She pulled her hand away from David's mouth with a wince, wiping her saliva-slick palm on the leg of her jeans. "Asshole."\n\nDavid licked his lips and <<replace "grinned.">>grinned. "I had to turn on the light and sit with her on the floor to get her to calm down," he said. "She was completely freaking out."\n\n"It was a really vivid dream, okay!" Kat said. "And besides, what if we got robbed?" She anxiously rotated the golden engagement band on [[her left ring finger]].<<endreplace>>

She looked over at Bree with a happily exasperated //can-you-believe-this-guy// expression. "We'll //both// have Stellas," she said.\n\n"Yeah," Bree shrugged, "[[that's fine]]."

Gretchen had vowed to take daily morning swims while they were in Wales.\n\nBree could easily imagine her coming back after and mistaking Bree's bed for the empty one as she dried off and changed. Gretchen's garments had accumulated on the floor of every room they'd stayed in so far on the trip, just as they in the off-campus townhouse [[the four of them shared back home]].

"You might ask one of the staff about that. How can I be expected to know about runes?" Then David paused, [[taking a drink of his cider]].

"But it very well could be a rune, you know. [[The Vikings used to raid Pembrokeshire all the time]]."

<<timedinsert 2s>>It was <<replace "a warm night.">>a warm night. The wind whipped along the hills, <<replace "slapping against her bare arms.">>slapping against her bare arms. She could smell cows or sheep in some far-off pasture, but other than that the air was <<replace "as clear as the sky:">>as clear as the sky: the stars and moon shone down, providing her with [[enough light to make it to the beach]].<<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<endtimedinsert>>

"That is [[so cool]]!" Kat said.

Kat and David both exchanged meaningful looks as the stag do entered. "These jackasses," David <<replace "muttered.">>muttered.\n\n"What?" asked Abby, blinking. "What's wrong with them?"\n\n"Those guys got really drunk last night, right?" Kat said, trying to keep her voice low. "I mean, they were wasted when we left, anyway, and last night one of them, we think, tried to get into our room."\n\n"Oh, huh," [[Abby frowned]].<<endreplace>>

Bree decided she had a choice for how she would spend the day, either [[tag along with Gretchen]] or [[amuse herself at the hostel]].

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"I don't think so," David chuckled. "Four fine ladies like yourselves, <<replace "you know what Vikings would do?">>you know what Vikings would do? Carry you kicking and screaming back to the frozen north to serve as concubines. Then I'd be short [[a fiancée and three bridesmaids]]."<<endreplace>>

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It seemed like the sort of thing you got out of your system, especially if you'd managed to keep up a high school relationship this long, and from [[opposite sides of an ocean at that]].

Kat turned to David with a smug grin even though she'd lost the majority. Bree wondered why [[two people who were engaged needed to flirt so much]].

Bree <<replace "felt sick.">>felt sick. She opened her mouth, wanting <<replace "to speak,">>to speak, <<replace "to scream,">>to scream, <<replace "to tell Gretchen to run away,">>to tell Gretchen to run away, <<replace "that it wasn't safe,">>that is wasn't safe, but instead [[the words died soundlessly in her throat]].<<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>>

"I didn't feel like it." Bree kept her eyes on the book, but <<replace "she wasn't reading.">>she wasn't reading. Instead she looked beyond the words, to the [[featureless beige of the cheap paper]].<<endreplace>>

Bree got out of bed and went to the window, tilting her head against the glare to get <<replace "the best angle of the beach.">>the best angle of the beach. In the dark she could just barely make out the <<replace "uneven slivers of moonlight throbbing on the water.">>uneven slivers of moonlight throbbing on the water. As her eyes adjusted, she saw <<replace "movement:">>movement: someone stumbling across the field behind the hostel, heading toward the dark beach.<<timedgoto "heading toward the dark beach" 8s>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>>

the bones picked clean and the clean bones gone

At the coast the guide led them all to an equipment shed near the beach and began to pass out <<replace "equipment:">>equipment: <<replace "wetsuits">>wetsuits, <<replace "life jackets">>life jackets, <<replace "thick plastic helmets">>thick plastic helmets.\n\nThere was a set of ramshackle changing stalls nearby. The guide recommended that if anyone had brought long underwear, to put them on underneath the wetsuit as the [[water was quite cold today]].<<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>>

<<replace "It moved.">>It moved. <<replace "The cloth moved.">>The cloth moved. Or rather <<replace "something underneath it did,">>something underneath it did, <<replace "darting out toward her,">>darting out toward her, and Bree clearly saw that <<replace "the moving thing was white and wet in the moonlight,">>the moving thing was white and wet in the moonlight, like a pale crab as it <<replace "scrabbled across the rocks.">>scrabbled across the rocks. Frigid pressure [[clamped around her leg]].<<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>>

"Gretchen?" she called. "[[Gretch?]]"

"Yeah, maybe," sighed Bree, pocketing the rocks again and returning to the bed. She picked up the book and [[pretended to read some more]].

The sea beyond her stretched out to dark and whispering infinity. Beneath her feet the ground was soft and yielding, almost like [[the sand from the cave floor]].

