The Assassin (gxg)

chapter two

My lungs screamed in protest at being deprived oxygen for such an extended period of time, my muscles ached from the exertion but nonetheless I pushed myself to keep going. The silence was deafening, but at the same time was the sound I craved so strongly. There was no dull whizz of the cars passing you on the street, nor the sound of mindless chatter among the people you often found yourself surrounded by. Everything was still, with light in small portions surrounding me, keeping me from being completely emerged in darkness. My hand outstretched in front of me slowly, looking almost foreign as I touched the light with my fingertips. Keep going, I reminded myself and once again willed myself forward once again. By now the burning in my lungs had become too much to ignore, and finally I looked up.

Breaking through the surface of the water, I gasped for the oxygen I had long denied myself and opened my eyes. My ears immediately adjusted to sound of the crashing waves against a cliff side nearby as I slicked my hair back, looking at the gloomy sky above me and feeling the brisk air dance across my wet cheeks. Breathing deeply and smelling nothing but the salt of the ocean, I sighed and began to make my way back to the shore. Feeling the sand between my toes, and the water droplets roll down my toned stomach, I bent down to grab my black shirt that I had discarded earlier. As I slipped it over my head and ran a hand through my unruly hair I forced my eyes closed again to listen to the roar of the ocean. The hair on the back of my neck rose as I felt in my bones that I was no longer alone, but yet I remained still.

"You trying to break a record or something? Once I saw you go down I didn't think I was going to see you come back up." An unfamiliar voice called out, the person was still walking toward me. As they got closer I could hear the sand crunching beneath their shoes.

"You were watching me?" I asked, turning towards the stranger only to be met by a girl with dirty blonde hair tied up in a bun and brown eyes that were a few shades lighter than my own. My own voice sounded hoarse and I cringed at the sound of it, clearing my throat.

"Not intentionally. I run here every morning, it's not very often I see someone trying to drown themselves at sunrise." The girl eyed my suspiciously, silently asking me if that was what I was attempting to do.

"I was not trying to drown myself, I just was going for a swim." I shook my head and snorted in disbelief at the ridiculous assumption. I crossed my arms defensively, subconsciously standing up straighter to look more threatening; although I still was standing in my bathing suit bottoms.

"Yeah o-kay. Remind me to never challenge you to a swim off then, if that's even a thing. I'm Jamie, and you are?" The girl took a step closer to me, pushing her hands into her shorts pockets as I bent over and gathered my belongings. Something about the stranger seemed familiar, looked familiar even. It was unsettling, and I had decided that it was definitely time to go.

"Just leaving actually." I said in an unfriendly tone as I turned away from Jamie, stalking towards the direction of my parked car, cursing myself as I heard the girl behind me stumble and jog to catch up with me, shocked at my cold exterior.

"Hey wait Aqua-woman!" Jamie called out, causing me to halt immediately at the unfavorable nickname. I turned around and narrowed my eyes, causing her to stop as well and look me up and down.

"What did you just call me?" My voice raised but held its sharp edge as I crossed my arms again.

The girl fidgeted uncomfortably and I finally noticed the height difference as she stood a few inches taller than me. My eyes danced across her cheekbones, and noticed the small freckles that rested upon the bridge of her nose. She smiled shyly and shrugged, as I felt my clenched muscles loosen and scrunched my nose up.

"I never got your name, had to make up my own nickname for you." Jamie fiddled with her fingers and looked down slightly, as if to avoid eye contact with me. I didn't blame her though as most people wouldn't look me in the eye directly.