and a lot
of luck, Dad would be passed out. Mom only had to make lunch–and crush them
into his soup.
I'd
bring our bags in the mornings, with Jake meeting me in the school parking lot
to pick them up. In the meantime, Jake would be busy putting extra locks on the
door and adding locks to the windows of the apartment. After a day or two, Mom
would file a restraining order.
I also promised
Jake the covert operation would stay between the three of us–no Zander
involvement.
The cold
sneaking into the shower jogged me back to reality. Hopefully, this reality
would only last until Friday.
After a
quick towel-dry, I went through the usual bed-prepping routine.
Blankets
in place and alarm set.
I curled
into the usual position and tried to force Him's image into my mind. New
Zander might be my boyfriend–still weird saying that–but he didn't have the
same effect on my nerves like dream guy. Him always made me feel safe
when life got too overwhelming. He'd–
Time
to leave.
Oh, no…
Fear
made me dizzy as the bed began to pitch and roll. Water slapping rubber filled
the room as massive waves rocked my body, trapping me on the bed. Damp hair
knotted around my face and neck. I cleared some of the tangled barrier from my
mouth and inhaled until my lungs were full.
As quickly
as the bed began to move, it stopped, the bed going completely still.
Shock
glued me to the mattress while I gulped in air, eyes eating up the ceiling. "What
the hell?"
Before I
could explain anything away, the rubber mattress expanded and lifted, circling
my waist, my chest, wrapping around my mouth.
Struggling
made the hold tighter as I sank deeper. The smell of the old rubber pressed
into my nose, making me choke on vomit. Water silenced everything while it
filled my ears and mouth, the bed absorbing me. The ceiling hovered above, the
usual gray rubber mattress now clear.
I
pounded on the top, the freezing water slowing my strength. My lungs wanted to
burst, but I urged them to hold on a while longer as I swam what felt like
yards from one end to the other searching for a weak spot. When I found the
mattress plug, I pushed on it until it popped. A small pocket opened around the
valve, and I held my mouth up to it. Stingy gulps of stale air eased the burn
in my chest.
This
isn't happening!
A tug on
my leg yanked me away from the precious air before I could get enough. My body
sped downward, the top of the bed fading and disappearing. Pressure built in my
ears and pressed on my chest. The deeper I went, the more desperate I became. I
kicked at the hold, feeling nothing solid even though whatever it was dug into
my ankle.
My body
almost imploded under the pressure, but I finally surfaced in a calm, warm river
no deeper than three feet. Stunned, I looked around, pushing hair out of my
eyes.
Soft
sounds of running water caught my attention. I turned to confront it, losing my
balance for a second before planting my feet on the smooth riverbed.
A
waterfall, a hundred feet high, hid between jagged cliffs. Water didn't come
crashing on the rocks, though. It glided over them, caressed them, like a slow
trickle tapping the basin of a sink. The water was an odd color, too,
fluorescent blue but as translucent as glass.
The
river separated mossy banks with forests as thick as a state park. Sounds of
animals bounced off the bright leaves and sturdy trunks. The same type of frantic
sounds I'd heard during a sixth grade field trip to the Philly zoo right before
a thunderstorm ripped through. Wherever I was, industrialization hadn't reached
it yet.
The
brilliance terrified me. Once I soaked it in, I screamed louder than the noises
haunting the woods.
"Hello?"
I turned in a full circle, afraid to leave the water. "Is anyone there?"
The
heightening sounds of animals answered.
Raising
my voice higher, I tried again. "Help me, somebody!"
No
humans hollered back, just the shrill calls from those animals. God, if the
creatures were as exaggerated as the
of luck, Dad would be passed out. Mom only had to make lunch–and crush them
into his soup.
I'd
bring our bags in the mornings, with Jake meeting me in the school parking lot
to pick them up. In the meantime, Jake would be busy putting extra locks on the
door and adding locks to the windows of the apartment. After a day or two, Mom
would file a restraining order.
I also promised
Jake the covert operation would stay between the three of us–no Zander
involvement.
The cold
sneaking into the shower jogged me back to reality. Hopefully, this reality
would only last until Friday.
After a
quick towel-dry, I went through the usual bed-prepping routine.
Blankets
in place and alarm set.
I curled
into the usual position and tried to force Him's image into my mind. New
Zander might be my boyfriend–still weird saying that–but he didn't have the
same effect on my nerves like dream guy. Him always made me feel safe
when life got too overwhelming. He'd–
Time
to leave.
Oh, no…
Fear
made me dizzy as the bed began to pitch and roll. Water slapping rubber filled
the room as massive waves rocked my body, trapping me on the bed. Damp hair
knotted around my face and neck. I cleared some of the tangled barrier from my
mouth and inhaled until my lungs were full.
As quickly
as the bed began to move, it stopped, the bed going completely still.
Shock
glued me to the mattress while I gulped in air, eyes eating up the ceiling. "What
the hell?"
Before I
could explain anything away, the rubber mattress expanded and lifted, circling
my waist, my chest, wrapping around my mouth.
Struggling
made the hold tighter as I sank deeper. The smell of the old rubber pressed
into my nose, making me choke on vomit. Water silenced everything while it
filled my ears and mouth, the bed absorbing me. The ceiling hovered above, the
usual gray rubber mattress now clear.
I
pounded on the top, the freezing water slowing my strength. My lungs wanted to
burst, but I urged them to hold on a while longer as I swam what felt like
yards from one end to the other searching for a weak spot. When I found the
mattress plug, I pushed on it until it popped. A small pocket opened around the
valve, and I held my mouth up to it. Stingy gulps of stale air eased the burn
in my chest.
This
isn't happening!
A tug on
my leg yanked me away from the precious air before I could get enough. My body
sped downward, the top of the bed fading and disappearing. Pressure built in my
ears and pressed on my chest. The deeper I went, the more desperate I became. I
kicked at the hold, feeling nothing solid even though whatever it was dug into
my ankle.
My body
almost imploded under the pressure, but I finally surfaced in a calm, warm river
no deeper than three feet. Stunned, I looked around, pushing hair out of my
eyes.
Soft
sounds of running water caught my attention. I turned to confront it, losing my
balance for a second before planting my feet on the smooth riverbed.
A
waterfall, a hundred feet high, hid between jagged cliffs. Water didn't come
crashing on the rocks, though. It glided over them, caressed them, like a slow
trickle tapping the basin of a sink. The water was an odd color, too,
fluorescent blue but as translucent as glass.
The
river separated mossy banks with forests as thick as a state park. Sounds of
animals bounced off the bright leaves and sturdy trunks. The same type of frantic
sounds I'd heard during a sixth grade field trip to the Philly zoo right before
a thunderstorm ripped through. Wherever I was, industrialization hadn't reached
it yet.
The
brilliance terrified me. Once I soaked it in, I screamed louder than the noises
haunting the woods.
"Hello?"
I turned in a full circle, afraid to leave the water. "Is anyone there?"
The
heightening sounds of animals answered.
Raising
my voice higher, I tried again. "Help me, somebody!"
No
humans hollered back, just the shrill calls from those animals. God, if the
creatures were as exaggerated as the
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