"Yeah," said Gretchen drily, "but at least we'd get laid. Perfect ending to [[Spring Break]]."

"That's a terrible book," Gretchen said, her tone cool. There were a few seconds of silence. <<timedinsert 3s>>"Why'd you leave so early?"\n\n<<timedinsert 2s>>"What do you mean?" asked Bree.\n\n<<timedinsert 1s>>"One drink and [[you were outta there]]."<<endtimedinsert>><<endtimedinsert>><<endtimedinsert>>

"I -- what?" Bree shook her head and blinked at the beer in her hand. "But, you were gone for so long, and [[I saw…]]"

"What?" Bree asked.\n\n"On the left," Gretchen said, spearing a strawberry and a slice of kiwi on the end of her fork. "[[Dark hair. Lanky.]]"

<<replace "But she did manage to speak.">>But she did manage to speak. What she said instead was "[[Help me]]."<<endreplace>>

"Yeah?" asked Bree, <<replace "mildly interested.">>mildly interested.\n\n"She'd never heard of it, <<replace "specifically.">>specifically. There are caves all over these cliffs, <<replace "I guess.">>I guess. She didn't recognize the rune when I told her about it, anyway, but when I told her <<replace "where on the beach we found the cave,">>where on the beach we found the cave, and she said there are some <<replace "standing stones in that area.">>standing stones in that area. Some ruins, too, though they <<replace "don't know what they were.">>don't know what they were. Maybe <<replace "a castle or a church.">>a castle or a church. Wanna go [[check them out later]]?"<<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>>\n

Bree wasn't sure exactly what it was, but seeing Gretchen down there waiting for her helped. She signaled the guide, who gave her a <<replace "thumbs up.">>thumbs up.\n\n<<replace "She took a deep breath,">>She took a deep breath,<<timedinsert 3s>> [[and jumped]].<<endtimedinsert>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>>

Bree found it <<replace "hopeless trying to concentrate.">>hopeless trying to concentrate. She reached down and felt the stones in her pocket like a rosary, <<replace "one after another.">>one after another. She thought of Gretchen's threat to go swimming. <<replace "Completely ridiculous.">>Completely ridiculous. Obviously she'd been joking, even if she was drunk. [[But Gretchen wasn't that drunk]].<<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>>

"Didn't you go swimming this morning?"\n\n<<timedinsert 1s>>"Yes, but now I'm going coasteering."\n\n<<timedinsert 2s>> "And what's coasteering, then?"\n\n<<timedinsert 3s>>"[[Fuck if I know]]," Gretchen said, popping a strawberry into her mouth.<<endtimedinsert>><<endtimedinsert>><<endtimedinsert>>\n

Bree <<replace "headed toward the lump.">>headed toward the lump. As she drew closer she could tell in the moonlight that <<replace "it was brown, and it was wet.">>it was brown, and it was wet. At first she thought it was a tangle of kelp washed ashore, but with the volume and rough texture of the thing <<replace "it could only be cloth.">>it could only be cloth. She remembered [[the damp towel left on the floor this morning]] after Gretchen's swim.<<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>>

<<replace "Gretchen laughed.">>Gretchen laughed. "You know, he //was// looking over at us an awful lot, and now I realize why. Christ, what an awkward dude. Not that she's any better, I guess. I mean, jeez, more power to her and everything, [[but so much for Henry James, huh]]?"<<endreplace>>

Gretchen sat on the floor for a minute or two, then suddenly stood and walked to the door. "<<replace "Be right back,">>Be right back," she said, [[and stepped out]].<<endreplace>>\n

Bree blinked the sleep from her eyes. "How was coasteering? In fact, //what// was coasteering?"\n\n"Eh, nothing fancy, just climbing up the cliffs, jumping off into the ocean, everyday sort of stuff." Gretchen <<replace "lay back on the bed and stretched.">>lay back on the bed and stretched.\n\n"So did you <<replace "like it or not?">> like it or not?"\n\n"It was awesome, actually. You should [[try it sometime]].<<endreplace>>"<<endreplace>>\n

Kat grabbed his elbow. "[[Get out!]]"

<<fadeinsound $ocean>>She dreamed of walking along the beach, [[the surf clutching at her ankles]].

Bree bit her lip and shook her head. <<timedinsert 2s>>"[[I can't]]," she said.<<endtimedinsert>>\n\n

This avenue of conversation wasn't at all interesting to Bree. She'd just seen Abby outside on the patio, pen in hand as she underlined passages in the thick Henry James novel she'd been reading since their flight touched down at Gatwick, so to change the subject she asked the <<replace "only other question that came to mind:">>only other question that came to mind:\n\n"Where are Kat and David? I think they stop serving breakfast in, like, [[ten minutes]]."<<endreplace>>

<<set $gretch = "yes">>Their guide, a wiry Welsh woman in her thirties, drove them a half dozen miles down the road to <<replace "the rocky coast.">>the rocky coast.\n\nAlong the way Gretchen introduced Bree to the French backpackers, who'd purchased the group package that allowed the two Americans to tag along at a reduced rate. [[They were friendly enough]].<<endreplace>>

"What?" Bree [[asked again]].

