The DARE

“Promise you won’t tell! Promise!”

I look at her in shock. My hand is still on the door knob. She slowly lowers the item into her pants pocket and before I can blink, grabs my sweatshirt strings.

My wrist twists painfully as I stumble into her face. Her teeth are clenched. Her face is red. Her ruby lipstick is blotchy. She’s not even that pretty up close. I can’t breathe. My heart is beating through my chest.

“I… I… sorry, this is a… this is a mistake…”

She releases the strings so suddenly that I smash into the door. The atmosphere is charged with tension. Things are happening way too fast for me to process.

From across the room, she stands planted near the coffee table, muscles taut. Her eyes are narrowed and focused on the carpeted floor, fists clenched in fury. A protruding vein in her neck jerks uncontrollably. I can see the wheels in brain try to assess the consequence of the situation.

My hands and feet don’t ask permission from my brain before whipping around and flinging open the door.

She grabs me back by my hood and pulls the string so strong that blood shoots up to my face. “I…can’t…. breath….” I desperately try to get her arms off me, but she’s surprisingly strong. The air struggles through my lungs. The only thing I can think of is I’m going to die because of a stupid dare. “I’m… sorry…. I….

She tightens the string. My eyes bulge. My neck sears with pain. My head feels like a ball of fire. Its… ov-

GASP! a rush of air assails my lungs. I fall to my knees, indulging on the air I so desperately need. I can’t stop my shoulders from trembling. She gives me no time to get back to myself, kicking at my shoes for me to get up.

“Actions speak more than words, don’t they?” Her eyes are black and bottomless.

I shiver so bad that I feel like I’m going to topple over.

“Now disappear.”

I need no further prompting. I’m out the door quick as lightening and don’t stop running through the long corridors, down the steps and outside where my friends are. I plop onto the chair, breathing short and heavy.

“Jax, what up?'

I can’t talk. I signal for them to wait a minute.

“Cut it out!”

“You won’t believe it… I…I ?” I swallow and exhale, trying to slow my breathing. My heart is burning.

“Ey, I can smell a prank from a mile away."

“She tried to chock me!" Why does my brain feel fuzzy and heavy? I take another half a minute.

All three of them look at me oddly.

" I promise. It was her. The girl staring from the pool. It was her room. She tried chocking me!"

"Slow down. Talk straight."

"I'm trying. I'm trying. Mason remember that girl was staring at us from outside the pool? I pause to catch my breath. "She was still staring at us when we left. I did my dare. I tried every door and walked into the one that was open. It was her. I promise. I walked in and- “ I stop, her chilling voice ringing in my ears. Promise you won’t tell! Promise!

“And?”

“Nothing. She was just doing something she didn’t want anyone to see and literary chocked me death.” I finish off quickly. I don’t know why I have a bad feeling about this. I’ve never been that guy that freaks out about everything.

None of them talk.

I'm nauseous. I get up and lean over the railing, watching the water lap against the side of the ship. “ Any way, if I die because of this stupid dare, you should be sorry.”

“Oh, please Jax, stop dramatizing!”

I turn around.

Jayden is staring at me with an odd expression on his face. Mason’s twisting the cap around his water bottle and Sander has his usual goofy smile. “It’s okay guys, I don’t need you to believe, if you were the one telling it to me, I wouldn’t believe it either.” I shrug. “I’m head’n to the room. Anyone joining?”

They all look at each other.

“Ey, I’m not a ghost.”

“You looked like you met one when you came back,” says Jayden

I shrug again. “Bye I guess.” I can feel them look at me as I head in.

***

The noise of them entering the room filters through my light sleep. Sounds like they’re having fun, but I don’t care. My head feels like a pound of rocks; I can’t even lift it properly.

The next thing I know, I’m squinting at the sunshine streaming through the window. I glance at my phone and over at the king bed. All three of them are tangled over each other in a deep sleep. They must have drunk. A lot. Enough to knock Sander out and enough to make Mason sleep with him. I get this sudden urge to take a walk down the dock alone. My shirt is rumpled and dirty still from yesterday, but I don’t care, no one should be up this early on a cruise.

A breeze hits me as I open the door to the back dock. It has this tinge of morning freshness and a dash of sea scent that makes me take a gulp. I close my eyes; There’s just something about it, that puts me at ease, at peace. I just stand at the side, eyes closed, tuning into the feeling of the wind as it makes my shirt and hair flap until I feel a presence. I duck behind the pole.

Gosh! I don’t know why I’m scared. I guess yesterday’s incident really changed something inside me. I peek out.

It’s her.

She’s in black. She's wearing a gothic style, lace top with spikes at the neckline and cuffs with odd cut outs in random places. Her high-top botties have chains that clang as she strolls over to the railings.

I’m frozen behind the pole. I can feel my neck constrict. I'm yelling at myself to stop acting like a kid, but there's no one to speak to. Her back is toward me. I want to make a run for it, but my feet are paralyzed. A pack of shivers break loose and crawl up my spine like ants up a tree. I don’t know how long I stand that way; it feels like forever. She stand there silently when suddenly, she releases a bone-chilling cry of anguish and slowly, eases herself down on her knees.

My body tingles.

Gut- wrenching sobs echo through the empty dock as if a coyote howling in pain.

My brain fires at me to do something, but fear stops the message and I stand there wide-eyed as I watch in slow motion how she abruptly gets up and pulls herself over the rails. She does not hesitate as she leans forward.

A piercing scream, makes her freeze. She twists her head toward me. I didn’t even realize I was the one screaming. I dash over, grab her arms and try to pull her back.

“No! No! No!” She shoves me in the chest with the strength of someone who desperately wants everything to end.

I gasp in pain. I try to keep my grip. But’s over fast. The deck is empty.

Four seconds later, there’s a splash and then death-like silence.