The Beach

Let’s go to the beach, they said. It’ll be fun, they said. This is what I get for being a third wheel. They wanted to go on a date on a beach in North Carolina. Instead of being stuck watching them be all cute, I decided to stay inside and enjoy the beach from a distance. I can see them still, but I don’t have to listen to their gross love banter. I love them both to death, but even I need a break from them.

Viki and Forrest are high school sweethearts. We all met in high school and later attended the same university, where we shared an apartment. Like I said, I could use the break from them. From a distance, I could see them holding hands, running towards the water. Forrest hates the ocean because he can’t swim, and ocean animals terrify him. Viki likes the beach for tanning purposes, not for swimming. Why any of them would be running towards the water, I don’t know.

They can be unpredictable, and so this was one of those cases. For once, they decided to swim. Good for them for branching out. I was feeling quite proud of them, primarily of Forrest for trying to overcome his fear of the ocean. It always seemed weird to me that he doesn’t like the beach or oceans, yet he decided to date someone who can’t stand to be away from the water. Viki loves the aesthetic of a beach. She enjoys looking out at the water, loves to tan, and appreciates going on cruises. She’s a very bubbly person, and Forrest, well, isn’t. He’s a homebody and doesn’t do much. He likes to stay inside. They are complete opposites, but the saying goes, “opposites attract.”

I was friends with Viki first. Her personality drew me in. She just had a way with words and made you feel important. She said I was interesting. She would talk about the birthmark on my wrist, saying it was cool, which made me seem intimidating. It was a red mark that almost looked like an arrow.

My personality is more like Forrest’s. We both prefer to stay at home and hang out. Viki always wanted a big outing, party, or vacation. Forrest would make it happen for her. I tried to let them have a date night anytime Viki wanted to go out somewhere, but somehow I always ended up going along.

Looking back at them, they’ve begun to look like blurs. I can still make out small expressions on their faces. Viki is saying something, although they are too far away for me to make it out. Forrest has a sleepy smile on his face. I’ve never seen that expression before. He looks happy, but he also appears to be disoriented. He’s physically there with her, but mentally, that man is checked out.

Viki throws her head back and laughs. It’s high-pitched and musical. It’s so loud it even reaches my ears, and I know that everyone’s attention is now on her. Forrest has talked about before how he never really remembers his beach trips with Viki. He just states that Viki seems different when it comes to water.

This is my first time going with them. Viki said something to me about wanting me to come along, and the rest is hazy. The next thing I knew, I was packing a bag and getting ready to go. Even now, I can feel my surroundings getting hazy. I found myself looking intently at Viki and Forrest. Something in my brain was screaming at me, telling me there was danger. I felt fear. I felt like something was going to happen to my friends.

Forrest kept blinking in the distance. He would look towards the water, then at Viki, then at me. Every time his eyes turned towards mine, the sleepiness in them would blink away. Viki kept talking. I could almost hear the tone of voice she was using. Her sweet, sultry one. She used it when she wanted something, and right now, she had that gleam in her eye like she wanted something.

Forrest turned away from me. His expression turned dreamy again. I couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right. Why did I come with them on this trip? They usually do beach trips alone. I don’t like the beach. Why did I show up here? Viki said something about wanting me to come in that sweet, soft voice of hers, and the rest I don’t remember.

I focused on the others on the beach and saw their attention solely focused on Viki. She just had an aura to her that made people take notice. Everyone loved her, and if they didn’t, they wanted to be her. She was perfection, and everyone wanted her attention.

The people on the beach hung on to her every word. She glanced my way, and so did they. They turned back to look at her. I felt stuck, haunted, hunted. Viki was up to something, and it wasn’t good. The people on the beach strolled, almost zombie-like, towards the water. Except for two. A couple, by the looks of it. They were holding hands, smiling at each other, then smiling at her like they had known her for years.

Forrest blinked, and his head rushed to look at mine. His eyes were focused and scared. “Run! Please! I love you! You have to run!” I knew he was yelling at me. My brain told me to leave, but my body listened to what Viki wanted, and she needed me to stay. I just didn’t know why.

Viki touched Forrest’s face, looking at him lovingly. His eyes turned glossy as he looked back at her. Something in me shifted. I didn’t like her hands on him. Why would she touch him? Why would he let her? We didn’t know her.

Viki whispered something in his ear, and my Forrest crumpled to the ground; his body turning to ash. I screamed as I watched my fiancé turn to sand on the beach. Horror struck me when Viki walked up to the new couple and took hold of their wrists. A red blotchy mark appeared on their skin. I looked down at my own wrist to see my own mark. The arrow seemed to glow, and the point of the arrow was focused right on me. It was almost like it was saying I was next to die. Viki smiled at me and waved. She whispered something under her breath, and suddenly the memories flashed in my brain.

Forrest and I wanted to do something special. We decided to go to the beach and ended up here about a year ago. I met him in our sophomore year in high school. We fell in love in our art class. We stayed together during our junior and senior years. Then we went to the same university. When he took me here, it was to propose to me. I said yes, but then we heard her voice. Her sultry voice asked us to trust her. We didn’t know any better. She sounded so sweet. She marked us. Turned us into shells of ourselves. She took the ring that was supposed to be mine and called herself his fiancée. She took my love away from me. For what?

Viki walked up to me. Her voice is getting louder. “You were always harder to get under my spell. Forrest? He was easy. So gullible. Easy to manage. You always had to be convinced. One word from me wasn’t enough for you. You needed more from me. I need you to be easy today. Your time with me has come to an end. I have moved on to the next couple.”

I staggered back, “What are you? Why would you do this?”

“What am I?” She cackled, “How rude. I am your friend. As for why I would do this, well, I needed some fun. Messing with couples. Changing their relationship just to kill them when they realized what happened, that’s fun.”

I kept walking backwards, my eyes never leaving hers. The beautiful, bubbly, blonde girl I thought was my friend transformed into a skeleton-thin, black-feathered monster. She was not quite a bird, but she definitely was not human.

“Why are you walking away from me?” She squawked, “Aren’t we friends?”

She was still far away enough that I had time to run. I needed to make it out of here. I didn’t want to die. Not today. Not like this. I ran out of the beach house. I stumbled through the sand and reached our car. Keys in hand, I unlocked it and rushed to the front seat, where I put the car in drive. I felt like I was finally seeing clearly. The world seemed brighter. I was free and on the road.

“But are you free?” A soft, sweet voice whispered, and I felt a hand touch mine.