"Gretchen, please!" she cried, looking out toward the waves, searching for any sign, any hint: a head breaking the surface, a waving hand. "Gretchen, say something if you can hear me! Gretchen!"\n\n<<timedinsert 5s>>"What are you doing?!" shouted [[a voice behind her]].<<endtimedinsert>>

She refused to look down, <<timedinsert 2s>>to see the cold, cold hand that was gripping her ankle,<<endtimedinsert>> <<timedinsert 4s>>a hand with a horrible, unthinkable strength,<<endtimedinsert>> <<timedinsert 6s>>because even without looking<<endtimedinsert>> <<timedinsert 8s>>she could tell quite clearly<<endtimedinsert>> <<timedinsert 10s>>that it was missing a finger.<<timedgoto "end" 5s>><<endtimedinsert>>

Abby was, as usual, <<replace "soft-spoken.">>soft-spoken.\n\n"Oh, I don't know," she said, keeping her gaze locked somewhere between the pale yellow candle in the center of the table and Kat's forehead. "Bones, I think. They certainly [[seem like bones]]."<<endreplace>>

"There you have it," David was saying.\n\n<<timedinsert 2s>>"Aw, but Dave, what about [[the shapes]]…"<<endtimedinsert>>\n

Abby blushed a deep red, matching the scarlet of the candle, as David and Kat <<replace "laughed.">>laughed. Bree sighed inwardly and looked beyond them, beyond the table with the stag party, through the wide windows on the other side of the dining hall, out into [[the pitch-darkness of the Welsh night]].<<endreplace>>

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"Need I remind you which of us here is on his way to a medical degree?" he asked.\n\nBree was honestly surprised that he didn't add "from [[one of the most prestigious universities in London]]."

<<replace "Bree thought about it.">>Bree thought about it. "Sure," she said. And then, without really wanting to, added: "<<replace "Are you gonna invite Basile?">>Are you gonna invite Basile?"\n\nGretchen sighed. "No, unfortunately. They're leaving tonight. <<replace "But...">>But..."\n\nBree snapped a picture of a seagull that had landed a few yards away. "[[But]]?<<endreplace>><<endreplace>>"<<endreplace>>

Gretchen, meanwhile, was frowning across the dim dining room, moving her lips absently to the pop song playing over the hostel's sound system. "Gretch," Kat said.\n\n<<timedinsert 2s>>"Hm?"\n\n<<timedinsert 3s>>"[[Bones or rocks?]]"<<endtimedinsert>><<endtimedinsert>>\n

"Are you //sure//?" Kat asked, also smiling, and in that <<replace "particular way">>particular way she had that Bree thought made her look far more uninteresting [[than she really was]].<<endreplace>>

Gretchen shook her head. Her sunburn seemed particularly livid in the room's fluorescent light.\n\n<<timedinsert 2s>>"No, you're not. I'm gonna be honest, you've been acting weird for a while now. Especially since Kat convinced us all to waste our break here, but I would say even back home you were acting strange. [[What gives]]?"<<endtimedinsert>>

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The sun was beginning to set and outside the hills were shaded glowing orange. Bree looked toward the sea, also orange, and <<replace "imagined the current distance between herself and home.">>imagined the current distance between herself and home. The bachelor party -- //stag do// -- entered after the food line opened, their shouts drowning out the <<replace "classic rock playing over the room's speakers.">>classic rock playing over the room's speakers. Almost by instinct Bree sought out the creeper Gretchen had mentioned earlier that day, but <<replace "when she saw him he was already looking in her direction.">>when she saw him he was already looking in her direction. She did her best to continue the movement of her gaze, [[past Abby beside her, panning upward to the TV hanging from the ceiling]].<<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>>

"Sign?" he asked, shuffling the small stones around so they looked like the curved segments of a finger, then batting them into a pile of pebbles. <<timedinsert 4s>>"Oh, you mean that rune you found [[or whatever]]?"<<endtimedinsert>>

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Out of the corner of her eye Bree could still make out the lump of cloth on the stones, <<replace "glistening in the moonlight.">>glistening in the moonlight. But no, it wasn't cloth, <<replace "it was kelp.">>it was kelp. Dried kelp just like <<replace "she'd seen before.">>she'd seen before. No, no, it //couldn't// be kelp, <<replace "it was just the same rotten brown color">>it was just the same rotten brown color -- it looked <<replace "exactly like cloth,">>exactly like cloth, like <<replace "wet cloth,">>wet cloth, like [[the towel she'd seen]]…<<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>>

Following an afternoon of scaling progressively higher outcroppings, everyone shucked to their bathing suits, <<replace "hanging around on the beach to dry.">>hanging out on the beach to dry.\n\nBree had brought along her camera and took some macro shots of kelp strands, baking to a dull brown in the sun, while Gretchen pulled her lime green beach towel over her head to [[stop her sunburn from worsening]].<<endreplace>>

<<stopsound $ocean>>Bree awoke, grumbling as the dream receded and she became increasingly aware <<replace "her feet were wet.">>her feet were wet.\n\nShe sat up, careful not to rap her forehead against the underside of the bed bunked above hers, and looked at the dark spot at the end of her blanket. She also saw similar splotches in [[the dusky red of the carpet]].<<endreplace>>

<<timedinsert 3s>>But she wasn't right back.<<endtimedinsert>>\n\n<<timedinsert 6s>>She was gone for what felt like [[an awfully long time]].<<endtimedinsert>>

<<stopsound $ocean>>[["Really?"]]

