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towards shore. I went after
him.
    I used to be a varsity swimmer, so it didn’t take long to
catch him.
    I wasn’t sure we’d make it to shore before the cold
took us. I didn’t know what season this was. It wasn’t
quite winter, but it was far from summer.
    I heard men yelling, others attempting to swim like us. The ship
was now mostly under water. I caught its name on the side.
    H.M.S. Royal Oak
    Gregory was now struggling to swim and his head kept going
under, like he was being pulled.
    I tried to grab him, but my hands went through him. Again, his
head came up for a moment, and then he went under again.
    I saw his problem. The golden-haired woman was there, under the
water. She was pulling him down. She looked up at me through the
dark waters, and gave me her wicked smile.
    After one last gasp, Gregory was pulled to the depths of the
sea.
    I continued to tread water. Why wasn’t I waking up?
    “Chris!” I called again. “Wake me
up!”
    I started to swim for shore. There was no way I was staying
here, not when I could feel the cold like this.
    I got about one hundred yards when I felt a tug at my leg.
    No!
    I looked down. The golden-haired woman was there. She was
holding the earrings out with that malevolent glint in her eye.
    Then, she snatched my leg and pulled me under.
    I couldn’t believe this was happening. I was supposed to
be on an airplane. This was supposed to be a dream. It wasn’t
real. This bitch was not supposed to be tugging at my leg trying to
drown me.
    I kicked at her head.
    “Chris!” I gurgled as I resurfaced.
The waters were so cold, and I didn’t have the energy to
fight this woman.
    Then, I jerked awake.
     
    The familiar hum of the cabin was like music to my ears.
    Chris was nudging me. I coughed up water on him.
    “What happened?” he asked. He didn’t seem to
mind the water. “Are you all right? I’ve been trying to
wake you.”
    “How long was I out?”
    “A few hours.” He lowered his voice to a whisper.
“I came back a couple minutes ago and the earrings were gone.
I thought maybe you took them out and were sleeping, but when I
heard you mumbling I tried to wake you. You took a long time to
come back.”
    I clung to him. He was a source of sanity in all this, mostly
because he believed me. “She has the earrings.”
    “Who?”
    I told him about the golden-haired woman, how I’d seen her
in every trip and how she seemed to be responsible for the deaths
of my family.
    “Wow,” he said. “So who is she? And why is she
doing this?”
    “I don’t know,” I said. I coughed up more
water. This time I swallowed it down. It was salty.
    “You sure you’re okay?”
    I shook my head. “This is salt water. She tried to drown
me in the sea. The dreams, or whatever they are, are becoming
almost real.”
    A shudder ran through me. Maybe it was good she took the
earrings. Another one of these trips and she might actually kill
me.
    The salt water churned in my stomach. I unbuckled.
    “I think I need to use the washroom.”
    He took me by the arm and escorted me down the aisle.
    What the hell was going on? Who was this woman? For that matter,
what
was she? No woman stayed that young over a period of three
generations. It wasn’t possible.
    And why was she killing my ancestors? And if she was going to
come after me, how was I going to stop her?
    Chris opened the door to the washroom.
    “Can I grab some paper towels?” he asked. I grabbed
a few and patted his shirt.
    “Sorry about that,” I said.
    He smiled. “Don’t sweat it.”
    His pants were damp as well. I looked down at them,
contemplating whether I should pat those dry as well.
    He didn’t need to encourage me with words; his eyes were
doing that for him.
    Quite frankly, this was a welcome distraction.
    I felt that rush of warm charm envelop me. It was all I could
do to resist.
    I didn’t.
    Instead, I pulled him into the washroom and locked the door.

Chapter 11

     
    We did our best to sneak out of the washroom,