Shimmer & Guild

Chapter 5

The idea that sleep would come to me easily was laughable. My night had already been restless for months now, worsening with Willow vanishing and now with the lake.

The combobbled plan that I mustered up didn't seem like it would have a high success rate. I knew I needed to get down to the glow, but there were numerous forces that would keep me from reaching it.

One of them being the absolute freezing temperature of the lake.

I had only fallen into freezing water once, the pain of a thousand knives, my muscles locking up. It subjected me to enough pain and terror to never get close to that happening again. This was what I feared the most.

The next factor is the depth of the lake. There's no way that I would be able to swim all the way down, the bottom being over 25 feet of whatever is in that water. There were weights left over from fishing with my father, once that I planned to tie to myself in order to get me to sink to the bottom faster.

The obvious last factor would be my death, my failure in trying. The lunacy that this hum could have something to do with Willow. But I couldn't shake the feeling.

I spoke with Sarian yesterday, making sure not to reveal any of the details of my plan. I had to see him, just in case it was the last time I could.

"You think you found an answer about Willow, about all of the vanishings... and yet you won't share it with me?" He huffed. Annoyed by me teasing the idea. I knew if I told him the details, there was no way in hell he would ever let me attempt something this crazy. Which is why I wouldn't be doing anything of the sort.

"You just have to trust me. It's an insane idea, it is. But I just needed you to know about it, in case I'm gone...for a while."

He sighed, a pang of worry ran across his eyes. He didn't say much more, we just sat in silence as we often do when we hunt. On my way home, he stopped me from walking away and grabbed my hand. Stunned, I turned towards him.

He grabbed my head with both hands, pressing a light kiss against my forehead. I had never felt affection like this before, especially from Sarian, but he had been acting different since Willow died- vanished.

"Good luck, J." He whispered softly and left.

The next morning, I mentally prepared myself for the pain I was about to endure. Strolling past my mother passed out on the couch, I softly kissed her forehead. She didn't need to know where I was going.

As I stepped out into the cold air, it felt more brisk than usual. Great . The lake could be frozen over by now.

I made my way to the forest, more exhausted and taking longer due to the extra forty pounds I was carrying. My body was covered head to toe in dark clothing in the hopes of keeping me warmer. There was a real possibility of this plan being a failure, of me drowning or somehow reaching the surface again, only to freeze to death.

I started humming. An old school song my mother used to sing to Willow And I, to distract myself from what I was walking into.

After thirty or so minutes of walking, I could finally see the edge of the lake. Not frozen, thankfully, but I'm sure close to it.

The old boat was still in place, dirty and lifeless. I forced myself to walk up to it, setting the weights inside. I was scared shitless.

My body was working on auto drive, my brain preoccupied with fear. I stepped into the boat, paddling myself out.

Soon enough, the humming was there. It sounded like a loud roar in my ears, blocking out any sound of birds or water from before. The hum was louder this time, the vibration of it radiating in my bones and chest. If I looked down and there was no glow, then I would head back. That would be my way out of the stupid, crazy plan-

The glow was shining so brightly that I couldn't physically ignore it. Damn it.

My hands were shaking as I began to tie the rusted weights to my feet. Breathe , I reminded myself. My breath came out as frost and mist in the cool air before me. Though the water looked crisp and beautiful, I knew what dangers were lurking underneath and how painful the coldness would be. Willow would do this for me.

Okay. I don't know if she would, because this was insane.

The glow was so bright that it was reflecting a pale shine on the boat, over my hands. Before I could think about it too long, before I could back away and go back to shore, I sat on the edge of the boat with the weights in my hand. And jumped.

SHIT.

I yelped before fully submerged, hit with the coldness all at once, and now completely under the cold water without as much breath as I needed.

The pain of the water hit me in every crevasse, every fold in my body. The clothes I wore did nothing, the ice water forcing itself into my skin.

I was sinking, fast. Faster than I could comprehend, still absorbing the coldness filling my body, in my eyes and throat. The darkness of the water couldn't let my eyes adjust, only filling with ice, causing an instant headache and pain deep in my head.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

I was sinking lower and lower to the pale green glow, the light growing bigger and more blinding. My mind didn't even have any time to regret everything happening at this moment, I was only able to focus on the cold and the limited air in my lungs that I felt diminishing more and more each second. My heart was so loud it pounded in my ears. Maybe jumping directly into the water before I could adjust to the cold was not the smartest decision, my breathing being extremely difficult to keep under control.

After what felt like minutes, I reached the glow. It was entrancing, shimmering with millions of spots of light and shine. The pale green, with light swirls of blues and silvers-

Immediately covered with mud, a thick layer of mud.

My hands acted before my mind could, digging down deep until I could reach the light that was just there a second ago. Digging and digging.

My last breaths were getting close to expiring, I didn't have much fight or breath left in me. My numb hands kept digging, only to find more and more mud. The hum was nauseating, feeling as though my eardrums were about to burst.

My vision was fading in and out. I had no more air left in my lungs, my limbs shutting down. I needed to try and release the weights and attempt to swim back up.

I finally saw a faint light. Digging, I had to keep digging.

The cold mud was making the water more muggy, more clouded as I kept pushing through. My lungs were burning, burning with fire and pain. The faint green glow encompassed my vision again, getting bigger. I needed to force myself into the light, try to get through.

Once enough mud was out of the way, I put my hands through the glow. Tingling, all throughout my arms, a sensation undoubtedly due to the lack of oxygen in my body.

Within a second, my body was pulled through the green void.