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But this <<replace "was not how the beach was supposed to feel,">>was not how the beach was supposed to feel, because the beaches here were shingle beaches, mounds of stones worn smooth and clean before they were left behind by <<replace "the cold, dark sea.">>the cold, dark sea. What she walked on was not stone, but <<replace "could not be sand.">>could not be sand. She looked down, and below the ankles her feet submerged in water so murky it seemed <<replace "almost black.">>almost black. She knew something below <<replace "waited for her.">>waited for her. In fact she could <<replace "almost see his face,">>almost see his face, <<replace "pale and distorted">>pale and distorted like a reflection of the moon.<<timedgoto "WakeUp" 2s>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>>

Bree remembered <<replace "the symbol on the cave wall.">>the symbol on the cave wall. A series of interconnected lines running about a foot and a half wide, it looked as if it had been <<replace "carved there and then painted in,">>carved there and painted in, or maybe <<replace "simply grown black with algae:">>simply grown black with algae: a tangle that could have meant <<replace "anything or nothing.">>anything or nothing. It was carved right over a wide bed of soft, level sand, and embedded there in the middle of that were the small rocks <<replace "which had,">>which had, at <<replace "first glance,">>first glance, oddly tapered as they were, looked like the [[three phalanges of a human finger]].<<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>>

"No, seriously, I read about it once. And we're not too far from Haverfordwest. There was a Viking outpost there [[a long, long time ago]]."

Gretchen <<replace "allowed a beat.">>allowed a beat. "What's [[your problem]]?"<<endreplace>>

Gretchen frowned. "[[What?]]"

"Making friends?" asked Bree.\n\nGretchen shrugged. "[[Something like that]]."

"Tell me something," Bree said, stashing the bottle and bag away again. "[[Why'd you put the rocks under my pillow?]]"

"Maybe," David shrugged. "It's a good thing you didn't [[find any actual Vikings, though]]."

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From a distance Bree saw Gretchen talking to a boy whose name, she thought, <<replace "was Basile.">>was Basile. He had a short haircut and nice forearms and was currently holding a set of longjohns toward Gretchen with <<replace "a questioning look.">>a questioning look.\n\nBree was heading toward the changing stalls when Gretchen appeared beside her, the longjohns [[draped over one arm]].<<endreplace>><<endreplace>>

Bree averted her gaze just as the man looked in her direction. She kept focused on her plate: scrambled eggs, hash browns, the stuff that the people here called bacon but looked like ham to her. "Told you," Gretchen said. "[[Total creeper, huh?]]"

"Ugh, goddamn," groaned Gretchen. "Do you have any aspirin? I can't find mine."\n\nWith a sigh, Bree got out of bed and walked to the closet. She grabbed her suitcase and found the bottle of aspirin -- in her carry-on bag, in the small pack of first-aid supplies -- and handed it to Gretchen, who popped the cap and [[swallowed three pills]].

David laughed and slipped an arm around Kat's shoulders, pulling her toward him. "This poor girl, she knocked her head something awful."\n\n<<replace "Any tension in her posture dissipated.">>Any tension in her posture dissipated. "At least I had a doctor there," she said, settling beside him and <<replace "kissing his cheek.">>kissing his cheek.\n\nBree saw Gretchen roll her eyes. Even Abby tightened the corners of her mouth, her gaze darting [[awkwardly back toward the stag do]].<<endreplace>><<endreplace>>

Bree frowned. She didn't remember dreaming. She never remembered her dreams. "[[What was I saying]]?"\n

So now she shrugged and muttered, "They look a little like bones. [[Probably rocks, though]]."

"Really?" said David, rolling the three pale objects across his knuckles.\n\n"They certainly look like rocks to me." His goofy smile managed to look a little bit ghoulish in the [[flickering candlelight]].

She came over the crest of the hill and <<replace "the sea spread out before her.">>the sea spread out before her. The tide was in, the waves endlessly clutching at the curve of the shingle beach, <<replace "much closer than she had ever seen.">>much closer than she had ever seen. She squinted into the darkness, <<replace "looking for any sign of movement in the water.">>looking for any sign of movement in the water. She saw on the beach only [[a dark lump, a strange, glistening shadow]].<<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>>

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Gretchen stumbled into the room later, drunk, took a few weaving steps toward the empty bed -- the blanket once wrapped snugly over the mattress was wrinkled from her sitting on it so often -- and lay down, propping her head up with one hand and looking critically at Bree.\n\nFor her part, Bree only glanced up from her book and went back to reading. With a dearth of options, she was [[giving the melodramatic governess a second go]].

