane's trailer, and the third when I'd found splattered blood on the rotting floorboards in the boathouse. Every action in between had still propelled me forward, shoving me past those points with no regard for the consequences. I could've turned back - maybe I should've - but I hadn't. I was all in now, and not being alone in this was cold comfort.

The four of us stood in the headlights of my Subaru, our shadows dancing with fear. Syd kept his distance from Brenna while Nicki remained closer to my side.

Minutes earlier, Syd and Brenna had arrived on this secluded side-street with a disjointed explanation that made me feel like I was seconds away from throwing up. Nicki had dutifully reported that the police went to the boathouse, responding to our 911 call. As it turned out, Mr. Nakumura had already called to report Maud as missing, and on a small island, drama traveled at the speed of light.

With my jaw threatening to wire itself shut, I focused on taming my erratic heartbeat and sorting facts from fiction. I'd surprised myself by categorizing Brenna's apology as the former.

"I have no idea who could have done this," Brenna said, snapping me out of the haze of my shock, and prompting Syd to scoff. "I was with Zachary Healy an hour ago, and now he's probably dead."

Beside me, Nicki's chest heaved as he took an uneven breath. "Someone shot Zachary and left him in the sea to die."

"Dakota might've been able to save him," Syd said, looking down into his hands that trembled with dried blood. "Or maybe the paramedics got there in time to help."

As if on cue, an approaching siren screamed along in the breeze. I gritted my teeth as I bit back a shiver, thinking of Dakota down at the cove. I understood why they'd left him, but he was alone and attempting to save the same guy who probably hurt Maud. There was also no doubt in my mind that the circus of emergency vehicles was attracting a crowd of curious onlookers. I honestly thought they were more like parasites.

"We need to leave," Brenna blurted out, her blue eyes flashing in the bright headlights.

"Are you planning on making a run for it?" Syd sneered.

A sob escaped Brenna's throat, cutting through the air like a knife. When Nicki's eyes darted over to me, I processed his silent plea to intervene. I took a hesitant step forward and placed a hand on Brenna's shoulder.

"There's a sweatshirt in the backseat of my car that you're welcome to borrow," I said, mustering up a little smile. "Use the water bottle in the center console to clean up."

Nodding, Brenna started to move towards the car door, but Syd blocked her path. "She's covered in Maud's blood, Allix. That's the only evidence we have to prove that she's to blame."

"I will not go down for this," Brenna snapped. "I didn't hurt Maud. That wasn't me."

"She's probably dead too," Nicki blurted out, his composure disintegrating. A tear blizted down his tan cheek.

My breath snagged in my throat. "Nicki, we don't know-"

"Whoever killed Zachary wanted to get rid of him," Nicki interrupted, raking a hand through his mess of blond hair. "They didn't want any loose ends. I know you're thinking the same thing."

Silence reigned for a beat. Our thoughts went unspoken.

"Tell me what you think we should do," I instructed quietly.

Nicki pressed his eyes shut for a moment and exhaled a breath. It was steady this time. "We need to focus on the plan."

I nodded. "That involves making one first."

A phone rang. We collectively froze, four pairs of paranoid eyes searching for the source.

"It's mine," Brenna squeaked, clutching her phone to her chest. "It's Conrad Kane. What should I do?"

"Nothing," Syd shook his head. "We can't risk you screwing things up again. We can't trust you anymore, Brenna."

"Well, I can't just ignore the call, Sydney!"

"Answer it," I instructed, the ringing carving into my chest. "Pretend everything is fine. You're driving back to your boyfriend's house after kayaking."

"I'm not her boyfriend," Syd objected, shaking his head again. "Besides, we have a right to decide if we're putting one foot in the grave tonight, don't you think?"

Nicki started to pace, his form backlit by the headlights. "We're college kids from an island in Washington trying to go up against Hollywood moguls who probably brush their teeth with gold Crest. Talking to Conrad Kane is not a good idea. Not if we want to find Maud."

"So we can't risk it, Allix," Syd added, looking at me with pleading eyes. Somehow, I'd emerged as the leader, the one who needed to give commands instead of taking them.

"Enough with the group therapy session!" I rounded on Brenna. The actress winced beneath the weight of my gaze. "Answer the phone now."

With one last panicked look, Brenna held the phone up to her ear. "Conrad, hi! How's your weekend?"

I earned myself a disapproving look from Syd, but he didn't dare speak up with Brenna on the phone. The headlights threw the drops of dried blood on his t-shirt into sharp relief. Disagreeing with him wouldn't solve anything, but I was willing to take charge now and make amends later.

"Where am I? As in right now?" Brenna's tone crept up an octave. "Well, I was kayaking with my friend...my boyfriend, actually. We're driving now, and there's traffic. I think there might have been an accident or something."

A wave of pure exhaustion abruptly washed over me, and I leaned back against the hood of my car. There was no good outcome I could hope for that didn't include one or more of us ending up in serious trouble. All I could do was get through this moment, then the next, and all those that would follow. I tucked my hand into the pocket of the jacket Nicki had graciously offered to me, and my fingers brushed against a crumpled piece of paper. I'd found it on the desk of the rundown boat at the boathouse. There were only two words on the page: Orcinus orca.

