Adrian (The Write Awards 2013)

13: Lenore and Louisa

**Dedicated to the emilylindin of the Unslut Project, because even though this book has nothing to do with what she's doing, it's still an amazing cause that everyone should know about.

Now I have a mission, but I don't know where to start. It feels pretty terrible to know that you need to get somewhere but not know how to get there. I need to do this though. I need to do this for Adrian. Even if I don't know exactly why, my gut tells me that Adrian would want me doing something. While it would feel so much better just to collapse, to just seclude myself and not worry, I would never forgive myself if I accomplished nothing while being in the Nothingness.

So, not knowing what else to do with myself, I suck in a deep breath of air and plunge down under.

My eyes are peeled wide open as I try to discern anything remotely familiar-- like the train tracks-- but the water is so murky that I can barely see my hand in front of my face. I swim forward, kicking my legs fast and spreading my arms wide like I'm greeting the sun. When my lungs begin to burn, I come back up for air, gasping feverishly and wringing the water out of my hair, which is weighed down by being so drenched. I stay above water.

My toes skim the ground, so I use them to try to feel for anything that might give me an idea of where I am. All I feel is the soft mud that squishes in between my toes. As I don't think I will find anything by this method, I prepare to go back under, but something stops me.

I almost fall off the edge of my land.

I scramble back up to where I know it's safe before observing further. I take in a big breath of air and submerge myself underneath the surface. I let myself sink to the bottom and feel around. The bridge that connects me to Jax's world doesn't seem to be present, no matter how hard I search. But I can tell where the edge is, and that's always a good start.

I know for a fact that the Boundless Ocean is unmeasurably vast and deep, so I won't be finding my way anytime soon. Still, I trust myself to swim off the edge to explore. Without the use of my powers, I am even more lost than I would've been in the first place. I continually have to swim up to the surface to fill my lungs, and it doesn't allow me to progress very far at all. I can just imagine Darren and Jax sitting in their cave, laughing hysterically at my misfortune. Once again, I have to resurface

Angry at myself for not knowing what to do and having to be so inefficient, I sweep my hair away from my face, take a gulp of air, and plunge down under with my eyes wide. Because the Burningwater stings so badly, I have to force myself with all of my being not to close them. Even so, it's becoming harder and harder to see.

Suddenly, I notice something hazy in the distance. Two somethings, actually. I squint to try and make everything look clearer, but that only makes it worse. Almost blindly, I swim towards the vague shadows, hoping that nothing terrible will happen. Without even noticing, I'm right up next to whatever it is I see and I bump into it clumsily.

Then, two girls turn abruptly to face me, sending swirls of bubbles dancing through the sea. I can only make out their silhouettes, and it's a miracle that I can even decipher such. I just stare, afraid to even move or trust myself to speak.

"Why is she looking like that?"

"Who is she?"

I hear these snippets of conversation whisper in my ear and leave with an echo. They both sound like a girl's voice, distinctly different yet oddly the same. They are light and airy, but the curiosity is highly evident. The one thing I can't place my finger on is where they are coming from. It's like I'm hearing it in my head but outside of myself all at the same time.

More words seem to be rushing towards me now, jumbling together so quickly that I cannot understand them. The intertwine and change from a sweet melody to a chaotic chatter, like the sound of a school lunchroom amplified on a scale of one-thousand. It's making my head pound, filling me with anxiety. I press my hands to my ears, trying to block out the noise, but it only seems to make everything louder.