Dreams

Water burial

Im falling, but slowly. Too slowly.

My hair is waving around me like an untameable mane, swishing like seaweed. My body is cold, it is all around me. As I try to get my bearings, my arms flail around to try and steady myself, my feet kicking to provide some movement. My eyes snap open in panic, all I see is dark water. It wasn't dirty, but it wasn't clear either. It's murky and gloomy. I can only see about 10 feet in front of me before it is claimed by the darkness.  

As I look around, I notice something strange.

I was in a house, for beneath me was the wooden floor with a small chest of draws featuring a lamp, an old rotary phone and a few more objects. Lighter household objects such as paperclips, playing cards, small keys and so on were floating around as if in space. I seemed to be in the front corridor, where you would first step in when coming through the front door, which was behind me.

The water filled the whole room, right to the ceiling and seemed to carry on into the other rooms. The walls were old, falling apart, rotting and water damaged. Paintings hung on the wall had run and were nibbled with mould. The walls had reddish brown stains on them, what it was, I wasn't sure, but it was the least of my worries right now.

A tight pressure builds up in my chest, the need to breathe become heavily apparent.

Beginning to panic, knowing swimming up won't help, I turn hastily to the front door behind me. My hands grip onto the handle, and force it down and pull, but the door would not open. The more I struggled, the more desperate my need for air became. Frantically, I look around as all the floating objects and spot a small silver key.

My swimming is not strong, but it wasn't a fair distance away. With a few small kicks, I reach out a clasp my hand around the cold bit of metal. Once again I return to the door, I try to shove the key in, but it doesn't fit, it is too small.

Running out of time, I grab the phone and try to use it to smash one of the windows. But the glass refused to shatter, I was not strong enough, not with the water slowing my actions down creating drag. Fuelled by the impulsive need to survive, I swim as hard as I could through the corridor, passing 2 other room in the same state.

My only hope was finding a place where the water has not reached or a pocket of air.

My lungs were begging to burn, as my body took over my conscious mind and forced me to open my mouth and gulp for the air which was not present. Bubbles erupted from my mouth, letting out what little air I had in me, as water rushed in down my throat. I was barely even swimming, just desperately clawing at the water to try and provide movement. Then my arm hit something, something too far up to be the floor, and sticking out too far to be a wall.

I look forward with my vision fading and see some stairs in front of me. If there was any hope of air above, it would be going up here. Weak and almost animal-like, I grab the stair and begin to pull myself up them, kicking my legs to get me up faster.

Suddenly the water brakes, and my head comes shooting out with a splash. I didn't even have time to register I had broken the water's surface before my body gulped as much air as my lungs would allow, which burned. The force of it made my throat hurt, but it was nothing compared to the pain in my chest. I flopped onto the rest of the stairs, arms flung above my head, lower body still in the water and panted. My chest heaved greatly as I recovered. Once my breathing had returned near enough to its normal rate, I clawed myself out the rest of the water, my wet body slapping against the damp staircase. Steadily, I pushed myself up and stood up at the top of the stairs, met by a small landing which was connected to 4 rooms.

I look down over the stairs at the water below. It's safe to say the whole of the downstairs is full to the brim with water, only the upstairs was free. I could barely see anything down there; the water was so dark and murky from this angle, at least while in there it was slightly clearer. I don't bother to ring my hair or clothes, as far as I was concerned, the water might as well stay. Besides, something like that seemed useless.