Drowning in You

-12-

Here we go guys.
This is where the drama starts!

Nappies
Wipes
Swim wear- Violet, Willow, Dexter, Me
Towels x4
Spare clothes
Dummies
Bottles- with water
Milk powder
Infacol

I was running through my list for our day out at Whirlpool, getting everything packed up and ready by the door.
Mum and Dad had called, saying they were half an hour away so I had to make sure everything was ready.

I had moved onto bottle feeding the twins now, apart from during the night- they still preferred the comfort of breast to help them sleep through. I was happy with this arrangement though, it suited us better.

The doorbell rang, and we were soon out of the door and on our way.
Whirlpool was situated on the outskirts of Uxbridge so we had a 45 minute journey ahead of us, but thankfully mum and dad had a seven seater and were able to take is with them. It saved us a train journey.

We arrived and met up with my brothers Anthony and Mark, and their wives and kids; Ant's wife, Sarah, and two girls Charlotte and Faye, and Mark's wife Lucy and their two girls, Shannon and Fiona.
The children were paddling in the kids' pool, while I sat with Sarah and Lucy while they had cuddles with the twins.
It was lovely to get out of the house and see my family; it had been so long!

"How are you handling it?" Mum asked.
I laughed, "it's hard work! One baby is work enough for anyone, but twins... Once one starts crying, the other joins in, and you don't know which one to pick up first. And then when it comes to feeding..." I sigh, shaking my head, "they're both on the same schedule, so I have to balance them and somehow feed them both. It takes a lot of patience. Thankfully Violet is pretty much self-sufficient now. And she likes to help as well."
"Well, I don't know how you do it!" Lucy replies, "I don't think I could handle twins."

The water park was this huge glass roof affair, built underground... There were different rides and slides built in to the huge building. It was beautiful, and there was so much going on, you couldn't tell where the water was coming from.
The place was packed out today. Supposedly the park was at full capacity.

We had lunch on the poolside, and the kids carried on playing.
The park was surprisingly hot, so I decided to take the twins outside as they were getting irritable and wouldn't take their bottles due to the sweltering heat. I loaded them up in the pushchair and wheeled them outside.

The second I stepped outside, I took in a gulp of cool air. It was August and lovely warm weather, but it was definitely cooler out here than it was inside!
The twins were soon relaxed and asleep while I rocked them back and forth.

I searched through the changing bag and grabbed out a bottle of water, downing half of it in one go.

Just as I was turning round to take the twins back inside, I started hearing loud panicked screams from inside. Screams that sent shivers up my spine.

I moved forwards with the pushchair to look inside and what I saw would stay with me for the rest of my life.

Through the glass windows, I could see water gushing out of the vents at high velocity, filling the building with gallons of chlorine filled water.
My eyes bugged as I watched people panicking, trying to get their children and get out.

I looked down at the pushchair, and back inside. What do I do?
Violet!
Mum! Dad!

My family is inside there, my daughter is inside there! But the twins... I can't leave them!
I could feel my heart racing, my throat closing in. I didn't know what to do.

My twins, or my daughter?
How was I supposed to choose?
How could I pick one, or two children over another?
Would I be able to save my daughter? Would Violet get out of there?

Tears filled my eyes as I watched the horror before me.
I could see people fighting for their lives, children drowning in the deep water filling the room up. It was all happening so quickly.

"Violet!" I began screaming, gripping the handles of the double pushchair, as the tears fell in torrents down my face.

My heart was breaking, my stomach clenched in panic as I failed to grasp the seriousness of the situation.
Right now, all I could think about was my daughter, my mum and dad, my brothers, my nieces... My sisters in law!
Everyone else could go to hell, just so long as they got out of there.

Water started bubbling up through the grates across the pavement on which I stood. There was so much water inside the underground building that it was overflowing into the street!

Oh god, Violet.
Oh my baby.
She can't die. She can't.

"What do I do?" I sobbed, shaking as my twins started screaming along with hundreds of others.
So many people had made it out, but where was my family? My baby girl?