Chapter 5 #2
The salt marshes had stretched to a rocky beach with a stretch of silvery sand on the other side, and the lane which had ended at the lighthouse started up again, twisting back through the forest to the cliffs of Grayhaven.
Grace had chosen to follow the beach instead of the road, and as they walked along Jacob began to look for shells and bits of sea glass; each time he found a treasure he lifted it triumphantly, which brought a smile to Grace’s face.
She couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen him look so animated.
Maybe coming here was what they’d needed. At least, it could be. The air felt fresh and clean, slicing right through her like a scouring of the soul, blowing away all the regrets and recriminations, those mental cobwebs that had tangled her in their sticky strands.
The wind had started to whip up as they kept walking, following the curving shoreline, the sand damp and strewn with boulders, so they lost sight of the road, although Grace could see the tops of the mysterious houses below Grayhaven in the distance.
She wasn’t too worried about losing her way, even though she knew she needed to keep an eye on both the light and the tide, to make sure they didn’t get stuck somewhere.
It wasn’t much past four o’clock, and although the tide was starting to come in, there was still plenty of sand to walk on.
“Just a little while longer, Jacob,” she called as he crouched to inspect a piece of driftwood, twisted upon itself like some kind of modern sculpture. “Then we’ll have to take the road back home.”
He nodded and ran on, and Grace breathed out, lifting her face to the dying sun, enjoying its warmth despite the wind.
“What!” Her eyes flew open as Jacob yanked on her arm, hard enough to make her stumble and she swiftly righted herself.
“Buddy, what is it?” She looked down at him in concern, and in response he pointed ahead, further up the beach.
“What…” Grace squinted, trying to make out what her son was pointing at, but all she saw was more sand, a few gray boulders, jagged and lumpy looking.
He yanked again, dragging her along, and groaning a little, Grace jogged up the beach. She was already out of breath when she realized one of the boulders wasn’t a boulder. It was a seal, tangled up in an old fishing net and trapped on the sand.
Grace blew out a breath as she looked down at the animal, both beautiful and wretched, its poor body snagged by the net, its huge dark eyes blinking up at her dolefully. It was a harbor seal, the smallest and most common seal found on the east coast, pale gray and speckled with darker spots.
“Oh, sweetheart…” Grace whispered. She had enough training to know she wasn’t trained enough to attempt to rescue the animal, as that required specialist care, and also that most seals, if stuck on the sand, could figure out a way to get back in the water.
Besides, the tide was coming in, and the seal might soon be able to swim away freely.
But not if it was caught in a net.
Jacob yanked on her hand for a third time, a question in his eyes. Grace hesitated, not wanting, in her inexperience and ignorance, to make things worse for the creature. And yet the seal surely didn’t have a chance tangled up so tightly in that damned net.
“I can try to cut him free,” she told Jacob, “but I can’t do anything else, buddy, without potentially hurting him.
Or her.” She slipped off her backpack and dug out the pocketknife she’d packed, along with a few other supplies—plenty of bottled water, a flashlight, and a small first-aid kit.
She wasn’t, she hoped, a complete noob, although she suspected every other person on this island would think so, and comparatively, they’d probably be right.
While Jacob watched intently, Grace did her best to saw through a few strands of the net, hoping to free the animal with the minimum of invasive handling.
It was hard work, for the strands were made of tough, durable nylon, and not meant to break.
Her fingers started to cramp, and the wind was kicking up, blowing her hair into her face and obscuring her vision.
She glanced up and saw that the light was already fading from the sky, violet clouds now racing across the darkening horizon.
Alarm skittered along her skin as she saw the tide was already very nearly lapping at their feet.
She knew from experience how quickly it could come in.
Why hadn’t she realized sooner? She glanced at her son, who had a stubborn, set look on his face, willing her on to rescue the poor seal.
And she wanted to rescue the animal, but…
Grace glanced around quickly. When she’d run ahead with Jacob, they’d come around to an inlet that effectively cut them off, a channel of water already separating them from the rest of the beach.
