Camilla Läckberg - The Drowning

But nothing happened. Erik simply opened the bottle, took a big slug of the whisky, and then handed it to Christian. He just stared. He wanted to take a drink, but he didn’t know if he dared. Erik urged him to try it, and Christian realized that he would have to do as Erik said if he wanted to be part of the group. He sat down with the bottle in his hand, and then raised it to his lips. And just about choked when he swallowed too much of the whisky.

‘So how was that, lad?’ Laughing, Erik pounded him on the back.

‘Good,’ said Christian, taking another gulp, just to prove it.

The bottle passed from hand to hand a few times, and he began to feel a pleasant warmth spreading through his body. His anxiety vanished. The whisky pushed away everything that had been keeping him awake at night lately. The eyes. The smell of rotting flesh. He took another swallow.

Magnus was lying on his back, staring up at the stars in the sky. Kenneth didn’t say much. He just agreed with everything Erik said. But Christian was enjoying being in their company. He was somebody. Part of a group.

‘Christian?’ a voice said from the doorway. He turned to look. What was she doing here? Why did she have to turn up and ruin everything? His old anger awoke.

‘Get lost,’ he snarled, and then saw her face contort in disappointment.

‘Christian?’ she repeated, her voice thick with tears.

He got up to chase her away, but Erik put his hand on Christian’s arm.

‘Let her stay,’ he said, and Christian looked at him in surprise. But he complied, and sat down again.

‘Come here!’ Erik waved for Alice to come closer.

She gave Christian an enquiring glance, but he merely shrugged.

‘Sit down,’ said Erik. ‘We’re having a party.’

‘Party!’ said Alice, her face lighting up.

‘What luck that you happened to stop by. We need some pretty girls here too.’ Erik put his arm around Alice and touched a lock of her dark hair. Alice laughed. She liked being called pretty.

‘Here. If you want to come to our party, you have to drink.’ He took the bottle away from Kenneth, who was just about to take a swig, and handed it to Alice.

Again she looked at Christian, but he didn’t care what she did. If she was going to keep following him, she’d just have to play along.

She started to cough, and Erik stroked her back. ‘There, there, what a good girl. Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it. You just have to try again.’

Hesitantly she raised the bottle and took another swallow. This time it went better.

‘Good. That’s the kind of girl I like. Someone who’s pretty and knows how to drink whisky,’ said Erik with a smile that made Christian’s stomach start to churn. He wanted to take Alice by the hand and lead her home. But then Kenneth sat down next to him, put an arm around his shoulder, and mumbled:

‘Shit, Christian, just think – here we are with you and your sister. I bet you never thought that would happen, did you? But we knew there was a bloody decent lad under all that flab.’ Kenneth pointed at his stomach, and Christian didn’t know whether to take his remark as a compliment or not.

‘She’s really cute, your sister,’ said Erik, moving even closer to Alice. He helped her raise the bottle again, pouring more whisky down her throat. Her eyes were shining, and she had a big smile on her face.

Christian suddenly felt everything start to spin. All of Badholmen was spinning. Around and around, like the globe. He giggled and lay down on his back next to Magnus, looking up at the stars that seemed to be whirling through the sky.

A sound from Alice made him sit up. He was having a hard time focusing, but he could see Erik and Alice. And he thought Erik had his hand inside Alice’s shirt. But he wasn’t sure, with everything spinning around him. He lay down again.

‘Shh…’ Erik’s voice and the same whimpering sound from Alice. Christian rolled on to his side and rested his head on his outstretched arm. He looked at Erik and his sister. Her shirt was gone. She had small, perfect breasts. That was the first thought that occurred to him. That she had perfect breasts. He’d never seen them before.

‘Don’t worry. I’m just going to feel them a little…’ Erik kneaded her breasts with his hands as he started breathing harder. Kenneth was staring at Alice’s bare torso.

‘Come and feel,’ said Erik, nodding to Kenneth.

Christian saw that Alice was scared, that she was trying to cover her breasts with her arms. But his head felt so heavy he couldn’t lift it.

Kenneth sat down next to Alice. After waiting for a signal from Erik, he lifted his hand and began touching her left breast. He squeezed it cautiously at first, then harder, and Christian could see the bulge in his shorts grow.

‘I wonder if the rest is just as nice?’ murmured Erik. ‘What do you say, Alice? Is your pussy just as nice as your tits?’

Her eyes were big and frightened. But she didn’t seem to know how to defend herself. Without resistance, she allowed Erik to slip off her knickers. He let her keep on her skirt, just lifting it up to show Kenneth.

‘What do you think? I doubt anyone’s been here before.’ He pushed her knees apart, and Alice numbly let him do it, incapable of protesting.

‘Shit, check this out. Magnus, wake up! You’re missing something here.’

He merely groaned. A faint drunken muttering.

Christian could feel the lump in his stomach growing. This was wrong. He could see Alice staring at him, wordlessly pleading for help. But her eyes looked just like they had when she’d looked up at him from underwater, and he couldn’t make himself move, couldn’t help her. All he could do was lie on his side and let the world keep spinning.

‘I get first dibs,’ said Erik, unbuttoning his shorts. ‘Hold her down if she starts fighting.’

Kenneth nodded. His face was pale, but he couldn’t take his eyes off Alice’s breasts gleaming white in the moonlight. Erik forced her down on to her back, forced her to lie still and stare up at the sky. At first Christian felt relieved that her eyes had disappeared. They were staring at the stars instead of at him. Then the lump inside of him grew, and with an effort he hauled himself into a sitting position. The voices were screaming at him, and he knew that he should do something, but he didn’t know what. Alice didn’t say a word. She just lay there and let Erik separate her legs, let him lie down on top of her, push inside of her.

He began sobbing. Why did she have to ruin everything? Take what was his, follow him everywhere, love him? He had never asked her to love him. He hated her. And she just lay there.

Erik suddenly stopped moving, then groaned. He pulled out and buttoned his fly. He lit a cigarette, cupping his hand around the match, and then looked at Kenneth.

‘Your turn.’

‘You mean me?’ stammered Kenneth.

‘Yes, now it’s your turn,’ said Erik, and his tone of voice demanded obedience.

Kenneth hesitated. Then he looked at Alice’s breasts again, those firm breasts with the pink nipples that had turned hard in the summer breeze. Slowly he began unbuttoning his shorts, then he started moving faster until he practically threw himself on top of Alice, and began thrusting at her. It didn’t take long before he too groaned, his body rippling with spasms.

‘Impressive,’ said Erik, puffing on his cigarette. ‘Now it’s Magnus’s turn.’ He pointed at Magnus who had fallen asleep, drooling saliva out of the corner of his mouth.