Slim: Book 6

To Be Needed

The humid warmth became oppressive, pressing against my mouth like a cotton wad. The ending of the slide came with a burst of sunlight and air, shooting me out in a spray of ruby. As far as I could see was red water, dark, with chunks of clotted blood floating on the surface. The children played in it as though they didn't see a thing, their skins stained and their mouths drinking in the too-thick, red liquid like it was milk. People lounged in pools once filled with water, now no more, looking every bit like the victims of a murder scene. Underscored by this garish scene, the gray clouds that had covered the sky since this morning took on a smoky pallor.

The blood swallowed me whole. It felt like blood: thick, warm, filling my mouth with copper rust.

Just as I clawed my way to the surface, screaming, a large body came out-too soon-and into the back of my head and shoulders.

The next thing I knew I was staring up at Naru as he pulled away from my mouth, his pale face putting at odds the light gray of the sky behind it. His dark blue eyes shivered on me. My chest ached awfully beneath his hands, as though someone had lain a couch across me.

Then I was fighting for breath, coughing and vomiting water-blessed water. He helped me sit up, but his attention was to someone behind me.

"I could sue you for this."

"I swear the lifeguard told me it was okay to go," said the voice of one of the boys I had been talking to before.

"And it wasn't like he told him to go right after, it was, like, the usual time you wait, you know?" said the other.

"No," said Naru flatly, and before I could catch my breath to say anything, his arms slipped beneath my knees and shoulders and lifted me. As he did so, I managed to catch sight of the small crowd we had attracted, including a young female life guard who had her hands raised to stop him.

"Please, sir, will you allow me to check on her condition to see whether we need to call an ambulance or not? Please?"

Naru ignored her. He ignored me as well as I weakly kicked my feet to be free, but I wasn't certain I could walk anyways even if he had. My head still spun from loss of oxygen.

"I'm really sorry!" cried the boy Naru had threatened.

"It was just an accident," I said, though my cough-abused throat didn't manage to say it too loud. "Naru, calm down, I'm fine."

"We're going home."

"What? Come on, it was just an accident."

"Humor me. I wasn't enjoying myself anyways."

"Then at least put me down, you're causing a scene!"

He did so, but we had reached the locker rooms anyways. I wobbled a bit as blood rushed away from my brain to my legs, and he caught me with narrowed eyes.

"I leave you alone for one minute-"

I throw off his arm, irked. "I don't need you to babysit me. It was just an accident, it could have happened to anyone." He didn't need to know about the blood. I didn't want him to know. I could already see that it had just been in my head, as the spring waters had turned back to normal, and all the patrons didn't look like Saw extras anymore.

"But it keeps happening to you. Paranormal work isn't suppose to be this dangerous, and yet with you around it is."

"There's nothing paranormal about this, and we're not at work! This is just an ordinary accident, okay? Honestly, you're so embarrassing!"

And doing my best not to notice the stares, or the female lifeguard who had followed but feet away and now looked honestly sorry for me, I all but fled into the women's locker room. Skipping the shower, I dried, shoved my clothes on, and all but stomped past Naru at the exit. I was set on not speaking a word to him all the way back to the hotel, but my locked car door stopped me. When Naru didn't unlock it, just stood on the other side of the car, looking at me as though expecting me to say something, I snapped for what he wanted.