Tied Together

Chapter 7: Swim

I used to be a swimmer. 

A really good swimmer. 

I was the national winner for 3 years in a row growing up. No one could touch me, I was untouchable.

But then I got this ability. It was fine for the first while, I just thought I was getting bad headaches and pretty bad luck happening to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.

So I continued to swim and train. But then it kept on happening... again and again, and I started to connect the dots.

Not long after I encountered the sound again. A man drowned in front of me, I couldn't save him. I was too slow, I reacted too slow. I hesitated and that cost him his life.

Since that day I have never looked at water the same. Every time I entered the water I remember dragging his motionless body to the surface of the water. Sobs wracking my body when he won't move. His lifeless eyes haunt me to this day.

I started to have panic attacks at swim training. I couldn't even swim a fucking length without freaking out. So I quit swimming and all my future hopes along with it.

After that life went downhill. Swimming was the only good thing in my life and without it- I became worthless. No purpose, no achievements. I wasn't living anymore, I was just surviving.

The water is freezing, it Immediately awakens all my senses igniting every nerve. It reminds me of the thing I hated the most when swimming; the cold water.

I swim with strong powerful strokes making sure to swim with my head above water. While it is faster to swim with my head down I can't risk losing sight of her. I can distantly hear people yelling but I ignore it, I am too consumed with dodging the rocks that are near me.

I haven't swam in 2 years, let alone gone near water. But is crazy how swimming every day for most of your life ingrains it in my body. How natural it feels to be submerged in the water again.

I start to feel that anxiety and sickness in my gut, but I quickly push it down. I don't have time to freak out or relive my past trauma. I am on a mission, I have to save her. I will not make that same mistake again.

It is a strong current, awfully strong. It's chaotic. This is absolutely nuts. There are rocks everywhere. I barely dodge them, throwing my body to the side to avoid a big rock in front of me. But it isn't the rocks that I can see that worry me- it is the ones under the surface, the ones that I can't see.

While my muscles are familiar with the swimming motions and my technique is still pretty good, my muscles are weaker. Probably still above average strength but this is an intensely strong current. You are not meant to swim in this river for a reason.

Rocks graze my legs and arms as I am swept through the current but I barely acknowledge the pain because I see her. She is flapping her arms around frantically trying to say above the surface. Her head bobs out of the water then back in and repeats. I instantly recognise her, Rebecca. She is in my maths class, we haven't spoken before. We have barely interacted, I think the close we have come was her letting me borrow her pen on day in class. 

She is moving fast. Really fast.

If I want to catch up to her I can't just let the current move me, otherwise, I will never catch up with her. I have to swim. And fast, faster than the speed she is moving.

This means I would be moving at an insane speed, a dangerous speed. It means that if a rock hits me it will cut two times deeper and hurt two times harder.

But that is a risk I am willing to make.

I try to swim in a straight line, the quickest line. But I am in a washing machine. My body is thrown carelessly around in all directions, like a lifeless laundry.

It tries to push me under and I fight with everything in me to stay above the surface. The girl isn't so lucky, she is continually pushed under and I worry if she is getting enough air.

I manage to catch up to here after what feels like forever but was probably only a few minutes. I approach her from the back so she doesn't do her body's natural reaction and cling to me, drowning us both. That would be bad.

She relaxes slightly in my arms, spitting out water as she desperately gasps for air. I try to lean our position backward so we are going feet first down the stream with our bodies high to the surface as we can get. It is the rocks you can't see that are under the water that are the most dangerous.

She starts screaming and kicking her legs urgently and I am confused as to why. That is until I see it.

The drop.

We are heading directly towards the drop of a waterfall. Venture Falls the waterfall,  the one we were supposed to see as a class. Fuck.

Fear starts to kick in- punching me in the gut. Hard.

I don't know if we are going to get out of this... I am not going down without a fight.

My inner swimmer in me comes outs. I turn my body on more of an angle and start to furiously kick my legs, pumping my free arm trying to move us in the opposite direction while my other arm holds her out of the water. I try to swim more to the side where the current is less strong which helps a bit.

My breath comes out in short pants. I have never and I mean never swam so hard before. Not at regionals, not at my national swimming competitions. Never. Funny how you perform differently under life-pressuring situations.

I have managed to stop us from moving closer to the waterfall. But I am getting extremely tired. I could probably make it to rock if I wasn't holding onto her. Her weight and one less arm is making it severely difficult.

But there is no way I am letting go of her.

She tried to kick and help me- but it doesn't help much. We start to slowly move towards the waterfall and I know we are fucked. I know there is no way I can swim us both back. I know that we are going to fall down that waterfall. I know. 

But I ignore it and I keep on swimming, desperate to not believe it. But I can only deny it for so long. After a few minutes, I am struggling to breathe and my muscles start to feel like lead.

I can't keep this up for much longer.

"Close your eyes" I gasp out into her ear. I stop swimming and wrap my arms around like a protective barrier.

And my last thought before we fall to our very possible death is who would miss me? 

My mind comes up blank.

And then we fall...

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Ooooh, will they make it? 👀

Got to admit this is one of my favourite stories I am writing at the moment. This was really cool to write. I feel I have some experience in this because I am a lifeguard so know some of the safety things and went to Outward bound where we went into a few rivers.

Anyway hope you enjoyed this chapter, if you did I appreciate all votes and comments dearly! Helps motivate me to write.