through the dark; vic criss

Ten.

Ten.

"Haley?!"

"What happened?"

Isabelle ducked her head under the water, muffling everyone's voices as she desperately looked around. She couldn't see her sister. Gasping for air as she came back up, Isabelle looked to the rest of the group.

"Haley- she- she can't swim!" Beverly turned around rapidly, searching the water around her for Haley.

"Why would she come in the water?" Richie asked. His voice sounded different. Desperate. Like he was trying so, so hard to mask the panic he was really feeling at the moment with some sort of confident, responsible mask.

"Tha-that's not important! Just help, Richie!" Bill told him before sinking under the water. Mike and Annabelle headed to the deeper water, ducking down every few steps to see if Haley was there. She wouldn't be. There was no way Haley could have swum that far without making a noise, and if there was a current to take her there they would have felt it. Haley had disappeared.

"Oh my god, oh my god," Isabelle murmured. The palms of her hands skimmed the surface of the water. Her wet hair whipped around with every frantic movement.

Eddie touched her shoulder gently in an attempt to comfort Isabelle. A failed attempt, but she did appreciate the gesture. "We'll find her, okay? Everything will be alright," like Richie, his voice had the tell-tale shake of someone fighting off fear.

"I shouldn't have made her come here I should have stayed home she told me she didn't want to come here I knew she hated water I still made her come I should have listened-" Isabelle cut herself off with a choked breath. Eddie seemed to be gulping in deep breaths himself.

"Just- just keep loo-looking!" Bill called before he dove down again. Isabelle did as he said. She peered into the water, not going under because Charlotte had once told her that a person should always listen out for splashing or rustling or even breathing.

Haley emerged from the water with a loud gasp and an even louder splash. Beverly's head snapped upwards to look at her, eyes wide and mouth open. But before she could say anything at all, Haley was dragged down again.

Her lungs burned and her foot felt like it was going to be torn clean off of her leg. There was something there. Something beneath her than turned the water cold and dark and had an unrelenting grip on her. Haley lurched downwards and came face to face with the... thing.

She couldn't see anything; the water stung her eyes. All Haley could make out was a shape. A dark shape staring straight at her. The grip that had been on her foot moved up her leg, opening the skin with a clawed hand that could have quite literally torn her in half by now. But it hadn't. The thing gazed at her, glowing eyes filling Haley's body with a terror she had never felt before. This wasn't like Eric. Eric had made her scared, scared that he'd hurt her, scared that he'd force himself on her or some other girl who'd done nothing but reject him. This wasn't like Eric at all. Because Haley wasn't scared, she wasn't scared of the hit or the pain or what was to come. She was downright terrified of the being itself.

A small hand grasped the sleeve of Haley's shirt. The hand tried pulling her up, towards the surface but the thing holding her down was stronger.

Until Haley delivered a kick to the dark, empty area between its eyes.

The thing let go of her leg for long enough. Haley surged upwards with the help of the hand. It was Beverly. Beverly held Haley tightly, managing to tread water as they both breathed deeply. More hands grabbed at the two of them, pulling and pushing and swimming until everyone was on dry land. Haley coughed, feeling Isabelle's hand rest on her back.