Celadon

Celadon Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Solis swam as fast as he can, holding his breath as the water continued to slap him in the face and try to escape up his nose. He had just seen his best friend fall as the bridge he was on snapped, and he knew Bryce would die without help, it was just the fact of getting to him.

The waves had gotten harsh and unsettled, the current working against him as he struggled to get over to where he’d seen Bryce submerge. The cold of the sea around his still clothed body did not affect him, however, his skin was always icy cold either way, but he hadn’t drank yet that day, so the weakness was beginning to set into his bones. He couldn’t keep walking against the current much longer, but, after what felt like a lifetime, he was able to dive under. He saw his friend’s body, limp and slowly sinking. Bryce’s eyes were closed, only tiny air bubbles leaving his lips. Solis’s heart sank to his stomach and jumped to his throat at the same time, his feelings conflicted as he wrapped a long arm around Bryce’s middle and began to pull him to the surface. It was worrying how little Bryce was responding to him, not even attempting to swim at all.

Solis quickly surfaced, gasping for air as he gripped Bryce tight and began to swim, begin careful to keep his friend’s head above the waves. Bryce’s head rolled limply to rest on his shoulder, the rest of his body staying slack within the waves. Solis could faintly hear his sisters scream as he neared the shore of the mainland and pulled Bryce up onto it. But, Solis wasted no time in tearing Bryce’s hooded jumper off him and placing an ear to his chest.

The heartbeat was slow, but it was there. However, the problem was that the chest itself was not moving. Bryce was not breathing. Not giving a damn about his sister’s frantic sobs or Sen’s constant questions, not even caring about the several sets of eyes resting upon the two, Solis leant down and began to breathe for his friend, filling the strained lungs with air.

It took several, slow, painful minutes, but Solis’s heart fluttered with relief as Bryce began to cough and splutter, expelling the water from his lungs. He slowly rolled onto his side in order to stop himself choking on the water, and then slowly lay his head down on the soil below.

“Bryce? Bryce are you alright? Talk to me.” Solis ordered, gently but firmly holding Bryce’s face to make him look at him.

Bryce’s cocoa eyes blinked tiredly, his skin taken on a horrible ashen gray tone, dark shadows below his eyes from the weakness that had overtaken his body. Slowly but surely, Bryce nodded his head.

“Mmhmm, I am fine..”

Serenity dropped to her knees beside Bryce, kissing his pale face furiously while tears poured down her face, her pink cheeks flushed with the salty water that irritated them. “Bryce White you complete idiot! I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!” She exclaimed, before throwing her small body down onto Bryce’s chest and sobbing freely into the soaked fabric of his shirt. “Do not do that to me again.”

Slowly lifting his arm up, grunting slightly at the sudden weight that his flesh had seemed to take on, Bryce rested his hand on Serenity’s head, gently stroking at the blonde locks that flowed down her back in a soothing motion, struggling to keep his eyes open as he attempted to calm her violent sobs.

“Shhh, ‘Renity,” he began, his voice thick and heavy. “I am alright, do not cry...”

“You’ve always been a horrible, horrible liar, Bry-chan! If you are not alright, I’ll make Hilda pay you a visit, you hear me?” She sobbed, trying hard to sound threatening through the heartbreaking shakes.

Bryce’s lips slowly turned up into a smile, winking weakly towards the girl. “Lovely, I’ve missed Hilda.” He replied to her, the smile turning into a sly grin as she giggled, choking on her sobs as they began to die down. “Do not worry, ‘renity, I’ll be fine. I just wanna sleep now...” He began to slur, eyes slowly closing again.