But I do see Nolan, a few yards away, standing in front of the narrow, rocky peninsula that juts out to the lighthouse. He’s hunched forward like he’s screaming or vomiting, the waves almost licking the toes of his shoes. He covers his ears with clenched fists, and in the eerie light of the storm he looks like he’s drowning on land.

“Nolan!” I yell. “Nolan, what are you doing?”

He jerks his head toward me, his eyes wild.

“Wally.” He points to the lighthouse. I don’t hear the words so much as see them. “I … I can’t. I can’t do it.”

I squint, and in a flash of lightning between one wave and the next, I make out Wally, huddled against the lighthouse, his tall body pressed flush against the bolted door.

“Can’t, can’t, can’t.” It’s a litany from Nolan’s lips, and I wonder if he even knows he is saying it.

My brain flashes to Jenna, to her explanations I refused to hear about her accidental meeting with Endsley at the festival. A panic attack, she called it, and I had doubted her; I wanted her to come and get me.

But, looking at Nolan, at the whites of his eyes, his distress, I know I couldn’t leave him here, even if it meant seeing Jenna again. It’s a startling thought, but the same wind that brought me the sound of Nolan’s terror through the storm lets me hear Jenna’s snort, and for one shining moment, her assured voice.

Don’t be stupid, Amelia. He’s your problem now.

“Wally!” I call. “Wally, come!”

It becomes very evident that Wally would rather die and haunt the lighthouse than let us miss the opportunity of retrieving his sorry tail ourselves. I groan.

“We can reach him!” I shout to Nolan, grabbing one of his hands and pulling him toward the lighthouse. “Don’t let go.”

Nolan jerks away when I begin to tug us down the rough path, literally digging his heels into the beach.

“I can’t,” he repeats. “I can’t.”

I point to my feet. “I lost my shoes. It’s too slick for me to go it alone. I can guide us out there, but I need you to work as an anchor. I’ll go first and grab him by the collar, but I need you to not let go.”

Nolan’s eyes dart from me to the lighthouse, like an animal trapped in a corner with no means of escape.

“I … I can’t.” His voice sounds far away. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. God, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.”