Chapter Seven: Here's Johnny

Estelle hadn't seen Lucy all morning. With her vanished and Flynn out of the house, Estelle suddenly found herself with nothing to do. She made herself busy by tidying the house. They'd shirked on the dishes while dealing with everything else, so she washed the pile in the sink.

Once all the dishes left in the sink were drying in the sink rack, her eyes fell on the carving knife sitting next to the knife block. Flynn had set it there after Bram attacked them by the fireplace. Yuri had washed her blood off it the night he attacked her in the shower, and now the silver blade gleamed. Estelle wrapped her fingers around the wooden handle and felt its weight. Bram had used this knife twice now; was it his weapon of choice? Her gaze drifted to the closed doors leading to the sitting room, and she quickly set it down as she wondered if this was the very same knife he'd used to kill Lucy. It couldn't be, could it? Yates would have replaced the cutlery set… right? But if Bram had washed the knife and put it away before hanging himself and Yates had no idea the knife block carried such guilt….

Estelle shuddered and stepped away from the counter. She didn't think she wanted to know. As she turned around, she came face to face with Lucy. "Oh! Good morning."

Lucy held her hands behind her back and stared at her feet, squirming as she stood.

"Is something wrong?"

"Um… Estelle…" She pulled her eyes up. "I was thinking. Your friends are like… like your family, right? And the guy with the black hair… you miss him like I miss my mommy."

Estelle slowly nodded. "That's right, I miss him very much."

"Ok, then - then I think… I think I should give him back. And you should live with your family 'cause otherwise you'll be sad, but you hafta come visit me, ok?"

A weight rose from her chest that lifted her cheeks into a smile. "You're going to bring Yuri back?"

"If you promise to come visit me after you leave!"

Estelle bobbed her head. "Yes, of course I can do that." If they couldn't find Karina, coming every now and then to visit and make sure she didn't get too lonely was the least she could do.

"Ok! I'm gonna go get him. Wait here!"

Lucy vanished, and Estelle threw herself on the couch with a sigh of relief. She couldn't wait to see Flynn's face when he got home and found Yuri waiting for him. Despite all the hardship they'd gone through yesterday and the night before, it seemed like everything was finally going to work out. The coach was coming tomorrow to pick them up and take them back to Zaphias, so if Flynn got back around noon, the three of them would still have the rest of the day to enjoy their vacation in peace.

About ten minutes later, Lucy reappeared. She wore a face like she'd been caught sneaking into the cookie jar.

"Lucy? Did something happen?"

"I -I can't find him. I wanted to bring him back - really, I did! - but he isn't where I left him."

Estelle's joy faded. "What do you mean? Where did you leave him?"

"I dunno how to call it. I thought he wouldn't move but I went back and he wasn't there. I don't know what to do!" She threw herself at the couch and buried herself in Estelle's chest. "I'm s-sorry, Estelle! I really wanted to bring him back. Please don't hurt me."

Estelle quickly wrapped her arms around Lucy. She was frustrated and worried, but she couldn't let Lucy think that what her father did to her was a normal reaction to displeasure. "Lucy, it's ok, I'm not going to hurt you."

"I'm s-s-sorry."

"I'll help you look for him."

"You can't. What if I lose you there, too? I don't wanna lose you."

Wherever he was, Yuri must have wandered away trying to find his way back here. Where in the world could Lucy have put him? The only good news Estelle gleaned from this was that if Yuri had wandered off, he must not be too hurt. "Don't worry about me. I want to help you look for him."

Lucy shook her head. "No, you can't go there. I - I don't think I shoulda taken the other guy there, either."

"Can you describe what this place is?"

"It's dark." She shrugged. "I like going there. It's cozy and peaceful. I thought he'd be ok but… but I messed up." Estelle couldn't see her face, but from her voice it was obvious Lucy was on the brink of tears. "I'm really sorry, Estelle. I - I did a bad thing, didn't I?"

