My life jacket instantly pulled me above the surface, and I found myself stuck under the upturned canoe. From outside of it to the right I heard Cass shout an obscenity either at the freezing water or at Brad Monty, whose laughter I could also hear. Right now I was hating Brad Monty too, but I was just about as equally ready to kill Cass for roping us in in the first place. The canoe had hit my head, and no doubt I’d either be finding a big dent or a giant bump there later today.
“Where’s Alex?” Shadow’s voice came from the left of me outside the canoe, a panting gasp that turned into a harsh unsteady breathing. My breaths were awkward too, forced from my chest by my own will and still weak in the chill that made it impossible to say much more than that - forced silent. Except for Cass, who was still throwing out slurred and choppy cusswords through his own panting.
“I-I’m under the canoe,” I managed to call out. My hand reached towards my forehead; I pulled my bangs in front of my face. “C-coming o-out.”
Shadow and Cass both tipped the canoe back to its original position, all of us clinging hopelessly to the sides. “God th-this sucks,” Shadow hissed, his dark hair now managing to be even darker as it was wet. “Cass…R-remind me…to kill you…”
From the other side of the canoe we heard only Cass’s aggravated huff. Abandoning all hopes of getting back onto our boat, we struggled towards the shore, doggy-paddling like there was no tomorrow. The water stung like frost on our bodies and faces. I would’ve rather been swimming in a water-filled refrigerator.
As soon as we reached the shore, I grabbed my towel lying on a large rock and stumbled towards the bathrooms standing in the distance. I winced, realizing that I must’ve bumped my head on the rim of the boat harder than I thought; touching the top of my head, the earth seemed to spiral suddenly. It didn’t matter, I had to go and cover up the mark. I’d kept a tiny container of the cover-up in my towel. I had to get there.
Shadow called me in the distance but I continued to walk. No…maybe not so distant. I heard the pounding of footsteps, and in a second his hand was on my shoulder. “You okay?”
“I…do I not look…okay?” I didn’t have the ability to look up at him, if that was any sign that things weren’t good. My eyes continued to trace the ground, as if looking up would cause someone to pull the earth from me like a rug at my feet.
“You look like you’re going to pass out, go sit down.”
“I’m going to the bathroom to dry off.”
Finally able to look up, I saw that his expression was concerned. “You can dry off here in the sun. Seriously, sit down. You look terrible.”
“No, I…I have to…go…”
“You’re not even talking straight,” he argued.
“Shut up Shadow.”
“I’m just--”
“Shut up Shadow.”
And with that I padded my way down towards the bathrooms, guiding myself along the wall as I reached the small stone building.
Finally my feet seemed to have sunk into the concrete, my bones turned to silt, my entire body a collapsible chair, because with a single step I fell to the ground in a crumpled heap. Through the hazy images that my eyes allowed I saw mere refractions of light and shadows, voices muted to a soft chiming murmur that was somehow soporific. Someone walked forward. Shadow?
“Alex.”
He’d probably actually yelled it, but like the other voices in the distance it instead sounded soft. “Shut up Shadow,” I breathed sing-songingly. My hands trembled on their place on the ground, and I felt him lift one to feel my pulse.
“Don’t sleep, okay? Stay awake. Keep talking to me. Keep telling me to shut up for all I care.”
His hand moved to brush the bangs from my face. I felt as his fingers stopped along my forehead, tracing above my left eye. My heart stopped, and I swear I felt his stop as well.
He traced the symbol twice, in a way that was almost relaxing. The small crescent-moon that circled around my eye.
“Kill me fast Felix,” I whispered, as my eyes closed unwillingly. When he killed me, he couldn‘t be Shadow, but Felix. Not a friend, but merely a monster in my friend’s form. “My dad…”
“Alex.”
“Tell my dad…”
I couldn’t open my eyes. The earth was pulled from beneath me, and instead I was being held in someone’s arms. Maybe moments or minutes passed before I was placed on a leaf-littered ground.
For whatever reason, I think I smiled bitterly. “Killed by the reaper’s son. Lovely.”
~*~
Anyway, I love how you incorporated some humor into your story even in a serious moment, even though you may not have meant tom but your line: "doggy-paddling like there was no tomorrow" had me rolling for a minute haha. That imagery was just as humorous as it gets. Im still laughing at it know haha :-p I loved the way you ended the chapter too, very nice and a little funny. Overall, good chapter. You have great potential!
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