"Yeah, well," Gretchen interrupted, "but you won't believe what //I// saw. Abby's totally hooked up with that <<replace "weird dude from the bachelor party.">>weird dude from the bachelor party. He went out for a smoke and <<replace "she followed him!">>she followed him! I kind of wanna wait before going back to the room in case they need some time."\n\n"What?" asked Bree, [[shaking her head]].<<endreplace>><<endreplace>>

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Gretchen smiled at her. "I do have to return these longjohns sometime before then."\n\n"I'm sure hooking up while sunburned is an experience to die for," said Bree.\n\nGretchen shrugged. "[[You only live once|laughed hollowly]]."

"That is //so cool//!" Kat repeated. "So you mean we like, found [[Viking stuff]]?"

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"What?" Gretchen asked, laughing <<replace "when Bree said nothing.">>when Bree said nothing. "Did you seriously think I was coming down here to swim?"\n\n"[[You said]]…"<<endreplace>>\n

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"See him?" Gretchen asked.\n\n"Dark hair, a little long?" asked Bree in confirmation, because she was [[sure she saw him]].

"Yeah," Bree agreed.\n\n<<timedinsert 1s>>"I couldn't sleep last night so I came back here and got a little more drunk." Bree tightened her jaw but if Gretchen noticed she made no comment.\n\n<<timedinsert 3s>>"I chatted those guys up a bit -- they're from Scotland, you know. What's-his-nuts, don't remember his name, he's cousin of the groom or something. I don't think [[anyone really likes him]]."<<endtimedinsert>><<endtimedinsert>>\n

"He did end up going away," said Kat, "but it <<replace "gave me nightmares.">>gave me nightmares."\n\nDavid laughed. "Yeah, yeah, okay -- tell them about that."\n\n"It's embarrassing," said Kat.\n\n"You brought it up," said David, raising an eyebrow playfully. "Tell them, [[or I will]].<<endreplace>>"

For about an hour Bree wandered with her camera, snapping pictures of the hostel. A converted farmhouse contained the dining and common areas, while showers and sleeping quarters were relegated to two former barns. The setup was, on the whole, charming, and admittedly nice enough that, minus the student population, the place might have made it as [[an economy-class bed and breakfast]].

"I say a lotta things. Are you kidding? Maybe you're the one who's drunk." Gretchen reached the bottom of the hill and <<replace "thrust the bottle at Bree.">>thrust the bottle at Bree.\n\n"I probably shouldn't have grabbed this Stella for you, then. You actually do like them, right? And just before last call, too. So I get back to the room, and you're not there. And you know, I wonder, gee, did she really think [[I was gonna go drown myself]]?"<<endreplace>>

"Okay, so maybe they're rocks," said Kat, huffing playfully, "but what about [[the sign]]?"

"See him?" [[Gretchen asked]].

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She wondered briefly if she might manage to catch either of them at breakfast. Or Kat or David, for that matter. Part of her [[hoped not]].

"What?" [[asked Gretchen]].

"Dunno." Gretchen crawled out of bed, dropping her green towel to the floor to reveal a set of damp long johns that were <<replace "slightly too big for her.">>slightly too big for her. "Gibberish, I guess. Just <<replace "sleep talk.">>sleep talk. I eavesdropped in case you said anything super embarrassing that I could blackmail you with, but I couldn't make it out, and you <<replace "quit after a while.">>quit after a while. You were just rambling on, <<replace "talking real low.">>talking real low. <<replace "Barely sounded like you, even.">>Barely sounded like you, even. I almost thought you had <<replace "a guy in here.">>a guy in here."\n\n"Hah," Bree [[laughed hollowly]].<<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>>

"Check out the total creeper with the bachelor party," Gretchen whispered as [[Bree sat down beside her]].

He overturned his cupped hand and dropped the three objects onto the table, each one landing with [[a dry rattle]].

"I don't think you need to be going out. You're already sunburned."\n\nGretchen gave her <<replace "an annoyed look.">>an annoyed look. "So? It's at least something to do."\n\n"Well," Bree said slowly, making a show of yawning. "I'm pretty tired."\n\n"You would be. You sounded like you were having <<replace "a hell of a time before I came in.">>a hell of a time before I came in."\n\n"[[Huh?]]<<endreplace>>"<<endreplace>>\n

"I just can't," Bree said, <<replace "shaking her head again,">>shaking her head again, and she <<replace "looked out over the ocean">>looked out over the ocean -- [[but not down.]]<<endreplace>><<endreplace>>

"I talked to //them//, too," Gretchen nodded in the direction of <<replace "the French backpackers.">>the French backpackers.\n\n"They're going coasteering. Look nice, huh? I think I'll tag along." As she said this, the backpackers noticed her looking at them and called out //bonjour//. Gretchen [[smiled and waved]].<<endreplace>>

"Rocks," Gretchen said [[without hesitation]].