Estelle took a deep breath and rubbed Lucy's back. "Yes, what you did was not a good thing. But now you're trying to fix it, and that's what's important." She simply couldn't bring herself to yell at a crying child, no matter how upset she was with her actions.

"I'm so sorry." Lucy pulled herself away and rubbed her eyes. "I'm gonna fix it. I'm gonna find him. I'll bring him back and make everything better and then you'll be happy again. Stay here, Estelle, I'm gonna go find him."

"Be caref-" Lucy vanished before Estelle could finish. Estelle sighed and leaned back on the couch. Her good mood from before had diminished, but not completely disappeared. Wherever Yuri was, he must be ok. Lucy would find him soon and then Flynn would come home and everything would be ok. She just had to wait.

Estelle rested on the couch, trying to wait patiently while worrying herself sick. Lucy had been gone for over an hour at least. She couldn't begin to guess where Yuri was. He might not even still be in this world, considering how abruptly he'd vanished. Wherever he was, she sure hoped Lucy found him soon. She curled up on her side. She couldn't focus on anything with her mind busy worrying about the others, so she closed her eyes and tried to relax.

It was just as she started to drift to sleep when she heard something upstairs. Her eyes opened with a frown. Had that thump actually happened, or was it the beginning of a dream? She sat up and glanced to the ceiling, just in time to hear floorboards squeaking. There was a creak, shortly followed by another. Footsteps.

"Lucy?"

At her voice, the footsteps stopped. Whoever was making them sounded a lot heavier than a six year old girl. Estelle slowly rose from the couch and drifted toward the stairs. Her piqued ears caught every sound from the second story, like the thud of a door swinging open and the creak of the stairs. At the base of the steps, Estelle stopped. Someone was walking toward her, but her fear vanished when she saw who it was.

"Yuri!"

Yuri walked slowly, his head down with hair falling in curtains around his face. Strands of hair clumped together with blood, and though it was hard to make out on his dark clothes, bloodstains covered his shirt and pants. Estelle was ecstatic to see him, but when he reached the base of the stairs and raised his head, her joy rushed back into worry. She'd never seen him so pale, and blood coated his lips and down his chin. Streaks of dried blood fell down his cheeks like tears, trails ran from his nose and snatches of it was visible through his hair having leaked from his ears. None of his clothes were ripped, but the patches of blood on his clothes had to come from somewhere and she shuddered to think what the rest of him looked like.

Despite his atrocious appearance, Estelle couldn't help throwing herself at him the moment he was close enough. When her arms wrapped around him, his whole body stiffened and she quickly withdrew, afraid she'd caused him pain. "Oh, Yuri, you're a wreck. Let me heal you."

She started to cast, but he shook his head. "It's fine," he croaked. "None of it's fresh."

"If you insist…" The blood coating his chin made it look like he'd ripped someone's throat out with his teeth, but based on the bleeding from every other orifice, she assumed it had been coughed up. "You still need to clean up. Let's go to the sink and wash your face." A dozen questioned burned in her brain, but for now she concentrated on making sure he really was fine.

"I can get it."

Estelle stayed by the island while Yuri went to the sink. The water ran and he used the dishcloth to scrub his face. As he washed, Estelle wondered where Lucy was. Obviously she'd found Yuri, but why hadn't she come back herself? There were still so many unanswered questions. Yuri was alive, but how well was he? His voice seemed oddly flat and he moved stiffly. Clearly something was wrong with him, and if she found out exactly where he had been, she could help him more.

The water turned off and Yuri let out a long sigh. "Wow. I feel a lot better."

"I'm so happy you're ok, Yuri." He still hadn't turned around, but knowing the blood had been cleaned from his face was a relief. "Are you sure you don't have any injuries that need healing?"

"I'm fine. But, can you come over here?"

Estelle rounded the island. "What is it?" He needed to take a nice long shower. There was still blood in his hair and it must be smeared across his body under his clothes as well.

"No, come closer."

