the necklace

 "Wait! Don't put that on!" 

A man came thrashing out of the bushes into the clearing. He wore dark grey robes made out of a thick, stiff material. Lily could tell it was a sort of uniform, although for what she had no idea. His eyes, skin, and hair were all bleached and colorless, as though someone had accidentally edited his opacity without him knowing. In contrast, his grey outfit looked vibrant. He was in his mid-twenties, but the kids, being kids, figured to him to be about forty. Will glanced at Lily with a confused look. He clutched the necklace warily and took a step back. Lily put her arm out in front of Will and stepped towards the figure. 

"Who are you?" She asked in a voice that didn't sound as brave as she would have liked. 

"Me?" The man seemed startled by their reaction, like he didn't realize how threatening it might be to approach the kids out of nowhere. He stopped, put his hands up slowly and said, "Oh - I just meant that necklace might be cursed. Who knows how long it's been here, or who put it here, and for what purposes... Nefarious, or otherwise," he added. 

Will laughed. "It's not cursed. There's no such thing." Then to Lily, "It's probably really valuable and that's why this wanker wants it!"

The stranger looked uncomfortable, but he stayed where he was. "Listen - keep it, I don't care, just please don't put it on!" 

"It's mine." Will said in a firm voice. 

Lily felt unsure what to make of the situation. It all seemed improbable to her: the little creek, the underwater plaque, the forgotten language, the necklace, and this stranger who just happened to appear. 

Lily looked at Will, but he again seemed mesmerized by the stone of the necklace. She could see the golden flecks in the blue stone, like waves in an iris, glinting around in the sunlight. The way it reflected off of Will's face made it look as though it were glowing. The light sharpened the shadows in across his face and made him look strange and cruel. His lips pulled back into a smile that lacked any sort of amusement or warmth. He looked wild. 

"Maybe you shouldn't put it on," she said. "We can go back to mom and grandpa, maybe they can tell us the history of this area. Maybe they'll know why some one might've left it."

Will didn't respond. It seemed like he had forgotten the both of them. 

"Will?" she asked. 

She snuck a glance at the stranger and their eyes met. She felt sure he didn't know what to do either, like they were in a horrible standoff with two inadequate negotiators. 

"It is mine." Will said, quieter this time. 

He turned the pendant around in his hands a few times, like he was reading some sort of script in the stone. Then he laughed a hollow sort of laugh, looked at stranger, looked at Lily, and said, "I'll see you around." 

He slipped the necklace over his neck. 

For a moment he glowed blue like radioactive glass. Then, he point towards the water in the creek, which turned blue and gold like the stone in the pendant. The he jumped feet first into the water. It didn't splash, it just seemed to absorbed him into itself. 

Lily shouted "WILL!" and then - nothing happened. The clearing was as empty as it ever was. Lily ran over to the side of the water and could see the bottom of the swimming hole, the rocks, the weeds, and: no Will. 

 The stranger appeared next to her and said, "Oh my God, he made a portal."

Lily jumped into the water and dove to the bottom. She looked around underwater. Rocks. Weeds. The plaque. She screamed in frustration and panic and then went up for air. She dove down again, searching, searching, touching along side the bottom of the sand and waiting for Will to come out from somewhere to laugh at her. To make her feel stupid for worrying the way he always did. Playing a joke on her because he could, because he knew she would panic or get upset and then he could tease her about it. 

She broke the surface of the water and yelled "WILL!" 

The stranger still stood there. "He's gone." He said. 

"No, he isn't." Lilly wanted to cry. She duck-dived once more into the water and looked around wildly. She screamed his name underwater. She emerged from the water, shaking. The clearing felt suddenly cold. The forest felt dangerous. She got out of the water dizzily and sank into a rock. She pressed her forehead into her hands and took slow, deep breaths. 

"Erm." The stranger hadn't a clue what to say.

"Here," He said awkwardly, then did a little flourish with his hands. Her clothes and hair dried. She stopped shivering. She still seemed upset. Her face was hidden by her hands and hair. 

The stranger just stood there, tapping his feet against the rocks in opposite time, like he was doing some sort of nervous jig in his head that didn't entirely translate into physical motion. This went on for quite some time. 

Then he said, "I'm really sorry about this, but I'm going to need you as a witness." 

Lilly didn't register that she heard him. 

"Listen, this is probably my fault. I was supposed to be guarding the damn thing. If it makes you feel any better I'm completely screwed." 

She didn't appear to feel any better after having been told this. 

"I wasn't even supposed to be working today. I picked up this shift!" 

Lilly jerked her face out of her hands and yelled, "What the hell is going on?! Where is my brother?!"

"That's the thing," the stranger said. "I don't know. But The Order will! They're in charge of this whole thing. They deal in secrets, you know, and I'm just the bottom of the totem pole. I'm practically an intern. Look, just come be my witness, they'll explain everything to you and they can help you find your brother. And I won't get fired!" 

"But my mom -" 

"It'll be taken care of. The Order knows how to set things right." 

Lilly didn't know if she could trust him, but it was the only hope she had of helping her brother. 

She stood up and eyed the stranger. 

"And you promise to help me?" she asked, staring intently at his face. 

"I promise," he said. Then, he smiling awkwardly, "I'll lose my job if I don't."