My lungs burned, I flailed my arm helplessly. I was trapped, plummeting further and further into the bottomless depths of dark water. I cried for help, losing what little air I had in the process. I was scared, I was confused, I was regretful. How had it come to this, how did I end up here?
I looked up, hoping against all odds to find help, to encounter a saint, someone to pull me out. I saw echoes of distant light above, the harder I tried to reach it the greater the distance progressed between me and the surface. I knew how to swim, yet I couldn't pull myself up. Perhaps it was the lack of air in my lungs. My lungs they burned so much, they ached, they begged me, scraped at me to breathe in and relieve their pressure.
Something was pulling me in, I resolved the thought in my delirium. The lack of oxygen was shutting me down, my mind was shutting down. Wait, my mind, how had I forgotten. With renewed hope I fought my eyes open and reached in. I expected to grab the familer psychic fabric of the veil, yet I felt nothing. It was gone, my last chance at survival gone.
It couldn't end like this. I did not want to die. There was still so much I wanted to do, so much I had yet to discover. So many people I wanted to see again. My family, I wanted to cook for them again, I wanted to answer their silly questions again.
I lost it, I lost the will to push on. I granted my burning lungs their wish. I openedy mouth and watched as the breath I struggled to hold bubbled away. The sight of the bubbles drifting towards the distant light is the last thing I saw. The watery darkness swallowed me, never to see the light again.
I was gone, I died.
*Gasp* I jolted from my sleeping bag, gulping down large mouthfuls of air. The shock led to hyperventilation and then to self reflection. I had air in my lungs, I had life. Everything else ceased to matter. It was a dream, an awful dream. I'd had this dream before, but not like this, never this detailed, never this vivid. I surveyed the tent, everyone was still sleeping. Tobias was sweating, the discomfort clear on his face. I wondered if he would every get over it.
Unzipping the flap I stepped outside. Downing more air into my lungs, I reached into my mind once more. The comfort and relief of felt when the veil snapped back grounded me. The tears I held back finally seeped through. With my mind fully seated, I finally gave attention to the strange sensations that began when I woke up. My body itched all over, the veil was vibrating, quivering.
I ran my nails over my hands and chest but it brought me no relief. 'There is no need to panic. I just need to focus.' I withdrew into myself focusing on the strange tremors, something was resonating, something was calling me. Without opening my eyes I walked, I followed the direction the tremors felt strongest. I walked for a few kilometers through the winding forest dodging trees, branches and loose rock. I heard the sound of waves, the sound of rippling water.
I stood at the shore of the lake, overlooking the dark water. The moonless sky added to my unease and the dream I just woke up from intensified my fear. 'What is that?' far into the lake a strange mist blanketed it. And in the mist a large structure stood erect. It was to far to reach with the veil, but the more I strained my weak eyes the more detail I made out.
It was a house. There was a cottage on the lake, two floors and an attic. It made no sense, maybe I was seeing things.I thought to pinch myself but there was no need. The intensified itch on my skin and maddening buzz of the veil told me this was real.
The longer I gazed at it, the more detail the mist gave away. The small porch in front and the stained wood it was made with. Without much thought, I took a step forward, my feet struck the water and sank into the soft, slick mud underneath. I'd barely taken three steps when I heard a rustle in the trees behind me.
I was startled, I was paying little attention to my surroundings. A brief glance at the trees behind me and it was gone. The mist, the wooden cottage both gone. 'No! No!! No!' just a short lapse in the attention I gave it and it vanished. Felling utterly defeated I lowered my hands into the water, scooping it up to wash my face. I stretched the veil while I did, sure enough there was someone else here. She walked towards me with unsteady steps, clearing the tree line and coming to a halt at the shore. I met her blank, unsteady gaze, I didn't really know her, but I was sure she was in my class.
"Why are you here?" I waited for minutes but her reply never came, she just stared at me. Now I was concerned, taking caution I exited the water and approached her. Even though I got closer there was no change, her behavior was odd. "Hey are you feeling alright?" She looked fine to me, just a bit rough and dirty from trekking through the woods. Just in case I gave her a quick once over with the veil. Everything was fine, except from the sprained ankle. I called out a few more times but got no response. Out of options I did the one foolish thing Tobias taught me, I grabbed her shoulders and shook her.
Was it unwise, yes. Did it work, yes. Her eyes regained some awareness, but she was mostly out of it. "Are you alright?" I asked once more. "Umm...augh..I..I'm f-fine." Her words were sloppy, her focus waning. "I'm going to take you back to camp." She responded with a nasal grunt. I guided her back to camp, making sure to tuck her arm over my shoulder. We stumbled along through the trees. She was heavy and she offered me little help in carrying her. Out of breath and mentally exhausted I reached the camp and sighed.
I was compelled to write a long essay detailing my craving for my bed or the hard floor that took its place. Coming to the end of the common area I stopped and released her from my grip. She wobbled but managed to stay standing. "We made it to the camp. Can you get yourself to your tent?" Her delirious eyes shifted between myself and the campsite. She wobbled for a bit then affirmed with a shaky nod. I was relieved, I wanted to avoid as much drama as possible, walking in with a stumbling girl late at night wouldn't be the best.
I watched as she stumbled forward going deeper into the camp. It filled me with anxiety, there was a risk of her falling headfirst into a stone. I stood there watching until she disappeared behind the sea of tents and bushes. The only explanation I had for her behavior was sleeping walking, but that couldn't explain it properly. How could she walk for several kilometers and sprain her ankle without waking up. Maybe she was using drugs, I couldn't be sure.
I entered my tent, crawled into my sleeping bag and closed my eyes. Sleep did not in come quickly, the series of strange events that happened this night were far too intriguing. The dream, the strange misty cottage and the girl I met, I felt like they were all connected. I failed to deduce how she tied into all this but I had a premonition that this was only the beginning. As for the dream, was the water symbolic. The lake also rested on water, maybe that was the missing piece. No not entirely, it played a part, but something else was at play.
Then there was the cottage, I mauled over it's design but nothing was truly peculiar about it. It seemed like something that you would see in the usual suburban neighborhood. So the mist, it was definitely special and it was definitely tied to the cottage. I gave up this was much too stressful. Any theory that I came up with sounded more stupid than the last. I coiled even tighter into my sleeping bag and thought of recipes and desserts slowly lulling myself to sleep.
****
He walked through the dark forest with a smile on his face, it was barely held together though. He hadn't planned to spend the night at the lake shore, now he had to make the long trek back to camp wet, cold and covered in mud.
"They are always so nosey. Never truly keeping to themselves." He stopped for a moment to pen down something in a damp booklet. The encounter let him drained, it threatened to put a halt to his fun.
"Why bother, I came here to relax. Besides I still have good old Lukehiem to keep me company. The trip is sure to be enjoyable with him here." He muttered something else to himself, lost in thought then stopped again to laugh. "We're going to have so much fun."