She took a step, but slowly. Yuri still hadn't turned to face her, and his hands were now hidden in front of his body. "Yuri, you're acting really weird."

"I want to show you something."

What was she afraid of? It was just Yuri. He'd obviously been at least somewhat traumatized by wherever he'd been, explaining his dull voice and hunched shoulders. "Are you sure you're feeling ok?" She took another step closer and then her gaze fell on the counter. Something was missing. What should she be seeing? Her eyes traced the surface and then landed on the knife block, with one empty slot. The carving knife.

Estelle bolted backward just as Yuri spun around. The knife flashed as it whipped through the air. "Yuri! What are you doing?!" She scrambled around the island, keeping the counter between her and Yuri.

"Aw, come on, don't run away from me," Yuri began rounding the island, and Estelle hurried to keep moving and keep him opposite from her. Yuri glared at her and started going the other way, causing Estelle to change direction again.

He smiled as he stared at her across the island. Every muscle tensed, ready to bolt. Yuri held his arms loosely in front of him, knife tight in his right hand. He jerked to the left and Estelle's whole body flinched, but she didn't fall for the bluff.

"Come on, Estelle… I'm not gonna hurt you. It's just me."

Estelle swallowed a lump of fear. "You are not Yuri."

He slowly sidestepped around the island, forcing Estelle to keep moving. "Are you sure?"

Of course she was. Yuri wouldn't even dream of hurting her, let alone coming at her with a knife. Except… she had no idea where he'd been or what had happened to him. It was obvious from his pale, bloody face he'd been through something awful. What if he'd been somewhere that screwed up his mind and drove him insane? Physically, he certainly looked exactly like her Yuri. Specifically, like a Yuri who had gone through serious shit and come out of it mentally addled.

Estelle kept moving around the island until she was near the sink. She had managed to keep Yuri opposite her, but this couldn't last forever. Their delicate balance was going to break any moment now and she had to be ready. Yuri's foot landed on the stool and he leapt onto the counter. The millisecond Estelle saw him move, her hand shot to the knife block to arm herself. She grabbed the first knife she could reach but when she brought it around to face Yuri she realized she'd grabbed the pairing knife. Its three inch blade was hardly threatening and it looked comical compared to the carving knife a grinning Yuri held as he stood over her.

The blade shook in her hand. "Stay back!"

"You wouldn't hurt your old pal, would you?" He leapt at her.

Estelle threw herself forward and grabbed his legs. She pushed and let his momentum carry him forward. Yuri's face smashed into the sink with a clunk and then Estelle ran for the foyer. She desperately wanted to make sure Yuri was all right, but if she got too close he would probably stab her.

She heard him moan as he stood up. "You bitch!" Yuri shouted at her.

In the foyer, she looked back to see him standing with one hand over his forehead and fresh blood trickling down his face. Any second now he was going to come running after her again, so she had to make a decision fast. Run outside, or run upstairs? Outside, there was nowhere to hide and no one to help unless she reached Capua Nor. Yuri could outrun her. He was injured now, but she didn't know how injured and she wasn't going to bet her life on it. The stairs rattled from the force of her steps as she raced up them. She tore across the landing, straight to her bedroom, and slammed the door with such force wind resistance slowed her down.

Thumping footsteps had already reached the stairs, so she grabbed the heavy wooden chair by the desk and jammed it under the doorknob. The front legs stuck in the air and she kicked the back legs as close to the door as she could until it was solidly in place. Hopefully it would hold. Just as she got it settled, a force slammed into the door and the knob rattled. Estelle held her breath as he twisted the knob and pounded, but her impromptu barricade held.

"Little princess, little princess, let me come in!" Yuri shouted and rapped on the door. "Or I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow the house down!"

"Go away!" Her voice cracked as she screamed and when her gelatinous knees finally gave out, she slumped to the floor. Estelle pressed her back to the wall and clutched the pairing knife close to her chest. Breath came in short gasps and she wanted to vomit.

