Page 118 of Sleeping Giants
“Charlie,” she said.
Charlie blinked. It was getting harder to think, and the top of his head hurt. He realized his hands were not working so well anymore. He still wanted to kill them—it was just getting harder to move. He felt like a fish, out of the sea and pinned to the sand. Left flopping there.
“You were one of her boys too,” Amanda said.
“Hero,” he bubbled. “She gave me... holding time.”
“And never let go.”
“Owe her.” He breathed. “She helped me buy... the hotel.”
“Did you kill Reggie too? In case he had seen something?”
Charlie blinked. Yes.
“The shells,” Amanda said, everything falling together. “You’re the one who hung the shells. Hoping the past, and the pain, would just go away.”
“He’s dying now,” Larry said. There was no emotion in his voice. He stood up, wiping his hands on his pants. To the man on the forest floor, he seemed very tall indeed.
In the clearing behind them, Dennis was chanting Ralph’s name. He had crawled back, bleeding, and was now leaning over the prone man, begging and pleading with him not to die.
Ralph opened his eyes to look at him.
He was remembering.
The long shadow of the man chased after the boy running across the wet gray sand. Ralph stumbled over the soft white sand before gaining his footing. He found the hard, packed sand, and the run turned into a sprint.
Dennis!he screamed.
There was only the flat, implacable beach and the angry, torrential waves. They slammed so hard on the beach, Ralph could feel them shaking the ground under his feet.
The boy ran directly into the ocean.
Without hesitation, Ralph did too.
The first wave drenched him, and the third knocked him over. Hefelt his feet slip out from under him. Dennis had disappeared in the waves. For a moment, Ralph couldn’t see anything. Scrambling, he regained his footing, only to be knocked down again.
Dennis!he screamed, over and over again.Dennis!
The ground beneath him disappeared. Ralph gasped for air, sputtering salt water. He had stepped off a ledge into much deeper water. His legs churned below him, helpless. He had never learned to swim. Dennis had vanished, and Ralph couldn’t see anything but sea-foam scudding across the waves. The water was icy cold, and already his legs were growing numb.
Dennis!he tried to yell, but his mouth filled with seawater, and he coughed. I’m going to drown, he thought as another wave crested over his head. He bobbed again, gasping. It might already be too late to turn back. Water covered his mouth.
Something hard hit his legs. For a wild moment, he thought it was a shark. Then he saw, down through the swirling water.
It was Dennis.
Ralph grabbed, hard, and felt Dennis in his grasp. His skin was slippery, but Ralph managed to hold on under his arms, pulling the limp boy toward his chest. Another wave washed over them. Ralph kicked hard, feeling the ocean suck at his boots. It was astonishing how strong the undercurrent was. He could feel it trying to pull them under.
He kicked even harder, gasping for breath. The shore was frighteningly far away. He grasped the boy tightly in his arms. Wave after wave crested over them. He could not think or see. Water ran over his eyes in a film.
The sea pulled them down. He felt himself looking up, through the water, at the miracle of the sky.
Suddenly, a large wave swelled underneath them. It was a different temperature, even colder than the rest of the ocean. It was a sneakerwave, and in a rare stroke of luck, they were on the right side of it. The massive wave drove everything to the beach, including them, on a current so swift and strong the custodian was shocked at its power. He felt their helpless bodies rushed far up the beach, past piles of driftwood, and then, just as quickly, the water began sucking it all back. Ralph found his footing and fought hard to stay on the sand. The wave rushed backward, clawing and sucking at his legs as it went.
Stumbling and gasping, Ralph dragged Dennis out of the surf. Dennis slipped from his hands, falling hard against the packed sand. He convulsed. Water poured from his lungs, as pure as blue glass.
The custodian dragged the unconscious boy farther up the beach. Water ran from the boy’s mouth. His skin was very cold. The wind whipped against them. Ralph was freezing. He picked up Dennis, holding him in his arms. They were both covered in wet sand.
