The Vicious Circle returns

Fresh from their success with the Collective Novel Experiment, and with two grants lining the coffers, Whistler’s Writers Group, the Vicious Circle, hosted its annual Writer’s Festival and retreat to in Whistler from Sept. 8 to 13.

In conjunction with the festival, Pique Newsmagazine is showcasing four short stories by local writers from Aug. 25 to Sept. 15. We hope you enjoy these stories.

An excerpt from A Blue-Footed What?

Jake splashed into the water. Soon the water passed his knees, then his waist. He shuddered as it hit his chest, then dove in.

He pushed the log toward Emily and Eleanor. As he did, several seals barked and slipped into the water.

Eleanor jumped back from the water’s edge. "I can’t do it," she yelled. "The seals will eat us!"

Jake looked at Emily. "Is she for real?" he asked.

Emily sighed. "Eleanor read an article about some kids who were attacked by harbour seals."

Jake shook his head. "People have swum here forever, and no one’s ever had a seal come near them. Look, the tide’s come in more." The water lapped near their feet. Soon the sand would be covered. "This is your only ride home. Take it or leave it."

Eleanor sobbed and nodded. "You’d better watch out for seals."

Jake and Emily helped Eleanor to the log, which floated at knee depth. Emily took her bag and put the camera in it.

"How are you going to keep that dry?" asked Jake.

"I guess I’ll hold it on the log," said Emily.

"Don’t drop it. My mom will kill me if the camera gets wet."

"And it has the pictures of the blue-footed booby. No one will believe us if we destroy them," Jake said.

Emily blew a strand of hair out of her face and rolled her eyes. "Relax you guys. I won’t drop it."

"Eleanor, hold on tight to the log," said Jake. "We’re going to walk into the water."

She nodded, and took a few tentative steps. A crab bobbed in front of her. She jumped back toward the sand. "I can’t do this."

Jake held her arm. "Yes you can. You don’t have any choice. Every minute we wait means a longer swim. Come on."

This time they waded up to their waists.

"Ooh, it’s cold," said Emily.

"I know," said Jake. "The water is always colder on this side of the point. I think the current must move faster."

"I hope the current isn’t too strong for us," said Emily.

"Me too," said Jake. He wondered if they would be able to swim to shore after all. But they didn’t have any choice.

"One, two, three, go," He took a deep breath and plunged into the water. It didn’t feel as cold this time, since his body had already gotten used to the temperature. Emily and Eleanor yelped as the water hit their chests.

Eleanor gripped the log with both hands. "This is freezing."

Emily took the bag and balanced it on the log. Jake swam next to Eleanor, kicking as hard as he could.

The log seemed stuck in the water. No matter how hard he kicked, the shore didn’t look any closer. Within a minute he was breathing hard and his body felt heavy. He looked down at the ocean floor. It had changed from yellow sand to turquoise, which meant they were in deep water. Jake worried about Eleanor. What if she let go? Jake had taken swimming lessons, but he wasn’t good enough to rescue her from the bottom of the ocean.

"Hold on tight, Eleanor," he said.

"What do you think I’m going to do, let go?"

Jake knew Eleanor only talked like that because she was scared, but it still made him mad. He kicked harder.

"The water here is so clear," said Emily. "I can see the eel grass way down there at the bottom."

"Emily," said Jake, "how about helping me kick instead of sightseeing? This is hard."

"I am kicking," she snapped. "I’m balancing the bag, too, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah," Jake said. He turned around to see how far they had come. They had made some progress. The small island seemed further away, and the water was deeper. Of course, it was also smaller now, since the tide had come in, so maybe they hadn’t swum as far as it looked.

As he peered behind him, a slick black head popped out of the water.

Two dark eyes stared at Jake. For a moment he thought a sea monster had risen to eat them for lunch. It huffed a great breath of air through its nose. Jake gasped, and choked on a mouthful of seawater. "Seal!" he spluttered.

Emily and Eleanor spun around. Eleanor took one look at the seal and yelled louder than she had at the worm on the beach. She pulled one hand off the log and thrashed about in the water.

"Don’t let it get me!" she shouted, churning the water into a white froth. As soon as she screamed, the seal dove, but Eleanor didn’t notice.

"I told you they’d come to eat us. Get me out of here!" she yelled.

Her splashing caused the log to spin. It knocked Jake on the chin and he went under. For a moment the water filled his ears and blocked Eleanor's cries. When he resurfaced he heard more shouting. This time it was Emily.

"Jake. She’s drowning!"

Eleanor had let go of the log. She flailed at the water with both arms. Every few seconds her head dipped under the surface and she choked on mouthfuls of water. She tried grabbing for the log, but her hands slipped off. Jake knew she was tiring.

He treaded water. His heart beat so fast he started to sweat in the freezing water. She was going to drown if he didn’t do something. Jake looked at Emily. She always knew what to do. But Emily just stared.

If he tried to grab Eleanor she might take him under and they would both drown. His swimming teacher used to say, "Reach first."

He looked around for something that she could grab. The log was too slippery. Nothing else floated nearby.

Except –

"Emily, pass me the bag," he shouted.

"What? The camera will get wet."

Jake paused. He would lose the only proof of the blue-footed booby. And what would Eleanor do if they ruined her camera?

Eleanor’s head sank under the water. She splashed back up, gasping and coughing.

Jake made a decision. Eleanor was more important than any pictures.

"Quick, Emily. The bag. Right now."

Emily threw him the beach bag. He held on to the log with one arm and tossed Eleanor the bag, holding on to one strap.

"Grab it, Eleanor!"

Eleanor heard his voice, if not his words, because she calmed down long enough to throw one arm over the bag.

Jake dragged it and Eleanor toward him and wrapped her arms around the log. She coughed and spluttered.

"Oh no!" Emily yelled.

The log rolled under Jake’s hands as she let go and dove under water. Eleanor started to slip. He yanked her arms back on and covered them with his own.

"Emily, what are you doing?" he shouted.

Emily’s head popped back out of the water. "The bag dropped and I can’t reach it."

Jake saw the dim shadow of the bag sinking to the bottom of the ocean.

He and Emily gaped at each other. Eleanor didn’t even notice. She stared straight ahead, her face as pale as a dead sand dollar.

Jake’s stomach knotted. He’d heard about people going into shock. "We need to get Eleanor to shore right away. We’ll just have to leave the bag. Hold on to her while I kick."

He kicked as hard as he could. Emily helped, but spent most of her energy keeping Eleanor’s hands on the log.

"It’s okay, Eleanor," she said. "The seal’s gone. It's probably on the other side of the island." Eleanor didn’t respond.

Jake kicked and kicked and kicked. His lungs ached. His neck muscles cramped from keeping his head above the log. He checked to see how far they had to swim. The shore didn't look any closer. He decided to focus on the kicking and to stop looking for land. He needed to rest. If he did, though, Eleanor might not make it. Her lips had turned blue. The water no longer felt cold to Jake, because he worked so hard, but Eleanor just floated in the water, not moving. He kicked some more.

Finally he couldn’t take it anymore. He slowed his kicking and let his feet drift, breathing hard. His foot brushed something slippery. He gasped and jerked his foot back. He almost shouted out, "Seal!" but held it in. He looked down, dreading the jaws waiting to chomp his toes.