Intrinsical - Lani Woodland [43]
He had stopped fiddling with my dress in an attempt to untangle it, and he was now gaping at me, his eyes filled with horror. I was about to ask what was wrong when I saw it— the familiar darkness I had seen attack Brent on the first day and that attacked me only a week later as I walked back to my dorm.
We had to get out of here. Whipping my head to the right, I saw the light that had nearly blinded me seconds before. They were both there, and they both were coming for me on opposite sides, the warm inviting light contrasting starkly with the oppressive, heavy darkness that felt thick like tar.
The mist had changed; it was now more massive than before and infinitely more terrifying as its merciless edges moved toward me. I cowered back from the darkness, reaching for Brent, and threw my arms around his neck, clinging so tightly he winced.
“You’ll be okay. Do you hear me?” Brent asked. I nodded weakly. “Hold tight,” Brent commanded. “Swim.”
“I’m stuck,” I protested.
He frowned as he shook his head sadly. “No, not anymore. Swim!”
I was confused, but I decided to leave the details for later and just trust him. His arms were around me and with what little strength I had, I kicked, trying to help, wondering when I had become untangled.
Brent did most of the work as we swam for the surface, leaving both the light and darkness below. We emerged and Brent helped me out of the water, where I sat trembling on the ladder, staring straight ahead, rocking back and forth. The pool was now calm and the warring factions of dark and light had disappeared beneath the crystal surface.
“That was so close,” I whispered, afraid to admit how near I had come to dying. Bile rose in my throat and I bent over, dry-heaving so violently that my spine cracked and neck popped. Finally, when I was no longer nauseated, I opened my eyes to find the world around me had changed.
Everything was exquisite: the colors were richer, the edges were crisper, and yet every object also had a soft glow emanating from it. I wondered for a second if the mixture of chlorine and oxygen deprivation had messed with my vision.
“Let’s not sit so close to the water. Okay?” Brent suggested soothingly, interrupting my reverie. Silently he cradled me in his arms and led me away from the edge to a chair in the corner of the room.
That’s when the shock kicked in. Brent kept his arms firmly around me while trails of tears started down my cheeks. Sobs I couldn’t control escaped from my chest. I clung to him, squeezing my eyes shut, my pulse sprinted at world record speed. My heart seemed abnormally calm though; it should have been pounding from the adrenaline and exhaustion, but it was quiet.
“Are you okay?” Brent whispered into my hair.
I started to nod but then shook my head. “No. But give me a minute to sit and I will be, thanks to you.” I swallowed. “Brent, there’s something that I need to tell you. Ever since before I came to Pendrell, I’ve been having this reoccurring nightmare. I’m drowning, and there’s a man trying to save me. It was you,” I explained, as Brent sat there looking at me with the wrong expression. I didn’t understand why he looked so sad. Okay, so I was still in shock but after that wore off, I’d be fine. I gulped and a smile of appreciation spread across my face. “But tonight I didn’t drown,” I said. “You saved me.”
The seconds ticked by as he sat on the ground next to my chair, fiddling with the untucked ends of his shirt. “Uh . . . Yara,” he started, lifting my chin so his eyes bored into mine. “There is something I have to tell you.”
The scraping of the door and the lights flickering on drew my attention to Cherie and Steve walking into the pool house. I squinted at the sudden brightness, smiling at the sight of my friends, trying to figure