Chapter 14- The truth
"Professor! Professor!" Connor called out from across the pier. They ran towards him at his shout as he poked the stick into the water. "You're really going to want to see this. The reservoir's land locked, right?" Connor said.
"Yes." Nick replied.
"So, allowing for condensation and rainfall, the depth should be pretty consistent."
"Of course. There's no other exit way for the water." Avery said not catching on to what he was getting at.
"Well, I made this mark at water level earlier" He takes the stick out and shows him a band of red tape part way up. He pokes the stick back into the water but it doesn't reach the line. "The water level's fallen 40 centimeters since then."
Avery turns and gestures to Stephen to come over. He gives his vial to Abby and races back towards her to catch what Connor was saying "This isn't a reservoir any more, it's a tidal lake. The water's literally pouring out of it."
"It must be flowing out through the anomaly." Cutter mentions. They turn their heads and look out across the water. "Which means it's still down there somewhere." He turned to Stephen. "Tell Ryan to pull his men out of the water. The anomaly is still down there and more creatures could still come through. They may not like the colder water but if they sense prey they won't hesitate to come through."
Nick stood on pier staring over the water. Claudia walked over and joined him. She handed him a hot beverage as the temperature began to drop. "Here you are."
"Thanks very much." Nick said accepting it.
Claudia looked at him then back out to the water. She didn't want him knowing what she thought. "Thinking about Helen?"
Nick looked at her in confusion. "How did you know that?
"I'm a highly trained civil servant. We're famous for our emotional empathy." She gave a small smile laughing at what people usually thought she was like.
Nick reflected her smile. "Whatever I'm doing, she's always there. She never really goes away." He frowned again at his thoughts. "I'm sure it annoys Avery as well. She was young when Helen disappeared, but not young enough to bounce back from her disappearance."
"How did you go about adopting Avery?"
"It wasn't anything too spectacular. She is related to me by blood as well. Avery was my sisters kid, but she was too young to look after Avery so she asked us to look after her when she was born. Avery knows of this but she doesn't care."
"Why didn't your sister ever take her back?"
"She died during childbirth. She was too young. Her body couldn't handle the strain. Helen never cared. As far as she was concerned Avery was her kid. That's what made her so great."
"Strange. Of all the people in the world to hallucinate, Stephen chose Helen."
Nick stared across the water. "Steam."
"What?"
"Don't you see? The tide must be coming in, bringing in warmer water from the other side. The steam is telling us exactly where the anomaly is." Nick rushed off to find Stephen, ignoring what Claudia said.
Claudia Stood there as he rushed off staring at the steam floating above the water. "How did he figure that out?"
"We need to talk." Stephen said coming over to Avery as she talked to one of the scientists helping to analyse the water samples.
"I'll bring the samples when I'm done here." She told the scientist as he passed a clipboard to her.
Stephen waited until the scientist had walked away before gathering the courage for what he needed to say. "Look, we need to stop ignoring each other or else we won't be able to work together."
"Fine. Just tell me why you lied to me. I know you don't have a girlfriend and even if you did why would you not tell me?"
"You're right I don't have a girlfriend. The truth is…" He trailed off as he lost the courage to tell her about him and Helen.
"What is the truth?" He answered her with silence. "Fine don't tell me. But just so you know we are no longer friends. It hurts that you cannot confide in me. I thought we were friends, but I guess I was wrong." She grabbed a few samples and the clipboard and turned to leave when Stephen grabbed her wrist. She refused to look at him to hurt to see his eyes pleading for her to listen.
"The truth is I slept with Helen before she disappeared." He told her quickly. He could see how betrayed she looked. She snatched her wrist out of his grasp her sadness instantly replaced with rage. "How could you. How could you do this to me and dad? You're his closest friend, but you betrayed him." She took a step back as he moved forward. "Don't, I need a while to process this. Just leave me alone."
"Okay, Okay. Just please don't tell Nick."
"I won't. But you need to tell him." As she walked away Stephen could briefly see tears starting in her eyes and it broke his heart. She was like a sister to him and if he lost her friendship he would not forgive himself.