Drowning

I

The Sea Caves

Our story is about a small town and the people who belong to it. From a distance, it presents itself like so many other small towns all over the globe.

Harmless, Innocent, Ordinary.

But as you get closer, you start to see the dark, broken pieces lying underneath. Our small town is called Holden, A city of only 2,000 residents, four dinners, two markets, and one high school.

The story starts on June 13th, when two best friends, Shawn Anderson and Quinn Monteith, decided to go out for a late-night swim in the Caspian Sea Caves.

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"It's late, Shawn, are you sure we should be down here?" Asked Quinn. "The tide is going to rise at any time now."

The Caspian Sea Caves are the main attraction in Holden. Though not many people visit our small broken town, the ones who do are always shocked. The myth is that in 1899, just before the new year came, four friends came to the caves to swim. Once the clock struck midnight, one friend, Caspian, ducked his head under the water but never rose for air again. They say that his soul is forever engraved into these very stone walls.

"It's fine, Quinn. I checked the tide before we came. It is not supposed to rise for an hour or two," said Shawn, slipping closer to the dark, cool water. Using her phone as a flashlight, Quinn followed him hesitantly.

The murky water only came up just past their waist, and the dark, scummy stone roof above their heads by just a few feet.

"See?" Said Shawn, "It's not too bad. It's quite nice down here at night." He shuffles around to find a slimy boulder under the water to sit on.

"I guess," said Quinn. She looks around, inspecting her surroundings.

Out of the two of them, Quinn had always been the cautious one. Unlike Shawn, who enjoys diving into adventures head first, Quinn will take her time, making sure the situation is safe and dependable.

"I still do not think that being down here is the best idea; especially this late at night," said Quinn. "I mean, what if something happened to one of us? No one else is down here to assist us on our way back up to the shore." She tucks her long, blonde hair behind her ear and takes another step forward into the tenebrous water.

"It will be fine, Quinn. We both know how to climb back to shore, and we will keep a close eye at the time, to make sure we do not get caught in the tide when it rises," said Shawn. He pulls himself out of the water and climbs on all-fours up on top of a slippery hill of rocks.

"How deep do you think the water is over here?" Queried Shawn. He stands up carefully and points farther into the dark cave system.

"I know what you are about to do, Shawn, and it is not safe to jump off the rocks into the water," Quinn told him, crossing her arms and rolling her eyes. "Seriously, are you trying to get yourself killed?"

Shawn's face drops as he slides back into the water next to Quinn. He side-eye glances at her with a disapproving face. "Since when are you in charge of my actions? I only asked how deep the water was," he stated.

"First of all, I am not in charge of you, second of all, I'm just trying to make sure that we will both be alive and healthy, tomorrow," said Quinn.

Shawn pushes off underwater and starts the long swim into the murky, darkness. Sighing, Quinn trails behind him slowly. She knows that for safety reasons they should stick together.

"What did I just tell you, Shawn?" Quinn asked.

"I'm not going to jump, I just want to swim," he responds. Taking a deep breath of humid air, he submerges his shoulders and head under the water's surface.