Kat and David <<replace "came down that evening for dinner.">>came down that evening for dinner and feigned interest in what everyone else had done that day. "Did you go hiking again today?" [[Kat asked]].<<endreplace>>

"The rocks I found yesterday. Why'd you put them under my pillow? You put them there when you came in drunk last night, didn't you?"\n\nBree <<replace "pulled them out of her pocket for Gretchen to see.">>pulled them out of her pocket for Gretchen to see.\n\nGretchen frowned again. "Uhh. I… don't think I did that. I remember Kat saying she wanted to keep them, souvenirs or something." <<replace "She took a deep breath and abruptly laughed.">>She took a deep breath and abruptly laughed. "Well, maybe they left them on the table and I grabbed them. I don't know. Maybe it [[seemed funny at the time]]."<<endreplace>><<endreplace>>\n\n

Bree, in fact, had first suggested the rocks looked a bit like finger bones when she found them, but she <<replace "knew that was unlikely.">>knew that was unlikely.\n\nAny bones sitting in a cave that was twice daily inundated with ocean water would have [[washed away a long time ago]].<<endreplace>>

Bree had plenty of experience with the rock wall, but once she found herself thirty feet in the air, simply jumping back down was not a something <<replace "she felt prepared for.">>she felt prepared for.\n\nEventually, though, she made it: perched on top of a rocky outcropping, looking down at the group, and feeling awkward and afraid, Bree was surprised to [[hear Gretchen's voice]].<<endreplace>>

From the corner of her eye Bree observed <<replace "the men of the stag party carefully.">>the men of the stage part carefully.\n\nThey were just leaving the dining room, one-by-one dropping their mess of plates and utensils into a plastic receptacle by the kitchen entrance. Each man had evidently eaten double to [[compensate for his hangover]].<<endreplace>>

Gretchen, meanwhile, was frowning across the dim dining room, moving her lips absently to the pop song playing over the hostel's sound system. "Gretch," [[Kat said]].

It was possible she was watching the TV bolted to the ceiling, playing close-captioned BBC on mute. But Bree knew she was watching the table of men, evidently Scottish, who were in for a bachelor party -- what David said was called a //stag do// here. They were all drunk and playing poker, and their presence unnerved Bree in a way [[she couldn't quite articulate]].

Bree closed her eyes behind the worn covers of the book, but <<replace "kept her face hidden behind it.">>kept her face hidden behind it.\n\n"You're my friend, Bree," Gretchen muttered, the mattress sighing as she fell back. "My friend. Even though you drive me nuts sometimes. But that doesn't mean you're not my friend. <<if $gretch eq "yes">>I enjoyed spending time with you today, and I'm glad we did that. I'm glad you seemed to have fun. <<endif>>And I'm willing to listen to you, [[if you have anything to say to me.]]"<<endreplace>>

"Talking in your sleep. I could hear you through the door. Were you [[dreaming or something]]?"

Bree didn't respond.\n\n<<timedinsert 2s>>"Seriously," Gretchen said, sitting up and leaning over the edge of the bed. "What //is// your problem?"<<endtimedinsert>>\n\n<<timedinsert 4s>>"I'm fine," said Bree, still [[looking at the book]].<<endtimedinsert>>

<<fadeinsound $ocean>><<if $gretch eq "yes">>Something must have shown on Bree's face, because Gretchen asked her, "[[What's wrong]]?"<<else>>"Come on," Gretchen was saying, gesturing with the beer bottles [[toward the hostel]].<<endif>>

He [[shrugged]].

"Are you //absolutely sure//? Because I think they look like bones. Like finger bones. You guys agree with me, right? You said you agreed with me."\n\nKat looked around the table from [[Bree to Gretchen to Abby]].

"Please," said Gretchen, "they haven't seen each other in almost eight months. I don't think they're [[leaving their room today]]."

<<replace "The towel she'd seen.">>The towel she'd seen. <<replace "On the floor of the room this morning.">>On the floor of the room this morning. <<replace "Gretchen's towel.">>Gretchen's towel. Gretchen's towel, <<replace "when she went coasteering,">>when she went coasteering, had been bright green.\n\n<<timedinsert 3s>>Gretchen was frowning at her.<<endtimedinsert>><<timedinsert 5s>> "Bree, [[what's wrong]]?"<<endtimedinsert>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>>

<<replace "There was no response.">>There was no response. She stepped gingerly down the hill, which seemed steeper now, <<replace "in the dark.">>in the dark. "Gretchen, you hear me?" she said. "[[Is that you?]]"<<endreplace>><<endreplace>>

"And you, Abby?" asked Kat with mock grimness. [[David's smile had broadened now that it was three against one.]]

Underneath the the bed directly opposite -- <<replace "the empty one, the one Kat would have been sleeping in had she and David not gotten their own room">> the empty one, the one Kat would have been sleeping in had she and David not gotten their own room -- was bunched a twisted hump of brown cloth, what appeared to be <<replace "a discarded beach towel.">>a discarded beach towel.\n\nBree sighed and [[lay down again.]]<<endreplace>><<endreplace>>

Bree chewed on some hash browns. "Then what are [[your plans]]?"

