Chapter 11
Mattie Quinn hit the water hard, landing on her back and sliding off someone’s clammy shoulder to go completely under. It was freezing cold compared to the hot night, and she had to fight to keep from gasping in a lungful of water as she fought her way to the surface.
She and Dan had made a run for it as soon as their log slowed down enough for them to clamor out — hoping to get back to the pirate ship where Dan’s dad had told them all to meet up if they got separated. They didn’t even make it back to the restrooms before they met two of the terrorists coming around one of the little concession stands. Mattie almost peed herself she’d been so scared, but instead of killing them, the men had poked them with rifle barrels and marched them into the darkness in the opposite direction of the pirate ship — and then had thrown them in the wave pool with at least a hundred other people.
The wave pool looked like a giant bowl of human soup. It was well over her head, and the danger she might be held under by some flailing grown-up, panicked out of his mind, was a real possibility. The cold water shocked her heart. Chlorine hurt her eyes and stung her nose. She came up sputtering, lungs burning and bursting with fear. Blinded and disoriented, Mattie treaded water as she cried out for Dan Thibodaux. She’d heard a shot when they’d thrown her in and was scared they might have killed him just for fun.
“Hey, Mattie.” His quiet, sure words were nearly drowned out by the hum of other frightened voices and the splashing movement of all the people in the pool. “I’m here. Right beside you.”
He put a tentative hand on her arm, taking care not to push her under. “Are you okay?”
Though most of the park had gone dark, the lights in the pool still worked, making the shimmering blue water stand out starkly in the night. Hundreds of terrified people bobbed in the water. At least a dozen bodies floated facedown amid clouds of blood. Mattie had counted three men with guns when they’d marched her to the pool. The men had forced almost everyone into the water, but she’d seen a bunch more standing around the edge, their hands tied in front of them. Some were men, some were women, but all the people around the edge were grown-ups.
Mattie wiped the wet hair out of her face and nodded, suddenly unable to stop shivering. Her teeth chattered. She blinked hard, trying to clear her eyes and stay above water.
Dan tapped on her shoulder and pointed to the shallow end. “I don’t think there’s an inch of space between anybody down there,” he said. “We’re gonna have to swim for a while.” He sounded an awful lot like his daddy when he was tense.
“I’m fine,” Mattie said, still sputtering. She wiped her face again. Her teeth still chattered uncontrollably. “I can float pretty good.”
“I see three guys with rifles,” Dan said, swirling his arms in the water to spin slowly around without actually going anywhere.
“I wonder why they have some people standing up there out of the water,” Mattie wondered out loud, as much to herself as to Dan Thibodaux.
“I can’t figure that out,” Dan said.
Mattie leaned her head back and peered up through the darkness at the helicopter hovering above. She could see the flashing lights of another one flying in from a long way off.
“It’s a police chopper,” Dan said. “See the spotlight?”
Mattie nodded, blowing water out of her face and trying her best to stay calm. She looked at the men with guns, and then at Dan. “I wish our dads were here. You think the police will start to shoot the bad guys soon?”
Dan shook his head, sniffing and squinting his eyes from the heavily chlorinated water. “I don’t know,” he said.
“I think our dads would shoot them,” Mattie said.
“They might,” Dan said. “But I’ll bet these guys will start killing more people if the police don’t get them all right away. My dad says it’s pretty hard to hit anything from a helicopter.”
Dan was starting to shake, too, but Mattie couldn’t blame him. It was impossible not to be scared bobbing there in the swimming pool next to so many dead people.
Someone bumped into Mattie’s back. She thought it might be one of the bodies and spun hard, pushing away. It turned out to be a blond lady in a black-and-white checked swimsuit, treading water behind her. She looked like she was about Ronnie Garcia’s age, only heavier and with much paler skin. She held a pink foam swim noodle just below the surface.
“Sorry to bump into you,” Mattie said.
“Don’t worry, sweetheart,” the woman said, forcing a smile. A trickle of blood oozed from a gash on her pale shoulder. She grimaced, obviously in pain. “How old are you?”
“Eight,” Mattie said.
Dan swam up beside her so they were shoulder to shoulder. “I’m ten,” he said. Mattie could tell he was protecting her, and she liked it.
“Eight and ten years old,” the woman said, shaking her head in disbelief. “Y’all are holding it together better than most of the adults around here tonight.” She pushed the foam swim noodle out to Mattie “Here, take this. You need it more than I do.”
Mattie took the end of the float, grateful for the chance to give her arms and legs a rest. “Are you sure? It looks like you’re hurt.”
“I’ll be fine,” the woman said, dabbing at her shoulder. “What is it they say? It’s only a flesh wound. And heaven knows I have enough flesh to keep my head above water. My name’s Sarah, by the way.”
“I’m Mattie.” She looked around. “Are you all by yourself?”
“My date and I got separated in the dark,” Sarah said, looking lost and sad. “I just met him on Tinder, so I hardly knew him anyway. To tell you the truth, I think he probably swiped left and saved himself.”
“What?” Mattie asked.
“Nothing,” Sarah said, sounding sad.
Mattie moved the pool noodle so Dan could lean on one end, and then kicked around to maneuver so the other was directly in front of Sarah. “Stay next to us, then,” she said. “We’re alone, too.”
Sarah’s eyes clenched shut and she took a deep, shuddering breath. Mattie thought the poor woman was going to cry, but instead she moved in closer, eager for the friendly company.
Dan made the mistake of looking at one of the gunmen a little too long — a teenager with a sparse black beard. The man raised his rifle and pointed it with a harsh glare. Dan and Mattie both turned, relaxing only slightly when no shots came their way.
“Yeah,” Sarah said, touching the wound on her shoulder again. “They don’t like it when you stare. I can vouch for that.”
“There’s a whole bunch of us and just a few of them,” Dan said. He kept his voice low, though there was no way the terrorists could hear him over the whimpering moans that rose from the pool. “It seems like a bunch of grown-ups should be able to rush them and take away their guns.”
Sarah scoffed. “Grown-ups don’t often work together so very well—”
The abrupt twang of an acoustic guitar with a heavy, clapping beat poured in from the darkness. The sudden noise caused everyone in the pool and the gunmen surrounding it to turn back and forth, looking for the origin. It took a minute to realize the music was coming from speakers all over the theme park.
Mattie perked up as she listened. “That’s ‘Beat the Devil’s Tattoo,’ ” she whispered, recognizing the song immediately. “Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.”
Sarah stopped treading water, cocking her head to look at the nearest shooter. “Listen,” she said. “The music’s playing over the speakers, but it’s also on their walkie-talkies. I wonder where it’s coming from.”
Mattie gave Dan’s ribs a happy nudge as a wide smile spread across her face. “I bet you it’s coming from my dad’s phone,” she said.