Fog Island: A terrifying thriller set in a modern-day cult. Mariette Lindstein

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СКАЧАТЬ I turn around on the lawn, I see that she has stood up and come to the window.

      Go ahead and stare, I think. Stare all you want — but it’s too late.

10

      The fog took hold of the island in early October, and by mid-month it had an iron grip on the place. It crept in at night and each morning it was so thick that Sofia couldn’t see the outbuildings from the window in her dormitory. The brightly coloured leaves had faded and the landscape had turned shades of golden-brown. It was steadily growing colder. Normally she would have felt a little gloomy thanks to all the fog. But not now — she spent almost all her time thinking about Benjamin. It was as if the fog transformed the island into a fairy-tale world with infinite curtains a person could pass through and discover fresh views.

      Benjamin showed up in the library every day. She never knew when he would appear, so she remained in a state of constant expectation and excitement. He always had a good excuse to visit. Oswald had instructed him to help with all the purchasing. But most of the time he came by with trivial questions and errands. He had that eager way about him as if he were always on the go. He could fill an entire room with his energy just by stepping across the threshold. He would forget to remove his boots, tramping around and leaving marks on the rugs without noticing. His body was always in motion — he walked around looking out of windows, picking up objects, putting them down again — even as he spoke with her. But when he sat down in front of her he became perfectly still. He could move in and out of these states, from wound up to absolutely relaxed, in an instant.

      She had a constant internal dialogue about whether it was right to start a new relationship so soon after the disaster with Ellis; her brain went back and forth, over and over. This nervous droning was like background music as she worked. But when Benjamin entered the room, the voices stopped. And then it started up again until Sunday, when he showed her the cave.

      It was their day off and the whole island was blanketed in a thick fog. Everything was wet: the trees, the bushes, and the earth, which smelled like mushrooms and decaying leaves. He showed her a new path through the woods; they had to climb over huge, moss-covered stones to move forward.

      From the top of the highest boulder, they got a glimpse of the grey, foamy sea between the trees. It was windy out there, but not in the woods.

      Sofia stayed on the boulder for a while as Benjamin climbed down.

      ‘Here it is!’ she heard Benjamin’s voice from below.

      She slid down from the rock and saw that he had found a patch of chanterelles in the moss.

      ‘This is my secret chanterelle spot. Come on, let’s pick them.’

      He had brought a backpack, and they gently placed the small mushrooms inside.

      ‘I’ll show you something you’ve never seen by the outlook point,’ he said.

      ‘How do you know the island so well?’

      ‘We had a summer cottage here when I was little.’

      ‘Is it still here?’

      His eyes darted away a little too quickly.

      ‘No, we had to sell it. Mom left us when I was twelve. Dad died in a car accident soon after that. Now it’s just me and my sister.’

      ‘I’m sorry, I mean, I didn’t know . . .’

      ‘It’s okay. It was a long time ago.’

      ‘Why did your mom leave?’

      ‘It’s hard to say. One day she was just gone. I couldn’t help but blame myself a little bit, though. It was like, I wondered what I had done wrong.’

      He seemed to have sunk into himself; he looked smaller.

      ‘But you always seem so happy!’

      She could tell right away how wrong it sounded, as if he had renounced his right to happiness.

      He stood up and slung the backpack over his shoulders.

      ‘Well, what can you do? The future is what’s important. And I have my ViaTerra family, of course.’

      The outlook point was windy. The fog had lifted from the sea, but the sky was still grey. Waves crashed in hard enough to make foam fly from the rocks.

      ‘That’s Devil’s Rock,’ Benjamin said, pointing. ‘Have you heard about it?’

      ‘Yes, Björk — the guy who runs the ferry — told me the whole story. Do you really believe all that?’

      ‘Sure, some of it. Once when I was younger, it was foggy and I thought I saw the Countess on the Rock. It was scary as hell. Someone was standing out there, dressed all in black. And then she vanished into the fog. It was like she dissolved.’

      ‘I saw someone there when I first came to the island. But it looked like a regular person. At least I think it did.’

      ‘We used to jump off Devil’s Rock when I was little,’ he said. ‘But then there was an accident. One guy who jumped died. The current dragged him out to sea.’

      ‘Did you know him?’

      ‘A little, he was a few years older than me. But I remember how scared we were when we found out. His mom worked at the manor. A doctor lived there back then. I don’t remember him, but I do remember his daughter, Lily. She was older than us too. Pretty girl — she had long red hair and she was thin as a rail. We used to spy on her when she was sunbathing. But she died in a fire in the barn. It all happened around the same time. It was awful.’

      ‘Maybe it’s true, then, about the curse on the manor?’

      ‘No, I don’t believe in ghosts like that. But I do believe some souls have trouble finding peace. That they can stick around, sort of.’

      She looked out at the cliff and could almost see a figure there.

      ‘Ooh, now you’re scaring me.’

      He laughed and put his arm around her shoulders.

      ‘Let’s climb down the rocks,’ he said, looking at her rubber boots with concern. ‘Be careful so you don’t slip.’

      They cautiously made their way down the steep rock face. Sofia did lose her footing a few times, but managed to steady herself and tried to keep up with Benjamin.

      They came to a small grassy slope between the boulders, and he stopped there. They were directly underneath Devil’s Rock, and the cliff hung over them like a huge ceiling. The waves crashed, roaring and splashing. Benjamin pointed up at the ledge. At first she couldn’t tell what he was pointing at, but then she saw a big dark spot among all the rocks. It could have been a black rock, but she realized it was a hole.

      He came over to her and took her lightly by the shoulders.

      ‘You have to swear not to tell anyone about the cave. Promise?’

      ‘Of course.’

      ‘Good, СКАЧАТЬ