"Estelle, come on, open the door. I told you, I'm not gonna hurt you."

She squeezed her eyes shut and took a long breath through her nose and then let it out through her mouth. Her whole body vibrated from panic.

"I'm not… honest… I'm just gonna slash your throat open, ok? I'll do it fast. You won't feel a thing."

Tears rose in her eyes and Estelle smothered a cry. She'd thought that after all she'd been through on their adventures, she could handle anything. That was true to a point. She could handle anything, as long as it wasn't said in Yuri's voice. Her knuckles turned white around the handle of the knife as she clutched it like an anchor. It was a useless weapon, though, because he was right: she couldn't hurt him. Whatever was wrong with him, she knew there had to be a way to get him back to normal. She could not bring herself to hurt Yuri.

"Estelle…" His voice was punctuated by a long drag of splintering wood. Probably the knife dragging across the door. "You're making this unnecessarily difficult, Estelle."

There was no point talking back. It would just egg him on and she didn't trust herself to speak, anyway.

"Come on, open the door. I've heard redheads look good in pink and I want to see if the reverse is true."

It's not Yuri, Estelle recited to herself over an over. Even if it was, it wasn't really him. The real Yuri would never say such awful things.

Scrrrrrape… scrrrrrape… Every drag of the knife cut into her heart. The seconds trickled by like minutes as Estelle hugged herself and tried to stop shaking. There was nowhere to run. The only exit was through the window, and she'd probably break her ankle if she jumped. That would just make it easier for Yuri to catch her outside. All she could do was huddle by her barricade, clutch her useless pairing knife, and pray Flynn got home soon.

Flynn! The thought bolted through her like lightning. What would happen when Flynn got home? Yuri would go down to say hello and Flynn would have no idea Yuri was… not himself. She needed to warn him.

"Estelle, you're still there, right?"

She glanced to the door and jumped as she saw movement. Four pale fingers wormed under the door and reached for her.

"Why are you making this harder?" Yuri's voice was soft, soothing, the way he reassured her when she felt defeated and picked up her spirits when she was sad. He used that familiar tone to say, "C'mere and let me cut you. I promise I'll make it quick."

Her fist smashed his fingers and she barked, "Next time it'll be the knife!"

The fingers retracted and Estelle heaved for breath. She closed and opened her eyes, half-convinced that eventually she'd snap them open in bed and realize this whole morning was a nightmare.

Yuri slammed the door and the wood creaked. That knife wasn't enough to cut through the door, was it? No, it couldn't be. The door was solid wood; even if he tried to weaken it and then pound it, the door wouldn't cave. She hoped.

"Let me in, Estelle! Open the damn door, you cunt!"

Estelle flinched and tried not to cry. Deep breaths, Estelle. She just had to sit it out until Flynn got here and then she'd warn him about Yuri and together they could deal with this. She pulled her knees close to her chest and clamped her eyes shut. Ignore him, ignore him. She forced her mind to think about happier thoughts from happier times, but every cheery memory that contained Yuri made her chest ache and hands tremble. Rita came to mind and she latched onto happy memories with her other best friend. Think about Rita instead of Yuri.

Time passed. She had no idea how much, but it felt like an age. Yuri spent the entire time pounding on the door, calling for her to come out. Estelle eventually managed to drown him out with her happy thoughts, but then his words took an unexpected turn.

"Let me in, Esteeeelle," his sing-song voice abruptly cut off with a choke. He gasped for breath, moaned, and then with a thump she had to assume he fell to the floor.

Estelle glanced to the door with a frown, and when Yuri spoke again it came as a moan.

"Estelle… help." He coughed and groaned. "I'm s-sorry. I don't know h-how long I can hold on."

She leapt to her feet. Yuri! He needed help! Estelle's hands reached the chair when an awful thought struck her: what if it was a trap?

