✓ LET ME IN, elmax

NINE: THE SWIMMING POOL

CHAPTER NINE
( the swimming pool! )

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   AFTER THE STRANGE ENCOUNTER WITH JANE IN THE BASEMENT, MAX PATCHED UP HER HAND AND HEADED HOME EARLY. she didn't tell any teachers, though, she simply walked out. jane saw max when she got home, and vice versa, but neither wanted to speak.

   well, that's a lie. max was desperate to ask jane about it, while jane was desperate to tell max about it. of course, if she told anyone — especially max — she would have to move immediately to protect herself, bram, and max.

   the next day, max waves to jane as she heads to her mother's car. jane smiles, but doesn't initiate a conversation.

she heads to the bathroom to change into her bathing suit, which is a simple two piece. she takes a deep breath and grabs her towel, then heads to her school's indoor pool. she climbs in slowly, her face scrunching due to the somewhat cold water. however, she adjusts to the water quickly and begins to float around.

the door opens, and in walks in betty, greta, and heather. they smirk at max, who tries to remove her gaze to no avail. they notice this, so betty sends her a cocky wink.

   the group walks over to the edge where max has her arms rested and her head atop her arms. she looks up to them, trying to hide her panic. "hey, maxine!" howls heather, pressing the tip of her sandal to max's forehead, dunking her head underwater for a second. she emerges, coughing and angered. "oops," she cackles.

   max begins to develop a headache, her nose burning from the water. greta steps forward, putting her face awfully close to max's. "say, let's play a little game, alright?" max tries to back away, only to have her hair grabbed in a fist by greta. "not so fast, max! we just wanna play. here's our game. i dunk you under for three minutes-"

   "are you kidding, that'll kill her!" heather replies, panicked.

   "if it does, she loses. if she doesn't, then we leave her alone for the rest of time. deal, max?" before she can reply, max is dunked under water, unable to rise due to the grip on her hair. she starts to swat at greta, who simply dunks her further. her eyes are closed and her nose is scrunched.

this is it.

max begins to stop moving, her headache worsening. the back of her eyes hurt, and everything is slowly going numb, as if it's not real. she doesn't fight back, knowing it'll do nothing. the grip on her hair loosens, greta knowing that max has stopped fighting back.

suddenly, max's hair is let go of and she is tugged up. she feels herself now laying on the cement, but she can't move. she can't hear too well, but she thinks she can hear her name. it's a younger voice, so definitely not coach clarke. it's a feminine voice, too, so it's not will, lucas, dustin, or mike.

it's jane.

she feels a sharp pain in the crook of her neck, causing her to internally yell. something switches in her, and she feels her eyes opening. jane is hovered over her, scared. she smiles when she sees max awake.

max sits up slowly, falling onto jane, who wraps an arm around her shoulders to support her. there's a severed head and arm in the pool, turning the water red. she recognizes it as greta, and she begins to hyperventilate. there's two other scattered heads around, and there's blood and limbs seemingly everywhere.

   it hits max. jane did this, didn't she?

   she nearly passes out when jane stands up, but the latter grabs her and picks her up, leading her to the pile of clothes that are max's.

   "put them on, we have to go," she says, her voice cracking.

( author's note! )

this scene in the 2008 movie,, so powerful