Free Dissolve by Andrea Heltsley

have a nice tan as well. Are you finally coming to get a tan? Your porcelain skin could use a little color.”
     
    “This is great. I am going to lie out and dry off. Just make sure I don’t dissolve,” I told her in a whisper as to keep from any eves droppers.
     
    Nessa pulled her sunglasses up and winked. Then she puts her ear bud back in and pulled her sunglasses back down before lying down again. I joined her and listened to the sounds of the ocean in peace. I faded in and out of consciousness as I soaked up the blazing sun. It wasn’t until a shadow blocks out the sun that I stirred and sat up. It was Noah and he looked like he just saw a ghost.
     
    I instantly snapped to attention. “What just happened?” I asked him.
     
    “Mm I am not quite sure. It was the strangest thing. I was making that sandcastle and I got the coldest shiver. It was like ice piercing though my veins. I could have sworn that I saw a flash of some man. Then I felt as if my body was being taken over for just a minute. It freaked the hell out of me,” he admitted.
     
    “Maybe it is time to call it a day,” I said as I elbowed Nessa.
     
    “It will be sunset soon anyways…” Noah said clearly shaken.
     
    Nessa pulled out her ear buds and sat up. “What is going on?”
     
    “We will tell you on the way back to the hotel. I think it is time to go back. It is getting late,” I told her.
     
    She looked as if she was going to protest, but restrained and nodded. “Alright, we can go through a drive thru and pick up dinner on the way back,” she suggested.
     
    “That is a great idea,” Noah said.
     
    I studied his dark hair and piercing muddy eyes. He looked good in nothing but swim trunks. The muscles to his torso were defined and I had a second of impure thoughts. Then my attention snapped back to Tom and I turned away, ashamed. Nessa cut me a look and we head back to the car in silence.
     
    Once we were back on the road, I explained what Noah had seen to Nessa. She too looked freaked. I wish I had seen it. We all agreed from here on out that we need to keep our guard up. Someone was obviously targeting us.
     
    We grabbed some burgers and fries before reaching the hotel. After shutting the door behind us, we tore into the food, leaving no crumbs behind. Full and exhausted after the day in the hot Florida sun, I let out a yawn.
     
    “Are you tired already? If so, we can take first shift if you want. Why don’t you take a shower and get into something more comfortable,” Nessa suggested.
     
    I was sluggish and drained so I reluctantly agreed and headed for the shower. I washed the sand and grit away from our day of fun just like washing the evidence of its existence away. The hot water scorched at my skin and I closed my eyes, letting it envelop me.
     
    I decided to forgo the flats due to a massive amount of blisters I was now sporting and opted for the soft foam of the flip flops Nessa bought me. When I returned to the room, dressed in a pair of shorts and a tee, I stopped dead in my tracks. The look on Nessa and Noah’s face was grim and they look clearly shaken to the core. Something had obviously happened in the time that I was in the shower.
     
    “What’s up guys?” I implored.
     
    “Umm, you might want to be sitting for this,” Nessa replied.
     
    I sat on the edge of the bed obediently, waiting for the other shoe to drop. “Okay, what happened in the last fifteen minutes to freak you out so much?”
     
    Silently, Nessa looked at a white card, and then reluctantly handed it over. It was a plain hotel greeting card. I opened it and see the handwriting scrolled across it. My blood turned to ice in my veins as I read it.
     
    You can hide, but you can’t escape what is coming. Things are not what they seem. If you want answers, ask Shane Dawson. Check the cemetery plots before the clock runs out for him.
     
    -S
     
    It took me a minute to process everything. This person clearly had access to our room first