The only reason why it'd caught my eye was that I recognized Maud's handwriting. I didn't know what to make of it.

"No...I haven't heard from Dakota," Brenna continued, and I opened my eyes. "So, I don't know if he knows anything. I'm sorry that I can't be of more help."

The call continued for another minute before Brenna initiated a goodbye.

"What did Conrad want?" Nicki asked.

"He was asking about Dakota. He actually sounded worried." Brenna's gaze dropped to the asphalt. "I think Conrad knows."

"Knows what, exactly?" Syd demanded. "Is there something else we should know? Clearly, we weren't on the same page before. Hell, I doubt we are now."

"I think he knows that Dakota is at the cove. That Zachary is..." Brenna trailed off, taking a moment to breathe. "We need to get to him before Conrad does."

"What we need is to find Maud," Nicki intervened and shifted his attention to me. "Are you good to drive? We could check nearby beaches or go see Mr. Nakamura. We just have to do something."

I made up my mind before I could even start to consider my options. I fished my car keys out of the jacket by the lanyard and held them out to him. "You drive. I'm going to go find Dakota."

Nicki's jaw ticked as he clenched it, but he nodded. "Be careful."

"Drive safe."

I left without another word, crossing the street. I felt their eyes tracking my movements as I approached the secluded trailhead and began my descent to the cove. Flashing lights sliced upwards through the pine trees, shadows electrifying the spreading darkness.

I heard the crowd before I saw it.

They stood behind a strip of yellow caution tape, whispering about another dead orca and a missing girl. It was all rumors, of course. Speculation as to how Apex might haunt our reality had run rampant in recent weeks.

I waited until I located a sliver of an opening. I circumnavigated the tape and made my way across the beach, my steps steadfast. I vaguely registered that someone was shouting after me, but I didn't care. Before I even knew I was looking for it, I located a stark white sheet covering what could only be a dead body. Luckily, I located Dakota and Sheriff Wakeman a heartbeat later.

I stopped a short distance away from them, my eyes momentarily colliding with Dakota's before snapping over to Wakeman. The last time I'd seen Wakeman was at Conrad Kane's trailer, and I knew she was suspicious about why Conrad had allowed me to walk away. I remained suspicious of that as well, but now wasn't the moment to dwell on it. My qualms with Wakeman weren't going to hold me back.

"Miss McGovern," Wakeman greeted with a borderline irritated expression occupying her features. "I appreciate your concern, but the waterfront is currently off-limits."

"Right." I failed to hold back a sigh. "Except everyone still seems to believe that this is all just an unfortunate coincidence."

"This is an ongoing investigation, and all viable leads will be pursued," she said, her sharp gaze drilling into me. "Now, I suggest you leave before I have to escort you from somewhere you don't belong. Again."

Irritation struck a match inside my chest. Wakeman was deliberately attempting to intimidate me, and I assumed it was because she believed that I was somehow complicit in whatever the hell was going on.

"We're leaving," Dakota suddenly announced, his eyes sliding over to me. Even in a state of dismay, he remained perceptive. "We're going to the hospital because I might have hyperthermia or something, and then I'm calling my lawyers."

Hyperthermia and lawyers.

Not the best threats in his arsenal, but I watched Wakeman clench her jaw.

"Check-in with the paramedics before you leave, Mr. Black," Wakeman said after a beat.

The moment Wakeman stepped out of earshot, Dakota nearly doubled over, and raw despair took my heart hostage. I never was great at consoling people, and even if I was, there was nothing I could say to remedy the ongoing traumatic circumstances of the night.

But I still had to try. I would for him.

"Well played, Hollywood," I said, sounding far more calm than I felt. It was just a role I'd managed to trick myself into playing. "Maybe you should take up acting."

Dakota's lips twitched up into a tired smile, but it vanished a heartbeat later.

"What did you find on the boat?" he questioned, and I instantly began to contemplate whether now was the best time to reveal something that could very well be a dead end. Unfortunately, he misinterpreted my silence. "Still? You still don't trust me?"

My heart was hammering like it had forgotten how to beat. "Is it impossible for you to not try and make this about you?"

"Jesus Christ, Allix." He raked a trembling hand through his damp hair. "For once in your life, could you get off the moral high ground and tell me the damn truth?"

The venom dripping from his words electrified me, and I flinched. My reaction wasn't lost on him, and I sensed that he was moments away from attempting to backtrack.

But the damage was done.

"Don't waste your breath." I reached into my pocket, retrieving the paper and handing it over to him. "We went on the boat, and this was in the cockpit."

Dakota's eyes narrowed. "Orcinus orca," he read. "Of the kingdom of the dead."

"Or bringer of death," I said, supplying the secondary translation.

A cold breeze rolled off of the water, and I lifted a hand to secure loose strands of my hair behind my ear. Dakota's eyes tracked my movements, and I wanted to believe that it wasn't the scars on my wrist holding his attention. That felt a little too optimistic.

"We really should go," I said, boxing up my discomfort and stashing it somewhere deep inside of me. "Syd and Nicki want to search the south coast again."

