- 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐄𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐃 𝐎𝐅 𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐍! seven

" they had to go so soon " — 🎃

jonah coughed and choked as his mind swirled. he lifted his hands in front of him, seeing nothing but a harsh blur. he harshly rubbed at his eyes, attempting to rid of his blocked vision. the yells of the others were muffled, almost as if he had been trapped underwater. it all felt so real, and that's what it was.

jonah pulled on the cap, covering the brunet locks that sat upon his head. he stood on the wet tile in red swim shorts and no shirt. he felt through his swim bag, pulling out purple goggles. he slipped them over his head, snapping them against his eyes with a pained grimace. he took the towel over his shoulder into his hands and threw it down onto the chair.

jonah stretched his arms, bending forward to stretch the muscles in his back. the familiar screech of his coach's whistle sounded through the chlorine congested air, echoing off of the walls, surely hurting everyone's ears. "line up!" the coach yelled, a few swim team members making their way to the diving board.

jonah fist bumped his friend with a smile, stepping up onto the hard surface of his own board. he got into position, ready to dive into the chilled waters of the pool.

there's a reason you gave this up, jonah. you remember, don't you?

jonah stuck his pointer finger into his ear, wiggling it around as to unclog it. although, he hadn't been in the water yet. the voice was muffled, almost incoherent. but, jonah could hear what the deep voice had said. it sent chills down his spine. he knew that voice, but couldn't put the voice to a face or name.

he shook his head, focusing on the calm waters in front of him. they wouldn't be calm for long, however. the booming voice of his coach echoed along the walls, almost making it seem as though it was loud enough to ruffle the waters of the pool. jonah stares into the blue, seeing much more than his reflection.

he saw horror, but the imagery was gone in a split second. jonah rubbed at his eyes, letting out a small cough that had crept up on him. he swore he could hear faded screams as he saw the image in the water. perhaps he should've gotten more sleep the nights prior, as deprivation was finally taking a toll.

let's twist this story a bit, shall we?

"what?" the brunet wondered aloud, confusion laced in his voice. "frantzich, have something important to say in the middle of my instructions?" his coach asked, an assertive tone in his voice. "no, sir. i apologize." he spoke, shaking his head once more. for the next few moments, he listened to his coach's instructions.

a little race against his teammates was always fun. surely, he would win. he's the best on the team. and so, jonah tilted his head down to his right ankle. there, lying against his skin, was an anklet given to his by his grandfather. he kept it for good luck, as that's what it had always brought. with a competitive smile on his face, jonah adjusted his position.

after a few short seconds, the whistle blew and him and his teammates were diving into the now raging waters. jonah stroked and stroked and stroked until he tapped the other side. thus, he began his way back. he took a quick glance around, just barely making out the figures swimming beside him. surely, he'd win.

"down!" his coach yelled, everyone following his directions. this, was an aspect of swimming jonah didn't exactly excel at. that one word meant for the rest of the way, no matter where in the pool you were at, you must swim under water all the way back. this was created in hopes of increasing the amount of time you could stay under.

jonah swam as fast as he could, kicking his legs and moving his arms. he watched with determination as he got closer and closer to the wall. his heart rate quickened as adrenaline rushes through his body. he had this, until he didn't. suddenly, he felt himself get held back. a jolt of panic surged through him as he attempted to continue, but his foot was stuck.

his anklet has gotten caught on a small hook sticking out of the drain. jonah pulled and pulled, hoping to at least get free, perhaps break the chain. of course, in the end he would break it and come up for air.

but i said we'd switch things up, didn't i?

the voice was louder this time as jonah screamed under water. his chest hurt as he needed to breathe. he had to breathe, but he didn't want to die. not yet.

too bad.

unable to handle the pressure against his chest any longer, jonah inhaled water. he choked and coughed, and choked some more until he was unresponsive.

what a shame.

"stop it!" gabbie cried, watching as eben held jonah in a chokehold so strong, he could not escape. thus, jonah was unresponsive. "ugh!" tate screamed as she plunged a knife into eben's neck, the only thing she could think to do. nobody leaves unharmed if they've harmed her lover. "fuck you, fuck you, fuck you!" she cried, terror in her voice as both eben and jonah fell to the floor.

tate sat down, tears spilling down her cheeks as she set her head against jonah's chest as she always had. but this time, she couldn't calm down to the sound of his steady heart beat. with tears trailing down their own cheeks, corbyn and daniel allowed gabbie into their hold. she cried loudly into daniel's chest.

"such a shame they had to go so soon." he spoke softly, kissing the girls head as he gripped corbyn's hand tightly. "i'll do my very best to keep you guys safe."