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I scream.
The sound is dull and it only manages to hurt my ears with distorted terror. I’m wasting precious oxygen screaming, precious bubbles of air reminding me I’m still alive.
I’m drowning.
I’m drowning.
I’m drowning.
Another lungful of water and my vision blackens. I’mlightheaded as I try my hardest to swim up to the surface but instead, I’m pulled down by the weight of my clothes, invisible hands dragging me further into the depths. Into the darkness. I fight against the loss of consciousness. I swallow more water.
My limbs grow tired.
I stop resisting …
Air.
Lungfuls of it.
I breathe in so deep that it burns, similar to the water Iknowwas drowning me only a few seconds ago. But considering I’m no longer immersed in water, my mind pitches over the edge of reason once again.
I spring to my feet and swivel around panicking.
Where the hell am I?
Another sunken hole trapping me inside.
Broken blue tiles. A weathered diving board.
The rain batters down on me as I gaze upward to the starless night sky, then back down around me.
I’m standing in an empty pool.
Outside.
In the rain.
I say the words slowly in my head as if repeating them to myself will help contain the crazed feeling clawing against my chest. As if it will help it make sense.
The pool appears to be abandoned. Cracked blue paint reveals cement underneath. And a large puddle of rainwater full of dead leaves sits in the deep end.
Then it clicks.
Hazel’s warning echoes in my ears.
“No one is allowed up there anymore.”
I burst into tears, my body shaking, and I’m not sure if it’s because of the cold rain or the shock of almost drowning. Maybe both.
How could I have almost drowned in an abandoned pool?
My clothes are soaked through and after a few minutes of uncontrollable sobbing, I try to find a way out. I see a door, it’s a few feet away from the pool behind the diving board. Scrambling to the shallow end, I climb out.
My heart plummets out of my chest when I pull on the metal door, and it doesn’t budge. My whine sounds like an injured animal, hysteria digging its claws into me like a lover’s scratch marks. I slam my body into it with all my strength, banging my fists in a rising panic. I try to pull on the door again but my grip slips with the continuous downpour. My sob is a defeated shriek, but I try again, unwilling to stay trapped on this rooftop a second longer. This time, I pull even harder, using my full weight, screaming my hysteria to the sky and the door thankfully creaks open while the sill drags heavily against the cement ground.
The staircase is pitch black, and I only take a few seconds to look for a light I don’t find, before running down the steps, my hands guiding me through the dark until I hit a flat platform. I grope the wall until I find another door, one I pray leads to the upper level of the hotel.
This time the door opens effortlessly, and I let out a sob of relief knowing that I’m at least inside the building, the corridor lights spilling out to greet me.
