Under the Floorboards

Chapter 6: drowning

The panic on Nina's face instantly reflects to mine. Chase gargles at the air, spitting out water as he wraps his clumsy hands around his throat. We all scramble to his aid, a frenzy begins. Tears stream down Nina's puffy cheeks, Chase removes one of his hands from his throat in surrender as he reaches for hers. She laces her fingers into his, bawling as he crashes to his knees.

Suddenly, water droplets drip onto the bridge of my nose. Chase spits a mouthful of water out as he desperately breathes in a mouthful of air.

"Oh my god. Babe, you are okay!" Nina squeezes him in a hug as her shaky voice fills with relief. She cries into his shoulder as he cries into hers, their arms are wrapped around each other.

I glance over at Mark, he's already looking at me. "You felt it, too?" I shiver.

"I might not get another chance to do this," He whispers as a heavier droplet hits me. He runs to me, his hands wrap around me and our lips connect. And now, we are kissing.

It isn't an "I love you so much and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you" kind of kiss. It is the desperate, forced "I hope we make it out of here alive because I don't know how much longer I will be able to take this" kind of kiss. My heart shatters as soon as our lips break away. A shot of pain strikes me in the chest as I take in my first breath of air since we had begun kissing.

The water comes down harder now, almost like rain. In a way, it relieves me that it makes my tears less obvious. I feel weak and helpless. The weight of the world is slung over my shoulders, weighing me down with every drop of water.

The room slowly fills with water as we all step wearily through the tiny waves. My legs wobble as I prepare myself for the next challenge. Time flies, I'm only minutes away from running out of air.

"Your fear is drowning?" I ask with sympathy.

"Yes. I'm sorry you guys have to go through this with me," Chase sighs with remorse.

"Hey. No, it's okay. This isn't your fault. We are all in this together," I explain to him. Mark furrows his eyebrows and squeezes my hand.

The water is to my waist now, the bottom half of my body is drenched with water. Nina is still wrapped around Chase, almost as if they're saying their goodbyes.

All at once, I am lifted off the ground, my leg kick the water. We float upwards, breathing steadily as the water rises. I can't touch the ground anymore, unless I go under. I have only seconds left. I lift my chin up as I gasp my last breath of air and the water swallows my face.

Once I am under, everything is silent. I open my eyes and look into the water. I just have to hold out for a little longer, I'll make it through this. I sink to the floor, my knees curl to my chest as I feel my hair run freely into the water. Little bubbles float around my eyesight, clouding my view. My eyes meet with Marks, he is only inches away. I swim to him and lace my fingers into his. We stare at each other desperately, counting as the seconds tick by. It has to have been at least a minute. I feel my lungs trying to work as they slowly shut down. I hear the pounding of my heart, feeling it in my head. Though I'm not moving, I feel the burn in my muscles as the blood begins to pump slower. My heart slows and my skin wrinkles. I begin to go numb, red spots appear in my vision. But it isn't the red spots that worry me.

Across the room, Chase opens his mouth in search of air. His eyes bulge as he gives up. Nina cups her free hand over her mouth, shutting her eyes as she squeezes his hand. I know he won't find the air he's looking for, I know his lungs are filling with water. It's terrible to watch, the loss of another.

He squirms in the water, desperately spinning in every direction. As he fumbles around in the hope of keeping his life, a low thumping sound shoots through the water as his head slams into the wall. The last bubbles flow from his mouth as his body stops squirming. Nina opens her mouth, screaming at the water as she weeps and chokes.

I bury my face into Mark's neck, the water drains quickly. Chase's floating body sinks to the ground, the only thing that keeps him somewhat near is the fact that Nina is still holding his pale hand. His lips are now purple, his once lively blue eyes now dull grey. Nina screams in pain, crying into his chest.

"No. No, wake up. Chase, it's okay. We can get through this together, just come back," she screams as she pounds her fists onto his chest. Nothing happens.

I cough and spit, everyone else does the same. The air filling the pain in my chest, though it's still there. It isn't physical pain, more so the fact that I feel the loss of another friend. I sigh as I bury myself into Mark, crying into his neck.

"I can't take this anymore," I weep into his ear. I feel him nod as he strokes my back, his fingers tremble.

Nina's screams and whines still bounce through the air, burning a hole into my head.

I lift my head up just before he's gone, watching as Nina laces her fingers into his shirt, holding him still as he slowly fades away. "I love you. I love you forever," she whispers as he fades into the air. Just like Arizona, he's gone. He vanished into the air, blowing away into nothing. Nina sobs into the vacant space where he once was as the rest of us cry in silence.

We won't all make it out of here alive. Any one of us could die at any second. I may never see anyone again, or anything for that matter. For all I know, I could be the next to die. Though, I will gladly die in the place of the others at any given moment.

The pain and loss is too much, my body is still numb as I sit still and stare blankly at the plain wall. The noises of Nina in pain fade into the background as I block it out.

And then I hear Zane scream and time unfreezes as I bring myself back from the blank space that was trying to swallow me.