When I was little, I would sometimes be afraid of going swimming. There were several times in the summers leading up to middle school when my parents would take myself and my siblings to the public pool near our house. I would refuse to go, opting to stay home instead. My main fear was drowning, but now, all I want to do is swim because the silence gives me time to feel nothing at all.

I kick off the wall and surface briefly, whistling and shouting filling the air as I duck back under the waves. The only sound I hear is the other swimmers splashing, the noise muffled to the point of sounding like distant cannon booms. I can faintly see my competitors swimming from my peripheral vision, only one of them managing to stay ahead of me as I glide through the water after them.

One more lap, I tell myself.

The wall is fast approaching as I dive down and kick off, my body rocketing through the water as I point my hands together in front of me to slice through the water like a knife-blade. I go to bring my head up, but can't seem to as the water almost appears to keep me trapped underneath.

The black band on my wrist flashes in my vision, a reminder.

Everyone had one, the band meant to signal if any breathing spells are being cast to keep the competition fair. If I used a spell now, I would be disqualified.

You can make it, I urge, though my heart is starting to beat harder in my chest, each beat threatening to make my head explode.

I try to surface again, but find that I can't as my head feels like I'm bumping against glass. Movement flickers in the corner of my eye and I look to the side just long enough to see that another swimmer is catching up to me.

Focus, I bite down on my lip as I let a few precious air bubbles slip past them.

I lunge for the wall as I keep swimming, my lungs cramping and aching with each stroke as I claw my way through the water. Even though I'm able to bring my arms up, I just can't seem to bring my head up for a breath of air.

One, two, three, four, five, six.

I try to surface again as I nearly curl in on myself from the spasming in my lungs, the urge to take a breath making my chest ache.

Seven, eight, nine, ten.

I kick off the wall when I reach it, my vision already blackening around the edges as my heart thuds in my chest.

You can do this.

ElevenTwelveThirteenFourteenFifteen.

I lengthen my strokes, the water feeling like air as I pour on the speed. My shadow soars beneath me as it follows my movements, a ringing filling my ears. The water finally gives under the pressure and I surface as I reach out and grab the wall. 

Cheers and shouts fill my ears as I gasp in a couple of breaths of air, my head feeling abruptly light as I realize that the race is over.

I look around to see that I'm the only one who has finished as one of my competitors surfaces a few moments later in the next lane over. I search for the scoreboard and can't help but feel a rush of adrenaline when I see the time.

4:16.

I climb out of the pool, my arms shaking as they bear my weight before I stand. My vision spins briefly and I shake my head to clear it. Ms. Vera jogs over to me, a grin lighting up her face as she drapes a towel over my shoulders.

"You did good," she assures me over the cheering and I can't help but smile.

"Better than good," a voice interrupts.  

One of my fellow teammates, Clarissa, is walking over to us as she passes me a water bottle. 

"She beat her time and it's one of the best times in Boston for the four-hundred freestyle," she glances up toward the bleachers before she looks back at me, "you've probably sealed a deal with a recruiter, congrats."

"Thanks," I murmur and take a gulp of the cool, refreshing water as my competitors climb out of the pool behind me.

I follow Clarissa and Ms. Vera back over to the bench where the team is camped out. Several of them congratulate me as they stand, some of them exchanging fist bumps.

"We're going to get first, I just know it," one of the sophomores, Paige, whispers conspiratorially as another sophomore shoves her playfully.

"You're going to jinx us, we still have three more events," the fellow sophomore scolds and Paige ducks her head.

"You can draw a sigil for that if you're nervous," she teases.

I look away then, searching the crowd for Indigo. She waves when I notice her and I smile back as I continue to search the crowd for the recruiter. I don't know what I'm expecting them to wear or even look like, but a hooded figure catches my eye as I freeze.

The hooded person looks up after a second, like they can sense my eyes on them. I stop breathing altogether, the cheers and shouts fading as I recognize Luke's hazel eyes. There's a sudden bang as a starter gun fires and my gaze is torn away from him as I follow the noise. A few of my teammates are already in the pool, having begun the next event as I look back to the bleachers.

Luke is on his feet and weaving through the bleachers now, his head turned away from me. He quickly descends the stairs and takes the back way behind the bleachers toward the locker rooms. I set my water bottle down on one of the benches and walk off to follow him. Paige and Clarissa look up in surprise as I may have unwittingly been a part of their conversation.

"Kara?" Paige calls after me. 

But I ignore her as I pick up the pace and duck into the space behind the bleachers.

The walkway is empty, a lone, half drunk bottle of water lying on its side as I jog past it, my wet feet slapping against the cold concrete. My breath is coming out in ragged gasps. I head for the entrance to the locker rooms and stop inside the doorway.

I look both ways, wondering which one he may have gone into as there's a sudden yelp. It's like someone has been surprised as it comes from the other side of the visiting locker room door. I sprint for the door and fling it open to duck inside. My heart is beating uncomfortably fast in my chest as my hands start to shake.

Blue lockers gleam dully under the fluorescent light fixtures overhead as one of them flickers. The locker room is empty save a couple of hoodies that are laid out on the wooden benches in the center of the tiled room.

I scan the locker room before I step over toward the hall for the bathrooms and tiptoe on quiet feet. The only sound is the water dripping from my swim cap onto the floor. I ease forward to a sharp turn that will take me back to the shower stalls as I come to an abrupt stop.

I don't see the blood at first.

What I do see are the feet poking out from one of the shower stalls, the toes too pale and the nails a dark shade of purple.

I know in seconds that they are too limp, too still as they lie sprawled. It's like the person connected to them is lying on their side.

I know that something is wrong.

I turn and take a step backwards, my back slamming against the cinderblock wall. I bring my hand up and clamp it over my mouth. My legs are numb and clumsy as I turn back around and take a step forward and then another. I am in front of the shower stall, my knee jerking as it shudders and buckles before I steady myself.

I recognize the face as it belongs to one of my teammates Corrina, but it's not so much the face that I focus on.

Nonono...

It's the pool of blood that she's lying in that finally makes all of the pieces click together as I find the strength to scream.