Dakota nodded in agreement and gestured for me to lead the way. We miraculously managed to reach the bottom of the trailhead without attracting any attention to ourselves, but I knew our absence wouldn't go unnoticed for long. Time wasn't working in our favor tonight.

We were a little more than halfway up the trail when a siren dragged our eyes back to the cove. A patrol vessel was arriving in the shallows, triggering the paramedics to swarm. Fear strangled my vocal cords, and I realized I held Dakota's wrist in an iron-tight grip. I sucked in a breath, but the salty air hardly filled my lungs.

Ambitious denial slowed down time, and I momentarily convinced myself that the girl on the stretcher was a stranger rather than Maud Hamilton. I'd once told myself that nothing could've been worse than what happened on May 16th. That night had set the bar high, but apparently that hadn't been high enough.

The paramedics loaded the stretcher into the rear of the ambulance, its sirens swallowing their commands. Its red doors shut a moment later, like two red curtains at a theater.

"Maud."

It took me a moment to realize that I'd spoken. Fragile disbelief set fire to every fiber of my being, and I nearly slipped on the sandy ground as I started back down the trail.

Dakota's arms encircled my torso before I could make any substantial process. "We can't go back."

"It's Maud," I whimpered, a coldness washing over me. "We can't just leave her."

I'd already done that too many times before.

"I know," Dakota whispered, his lips on my shoulder. "We'll find a way to-"

Two small spotlights rocketed up the trail, catching us in all of our distraught glory, and I freed myself from Dakota's embrace. I blinked against the light until Wakeman materialized in front of us, accompanied by another deputy. I realized he was the same one who interviewed us on May 16th.

"Allix McGovern and Dakota Black. Both of you need to come with us."

Obeying her command was our only option.

I didn't remember when I slipped into autopilot. Wakeman accompanied us up the rest of the trail, and a patrol car was waiting at the top. Dakota got into the backseat without being told, but I hesitated, and Wakeman insisted that I do the same. Something about Dakota needing to go to the hospital. The drive was all empty questions and false comfort. After we arrived at the hospital, navigating through its halls of organized chaos, I lacked the energy to protest when the door to an evaluation room shut in my face, separating me from Dakota.

I collapsed into a chair in the waiting room, my head in my hands, and I didn't budge until Brian and Katrina Black pushed through the doors. They didn't register my presence, both set on breaking into the room where their son was. Even though Dakota was physically fine, I was aware that emotional wounds were capable of inflicting long-lasting damage.

Eventually, Katrina emerged from the room and approached me. "Honey, you need to call your parents," she said, placing a hand on my shoulder. "You're not in any trouble. Don't worry."

I wasn't worried. Not about getting in trouble with my parents, at least. The police hadn't asked me any formal questions, but I'd tolerated Wakeman's scrutinizing gaze from where I sat in the passenger seat of the patrol car.

I wanted to believe that the others got away from Cape Blue without being intercepted by the authorities and were safe. If the worst was somehow over, I wouldn't know. Maud's fate was still up in the air.

I finally met Katrina's sympathetic eyes. "How's Dakota?"

"Better than he should be," she said with a faint smile. "Waiting for the news."

She didn't need to elaborate. The only news of significance was that which concerned Maud.

Once Katrina returned to Dakota's room, I stood up, ready to find somewhere private to call my house's home phone, when someone ran into me, and I nearly fell over. My sister secured her arms around me, clinging to me for dear life.

"Rowena," I gasped. "You're going to cut off my circulation."

My sister stepped back, her blonde hair shining beneath the fluorescent lights. Tears sparkled in her crystalline eyes. "What the hell, Allix? Are you okay? Where did you go?"

My mind flashed back to earlier in the day. I had been at Pacific King's anniversary party for thirty minutes when Nicki approached me with Maud's plan to confront Albert and her deal with Zachary. That conversation had set our whole evening into motion. In retrospect, I should've said goodbye to my family or sent them a text, but that wasn't the priority at the time.

"I'm fine," I managed to say for my sister's sake. "Just took a field trip to hell on Earth."

"I hate you." Rowena sniffled, wiping her eyes on the sleeve of her purple NYU sweatshirt. "Dad just got Mr. Nakamura's call, and we thought maybe you were with her-"

My heart leap-frogged into my throat. "He called Dad? Do you know what happened?"

She was unable to meet my eyes. "Maud never showed up to the party, and when he didn't see you, I guess he thought something happened to you too."

"Rowena, you have to tell me."

"Allix," Rowena said, her hesitation apparent as she chewed on her lower lip. "I'm sorry, I should've waited for Mom and Dad to get here."

"Tell me."

"I think Maud drowned."

✘ ✘ ✘

We are back on the train of angst and suffering everyone!

Also, you ideally noticed that this chapter started right before Allix's first appearance in PART ONE 'the human condition'.

My goal was to maintain a strong chronological flow, and part of this chapter revisited the information that first surfaced way back in the dawn of PART ONE. Basically what I'm trying to say is that I hope the transition into PART TWO was a smooth operation *winks*!