Yurimoaned. "Estelle… please…"

But was it really him? Or was it the other him trying to lure her out? She couldn't even ask something only he would know, because an insane Yuri still had the same memories. The moment she opened the door, he might spring up and stab her. Even if she grabbed her sword, she'd be forced to fight him and then she might accidentally hurt him. She couldn't risk it until Flynn got home and they could outnumber him.

"E-Estelle… please, hurry."

It had to be a trap. What were the chances of him suddenly snapping to his senses like that? He was trying to trick her into opening the door so he could attack her, and if he killed her, there would be no way to warn Flynn when he got home. Estelle curled into a ball next to the well. It's not him. She pressed her hands against her eyes, struggling to block out his pleas. But if it was….

Flynn sat on the Knight cart, lost in thought. After confirming that a repairman would come by to fix the electricity later this afternoon, he'd gone to the Knight headquarters to see if he could talk to one of the knights who'd gone to the house. Only one of them was still around, and Flynn had to wait around for half an hour for him to come back from patrol. It had been a frustrating wait, because all he wanted to do was sit and think in peace while everyone was so star-struck at having the Commandant around that over a dozen people offered him a cup of coffee.

The knight he'd spoken to hadn't given him any mind-blowing information. It was the same as Mr. Yates said. Bram hanging on the porch, blood all over the front room, Karina and Lucy nowhere to be seen. It was a waste of time and he still didn't know how to get Yuri back. The only thing he'd gotten from the knight was an opinion.

"We can't know for sure," the guy had said. "Not much evidence to go on. Personally? I think the lady jumped. Her body wasn't in the house or on the grounds. Took a dive off the cliffs and the ocean washed her body away somewhere."

Flynn sure hoped that wasn't the case. If her corpse was left to the will of the tides, finding it would be impossible. She was probably a skeleton on the bottom of the ocean by now. How were they ever going to find her spirit and put Lucy to rest?

The cart pulled up at the path leading to the house. "This will be fine, thanks," Flynn said.

"Do you need anything else, sir?" the knight asked.

Flynn shook his head. "That's all. I don't want to take up any more of your time."

"It's no problem, Commandant. Sorry we couldn't be of more help. Have a nice day."

Flynn hopped off, said goodbye, and walked toward the house, quickening his pace when he wondered if Bram had made a move against Estelle yet. Damn, how could this vacation have gone to hell so quickly? Only a few days ago they were enjoying themselves. Was it really only three days ago that they were happily exploring the cave? Memories from that afternoon flitted through his mind and he walked a little faster as he prayed those wouldn't become some of the last memories he had of Yuri.

As the memories flew by, one of them lagged behind and hung around his brain: a toy horse lodged in the sand. Estelle's voice, "The tide washes everything into the cave, and then when it pulls out the items get lodged in the sand and left behind." The knights had searched the beach for Karina's body, but had they checked the cave? If the tide was in when they arrived, they could easily have assumed it was naturally always filled with water. She must have jumped, and then the tied swept her body into the cave. They'd explored one branch of the cave, but it went deeper and had more arms. That was where they would find Karina!

Flynn started running in his eagerness to share his realization. He stomped up the steps to the front porch and entered the foyer. "Lady Estellise?" She wasn't in the kitchen, so perhaps she was playing with Lucy on the back porch. Footsteps thumped down the stairs, and he turned to see Yuri coming toward him.

"Yuri!" His heart sang with relief. All his worries washed away and the stress of finding Karina vanished in an instant. If Yuri was back, then they could leave right now, no hassle! He hadn't expected such an easy solution to their problem. "It's good to see you." He was too relieved to wonder too much about Yuri's right hand, and why he seemed to be awkwardly holding it behind his back. "When did you get back?"

"This morning." Yuri reached the floor of the foyer and Flynn walked forward.

As he stepped toward Yuri, something pounded upstairs. "Flynn!" Estelle's voice reached through the house and he looked up in surprise. "Flynn, stay away! It's not Yuri! Run!"

