The Forgotten...? ••• 𝐂.𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐥

(13) 𝐀 silver glow

Mirabel's POV:

Who was that...?

I felt my stomach drop, mouth ajar, I tried to swallow the feeling of dread crawling up my throat but was met with dry, airy gasps as I tried to steady my breathing. I spun around as I am fast as I could in-rising-waist-length water but before I could see who's terrifying, shrill scream that was, I was hit in the face, my head snapping in another direction. When I toppled over and was completely submerged in the water I realised I had been hit with a large mass of water, that effectively knocked me over.

I clasped a hand over my mouth, closing my eyes like the sea of water became more ferocious and wild. Every attempt I made to stand up or push my feet against the bottom to get back to the top was pointless as the newly formed waves kept knocking my feet right out from under me. I could feel a sense of pounding in my head and a sharp sting on my forehead, only further adding to my disquietude.

I peeked one of my eyes open, letting it adjust to the new sensation of liquid against it, only to realize my glasses were gone. I opened both of my eyes fully, swishing around, urgently looking around for my glasses at the bottom of the rising water. Muffled screams and water crashing into the water were the only sounds that were audible from beneath. Since everything was blurry, both by the water and because of my lack of glasses, it was near impossible to search for them, especially when my feet didn't even touch the ground.

It's only when I saw a glimpse of something floating in front of me that I could feel the intense burning, starting from within my lungs-a cold burn-as it travelled up the back of my throat and I started to gag. I flailed for a couple of seconds trying to swim back up without support or anything to push off, before the tips of my shoes scraped against the sand below and I was finally able to make contact with the ground and swim my way up to the surface. It only took me a few short seconds to get to the top but it felt much longer as I struggled to hold my breath, the noise of pumping blood grew louder and louder the longer I held my breath. When I finally got out, another wave pushed me up, swiping at my feet as I coughed and gagged, trying to take all of the air I could to steady my pulsing heart.

"What's going on!?!" I couldn't see anything, sand and water, mist, you name it, it was in my eyes. I harshly rubbed my eyes but soon disregarded that as I need my arms to keep me above water. I was kicking my legs and hitting my hands against the water to keep me above, trying to dismiss the bitty feeling under my eyelids. I swam forward a little and once I did I could feel a small island of sand beneath my foot, I couldn't help but let out a victorious laugh. Short and silent, but at the very least I had stable ground so I could clear my eyesight. The specs rubbed against my eyelids, creating this horrible sandpaper texture every time I blinked. It was horrible.

"STOP! P-please... Ha... ha- pl-please! U-ugh! Make—it stop!" Someone's cries stopped my movements, I could hardly tell who it was over the rushing water and my somewhat disoriented state. I've never heard them plead and cry with such sorrow in my entire life. As the wails increased, I tried to open my eyes, squinting through the pain, after a few harsh waves rolled into my eyes I was eventually able to see. Relatively, only being able to see a very blurry view of the water and someone trying to hold someone else up, but what caught my attention for the shortest amount of time was something green and red...?
Both under the water, near the bottom,
What is that?

I was suddenly ripped out of my thoughts when what I can only presume, was Camilo emerging from a harsh wave with another person. Dolores. It had to be. But instead of calm and collected Dolores, the murky figure that I assumed was her was thrashing around in Camilo's hold. I think he was trying to keep them both afloat but Dolores wasn't taking notice she was just screaming and covering her eyes, saying a bunch of random words that didn't make any sense without context.

"Dolores!? Dolores?!" That is Camilo. I knew it! I shook my head, wiping the water that collected on my face, trying to find him with my poor vision once another cloud of sandy mist rushed by me. I continued to hear the violent thrashing, followed by splashing noises as I tried to near the two colourful blobs in the near distance, that were just bobbing above the water. The noises stopped and the once wild and erratic movements came to a halt, Dolores lay there limp in Camilo's arms. Still. Very still.

As I got closer I kept trying to rub the bottom of my palms against my eyes, one at a time so I could still use one arm to somewhat keep me afloat and continue my short trip to the others. My feet touched the ground but since the waves were strong they moved the sandy base beneath me, so some parts where I stepped were uneven, making large dents in the floor. Some high-ish hills of sand were created here and there, after I stood on the tiny hill I tried swimming my way over to them instead of half swimming half walking over to them. The water was still rising only further deepening the depth, making me even more nervous. How high would it go until it stopped? The roof? And even if it did, how would we get out of here? How will anyone find us? No one knows we're here...

This was a terrible mistake...

"Camilo!" I yelled, my eyes weren't exactly adjusting and there was little to no chance of finding my glasses again unless the waves stopped, but I could just make out his bright yellow ruana as it sort of floated on top of the water.

"Mira-! Mirabel! Mirab-!" Camilo was struggling to hold up his weight and I'm guessing Dolores' weight as well, especially will the waves gagging his every word. His head bobbed below the liquid a couple of times which made me even more worried for our health and safety... and our lives...

I moved closer to them both and manoeuvred my way around them so I was on the other side of Dolores. I lifted her right arm and placed it around my neck, trying to use my other arm and my legs to treat the water. Camilo understood my idea almost immediately as he let go of Dolores back and moved her other arms around his neck as well.

"Ca-Camilo! We- need t-to find a-a way, out of... here!" I yelled, the more I opened my mouth the more water gurgled and muffled my next words. I coughed multiple times as I moved to scan the room, which was extremely difficult considering another person's weight was caging anymore movements besides my head-turning.
"Mira-bel! May-maybe... We-Ugh!! The to-! Mira! The—top!" He screamed over the rushing wind and crashing waves, I looked at him, confused and panicky. My eyes watered as I could feel the burning sensation of tears mixed with the crystal clear water from Lucia's river. That was now trying to kill us!

"THE T-OP!!" He screeched, his swimming arm growing tired as I noticed his movements slowing and becoming stiffer, less mobile. He attempted to point upwards to the roof but forgot about the extra person we were trying to keep alive, along with us. I looked down at Dolores, I couldn't see her face because her head was down, her chin possibly touching her chest, her bow dipping in and out of the water. I went to move her head into a more safe and comfortable position when a sudden shard pain struck me. I audibly gasped, gritting my teeth as I moved my hand back to treading water, looking down into the watery obis only to see the very bottom that was a good 10 feet below us. But besides the sudden fear of heights that struck me, I saw a piece of paper along with a small shard of... green glass. Floating beside one another.
The weird thing is...

When I made a move to try and move it up with one of my feet, the piece of paper tore—as wet paper should do—but the glass shard had intricate drawings on it. That glowed a vibrant silvery green. I couldn't tell what was engraved onto it or why it was in Lucia's room,

But one thing was unmistakable,

That it was one of Tío Bruno's visions...

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Word count: 1612

(NOT IMPORTANT)

Ik I used such a fancy word, disquietude means worried, saw it on Google it was near enough perfect for a synonym of anxious. So yah. Might not have used it right either so, yah.
Btw when I said snapping in another direction I didn't mean like breathing I just meant like, turned in a really fast manner, like no injuries were made the cause of that.

Thnx for readinggggg