Aquarium

"Daddy, look at that!" Josie exclaimed, pointing one of her tiny, pudgy fingers at an octopus.

"Yeah, sweetie!" Her father said, grinning down at the little girl. It was their 3rd day in Florida, and they had decided to go to an aquarium.

"Do you know what that is?" Josie's mother Laura asked. Josie giggled and nodded.

"An octopus!" She explained. Her mother beamed. Josie was only 3, and her mother was pleased about how quickly she had learned about animals. Josie skipped on, her parents walking quickly through seas of people in an attempt to keep up.

"Bill, where's Oli?" Laura asked. Her husband took a quick look around, but his 5 year old son was nowhere to be found. Little Oliver wasn't enjoying the aquarium quite as much as his parents had hoped. He didn't seem to be enjoying it at all, in fact. The two scanned the crowd. There were dozens of families and kids Oli's age.

"Come on, honey," Laura said, finally catching sight of her son's green ball cap. He was standing just a few feet from a glass window that separated the colorful fish from the people peering in at them. He was staring, eyes glassy and fists clenched. Other children swarmed around him, laughing and pointing at the sea creatures, some tapping on the glass despite the signs discouraging such behavior. Oliver didn't respond. He stared into the tank, yet didn't seem fixated on any particular fish. Instead, Oli seemed to be staring intently at nothing.

"Come on," Bill said through clenched teeth. He grabbed Oli by the wrist and pulled him along after Josie and Laura, who were already several feet ahead. Oliver had been fine this entire week. Bill wasn't sure what had gotten into him. Bill and Laura exchanged concerned looks. Maybe it was homesickness. Or maybe Oli wasn't feeling well. Laura pressed her palm on Oliver's forehead. Nothing. No temperature. If anything, Oli's skin felt clammy and cold. Bill ran after Josie, who was attempting to shove her way through a crowd of people in order to catch a glimpse of some eels. He glanced back at Laura.

"Does he feel warm?" He wondered. Laura shook her head.

"Nope, no fever..." She answered. Oliver clung to his mother's arm. His fingers felt like ice and he looked pale. His lips trembled as if he were about to speak, but no sound escaped them.

"What is it, sweetie?"

Oliver didn't answer.

"Don't you want to see the fishies?"

Oliver looked like he was about to cry. Laura didn't expect a meltdown from him. Oli was a good kid. Quiet, calm... sweet. Oliver hadn't had meltdowns in public since he was Josie's age. Something was off. He had to be sick. Maybe it was something he ate? Or perhaps he just wanted to go home. The family hadn't been on a trip this long before. Not since Oliver was born.

"Look!" Laura exclaimed. She pointed out a fish that looked like Nemo in an attempt to make her son smile. Oliver looked where she was pointing. Oli let out a horrified gasp and hid behind his mother's legs. Laura examined where she had pointed, but there was nothing there. Only bright, fake coral and a school of tropical fish.

"What is it, sweetie?" Laura asked, placing a hand on her son's shoulder. He was trembling.

"Who-- Who are they, Mommy?" Oliver questioned, peeking his head out from behind Laura's white capris. He stared up at her, his eyes blue marbles.

"T-they're fish, honey," Laura replied, confused as to why he would ask that. By then, Josie and Bill had disappeared deeper in the aquarium. Oli shook his head.

"W-what?" He stuttered.

"The fish, honey. Like in Finding Nemo," Laura responded. Oliver stared at his mother, dumbfounded.

"Mommy, who are they?" He asked again. His voice shrank.

"Who?" Laura asked. She was getting slightly annoyed now. "Who are who?"

"Them!" Oliver said, pointing at the glass. There was nothing there. Unsure of what to do, Laura took Oliver's hand.

"Let's go find your sister, okay?" She said. Oliver nodded. He was still trembling. The two moved on. As they made their way through schools of people, Oli glanced over his shoulder at the tank. Laura sighed. She didn't want to leave the aquarium. Josie was having such a good time, but Oliver... Something must have spooked him. Laura wasn't sure what had left her son quivering and clinging to her like he was, but she knew the aquarium was the last place he wanted to be.

As Laura and Oliver made their way through the maze of tanks, the crowd thinned. It seemed quieter now. There were fewer and fewer people as they progressed further into the aquarium. Laura was thankful for the change. Oli was shy. Maybe the crowds were stressing him out. Yet as they went on, Oliver's grip on Laura's hand only tightened. Having no luck in the search for Josie and Bill, Laura steered Oli over to an empty bench and whipped her phone out of her oversized purse. There were fewer people now, but Laura didn't notice. She was too busy trying to text Bill, wondering where he was. There was no signal. Laura figured it must be because they were underground. She cursed under her breath. Oli buried his face in his mother's shoulder.

"Damn this thing," Laura muttered, furiously tapping the screen of her cell phone. The chatter of conversation had disappeared completely. The aquarium was now completely void of people and noise, aside from Laura's frustration and the tinkling music that floated from the gift shop. Oliver tightened his fingers around his mother's forearm. Laura looked up.

"Huh," she said. The aquarium seemed bigger, and darker. Or... smaller? Laura couldn't tell. But it was definitely darker.

"They must be closing," Laura said. Her voice was small. The hallways seemed endless. Oli whimpered.

She could see them now. Laura tried to stay calm. To stay logical. This had to be a dream. A dream or a hallucination. What was happening?

The bench was gone.

"It's okay, Oli," Laura said. She was shaking now. Oliver was frozen. His little hands were clasped around Laura's arm like a bear trap. They felt like metal on her skin.

They were everywhere. Figures. Humanoid shapes. It seemed colder. The walls closed in. Were there walls? Laura couldn't remember. Everything felt foreign. She felt a warm sensation spread slowly up her entire body. The figures were closer but she didn't remember seeing them move. The warm feeling spread from her feet up to her knees. She felt like she was moving through molasses. Like when you're in a dream and you're trying to run away or fight whatever is trying to get you, but you can't because every time you move your arms and legs it's like your bones have been replaced with lead.

The warm sensation had spread to Laura's neck, now. She was fully submerged and her perception warped. It was like she was opening her eyes under water, but it didn't sting. She looked around. Shadows of people wandered aimlessly around her. She was under water. She couldn't breathe. But she found that she didn't need to breathe. The woman drifted through the tank, no destination in mind. The shadow of a child clung to her. A little boy. She knew she knew him but she didn't remember how.

She couldn't speak and neither could the boy. None of them could. There was a slight glow in the dark water and the two drifted towards it. There was a window. A window looking into a place where there was no water. The woman pressed her fingers against the glass and peered out into a sea of smiling faces and laughing children. They had something that she did not. She longed for them. Wanted to be like them. None of them saw her. But there was one. A boy, who starred with blue marble eyes underneath a green baseball cap.