Flynn looked back just in time to see Yuri swinging a knife at him. He darted backward and whipped out his sword. "What the hell?!"

"Get out of here," Yuri snarled. He held out the knife, but with Flynn's sword warding him off, he didn't make any moves. "You're interrupting."

"What am I interrupting?" Flynn spoke slowly, analyzing every contour of Yuri's face. It was definitely him. Flynn had never seen such a hateful expression on his friend's face before, but after so many years he would have been able to pick out an impostor in the dark. That also meant that although he knew this was physically Yuri, he also knew that Yuri nearly always held weapons in his left hand. This Yuri was gripping the knife in his right.

"All I want to do is give Estelle a pretty red necklace but she's being difficult and you're getting in the way."

"You want to kill Lady Estellise?" It was hard to keep his voice steady with his heart hammering like this. He had a sword while Yuri only had a knife, but he had a feeling Yuri would be a lot less hindered by friendship to actually use it.

"What, am I speaking in Krytian? What does it look like I'm trying to do? Now get out of here so I can get back to cutting that bitch!"

"This isn't you, Yuri. I believe something is controlling you, but I know you're in there. Calm down and we can work through this."

"If you don't fuck off, I'm going to kill you, too."

Flynn held his ground and kept the sword steady. He was ready to defend himself at the slightest indication of attack. "Yuri, listen to me. You don't want to do any of this. We're your friends. You know me - it's Flynn."

"I don't care."

"I'm Flynn Scifo and we've been best friends for most of our lives."

That got a reaction. His stony face twitched and his eyes landed on Flynn with new interest. "Flynn… Scifo?"

"That's right," he encouraged. "We're friends."

"You're the… commandant? That Flynn Scifo?"

Flynn nodded. "Yes, I am." Was he actually getting through to him?

"Ok, Flynn… slight change of plan." He threw himself forward with a snarl of, "You'll pay for this, you bastard!"

Sword met knife as he knocked Yuri's hand away. He heard footsteps pounding down the stairs but focused on fending off Yuri. His sword gave him more reach and he smashed the flat of his blade against Yuri's side, sending him crashing into a wall. "What the hell is your gripe with me?!"

"This is your fault!" The force of Yuri's anger drowned out tactical thinking skills, so when he raised the knife over his head and rushed at him, Flynn dropped his sword and caught Yuri's wrist. He twisted and then smashed his knee into Yuri's gut. Yuri staggered and Estelle sprinted down the stairs.

"Open the closet," Flynn snapped.

She swung the door of the coat closet open and Flynn swivelled around and shoved Yuri into it. Yuri hit the back wall with a thud and then Flynn slammed it shut. Pressing his back against it, he said, "Quick! Find something to barricade the door!"

Yuri's fists thundered against the door, which threatened to open with every pound. Flynn braced his feet on the wooden floor and pressed back with his entire body weight to keep him in. The knife pushed through the crack at the side, barely missing Flynn's ear.

"Get away from the door!" Yuri bellowed. "I'm not going to hurt you, Flynn, buddy, I'm just going to eviscerate you."

Yuri slammed into the door and it pushed open about an inch before Flynn managed to push it back. "Please hurry with the blockade, Estellise."

Estelle ran back from the kitchen with a chair. "Try this." Flynn moved just as she pushed the chair against the door and jammed the back under the handle. "I don't know how long that will hold."

"Then let's get moving." He grabbed her hand and dashed out the door. They didn't stop running as he gasped, "Tell me what happened."

"Lucy said she'd," Estelle panted from trying to explain while running around the house, "bring Yuri back. She - disappeared, and then - Yuri showed up." They reached the edge of the cliff and stopped. Estelle caught her breath and continued, "He walked downstairs. I don't know where he came from, but he was covered in blood. He went to the kitchen to clean up and then attacked me with the knife. I barricaded myself in the room while waiting for you. He was outside my door for over an hour trying to get me to come out or ram the door down."

