Chapter 23 CHAPTER 23
I have very limited knowledge about swimming. Before my sojourn down here, I'd been involved with it when I was still terrified of my hands burning everything and only the pool area calmed me down.
But before being thrown into the ocean, I hadn't been near a large body of water in nearly a decade.
So I could stay afloat, all things being equal.
But when I'm suddenly yanked down from the surface by a tight grip on my ankle, my brain abandoned me.
I was thrust into fight or flight mode, a useless thing considering I couldn't fight, the hold on my leg was too tight and I couldn't run, I was in water.
My swimming abilities went out the back door, and I forgot I was supposed to keep my mouth shut.
I tried screaming, but water assaulted my senses, pouring into my nose, lungs, mouth, and eyes.
All my orifices were filled with glowing blue water and my body was filled with panic.
I could hear the snickers and laughter from above but it sounded so far away
I kicked and thrashed and fought but the hand kept dragging me down.
My other foot finally connected with what felt like a shoulder and the other hand left me.
Weak but propelled by terror, I dove for the surface with urgency.
The second my head broke above water, I spluttered liquid of all kinds from my body, coughing and thrashing, kicking my legs in a bid to run to safety.
But my assailant wasn't done with me.
“What is going on there, Ferguson?!”
How this dumb man managed to get this position in this academy, I couldn't comprehend because he could clearly see what was happening and instead of doing something about it, he was asking me, who was still trying to cough out the horror meted out to me, what was going on.
I'm trying not to die asshole, that's what is going on.
I was getting closer to the edge but still not close enough for my feet to touch the ground when the other students turned around for their last lap, and I finally got the clarity of vision to see that I was in someone's way.
“Hey Ferguson,” I heard a familiar voice behind me, “let me help you move out of the way.”
That was all I heard before I was dragged down to hell again, my body submerged in the water.
No no no
You'd think after surviving the first time, my body would know what to do but no.
I was still swallowing gulps of water.
I was still trying to scream.
I was still thrashing, kicking, struggling to free myself from my tormentor and get back to safety.
And none of this was successful.
Soon, my body stopped fighting, going limp in his grip.
I'm going to die here, I realized as darkness swarmed at the edge of my eyes.
Not by Baldwin's hand. Not in some dramatic way that meant something.
But drowned in a training pool by some crazy student while a sadistic instructor watched from above doing nothing to stop it.
The irony would have been funny if I weren't dying.
I suddenly heard a ruckus from above but could hardly comprehend what it was when hands wrapped around my waist and I was dragged back up.
"I've got you,” I heard a soft voice but it sounded like a cloudy whisper in my dream, like I was disconnected from reality.
I didn't black out completely but I was unable to breathe, my brain didn't know what it was meant to do anymore.
Until I was slapped hard across my back, literally kick-starting my head.
Coughs and water and panic all poured out of my body at once, each struggling for the chance to one out first.
“What happened there, Rivers?” I heard Master Torrin's voice, cold, detached, and highly irritating to me in the state I was in.
He watched it happen, he can't really be pretending he didn't see it.
“Kovar tried to drown her Sir,” Erin answered as she kept rubbing my back.
“If it was so easy for him to do so, then she should endeavour get stronger than she is rather than missing training, shouldn't she?” He sneered, and I forced myself to look at him, seething with anger at his nonchalance.
“Sir…”
“One more lap, all of you! You too Rivers, you're here to train, not babysitting!”
“I'm sorry,” she whispered to me.
I nodded for her to go on, it wasn't her fault these men were heartless fudgers, she didn't need to pause her life for me.
I was still trying to recover for a while but when I heard them swimming back, I forced myself to get up.
I needed to get out of here.
I struggled to stand up, I went all the way to the steps before the mutt noticed me.
“And where do you think you're going Ferguson?”
“I can't swim sir,” I grunted, struggling to keep the boiling rage in me to a minimum.
“At least you're honest," he noted. "But find a seat somewhere. You will leave with everyone else. Go sit your incompetent ass down quickly.”
A tear fell out of the dam I was holding back, but I followed his words.
I found a stone slab and put myself down, and tried to ignore the pain, but my standing up had worsened the entire thing and I was panting now.
I'd come here to escape Baldwin and the torment he put me through.
But instead, I got more traumas.
I knew the sight of water bodies was going to terrify me for the rest of my life after this.
When they all finally pulled out of the water and began filing out, I heaved myself up and began walking towards Erin.
“Hey baby,” that voice said as he walked past me, an evil grin plastered on his smug face.
“Kovar!” I growled, but it only came out garbled, my throat was ruined.
“Nice to meet you too,” he winked, “try not to drink so much water next time, okay?”
And he waltzed off, laughing with his bros.
I've never wished for the fire I'd run away from all my life more than in that moment.
I wanted to burn him to ashes, I wanted him to scream loudly as he burned from the inside out, just as I'd tried to scream. Only that in his case, everyone would hear it.
But I couldn't muster even a flicker.
Drugs had bled the flame out of me.
“Come on,” Erin wrapped her arm around mine, “let's go get some food in you.”
“Why is everyone so calm about this?” I grumbled as we began heading towards where we kept our things.
“What do you expect us to do?” Akua scoffed, “Rally and carry placards, protesting the cruelty of… pfft! Grow up baby girl, this isn't your world. Here, you either get stronger or die.”
“What?” I gasped, looking between her and Erin who looked as resigned as well. “This is fucking unacceptable!” I hissed.
“But what can you do? Didn't you see Master Torrin's reaction? Just let it go, okay? Don't worry, I won't let anyone kill you. I think you're too cool to die.”
“Thank you so much Erin but if Master Torrin won't do anything, I'll take this to the Principal!”
Chuckles erupted from my other two roomies.
“If you want to die faster, sure.”
“What do you mean?”
“Let me explain the way it'll go, bestie,” Mira chuckled as she came to stand in front of me. “If you report this to the Principal, he's going to ride down on his horse and punish Kovar. But will he kill him? Of course not, his father is a high-ranking official. And when he's done serving his punishment, he's going to make it his life mission to make your life a living hell. In fact, he might even court you, marry you, and then kill you.”
My blood froze.