Win is turned into a vampire against his will after being attacked at the university pool one fateful night. Five years later, he finds himself saving a drowning human in the same pool, their situations eerily similar. Neither can forget and are dra...
Team's feet moved him forward, though the coolness of the tiles didn't register. He had felt like a robot during his warm-up, a numbness settling over him while he moved on autopilot. He had decided Win was so mad that he was now avoiding him. Not that he had any evidence to support that claim, but it was what his mind was now fixated on. As he finished the first set of exercises, his mouth pressed into a flat line—he started a second set. Anything to keep him occupied until his heat.
Sea raced first, then Team second with A and Bee competing in the third heat. If they each did well, they would race against each other in the final and have a chance at a stacked podium. It would be a tremendous day for their club, but Team couldn't get excited about it. He pulled on the borrowed goggles and did a few more neck rolls and arm circles while he waited behind the starting blocks.
His friend's hand touched the wall first, Sea winning his heat. Team gave him a reserved smile as Sea celebrated after exiting the pool, coming to offer Team words of encouragement for his own race. He was happy for Sea, even if his face didn't show it. Team could always use the excuse of "getting in the zone" for why he wasn't more congratulatory. Then again, you didn't get medals for prelims, but good luck tempering Sea's enthusiasm.
The long whistle ushered Team and his eight competitors forward. As he staggered his feet and stared at a spot on the black platform, his head emptied. His body knew what to do, Team reminded himself. He just had to dive on the next whistle.
The shrill noise cut through the remaining din, and Team was airborne. His hands sliced through the water as he kicked hard, using his momentum from the dive. Despite the adrenaline and jitters that accompanied competing, he always found a sort of peace once his body met the water. His world shrank to the burn in his muscles and lungs, pushing his fitness further with each stroke. The first fifty meters flew by, prompting him to flip and rebound off the tiles. The cheers from the stands garbled as the water flowed past his ears, his breaths louder. Team's arms stretched toward the finish.
No contest. Team had touched the wall and pushed his goggles up several seconds before his competitors joined him. A jolt of fear went through him—would they think he cheated? He disappeared for a week, didn't attend practice, then showed up and beat his best recorded time. He tried not to think about it as he exited the pool. The ecstatic whoops and hugs from his teammates only increased his guilt. To his relief, no one seemed suspicious.
"Hot damn." Phruk clapped a firm hand onto Team's back. "You're superhuman. Do that again and we're going to clean up today."
Team chuckled nervously from the praise. He and Sea were in the final, but he should be more careful. Hold back a touch. The celebrations died down as A and Bee left to take their marks. Team noticed the towel he had left folded on the bench was now balled up. His phone lay underneath, face down. Oh, no. Swimming results were nice, but broken phones weren't.
He grimaced at the telltale blinking and glitching from the smashed screen. Someone probably came by and yanked up the towel, thinking it was theirs, and then bolted once his phone hit the deck. Fuck. Team cursed at the universe for choosing this of all days to be the one for his phone's demise. He powered off his new paperweight. Not much else it was good for. If Win wasn't already worried or fuming, he sure would be now.
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