Flynn saw the horror hiding behind adrenaline and without thinking he pulled her into a hug. "I'm certain that's not Yuri."

"I know it's not him," Estelle said while squeezing him tightly. "But is it actually Yuri gone insane, or is some other personality possessing him? That's what I don't know."

"I think it's someone else. He was holding the knife in his right hand. Going insane wouldn't change Yuri's handedness. Besides, he didn't seem to know who I was. He knew my name was Flynn, but he was surprised when I said I was Flynn Scifo. He didn't want to kill me until he found that out."

Estelle pulled away from the hug but left her hand on Flynn's arms. "It must be Bram. He realized I could fight him off in his ghost form, so somehow he possessed Yuri so I wouldn't be able to attack him."

"And now he's trying to kill you for… whatever it is Bram hates you for."

"Stealing Lucy's affection, I would imagine. But what gripe does he have against you?"

"Who can say? We need to find Karina. I have a theory that she jumped off the cliff and her body was swept into the cave."

"That makes sense. Let's go look."

Flynn turned his back to the house, and his heart skipped a beat when he saw movement. Yuri - Bram - had already broken out of the closet. Through the back windows, Flynn saw him hurtling toward the back door. "Let's go!"

They fled down the stairs as quickly as they dared. Rocks disturbed by their flying feet toppled off the cliff to the beach far below. Flynn hit the sand so fas he tripped and skidded to his knees. Estelle wordlessly helped him up and then they turned to the cave entrance. Flynn's heart sank was he saw a wave rush into the opening. It wasn't quite high-tide, but it was coming on. The floor of the cave was covered in a few inches of water.

"It can't be helped," Estelle said, following his gaze. "We don't have time to wait for low-tide."

"Right. I don't suppose you had time to grab the lantern?"

She shook her head and then glanced up the cliff. Bram dashed down the stairs with rushed abandon. Flynn was afraid he'd decide the stairs took too long and jump, destroying Yuri's body. "Hurry."

They splashed through the incoming wave and into the cave. Inside, the splashes from their footsteps sounded impossibly loud. They kept running and then turned down the first side tunnel that branched off. As they moved farther from the cave opening, the light dimmed until they finally had to stop running or fear crashing into the walls. They reached the point where the tunnel branched off in two separate paths and stopped to catch their breath and think.

Flynn shivered. It was a warm summer day, but little sunlight penetrated the cave. Cold seawater filled his boots and his eyes struggled to adjust to the minimal snatches of light. The water wasn't still, either. It swept in and out of the cave with every heave of the tide. It was hard to hear anything over the echo of water rushing through the cave system. Only one other sound reached his ears: the splashing of footsteps. Bram was following them.

Estelle looked back the way they had come. All Flynn could see of her was a vague outline and a glint in her eye. "We should split up."

"When is splitting up ever a good idea?"

She snapped back to face him, though it didn't do much good in this darkness. "When there's a homicidal maniac who wants to kill both of us but can only be in one place at a time."

"Ok, I see your point. You go ahead, and then I'll loudly splash down the other tunnel to lure him after me."

"Who says you get to be the bait?"

"I'm not going to let you be the bait."

Water rippled as she stomped her foot. "We're never going to agree on who should be the bait, so let's both go as quietly and carefully as we can in different directions. Plus, we'll have better luck finding Karina's remains if we split up and cover more ground."

"It will be difficult. I can hardly see in here."

"I know. Go slow and use your sense of touch. I don't think she'd be in the middle of a path. The bones are probably jammed in an alcove or behind a boulder or something like that."

"Right. If you find her, give a shout. I'm sure any loud noise will echo in here. Then we'll meet up outside. Hopefully finding her bones will deal with the Bram problem but if it doesn't…"

"We'll figure that out when we get there. Hurry, he's coming. I'll take the left path." She gave him a quick hug. "Be safe."

"You too." Her footsteps splashed away, but other footsteps were splashing closer so he took off down the other path.