tingled then burned, as if stung by a thousand jellyfish. I let go of Leesa's hand and stumbled blindly back to shore, the world spinning in my head. Collapsing to my knees in the wet sand, I fought to gasp a breath.
Leesa looked at me, perplexed. "Come on, the water's perfect!"
I tried to answer, but couldn't speak, unable to stop hyperventilating. A cold sweat broke out all over my body, my vision still impaired.
This wasn't a migraine, it was something else …
I was afraid.
Leesa moved closer, undoing the clasp on her top. "Zachary. Zach-ar-y!" The vixen smiled as she lifted her bikini, flashing the twins at me.
Torture… God's torturing me—
"Come on, hero, I'm horny."
The blind spots faded, the pain and cold sweat mercifully subsiding. Feeling embarrassed, I stood, wiping perspiration from my face. "Sorry."
"What happened?"
"Low blood sugar, I guess." I sucked in a few more breaths, my limbs still trembling. "Okay, I'm coming."
"Not yet, I hope." She grabbed my hand, leading me back out.
I took two strides, and was suddenly blinded by subliminal images, flashing across my mind's eye.
Dark water. Heavy fog. Salmon everywhere. Jumping. Panicking. A presence… circling below! Left ankle, seized with pain. Dragged underwater… can't breathe!
"Can't… breathe."
"Zack?"
"Can't breathe!" Freaking out, I turned and fled, still clutching Leesa's hand as I dragged my once sure-thing face-first through the shallows and halfway up the beach before releasing her to vomit.
Office of Dr. Douglas G. Baydo
Coral Springs, Florida
"I never felt anything like this before. You gotta help me, Doc. I'm a marine biologist, I can't be afraid of the water!"
The psychiatrist was a big man, probably a former football player, an offensive guard, I guessed. A plaque on one wall indicated he'd been in the air force.
"And you've only experienced this hydrophobia since the Sargasso Sea incident?"
"Yes."
"Zachary, phobias are created in the subconscious mind. It may eventually pass, or you might have to learn to live with it."
"Live with it? To hell with that! I can't live with not being able to go near the sea. How do you expect me to work?"
"You may have to find yourself a new line of work."
I paced his office like a madman. "You don't know what you're saying. I've spent my whole life busting my hump to get where I am, no way I'm gonna just walk away from my career."
"Stay calm and sit down. Now tell me more about these dreams."
"They're nightmares, only far more intense, and always a version of the same dream. I'm underwater when I hear these sounds, the same growling sounds I heard in the Sargasso. It's like they're whispering into my brain, and somehow I just know I'm going to die."
"And then you wake up screaming?"
"I wake up, and my eyes are wide open, only I can't speak or move. It's like part of me is still stuck in the nightmare. But the worst thing, Doc, the very worst thing is that I feel this terrible presence in the room with me. I can feel it. I can hear the echo of its whispers still growling in my head. My skin tingles from it, and my fear… it's so intense that I just have to get out of there."
Dr. Baydo made a few notes, then continued. "Have you ever experienced episodes like these before?"
"No. At least none I can remember."
"But you're not sure?"
"Well, when I was younger, there was a time when I was sleepwalking a lot. It got so bad, my grandmother had to add a dead bolt to her front door."
"Your grandmother?"
"My mom's mother. We moved in with her right after my parents' divorced."
"I see. Out of curiosity, what do you do for fun?"
"Fun? I don't know. Why?"
"You seem wound pretty tight."
"I almost leaped to my death last night, then tossed my cookies in front of a girl that I'd have given my right arm for. Wouldn't that stress you out?"
"I'm sensing something deeper. Let's talk more about your childhood. You said you never got along with your father?"
"I said he enjoyed
Leesa looked at me, perplexed. "Come on, the water's perfect!"
I tried to answer, but couldn't speak, unable to stop hyperventilating. A cold sweat broke out all over my body, my vision still impaired.
This wasn't a migraine, it was something else …
I was afraid.
Leesa moved closer, undoing the clasp on her top. "Zachary. Zach-ar-y!" The vixen smiled as she lifted her bikini, flashing the twins at me.
Torture… God's torturing me—
"Come on, hero, I'm horny."
The blind spots faded, the pain and cold sweat mercifully subsiding. Feeling embarrassed, I stood, wiping perspiration from my face. "Sorry."
"What happened?"
"Low blood sugar, I guess." I sucked in a few more breaths, my limbs still trembling. "Okay, I'm coming."
"Not yet, I hope." She grabbed my hand, leading me back out.
I took two strides, and was suddenly blinded by subliminal images, flashing across my mind's eye.
Dark water. Heavy fog. Salmon everywhere. Jumping. Panicking. A presence… circling below! Left ankle, seized with pain. Dragged underwater… can't breathe!
"Can't… breathe."
"Zack?"
"Can't breathe!" Freaking out, I turned and fled, still clutching Leesa's hand as I dragged my once sure-thing face-first through the shallows and halfway up the beach before releasing her to vomit.
Office of Dr. Douglas G. Baydo
Coral Springs, Florida
"I never felt anything like this before. You gotta help me, Doc. I'm a marine biologist, I can't be afraid of the water!"
The psychiatrist was a big man, probably a former football player, an offensive guard, I guessed. A plaque on one wall indicated he'd been in the air force.
"And you've only experienced this hydrophobia since the Sargasso Sea incident?"
"Yes."
"Zachary, phobias are created in the subconscious mind. It may eventually pass, or you might have to learn to live with it."
"Live with it? To hell with that! I can't live with not being able to go near the sea. How do you expect me to work?"
"You may have to find yourself a new line of work."
I paced his office like a madman. "You don't know what you're saying. I've spent my whole life busting my hump to get where I am, no way I'm gonna just walk away from my career."
"Stay calm and sit down. Now tell me more about these dreams."
"They're nightmares, only far more intense, and always a version of the same dream. I'm underwater when I hear these sounds, the same growling sounds I heard in the Sargasso. It's like they're whispering into my brain, and somehow I just know I'm going to die."
"And then you wake up screaming?"
"I wake up, and my eyes are wide open, only I can't speak or move. It's like part of me is still stuck in the nightmare. But the worst thing, Doc, the very worst thing is that I feel this terrible presence in the room with me. I can feel it. I can hear the echo of its whispers still growling in my head. My skin tingles from it, and my fear… it's so intense that I just have to get out of there."
Dr. Baydo made a few notes, then continued. "Have you ever experienced episodes like these before?"
"No. At least none I can remember."
"But you're not sure?"
"Well, when I was younger, there was a time when I was sleepwalking a lot. It got so bad, my grandmother had to add a dead bolt to her front door."
"Your grandmother?"
"My mom's mother. We moved in with her right after my parents' divorced."
"I see. Out of curiosity, what do you do for fun?"
"Fun? I don't know. Why?"
"You seem wound pretty tight."
"I almost leaped to my death last night, then tossed my cookies in front of a girl that I'd have given my right arm for. Wouldn't that stress you out?"
"I'm sensing something deeper. Let's talk more about your childhood. You said you never got along with your father?"
"I said he enjoyed
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