And as they’d walked along, the salt marshes and gentle hills that were easy to scramble up had become far steeper cliffs, too high to climb, to get back onto the road.
She’d been in such a pleasant haze of enjoying time with her son that she hadn’t bothered to notice basically anything about their surroundings…
and now they could be in danger. Serious danger.
Grace glanced up and saw a light twinkling far above them. Grayhaven, she realized. They were practically right under it.
Jacob, oblivious to all these potential dangers, tugged on her hand again, nodding determinedly toward the seal.
“Jacob…” She tried to keep her voice gentle and not panicked, although the truth was she was starting to feel seriously scared. “I think, buddy, that we need to get out of here. Look at the tide.” She pointed to the lapping water, but Jacob wouldn’t be moved.
He shook his head violently, and Grace glanced down at the seal.
They still had a little time, she decided nervously, and there had to be a place to crawl up the cliffs.
Besides, judging by the dryness of the sand by the rockface, the tide didn’t come all the way in to cover the whole beach.
This wasn’t a life-or-death scenario; they might be stuck here for a few hours until the water receded again, but they should be able to stay dry.
Quickly Grace bent and sawed through a couple more strands, just as icy ocean rushed over their feet.
The broken net fell away, and the seal started to wiggle its way into the water.
She grabbed Jacob’s hand, pulling him toward the dry land, cursing herself for her stupidity.
She might have saved the seal but spending six hours or so stuck on a slice of sand as the cold night drew in was far from ideal.
As they headed toward the cliffs, Grace watched in dismay as the tide rolled in again, right up to their rocky base. That dry sand she’d been counting on? It didn’t exist. The sand must have dried in the sun during low tide, something she should have considered. It was completely covered now.
Proper panic iced her stomach, her veins. She swallowed hard as she tried to think of options.
There had to be some way to get out of this.
The water was rushing past their ankles now, and Jacob was shivering.
They needed to get to higher ground, and the cliff face here was simply too steep to attempt to climb, the sheer side without so much as a single foothold.
Grace glanced at a nearby rock, big enough for both of them to sit on, and hopefully high enough to wait out the water.
Right now, it felt like their best chance.
Taking a deep breath, she hoisted Jacob up and then, her arms aching with the effort, swung herself up alongside him.
“Well, this is quite the adventure, isn’t it?
” she remarked only a little shakily as she settled him on her lap, her arms wrapped tightly around him.
The water was coming in fast now, swirling at the bottom of the boulder they’d just climbed onto.
She scanned the cliffside, but it was too steep in every place that Grace could see to climb, and it was getting dark. They were well and truly stuck.
Their best hope now, she acknowledged, was to stay where they were and wait out the tide.
But how long before the inlet was clear enough for them to get to the other side of the beach?
Low tide would be in twelve hours, so probably six or seven before they could attempt it, if they were lucky?
And that was only if at high tide this lone rock wasn’t covered, something she was trying not to think about.
“You okay, buddy?” she asked, grateful that her voice didn’t wobble, and in response, Jacob burrowed into her chest. Grace inwardly cursed herself yet again.
How could she have allowed this to happen, all for the sake of a seal?
She really was an airhead, like Brad had called her.
My funny little airhead. He’d said it like an endearment.
For far too long she’d believed it was one, even as every time he’d said it something in her and wilted and then died.
“I think,” she told her son, firming her voice, “we’re going to have to stay here for a little while, until the water goes down.
Good thing I brought some snacks, huh?” She tried to smile but her lips felt funny.
Fear was like a living thing inside her, writhing and jumping around.
Below them the water swirled higher, foaming angrily as it crashed against the rock, and her stomach cramped.
If this rock did get covered, or even if the waves come up high enough to soak them… what then?
She glanced up at Grayhaven, a light shining from one narrow rectangular window overlooking the ocean. Was it just a light on for safety’s sake, or was someone actually in there?
And what if that unknown person was her only hope?