Hidden In The Attic: An AJR Fanfiction

Chapter Three

↤↤↤↤↤ Adam ↦↦↦↦↦

A scream pierces the calm, playful atmosphere, making my head snap up from the book I'm reading. Laughter dies down and everyone in the lake stops moving.

I look around me. Kib is nowhere in sight.

My eyes meet Ryan's. I put down my book and he rips off his towel, standing up from his seated position by the water. Together we sprint in the direction of the screaming, everyone else swimming to the edge of the dock and shouting in concern.

We stop by a small clearing, with a pile of rocks stretching out into the lake. From beyond some high bushes I can see Kib thrashing around in the water, far from the shore, and shouting in fear.

Without hesitation, Ryan hastily hands me his glasses and leaps under the water to swim toward them. I hop onto the rocks and run to the splashing, folding the arm of Ryan's glasses over the collar of my shirt. When I arrive, I look over to see Ryan struggling to pull Kib from the water. He grits his teeth, arms wrapped around their chest.

But suddenly, like magic, the water seems to let go and both of them fly backwards. Ryan's back slams against the rock's jagged edge and he grunts in pain.

"Ryan!" I yell, my voice cracking from distress.

He holds Kib tightly to his body, worried determination masking his face. He sees me and thrusts Kib towards me. They're pale and coughing their lungs out. With strength I didn't know I had, I yank Kib from Ryan's arms and lay them down on the flat rock, trying to be gentle even if the adrenaline is persuading me to do otherwise. Ryan pulls himself from the water and carefully seats himself next to Kib, who is cradled in the fetal position.

None of us say anything for a long time. The only sounds I can hear are our heavy breathing and the water splashing on the rocks behind us. How do you start a conversation after that?

"Damn," says Ryan. Kib and I look up at him. His head is turned to look over his shoulder, his back to us. I suck in air through my teeth to see what he's trying to look at.

"That's uh--" Kib squints. "That's a pretty gnarly wound."

Ryan laughs through gritted teeth, "Thanks, man."

Kib rolls over slightly, grunting in pain. I'm sitting on my knees on the grass just behind the flat rock that Kib and Ryan are on, unsure of what to do. Are they hurt? Do we just sit here until they decide that they're okay?

"Can you swim?" I ask. "What happened?"

Kib looks up from their wrist, which is apparently fascinating to them. They hold it with their other hand and reply, "Yeah, I can swim. I- I don't know. I was looking in the water and something pulled me in."

I look at Ryan, who's still staring at them with concern, his eyebrows furrowed. I stretch my arm out to hand him back his glasses, and he takes them, thanking me quietly. "Something pulled you in?" he asks, putting his glasses back on and adjusting them. "Like... like a fish, or animal, or something?"

They shake their head. "Like, a hand. There was a person's hand at the bottom of the lake, and I put my hand in and it pulled me in." Their eyes stare at the water, unblinking. I gulp, not wanting to believe this.

"Are your eyes okay?" asks Ryan.

"Are you okay?" I lean forward and kiss their forehead, which is still wet with lakewater.

Kib smiles slightly, as I pull away, but it fades quickly. "I don't know what else to say. That's what happened. And my eyes are fine," they add with a glance at Ryan.

He shrugs.

"It's alright," Kib says after a few seconds of silence. "You guys won't believe me. I don't blame you. Let's just go back to the dock."

I don't really want to ignore what just happened, but if Kib does, I will. Maybe they're in shock, or something. That can't be what really happened.

We walk back around the lake and return to the lake, both Ryan and I keep an eye on Kib the whole time. When we get back, everyone who's still in the water is right at the edge of the dock, staring at us in curiosity. They erupt into concerned yells and questions when we all come into view, dripping wet and scared.

"What happened?" Jack asks over the noise, pulling himself up to peer over the edge of the dock.

None of us sit down. I look to Kib, not sure how to explain, but they're silent, too. Ryan speaks after a few seconds.

"Kib fell into the water, so we helped them out," he explains. Kib gives him a subtle look of discontempt, as if annoyed that he didn't tell the truth. Or what they think the truth is.

"It's all good now," I say, sitting back down on the dock. "They're fine."

Everyone eyes both Kib and I for a few more seconds before most of them slowly return to swimming. Danny, Jack and Jay all climb out of the water, though, stealing estranged glances at Kib. They obviously think something is wrong, but they won't speak up about it. I can't blame them. Who would really believe that Kib just fell in? They aren't that stupid. But there really isn't any other explanation. I guess they're just imagining things.