Water Walker: Episodes 1-4 Part 1

Water Walker.

The Full Story Episodes 1-4.

Ted Dekker.

EPISODE ONE.

Prologue.

My name is Eden and this is my story. I know that on the surface it may seem different from your own, and on one level that's true. After all, you may not be a blond-haired girl like me and I doubt very many people have faced or will ever face the particular trials that I have.

And yet when you get right down to it, we're all the same-rich, poor, old, young, fat, skinny, white, brown, or purple-pick your costume, none of it really matters too much. What does matter is whether or not we take offense when we think we've been wronged, regardless of who we think we are or what costume we're wearing.

That's what I learned. The way I learned it might shock you a bit. You might laugh at some of it or cry at times . . . it all depends on who you think you are, which may not be the real you at all. You can only learn who you really are by getting to the end of who you think you are; I learned that too.

So don't feel sorry for me, or cry too much because it was the only way for me. And the same goes for you.

My story began the night I discovered that I wasn't me.

1.

Day One.

7:34 pm.

"YOU CAN'T wait any longer." Wyatt heard Kathryn take a deep, controlled breath on the other end of the line. He imagined her standing in their small kitchen, phone pressed to her ear, hand trembling by her side. "You've been watching the house for two days-they're bound to see you if they haven't already. You go in there and you get my daughter, you hear me?"

"I hear you, sugar." He stared through the truck's window at the brick house. "But I can't just walk in and take her without-"

"Yes you can! And you won't have to take her. She'll come. You tell her who you are and she'll come. Tell her that she doesn't need to live in a foster home one more day because her mother's been looking for her for thirteen years and she'll come."

"What if she doesn't remember right away?"

"I'm her mother, Wyatt! Her mother! Blood doesn't forget blood. And you're her father, don't you forget that. Maybe not by blood, but she'll know the moment she sees you. There's n.o.body in the world that loves that child the way we do. One look in your eyes and she'll see that."

"She's not alone in there. The mother's home and the father will be home soon."

"Which is why you have to go in there and get her alone!" Kathryn snapped. "And don't use that word-that woman in there's an imposter, not a mother. Don't you dare use that word."

"I know, sugar." He felt her anxiety work through his own bones. "This isn't how it was supposed to go."

"How it's supposed to go is for you to rescue my daughter and bring her home to me. We always knew she wouldn't just walk out and get in the truck with you-the poor girl's been subjected to only G.o.d knows what."

"I was supposed to get her alone and talk to her first."

"And that's exactly what you're going to do. You're going to walk up to that front door and tell whoever answers that you have an important message for Alice-remember to call her Alice because she won't know her real name. And you make sure no one else hears what you tell her. No one can know that her birth mother came to save her."

Kathryn sniffed.

"I don't care what it takes, Wyatt." She was on the verge of tears, voice strained and weak. "We talked about this. If those snakes find you out, we may never get another chance. You have to get her before the man gets home. Now, Wyatt. Go tell her that her mother's waiting. She'll come."

She'd been obsessed with finding her daughter for years, and that need had risen to a fever pitch a month earlier when they'd discovered that Eden was alive and living in South Carolina with foster parents. She'd been taken against Kathryn's will by the legal system, so recovering her had proven to be a matter of careful planning, and it all rested squarely on his shoulders now. Problem was getting her out of that house without causing a fuss.

And the problem with getting her out without causing a fuss was that Eden wouldn't come without some convincing, no matter what Kathryn said. In her desperation, she wasn't thinking clearly now. Not that he blamed her-he was nearly as eager as she was, if only to make things right for all of them, most of all Kathryn.

He'd spent the last two days looking for any opportunity to catch Eden alone without any success. Kathryn had a point-sooner or later the neighbors would call in the blue pickup truck with a camper sh.e.l.l. He'd been careful to duck down behind the steering wheel when cars approached and he'd spent a good amount of time in the back among all the blankets he'd brought, so he was sure he hadn't been seen. But there was no way to hide the truck, not if he wanted to be close enough to intercept her if she ever left the house alone. Which she hadn't.

"Zeke went to a lot of trouble to set this up, Wyatt. All you have to do is get to her. I lost my daughter once, I'm not about to lose her again."

"Okay, sugar. I'll go."

"Tell her that her mother's waiting."

"I will."

"Make sure no one hears you."

"I will."

"Hurry before the man returns. Do it now and call me the minute you're back in the truck."

"Of course."

"Promise me."

"I promise, sugar."

Wyatt waited for the line to click off before removing it from his ear. He gave the cab a once-over. The old Ford had a black vinyl-covered bench seat, worn s.h.i.+ny and cracked in a couple places. At Kathryn's direction he'd cleaned the interior when he'd collected the truck and taken care not to leave any junk on the floor.

He turned the rearview mirror for a look at his face . . . two day's growth-not too shabby. Ran his fingers through his hair. Wavy blond, maybe could use a wash. Blue eyes. A kind face, Kathryn said-the kind any girl would find comforting. The thought of Eden seeing him for the first time was a bit unsettling, only because she would see a stranger when in reality he was her father.

