Chapter Text
The Pogues didn’t usually venture far past the waters of Figure Eight, but Kiara needed space. The summer heat was relentless, and the tension among the group was even worse. She couldn’t handle another argument over treasure, or gold, or another one of JJ's impulsive plans. So, she instead paddled her kayak deeper into the marsh, where the water shimmered like glass and the cicadas’ hum was the only sound.
She felt drawn to a narrow channel she’d never explored before. Mangroves twisted like skeletons around her, their roots disappearing deep into the water. And Kie wondered if there were any gators in the area watching her from the shadows.
She continued forward, her eyes scanning her surroundings every few seconds for anything of interest, and to keep herself alert of any potential danger. Though, there was something about this place that made it felt alive, like the earth itself was holding its breath.
As Kiara leaned over to dip her fingers into the cool surface, a flash of light beneath the water caught her eye. It wasn’t the usual glint of a fish or the reflection of sunlight. It was… something else, something unnatural. Curious, she did it again, brushing her fingers along the edge of the water to see if the light was only her imagination.
It appeared again, only for a moment, before flying away like a shooting start towards the bank of the channel. Something was telling her to follow it.
Kiara hesitated. Every logical part of her mind screamed at her to turn back. Yet, there was an undeniable pull, a sense that she was meant to find whatever had caused that flash of light. Paddling carefully, she followed the shimmering trail toward the bank, where the mangroves grew even denser, their roots forming a natural archway.
The closer she got, the more the air seemed to shift around her. The cicadas’ hum faded, replaced by a faint, melodic whisper, so soft she could barely tell if it was real or just her imagination. Her skin prickled with a strange energy, and she felt the urge to leave her kayak and walk into the brush.
Kiara beached her kayak on the sandy bank and stepped out, her pink sneakers squelching against the damp earth. The melodic whisper grew louder, weaving through the stillness like a thread tugging her forward. She pushed through the trees in the general direction the light headed. The gnarled branches she pushed through snagged at her tank top and shorts as if trying to hold her back.
Eventually, the unmarked path ahead opened to reveal a small cave entrance carved into a large stone wall.
The cave seemed to pulse with a faint unnatural luminescence, its glow just bright enough to guide her steps forward under the darkness of the dense trees. Kiara’s heartbeat quickened as she approached. She hadn’t told anyone where she was going, not John B, not Pope, and definitely not JJ. She pulled out her phone and cursed at the 'no service' symbol at the top of her screen. If something went wrong now, no one would know where to find her.
But despite the nagging voice of reason in her head, curiosity propelled her forward. She crouched slightly, slipping through the narrow entrance. Inside, the cave widened into a dome-like chamber, the walls glittering with strange, bioluminescent moss. The melodic whisper she’d heard earlier now echoed around her, clearer and hauntingly beautiful.
At the center of the chamber was a pool of water, its surface glowing with the reflective light from the moss and the small hint of sun that travelled through a hole in the roof above her. The pool rippled gently, and Kiara stepped closer, her breath catching as she peered into its depths.
She knelt at the edge, reaching out a tentative hand. The moment her fingers broke the surface, a warmth spread through her arm, like the water was alive, recognizing her touch.
To say this place felt peaceful was an understatement. She quickly removed her shoes, took her phone from her pocket, and made her way into the pool, gasping quietly at the warmth the water seemed to have against her skin. She took a seat on the small ledge under the vibrant blue and leaned back, resting her head against the stone slabs that surrounded the pool.
Time passed in a tranquil blur. So much so, in fact, that she'd not realised at least 3 hours had gone by already. The cave felt like another world. It was silent, apart from the gentle lapping of water and the occasional drip of moisture from the rocks above, and Kiara allowed herself to relax in a way she hadn’t been able to in weeks. She traced patterns on the water’s surface, the glow of the moss casting a faint light over her skin.
As the sun dipped lower, the light streaming through the cave’s roof began to dim. Shadows lengthened, and the pool’s glow seemed to intensify, as if compensating for the darkness creeping in. Kiara glanced at her phone laying on the stone beside her, surprised to see how much time had go by. It was nearly 8pm already. She groaned inwardly at the thought of the Pogues freaking out about her absence. But for now, she still couldn’t bring herself to leave.
The atmosphere in the cave began to shift as the last traces of sunlight faded. The glow of the pool grew brighter, almost pulsing in rhythm with her own heartbeat. Kiara could feel it now, an electric hum in the air that vibrated through her bones.
Kiara stood from her relaxed spot, water dripping from her shorts and tank top, and stepped back up onto the edge of the pool. Her instinct were telling her to leave, to paddle back to the marsh before the dark set in completely. But her feet wouldn’t move from where they stood firmly on the stone. It was as if the cave itself was holding her in place, urging her to stay just a little longer.
Then, a silvery light filtered through the opening in the roof, casting a beam directly onto the pool. It was the full moon, appearing high over the hole in the cave, almost blinding Kiara with its brightness.
