REM // Van McCann

17. Go For a Swim

"Van!"

My head turned sharply towards her voice. At first, I thought it was Clara in the distance but I soon realized it was Florence. She was swimming towards me but the waves were too strong, knocking her back a few feet. It was clear she wasn't a strong swimmer as she was tired and could barely keep her head above the water.

"What are you doing?" I shouted. "Go back to land!"

"We're dreaming!" she yelled. "This isn't real!"

A large wave knocked her over and I waited for her to surface but she didn't. Normally, I wouldn't be worried about her drowning as this isn't real like she said, but if she drowns, she's going to wake up and we haven't been under long enough to practice her skills.

"Fuck's sake," I groaned, swimming towards where I last saw her.

It didn't take long as the waves pushed me there and once I made it, I took a deep breath and went under. Despite the bubbles and dirt blurring my view, I could make out the light pink jumper she wore. She was slowly sinking with her eyes closed. There was no doubt she was accepting her fate, wanting to wake up but I refused to let her do so. I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her with me towards the surface. Our heads went above water but her head lulled to the side. She drank too much water.

"Florence, can you hear me?" I asked, shaking her slightly.

She didn't respond so I positioned her so she was floating on her back. I went behind her and put my right arm under hers and held her head back with my left hand so that her head was resting against my chest and I slowly made my way towards the beach with the help of the waves. We weren't far and I was beginning to get tired but I kept at it until we made it to shore.

On land, I felt much heavier and my clothes were weighing me down but I got up and dragged her away from the water and left her laying on her back. I knelt down and placed my ear next to her mouth and nose but didn't hear or feel anything. Her chest showed no signs of moving so I placed my fingers on her wrist in search of a pulse but it was faint. She's still here which means she hasn't woken up yet. I still have a chance at reviving her.

I tilted her chin and head back to help clear her airway and pinched her nose shut. Took a deep breath and blew air into her mouth, trying to keep a good seal. Then I did chest compressions. It wasn't until my third breath that she opened her eyes and began coughing which caused me to pull away. She coughed up water, trying to catch her breath and used her arms to sit up.

"Get off me!" she shouted, using the sleeve of her jumper to wipe her mouth. I was baffled by her behavior. Did she really think I was trying to take advantage of her?

"It's not what it looks like! You almost drowned so I revived you!" I explained. "You're welcome, by the way."

She was shocked and still trying to figure out what was happening but I saw her look at the water and there was no doubt she remembered going after me. Her face turned red and I looked away, pretending not to notice. I brushed sand off my jeans even though it was useless. My clothes were beginning to dry, turning white from the salt. We should be coming down with hypothermia by now but strangely, I felt fine and I reckon she feels the same. I licked my lips, tasting the salt and something sweet—most likely whatever lipstick or chapstick she was wearing.

"I'm so sorry. I remember now. It was an automatic reflex as I've had men think it was okay to throw themselves on me at the club," she finally replied. I wrinkled my nose in disgust.

"Well those are clubs for ya. Sleazy men are always looking for their next victim." I stood up and held my hand out and she took it, getting on her feet. She brushed the sand from her bum and tried to straighten her clothes. It was clear she wasn't happy about her ruined clothes but she carried on anyway.

"So what happens next?" she asked.

"I'm not sure how much time is left but I thought we'd continue practicing the skills from last week. You're not freezing, by the way, are ya?" I asked for good measure. She used her hands to rub her arms for warmth.

"Surprisingly, I'm okay. It's strange because it looks cold but I feel fine. Even the water was warm...." she trailed off and then her eyes widened. "Wait! Is this your sneaky way of testing me? Well we're obviously dreaming because we'd be dead by now. There's no way we could survive that."

Her mindset was interesting. I asked if she was freezing out of genuine concern for her health and safety yet she thinks I'm just testing her. Does she really think I'm that heartless?

"Not everything's a test, ya know. I felt fine but I wanted to make sure you were too. If not, I would've had you wake up so you wouldn't be subjected to this misery." I began walking away from the beach and she followed. It was absolutely miserable walking in sodden boots filled with sand. My favorite boots are ruined but I tried to remind myself this was just a dream.

"Oh," she replied. "Well thanks for your concern. I'm fine...just feeling a bit uncomfortable and in need of a shower. Where are we, by the way?" I shrugged my shoulders.

"Your guess is as good as mine. I've never been here before yet I always dream about this place."

"Why do you always dream about this place?"

Her questions were getting intrusive which caused me to be closed off. I didn't want her asking why I went swimming nor ask who I was looking for. This is none of her business but it's not her fault either as I told her we were going under my dream. We wouldn't be here in the first place if I hadn't agreed to the bet but I've no one but myself to blame.

"I dunno," I lied. "Have you ever had dreams like that? Where you dream about a place you've never been before and have the same dreams? Reckon it's one of those." It was clear looking at her face that she doesn't have those kinds of dreams but she nodded her head out of politeness. "Well, enough about that. How else do you know we're dreaming?"

"Well it looks like we're in a foreign country as this is definitely not the United States. You're here and no offense but you're the last person I'd want to see on vacation."

"Fair enough," I replied, smirking. "You're the last person I'd want to see too." She laughed and continued.

"I also can't swim."

"You can't?" I asked, surprised. She seemed to be doing fine but maybe that's how she knew she was dreaming. She shouldn't have been able to swim as far as she did. "So why'd you go in the water then?" She shrugged her shoulders.

"I knew I was dreaming and thought it wouldn't hurt to try. Plus I had to figure out why you thought it was a good day to go for a swim."

No one in their right mind would go for a swim in this weather and I knew she was waiting for me to explain but I didn't want to. Instead, I changed the subject.

"So now that we know this is a dream, why don't we explore another way to wake up?"

Florence looked around and then back at me. She was no doubt wondering what the other way was. She could do either of two things: jump off the cliff or drown. She already simulated the feeling of falling so jumping off a cliff is not an option. And I already saved her from drowning once.

"I only have two options: die or keep thinking about how I'm dreaming." She eyed me as if wanting me to give her a clue but I wanted her to figure this out on her own. "Well the only way I can think of dying is by drowning or cracking my head open on a rock, both of which aren't pleasant so I'd rather just think about how I'm dreaming and hope that works."

"Go on then," I encouraged her.

She closed her eyes and I couldn't help but grin. People always think they have to close their eyes but they don't really have to. She was muttering to herself over and over again that this was just a dream. She was still in front of me so obviously it wasn't working so I thought I'd scare her by putting my face uncomfortably close to hers. When she opened her eyes, she screamed, whacked me in the face, and disappeared.