<<fadeoutsound $ocean>><<replace "the bones picked clean and the clean bones gone">>//the bones picked clean and the clean bones gone//\n\nby michael lutz [[website|http://correlatedcontents.com]]|[[twitter|http://twitter.com/WarrenIsDead]]\nmade in [[Twine|http://twinery.org]]\nscripts by [[Leon Arnott|http://l.j-factor.com/]] and [[Tory Hoke|http://www.toryhoke.com/]]\nocean sounds by [[rucisko|https://www.freesound.org/people/rucisko/sounds/164767/]]\n\ninspirations: [[Shirley Jackson|http://literaryfictions.com/fiction-1/the-daemon-lover-by-shirley-jackson/]], [[MR James|http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Ghost_Stories_of_an_Antiquary/%27Oh,_Whistle,_and_I%27ll_Come_to_You_My_Lad%27]], [[Emily Carroll|http://emcarroll.com/comics/darkness/]], [[Henry James|http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Two_Magics_(New_York:_Macmillan_Company,_1898)/The_Turn_of_the_Screw]]\n\nvery special thanks to: Torbjørn A., Mallory C., Victor F., Matt H., Tory H., Cameron K., Spam L., Applecider M., Helena M., Jeremy M., Kevin M., Joel M., Andrew O., Kim P., Alic S., David S., Kate S., Paul S., and Adam W.<<endreplace>>

"Help me," Bree said, <<timedinsert 1s>>feeling tears come into her eyes,<<endtimedinsert>> <<timedinsert 3s>>and she wondered how she could begin to explain to her friend<<endtimedinsert>> <<timedinsert 5s>>that a cold, cold hand was gripping her ankle,<<endtimedinsert>> <<timedinsert 7s>>a hand with a horrible, unthinkable strength,<<endtimedinsert>> <<timedinsert 9s>>and she could tell quite clearly<<endtimedinsert>> <<timedinsert 11s>>that it was missing a finger.<<timedgoto "end" 4s>><<endtimedinsert>>

Bree could hear Gretchen moving around, apparently trying to settle her sunburned back comfortably. "Jesus, I'm drunk," she said. She <<replace "paused.">>paused.\n\n"<<if $gretch eq "yes">>I got Basile's email, by the way. He said he'd look me up on Facebook, too. How are you doing? <<endif>>You heard from anyone back on campus? What about what's-his-nuts, the philosophy major? You haven't talked about him in a while. Know what he's up to for break?"\n\nEyes held shut, Bree tried to fall into that darkness the same way she'd fallen into the bland spaces <<replace "between the book's printed lines.">>between the book's printed lines.\n\nThey lapsed into silence, which Gretchen apparently took [[as answer enough]].<<endreplace>><<endreplace>>

Though strange, <<replace "this was the only logical explanation for it.">>this was the only logical explanation for it. Bree had <<replace "discovered them upon her return to the room after dinner:">>discovered them upon her return to the room after dinner: three pale gray stones, each shaped vaguely like a single segment of a human finger, <<replace "tucked underneath her pillow.">>tucked underneath her pillow.\n\nSomehow she hadn't found them before, but now they were in the pocket of her cardigan, a trio of hard points, where they would remain until [[she decided their fate]].<<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>>

Upon her return to the room the carpet was dry and Gretchen had <<replace "done away with the towel on the floor.">>done away with the towel on the floor. Bree's covers were still a bit damp at the foot of the bed, but she guessed they'd be fine by the evening. Feeling suddenly exhausted, she shoved her face into the pillow and napped until she was <<replace "awakened sometime later:">>awakened sometime later: it was Gretchen stomping into the room, wrapped in a fresh lime-green towel and her hair hanging in thick, wet strings.\n\n"Nice to see you're keeping busy," Gretchen said, sitting down on [[the unoccupied bed]].<<endreplace>><<endreplace>>

Bree decided Gretchen had fallen asleep just when she heard her friend chuckle: "<<replace "I'm gonna go skinny-dipping.">>I'm gonna go skinny-dipping."\n\n"What?" Bree opened her eyes and lowered the book.\n\nFrom the other bed, Gretchen grinned at her. "I'm gonna go outside, down to the beach, strip naked, and swim. Feel great on this sunburn. And because there is no night swimming allowed, and because I am drunk, of course, [[I will probably drown]].<<endreplace>>"

The sunlight slanting in through the windows was <<replace "bright and golden.">>bright and golden.\n\nBree crawled out from under the covers, taking care to step around the wet spots on the carpet, and made her way to the closet where she'd stowed her clothes. Both Abby's bed above hers and Gretchen's -- the bunk above the unoccupied bed -- were [[empty]].<<endreplace>>

The thought of jumping off a cliff into the sea <<replace "made Bree's stomach tremble.">>made Bree's stomach tremble. "I don't think I'd like it," she said. "<<replace "Not a very good swimmer.">>Not a very good swimmer."\n\n"You need to live a little. You're <<replace "worse than Abby sometimes.">>worse than Abby sometimes."\n\nBree changed the subject. "<<replace "How many Frenchmen did you seduce?">>How many Frenchmen did you seduce?"\n\nGretchen shrugged. "<<replace "None.">>None."\n\n"//Ma pauvre fille.//"\n\n"Yeah, well, whatever." Gretchen rolled over, pulling the towel more tightly to her shoulders. "One of the staff here was our guide -- I told her about [[the cave we found yesterday.]]<<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>>"<<endreplace>>\n