The water’s glow intensified, and Kiara gasped as the surface began to ripple and bubble up, as if it were alive. She watched as a thousand lights, like the one she'd seen out in the kayak, began to fly in from all directions, circling the edges of the pool.
Something in the back of her mind was telling her to leave. Telling her that this was something impossible and that she shouldn't be witnessing it. But the rest of her mind screamed at her to stay. To step forward and take her spot back in the water.
So she did.
As Kiara's toes broke the surface of the glowing water, an intense warmth spread through her body, more profound than before. It wasn’t just heat. It was energy. It was a connection to something ancient and powerful.
Her heart pounded in her chest as the rest of her body dipped below the water's surface, and the lights spiraled faster around her, their movements creating a symphony of soft chimes that resonated through the chamber.
She floated there for a moment, watching at the moon continued it's journey over the cave, before vanishing behind the stone above. And, as quickly as they came, the bubbles and lights disappeared, dissipating instantly like they'd never been there at all.
The silence that followed was almost deafening. Kiara sat in the water, her chest rising and falling as she tried to make sense of what had just happened. Her body felt different, lighter, like her skin was buzzing with a faint electric current. She waded to the edge, climbing out of the pool with trembling hands.
Her skin shimmered faintly in the bioluminescent light, the water dripping from her limbs like liquid silver. She ran her fingers over her arms, but nothing seemed outwardly changed.
"What the fuck was that?" She muttered to herself in a moment of clarity, her voice was hoarse due to being unused for several hours.
Shaking her head, she grabbed her phone and shoes and made her way back out of the cave, glancing over her shoulder one last time at the now-still water.
She definitely had a new private spot when she needed to get away from everything.
The trek back to her kayak was uneventful, though Kiara couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. The air seemed heavier now, the melodic whispers replaced by an eerie quiet. By the time she reached the marsh, the sky was an inky black, stars reflecting off the water’s surface like a scattered trail of breadcrumbs leading her home.
As she paddled her way out of the channel and back into the marsh, Kiara couldn’t shake the strange sensation that something had shifted within her, but the evening's events were too surreal to fully process.
She tried to focus on the rhythmic dip of her oar against the water below, but her mind kept getting caught in the net of trying to make sense of what had happened.
By the time she reached the familiar marsh, a deep sense of peace had settled over her, yet it felt too calm, too foreign. The quiet hum from earlier seemed to linger in her bones, like an echo she couldn’t escape.
As she glided back into the waters of Figure Eight, the sense of familiarity and safety set in. Her gaze finally fell on the comforting sight of streetlights and homes in the distance and she let out a breath she didn't realise she was holding.
The night was still, save for the gentle splash of Kiara’s paddle. She reached the shore close to John B's, instinctively guiding her kayak to the small dock near the house. She could hear the faint chatter of the Pogues drifting through the air as she approached.
Her legs felt like jelly as she climbed out of the boat, her feet dragging along the wooden planks of the dock. The hum in her bones hadn’t subsided, but her mind was still trying to piece everything together. What had that been?
"KIARA!" Yelled a voice from the front yard of the Chateau, snapping her out of her thought. "Where the fuck were you?! We've been trying to call you for hours!"
Kiara blinked, disoriented by the sudden return to reality. JJ’s shout seemed to echo in the empty spaces of her mind, and she winced at the sound of her name. It was too normal, too mundane for everything she had just experienced. The sound of her feet walking hesitantly along the dock felt like it belonged to someone else.
"Kiara!" JJ called again, his voice sharp, his concern real. She could hear Pope and John B’s voices too, all of them anxious. But Kiara barely registered their words.
The boys came running towards her, their eyes wide with worry. "Are you ok?!" John B urged, scanning her up and down as he noticed the distant look in her eyes.
Kiara blinked a few more times, trying to refocus. The world felt oddly out of place now, as if the edges of reality had blurred and folded in on themselves.
Kiara had always been a very spiritual person. One who spoke to plants and carried crystals with her for good luck, but witnessing something like THAT? Witnessing something that may or may not have just confirmed the existence of magic right in front of her eyes? It caused her sense of reality to shift around her.
Kiara took a deep breath, trying to push aside the swirling thoughts. "I'm fine," she said quietly, though the words didn’t feel right coming from her lips. She couldn’t explain it, her body still hummed with energy, and the air felt charged around her. "Just... needed some time to think."
The boys exchanged concerned glances. "You look... different," Pope noted, his brow furrowed. "Like, are you sure you’re okay?"
Kiara offered him a weak smile but couldn’t bring herself to meet their eyes for too long. They wouldn’t understand. Not now. Not when she still didn’t fully understand it herself.
"I’m fine, I promise." She couldn’t help but glance back at the water behind her, shaking her head suddenly before making her way off the dock and towards the house, leaving the boys completely bewildered behind her.
"She's absolutely not ok," JJ whispered when Kie was out of earshot. Watching with concern as she opened the Chateau door and disappeared inside.
"Yeah... But let's not push her right now if she doesn't wanna talk about it." John B replied.