The Survivors, стр. 100
Still no reply, only the swell of the water and the screams of the birds circling overhead. The Survivors continued to look away. Kieran made himself check. They were deep now.
‘I can’t follow you, Sean.’ Even as Kieran spoke, he took another step into the water. ‘I’m not going to come in there and try and stop you. Someone’s coming but it’s not going to be me.’ The freezing waves washed against his legs. He had to brace himself to keep his balance. ‘I can’t do it to Mia and Audrey.’
Sean didn’t react. His distress had given way to a cold calm that made Kieran feel very afraid.
‘Sean?’
His friend at last dragged his gaze away from the caves, steadying himself against the pull of the tide as he turned to look at Kieran.
‘How did you do it, mate?’ Sean’s voice was almost lost beneath the crash of the surf and the call of the birds. ‘Live with that guilt after the storm?’
‘How? I don’t know, I –’ Kieran’s thoughts were racing but even in the midst of them, he knew the answer. Of course he knew. Mia and Audrey. He looked at Sean through the spray. ‘I was lucky. I found something that mattered to me more.’
Sean seemed to accept that. He turned back to the caves, still horribly calm.
‘Listen, you can do that thing you talked about,’ Kieran tried, desperate now. ‘Can’t you? Just draw a circle around it all and pretend –’
‘Not this.’
At last, Sean moved. He drew in a breath, then took a step towards the North Cave.
‘Wait.’
Sean didn’t stop. He didn’t look back.
‘Please wait.’ Kieran was well in the water now. He wouldn’t follow, he promised himself, even as he waded deeper, the sand soft and shifting under his feet. ‘Please –’
Sean ignored him. He was moving fast now, forcing his way through the water.
‘Wait!’
He didn’t, instead driving forward, pulling himself onward as the breakers rolled alongside. He seemed to stop for a single moment, at the very mouth of the cave, then dropped his head and followed the rush of the water from daylight into the darkness.
‘Please –’
The surf swelled, almost knocking Kieran’s feet out from under him and he had to fight not to get dragged in. He heard the smash of water hitting a wall of rock inside the cave, and when he’d found his footing and the wave retreated he couldn’t see Sean at all anymore. Kieran’s eyes raced over the surface as he splashed through the water, waist-deep himself before he realised it. The freezing ocean pulled at him. The mouths of the caves yawned open and empty.
Sean – who had always been there, who had been Kieran’s friend for all of his life – was gone.
Kieran felt like he couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t think what he should do. He could see the waves lapping high against The Survivors and suddenly it was twelve years ago and he was lost all over again. He scrambled in the water, his head twisting from the caves to the cliff path, trying to find his way out. He couldn’t see the bottom of the trail. It was submerged, he realised, and his world lurched until he wasn’t sure what was sky and what was sea.
‘Kieran?’
The shout bounced off the rocks. He tried to steady himself, focusing on the mouth of the cave. It remained dark and hollow. No-one was there.
‘Kieran! Up here!’
The voice wasn’t coming from the caves. Kieran blinked. He wiped the water from his face and squinted up against the bright sky.
Mia.
She was edging her way down the cliff path, Audrey strapped to her chest. She rounded the jagged rock from where she could see the vanished beach clearly for the first time. Her face collapsed at the sight of him in the waves.
‘Kieran!’ A flurry of rushed steps, her voice nearly lost over the sound of the water hitting the rock. ‘I saw your note. What are you doing? Oh my God –!’ She looked ahead. ‘Where’s the rest of the path?’
‘Wait, don’t!’ The sight of her snapped him back into himself. He held up his hand as another wave nearly knocked him off his feet. He stumbled but held firm this time. ‘It’s not safe.’
‘Jesus, yes, thank you, I can see that!’ Mia shouted back, but at least she stayed where she was. Kieran started wading towards her, pushing through the sea until he heard another smack of water on rock. He stopped, fighting against the drag of the current. The black void of the cave entrance gaped wide as Mia turned to look too.
‘Has something happened?’ she called, but her voice was quieter now.
Kieran nodded. He couldn’t find the words.
‘I’ll get help.’ She was already reaching for her phone.
He shook his head. ‘It’s on its way.’
Mia hesitated, then took another couple of steps down. The noise of the sea and the cries of the birds were deafening. She stopped clear of the edge of the water.
‘Then you’ve done everything you can do, Kieran.’ Her voice cut through, firm and clear. Her feet were dry, out of reach of the waves. He could see Audrey moving against her chest. ‘You can come out of there.’
Kieran could still hear the sea thundering in and out of the tunnels. He dragged his eyes away from the caves and back to Mia.
‘Whatever’s happened here –’ Her voice was still calm. ‘– it’s done now. It’s over.’
She stretched out her hand to him.
‘I can’t come any further,’ she said. ‘You have to come to us.’
Kieran looked at her. He had loved Finn. He still missed him and wished he were here, and he guessed he always would. But as he saw Mia standing there, something he realised he’d known for a long time shone through like a beacon, small but clear and bright. Finn was gone, and he wasn’t coming back. But Kieran