Kingdoms - work in progress

Chapter Six - Nyx

"So what do you want to do today?" Caelum asks me.

"Swim."

"That's all you've wanted to do for the past week!"

"Yes I know. And I'm getting better." The truth was that I really wasn't. If anything, I was getting worse. The deepest water I can go in is four and a half feet without freaking out. Taking my feet off the bottom of the ocean freaks me out, so the swimming part of it hasn't even really started yet. He gives me a look. "What!" I exclaim innocently. 

"Do you think you'll be able to at least lift your feet off the bottom?"

"Yes." Lie.

"Really?"

"Of course." Lie. As we reach the square and the steps leading down into the ocean, he turns back to look at me.

"Ready?"

"Sure." As we wade into the water, I shiver. Not from the cold - neither the water nor the air is cold - but because I'm nervous. Scared. Very scared. As we reach the ocean floor - where it's about three feet deep - Caelum turns toward me.

"Today we're going to start a different approach. Rather than swimming on the surface, you're- we're going to go under the water." That sounds worse. Much worse. "I know it sounds scary, but it's better. Trust me. Okay, so you're going to take a deep breath, hold it in - and for you - plug your nose with your fingers."

"Like this?" I ask, taking a deep breath, holding it, and holding my nose between my thumb and pointer finger. He nods.

"Now just do it under water. I'll show you. Take a deep breath in, plug your nose, and then crouch under the water." He does exactly that and then stands back up. "Don't forget to close your eyes so they don't get water in them." I nod. I do as he says and then go under water. It's refreshing and as I go to take another breath, water fills my lungs. I stand up coughing up water. "What did you do wrong? Did you follow all the steps?!"

"Yeah..."

"Then what happened?"

"I took another breath."

"While underwater?! You can't do that!"

"You should've told me."

"I thought- argh! Try again. Reach down and grab something off the bottom. Maybe you'll find a crystal."

"Okay."

"Keep your eyes closed this time!"

"I got it." I do the same as last time and sit down on the bottom. Fumbling around I grab something that feels like a rock and stand back up, gasping for air.

"That was wonderful! What did you get?" I open my hand and something looks back at me. I scream, dropping it.

"What was that!?" Caelum chuckles as he catches the thing and holds it out for me to see.

"This is a baby crab."

"Ew! Ew! Ew! Why does it look like that?" He laughs and drops it back in the water.

"Anyway, what should we practice next?"

***

A few weeks pass, me practicing swimming almost every day. I mean, what else am I supposed to do? It's summer break, that means no school. I have gotten quite good. I sit up in bed and glance at the clock. Three in the morning. I try to go back to sleep. It fails so I get out of bed and go down to eat some cereal. By the time I finish eating and are dressed, it's four-thirty. I put on some shoes and leave a note for my parents. I head down the street. It's dark, but you can tell that it's getting lighter. Maybe I'll be able to watch the sunrise over the ocean. As I get down to the waterfront, I notice someone hauling a wooden thing down to the edge. I walk over and see that it's Blake Duff, a boy who's a year older than me, eighteen.