"Christ, Gretchen, please."\n\n<<timedinsert 1s>>"You're so goddamn anxious," Gretchen mumbled, sliding out of the bed now. Bree watched as she slumped on the floor, crawled to the closet and began to [[root through her suitcases]].<<endtimedinsert>>

Bree <<replace "whirled around.">>whirled around. A figure was halfway down the slope behind her, holding a beer bottle in each hand.\n\nShe could tell immediately [[it was Gretchen]].<<endreplace>>

michael lutz

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"Hm," Bree said, "just get me whatever."\n\n"Okay, glass of water it is," <<replace "smiled David.">>smiled David.\n\n"D//aaa//ve," Kat said, drawing out his name. "Don't be like that. Get her [[a Stella]]."<<endreplace>>

David shrugged. "Well, it's not like he succeeded. The door was locked. But he woke us up, pounding the door, see? I told him he had the wrong room, practically screamed at him, and if you can believe it <<replace "the bastard screamed back.">>the bastard screamed back."\n\nGretchen cocked her head. "Seriously? <<replace "What did he say?">>what did he say?"\n\n"I dunno." David shrugged. "Scots accents, man. //Drunk// Scots accent. It [[barely sounded like English.]]<<endreplace>><<endreplace>>"

"What?" [[Bree asked]].\n

Gretchen blinked. "[[What?|What2]]"

"Listen," said David, "I'm gonna hit the bar. Any of you want anything? It's on me."\n\n"Guinness," said Gretchen without hesitation.\n\n"Uh, a cider. It doesn't matter what kind," said Abby. "[[Just a cider]]."

Kat frowned in exaggerated disappointment, her hand on David's elbow slipping down around his waist as she leaned against him. "Why? That [[would have been exciting]]."

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"I was talking to the guide," she said, "and asked her about the cave we found yesterday. To see if it was really Viking stuff."\n\n"Yeah?" asked Bree.\n\n"She didn't know the cave," Gretchen said. "But she did say there are some standing stones nearby, and I guess an old ruined castle or something a bit further up the coast. You wanna try hiking up there [[tomorrow]]?"

Coasteering, it turned out, was a bit like climbing the rock wall back in the university rec center: for the most part it consisted of scaling the fingers of jutting rock that lined the border between the ocean and the cliffside and then, when you got as high as you felt you could go, leaping back down into the water after receiving an okay [[from the guide]].

He might have been handsome under <<replace "the right conditions.">>the right conditions. As it was his hair was <<replace "a bit too long.">>a bit too long. His face, also, was <<replace "a bit too long.">>a bit too long. He was lanky, and his arms and legs were <<replace "a bit too long.">>a bit too long. He was regularly looking back into the dining hall as he left, letting his eyes rest a bit <<replace "(of course)">>(of course) too long on the girls at the table of French backpackers, or the other group of Americans also here on Spring Break, [[or]]…<<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>>

//"Come on!"//\n\n<<timedinsert 2s>>The backpackers were frothing in the waves, splashing each other and laughing and taunting in French when they weren't climbing the cliffs and jumping down, and amid the bobbing red helmets some thirty feet below Bree searched for Gretchen.\n\n<<timedinsert 5s>>//"Come on!"//\n\n<<timedinsert 6s>><<replace "Bree spotted her:">>Bree spotted her: standing to the side of the cove, squinting up into the sun, her pale face already [[a light pink from the sun]].<<endreplace>><<endtimedinsert>><<endtimedinsert>><<endtimedinsert>>

<<timedinsert 3s>>[[She wasn't]].<<endtimedinsert>>\n

"Not me," said Bree. <<if $gretch eq "yes">>"Went coasteering with Gretchen, then just hung out."<<else>>"I just hung out."<<endif>>\n\nIn fact, while Gretchen went out to attend to her own business later in the afternoon, Bree <<replace "ended up borrowing a book from Abby">>ended up borrowing a book from Abby -- the shortest one, something dreadfully boring about a secluded English estate and a governess and dark secrets -- and spent the afternoon trying to <<replace "keep her eyes on the page.">>keep her eyes on the page. She'd finished the book, technically, in that she turned every page at least once, but all she understood about the end was that [[someone seemed to have died]].<<endreplace>><<endreplace>>

<<replace "She looked at him.">>She looked at him.\n\n"All right," David began, "so after the knocking and shouting, we go back to sleep, and I wake up again because //she's// <<replace "rolled out of bed">>rolled out of bed and--"\n\nKat slapped a hand over his mouth, silencing him, <<replace "then looked at the others.">>then looked at the others.\n\n"It sounds bad if he just says I was rolling on the ground screaming. But it was really scary, all right? I had a dream someone was in the room with us, moving around in the dark, I think maybe robbing us, going through our luggage, and I got scared and tried to get up, but <<replace "I just rolled out of bed">>I just rolled out of bed and -- [[ugh]]!"<<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>>

.char { \n transition: all 5s; -webkit-transition: all 5s;\n opacity: 0.4;\n}\n.char:hover {\n transition: all 0.1s; -webkit-transition: all 0.1s;\n opacity:1;\n text-shadow: 0 0 1em white;\n}