I watched Alice swim away from me. The distance wasn't far. A few meters at most. And yet, somehow it felt as if she had swum an entire ocean. Just a moment before, she had been looking me in the eyes, her breathing ragged, her full attention fixed on me.

Now she looked completely distracted. Confused. Shocked.

—Lucy?!

The disbelief in her voice made me turn back toward the shore. That's right. Lucy. I'd almost forgotten I was here.

Lucy had left the cabin earlier, and I'd simply assumed she'd