Jack didn’t say any more while Cam tended to his wound. In a way she reminded him of his wife, not so much by the dialogue as the tone she used. That voice of disapproval. It was sweet. He watched her. Admiring her. He moaned almost pleasurably, though clenching his jaw, nostrils flared with an outshot of breath when she applied the solution that trickled down to the bed sheets, mingled with his blood.  

“Thanks.”  Was the only word of gratitude he could muster as she spun about to lie beside him. 

He shifted down, his head now on the pillow. He heard the small, moist clip of her yawn but kept eyes on the ceiling as the room fell silent. There seemed to be a thickness in the air, maybe the discomfort brought on by the passive tension between himself and Cam, or maybe there was some uncertain source to the heavy calm. Though the silence ruptured when Jack, in a low, monotone voice that came close to a whisper, started talking:

“It was uh… late. Near midnight. My little girl, Hannah…. Eight year old. Last time I checked she was in her bed. Sleep’n. I was in the lounge. Television on. Heard the screams from outside. …Somehow she was there now…. Don’t know how. Why. She was in the pool. Those screams… water splash’n…. So many screams. Thought she was die’n.  I uh… rushed out there. M’little girl was in trouble.” 

Jack paused, chest swelling slow and deflating with a silent breath before continuing. 

“I was… too late. I’d seen her. Just for a sec. Saw her there, eyes so wide. The terror. Need for safety. Then she was just… gone. Blink of an e…. The water, it was still splashing like she was there. But she wasn’t. Still heard her scream’n too. Splash’n. Scream’n for me…. But… I just…. She just wasn’t there. Must’ve…” Jack moistened the corner of his mouth with a touch of his tongue. “…a few seconds, maybe. That’s all there was, and the screams were gone too. Water still. So calm. Quiet. Thickness in the air….”  

Jack took another pause, long enough for anyone to have considered he’d finished, but he hadn’t. In the same monotone hush, he went on with the story.

Anna came out. Saw me stand’n, stare’n…. She didn’t know. Not at first. She was just confused. She looked at the pool. Me. Took a while to sink in. I uh… not sure what happened the rest of that night….” Jack reach for his beer, stopped, rested his hand back down on his bandaged wound. “Anna didn’t take it well. Not at all…. Each week went by, more depressed she got, till one worn’n - Huh…. It was still dark. First light. Woke up. She wasn’t there. Got out of bed look’n for her. Shower was running but she wasn’t in it. Was a trail of blood leading out. Followed it out back… down the path to the pool…. And there she was. Float’n face down. Exact same spot my little girl disappeared. Water was red. So much blood…. Thought she’d gone and killed herself.”

A dull groan escaped the man as he took another moment….

“I was wrong. Fished her out. Her face was….” The cold breath of a silent sigh left him. “…Her eyes were torn out. Ears torn off. Tongue gone. Teeth. All gone. Deep scratches around those empty sockets. Too uniform to be an animal. Something else…. Her skin was, uh… burnt. All over. Scorched. I couldn’t see if maybe…. No fire around. No smell of burnt flesh. No smoke…. Her body was still warm.” Jack’s voice finally cracked.  

Somehow during his speech his hand had made its way to Cam, wrapped over the top of her thigh, gently holding, thumb moving with a slight caress. 

“I’m going to kill it.” He cleared his throat, voice remaining dull. “I’m going to get that motherfucker.”  He gave Camilla’s thigh a firm, gentle squeeze while his head rolled slowly to the side, dry gaze falling on her. “And I want you to be there when I do. I got a feeling about you, Ca…. I want you to be there with me…. Want you there…. Don’t want you dead.”