Read Online The Reservoir by Rosemarie Naramore - Free Book Online

was pulled from her thoughts by the sound of Zack chuckling softly beside her.  “Wow, the wheels are definitely turning in that head of yours.”
    “Hmmm?”
    “Where’d you go just then?” he asked, nuzzling his cheek against hers.  He stepped away from her and reached out to gently smooth a tendril of her hair away from her face so he could see her eyes.
    She only shook her head in response and smiled.  “Nowhere.  Are you going to dry these dishes, or what?”
    “‘Or what’ sounds more fun,” he quipped, but she silenced him with a warning glance.  He chuckled in response and contritely picked up a dish towel.  He began drying a plate, glancing out the window as he did.  Suddenly, he dropped the plate.  It landed with a crack at Holly’s feet, breaking into a hundred sharp pieces.
    Holly turned toward Zack.  He seemed oblivious to the plate, oblivious to her, but was hypnotized by something outside the cabin.  Holly eyed him curiously for several seconds, and then turned to follow his gaze.  She screamed without realizing she had. 
    There was a girl at the dock, but not on the dock.  She was actually hovering several feet above it, her hands spread wide.  Even from a distance, Holly could see the girl was not a solid form, but instead, a quivering, undulating human-shaped mass of liquid.  Her golden locks flowed away from her head, like a gelatinous version of static electrified hair.  From this distance, Holly could not see the girl’s eyes clearly, and on some level, was grateful.  But when the girl brought her hands in front of her as if praying, Holly took a quick step back, hardly registering the shard of glass that pierced her foot.
    She glanced down distractedly, saw the blood, and then came out of her fright-induced stupor.  “My foot!” she cried.
    Her tone snapped Zack into motion.  Thankfully, he was still wearing his tennis shoes, but immediately took note that Holly was barefooted.  “Ah, hell!” he muttered, scooping her into his arms in order to prevent her from further injuring herself.  “I’m an idiot!” he berated himself as he carried her to the small dinette table nearby and deposited her on a chair.
    “Where’s the first aid kit?” he asked, glancing around as if hoping it would suddenly materialize.
    “In the bathroom,” Holly told him, and then watched his retreating form as he ran out of the kitchen, through the narrow room, out the back door, and into the weirdly-placed bathroom.  He was back in a flash, having already opened the kit.
    He pulled out a small bottle of rubbing alcohol.  “This is going to sting,” he murmured with a wince, and then dumped a bit of the disinfectant onto the wound.  He followed by dumping more of the alcohol onto his own fingers to sanitize them, and then carefully pulled the shard of glass from Holly’s foot. 
    Still in shock from seeing the girl, Holly sat quietly.  She hardly noticed when Zack dumped more alcohol into the wound, dabbed it with antibiotic cream, and then applied a bandage.  “I hope you don’t need stitches,” he muttered worriedly. 
    “Do you think it might?” Holly asked, catching his gaze. 
    “It could really go either way,” he said.  “I wish we had a butterfly bandage.”
    Holly shrugged.  “I’m sure it’s fine.  If need be, we can pick some up from the store.”
    “I’m so sorry, Holly,” Zack said, rising and dropping heavily into a chair beside her.
    “For what?” she said, watching him curiously.
    He shook her head in disgust.  “Fat lotta good I was back there,” he said with a self-deprecating laugh.
    “What are you talking about?”
    “If I hadn’t dropped that plate…”
    “Uh, Zack, all things considered, we’re lucky we didn’t drop.”  She searched his face.  “So … you saw … what … I saw?”
    He nodded, his eyes widened in stark terror.  “And, all I could do was stand there like an idiot.”
    “I did too,” she said.
    “At least