Issue #138 : Refreshed
The water of the pool felt thick as Jackson jumped into it, the coolness immediately cutting through the sweat and discomfort. A small group of kids shrieked, as they scattered out of his way, and he heard the sharp, quick whistle from the lifeguard before he went under. He wasn’t sure if the reprimand was aimed at him or not, but it was probably better to toe the line more carefully.
Jackson looked up at the eighth floor of the hotel, trying to figure out which room was his. He had finally gotten tired of sitting alone in his room, looking out over this magnificent pool. Since he was paying enough to stay here, he might as well take what advantage he could.
He began wading towards the far end of the pool, towards the deeper end. He could get away from the kids, and it looked like the college aged, bikini-clad group from Texas were relaxing over there in the sun. He could pretend to not be watching them, as he moved around in the pool.
His attention to the swimsuits broke, as his feet slipped on the bottom of the pool. He threw his arms up to catch his balance and accidentally splashed water at a few people. He shrugged, sheepishly grinning an apology as he resumed his orbit around the center of the pool.
He slipped again as he walked, his other foot this time, and he wondered what the hotel was greasing the bottom of the pool with. It was definitely a hazard that needed to be fixed. He was starting to think that maybe he should go back to the television in his room, when he slipped again.
Not slipped. His foot had been pulled out from underneath him.
Jackson looked down, ready to kick the little bastard that was grabbing him, but there was no one there. Must have already swam away, but he could still feel that the grip was still present on his ankle, could see the indentations on his skin from something grabbing him. His breath caught, as the water started to swirl around his feet, take shape and form itself into a solid, shimmering, translucent mass. It wrapped around his legs like a kind of python and squeezed, dragging him down.
Jackson was pulled underwater, splashing wildly as he tried to find something to grab on to. At the last second, he drew in as much air as he could, before going completely under.
He looked around wildly from the bottom of the pool, expecting to see the explosion of bubbles and air as one of the lifeguards plunged into the pool to rescue him.
No one appeared.
Jackson swept his arms in massive circles as he tried to swim back to the surface. He could feel the physical weight of the water around his hands but the entity holding on to him merely tightened its grip, pulling him down even deeper.
He was jostled to the side, as someone walked past him. Jackson reached out to grab at them, but just missed, his fingers only brushing against the fabric of the swim trunks, billowing out behind. He thrashed in the water, not understanding why no one was helping him. How was it that no one in the entire pool was noticing what was happening?
Another person walked near him and this time, he was able to make contact, but all they did was swat his hand away. His chest started to burn as he strained upwards.
Then, with no warning, the hold on him vanished and he was propelled upward. He broke the surface of the water and took in one, long gasping breath. He looked around, but before he could use his newly filled lungs to call out for help, the invisible grip reestablished itself and he was pulled down again. He kicked and waved his arms, thrashing in the water, but the hold only grew tighter, and pulled harder.
He was in the deepest part of the pool now, looking up as someone jumped in from the diving board, following the cannonball by obliviously swimming back to the side. The water now felt distinctly like a hand, squeezing his ankle so tightly, that he was starting to lose the sensation in his feet.
The bottom of the pool felt like sandpaper as he scrambled around, trying to find some kind of handhold that he could use to break loose. He pulled himself towards the side as his eyes began to burn from the chlorine. Whatever was holding him seemed to sense what he was doing, and proceeded to pull him to the side, ramming him into the wall. The concrete cut into his shoulders, and he had to fight the urge to call out, and lose what air he had left.
He reached up, to try and get a hold of anything to pull himself up, but each time he did so, his hands were pulled back down. His body started to convulse, beyond his control, as every instinct in him called to open his mouth, to breathe.
Bright light started to flash around him, as the world began to spin. He wasn’t sure which direction was up anymore, and he felt himself start to go limp
The hold on him vanished again and he started floating up, towards the surface. His internal voice screamed out to swim, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. His arms and legs floated uselessly beside him and the last thing he felt before slipping away forever, was the cool sensation of air kissing the back of his neck as it broke the surface.
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