He slipped the keys into the front pocket of his tan work pants-cleaned proper. Blue s.h.i.+rt tucked in neat.

Had to get this right. Had to or Kathryn would likely die of grief. And Zeke wouldn't approve.

With a quick look up and down the quiet street, he stepped out of the truck and eased the door shut. The man of the house had come home between seven thirty and eight both nights . . . it was seven thirty-five now.

He crossed the street, angled up the sidewalk, and headed for the front door, heart thumping like a fist in his chest. He'd seen Eden six times in the last two days. Twice through binoculars when she'd had the curtains to her room on the second floor pulled open. Thin, with pale skin and straight blonde hair that fell past her shoulders. A spitting image of Kathryn at that age, he imagined. And when he'd described Eden to her, his wife had wept for joy over the phone.

Had to get this right.

Never mind how crazy rescuing Eden like this felt . . . right was right, and G.o.d made it so.

Wyatt dried the palms of his hands on his pants as he stepped up to the concrete landing, took one last look down the street, drew a deep breath to calm his nerves, and lifted his finger to the doorbell, aware that he wasn't as steady as he could be. And there was a thin line of dirt under his nail.

He thought about cleaning it, but now his jitters were getting worse and he knew he was stalling. If he didn't do this now, it might not happen. So he pressed the b.u.t.ton and stepped back when he heard the chime inside.

Had to get this right and now he had. It was now out of his hands. It all came down to- The door swung in and Wyatt found himself facing a girl with long blond hair, dressed in a light-blue hoodie and a pair of jeans.

Eden.

"Can I help you?"

He was so surprised at seeing her-and only her-right there in front of him, that he didn't know what to say.

She stared up at him with brown eyes, as innocent as a dove, one hand on the doork.n.o.b, at a loss.

Tell her, Wyatt. Just tell her.

He glanced over her head to be sure the woman wasn't close by, then said it.

"Your mother wants to see you. She wants you to come. She loves you. No one can know that I'm here."

Not smooth enough. His voice was too raspy. He quickly cleared his throat.

"I'm your father. Please, you have to come with me. Your mother has been looking for you for thirteen years." Then, "Your real name is Eden."

"Alice?" The call came from down the hall.

He quickly reached out a hand so that she could take it and they could run before it was too late. "Please . . ."

The foster parent, a woman in her forties or fifties with short, curled blond hair stepped out into the hall with a dishtowel, drying her hands.

"Who is it, dear?"

Wyatt froze, eyes locked on the woman's. He should be thinking fast on his feet and saying something, but he wasn't always good in that way and at the moment his mind was blank.

The woman started down the hall toward them. All Wyatt could think to do was grab Eden and run, but he couldn't just grab her without her knowing what was going on-the poor girl would be frightened. Maybe scream. Might even get hurt.

"How can we help you?" the woman asked.

"I . . ."

But he didn't know what to say. And before he could figure anything out, Eden moved to her left out of sight and vanished into the house, leaving him alone with the woman down the hall. The foster parent took one look in the direction Eden had gone and must have seen something that frightened her, because when she looked back at him, her jaw was set.

"I think you should leave."

She stepped up to the door and pushed it closed. The lock snapped into place.

Wyatt stood unmoving, staring at the door, stunned. Just like that?

This wasn't good. An image of Kathryn's face, sagging with dread, strung through his mind. And with it, the sickening awareness of his failure.

And then the realization that standing on the landing looking dumbstruck might be seen by either someone in the house or a neighbor as creepy. Which he wasn't.

So he turned and headed back to the truck, walking on feet that felt like lead. Mind blank. A knot in his throat. But he knew what he would do. What he always did. She would know . . . She always did.

Kathryn answered his call on the first ring.

"Do you have her?"

He took a deep breath. "The mother was there . . . Not at first but as soon as-"

"What do you mean 'not at first'?" she interrupted. "Did you talk to her?"

"No. Not to the mother-"

"To Eden! Did you do what I told you to do? Please tell me you didn't mess this up!"

"No, sugar, I swear." He told her what had happened in short order, exactly as it had, because she would insist and he had long learned it was better that way. Integrity was important if you wanted any peace of mind.

The phone remained silent for a few seconds after he finished. She was reeling and he didn't blame her.

"Kathryn?"

"We're running out of time."

"I know. But I-"

"You go back in there, Wyatt." Her voice was lower now, unnervingly intense but calm at the same time. "I don't care how you do it but you get me my daughter and you get her now. Break the door down if you have to. Take her. She may not understand now but she will when she learns the whole story."

"Break the door down?" His mind spun with what that might mean. "What if she won't come?"

"Then take her!" The receiver went silent for a few seconds. Kathryn continued with unmistakable clarity. "You don't harm a hair on her body, but you make her come with you. You understand what I'm saying, Wyatt?"

He hesitated only a second.

"Yes, sugar."

The phone went dead.

He returned it to his pocket with a trembling hand, mind gone on fear. He honestly didn't see how he could do what she insisted, not without raising an alarm. Not without risking injury to one or both of them. Not without getting caught and blowing any further chances of ever getting Eden back home.