Ava

Chloe and I walk hand in hand down the road. We both worked late at the factory last night and if she’s as tired as I am, she doesn’t show it. As her twin, I hope I look as good as her. I can feel the excitement in her grip. Her fingers dance against mine.

Up ahead, I hear a shout and Chloe drops my hand and starts to run. Danian’s smile reaches from ear to ear as he closes the distance between my twin and him in a few short strides. He sweeps her up and spins her in a circle while she giggles.

Over their shoulders, I see Lucas. He doesn’t seem distracted by the two and his gaze warms me. He wraps his strong arms around me once he reaches me. When he bends down to kiss me, it's like the whole world goes silent and all I can hear, see, or feel is him. I melt into his body, and we say hello.

The four of us make our way down to the beach and as we lay our things out, the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. It feels as though someone is watching me. I look around and swear I hear a menacing laugh, but I can’t locate a source.

Danian seems to feel my unease and even though I can’t explain what I feel, I see him looking around as well. I talk myself out of the feeling and try to settle into the warmth around me. The eyes are still on me as if the sky itself is watching me. I take a deep breath and focus on the sand. Everything is fine and there is no reason for how I’m feeling.

A dip in the water with the hot sand warming my skin has almost made me forget. Almost. But as the sky darkens, I can no longer hold back my unease. My stomach turns and I can feel that I’m about to cry. I look up, and the three with me follow my lead. The sky is dark but one cloud high above us swarms an unnatural yellow color.

I want to rush back to our things to gather them and leave, but I move too slow. The ocean swells and roars, pulling at me. Waves crash against me, knocking me down and turning me over and over. The saltwater burns my eyes as I try to find up. My lungs burn for breath. I break the surface with a gasp and hear screaming all around me. Someone grabs my arm. Lucas. His eyes are wild, but he does his best to pull me toward him. A wave rocks us apart and I slam into something. No, someone. Chloe. She screams and it seems like something pulls her under the surface. Without thinking, I dive after her. I find her hand and hold it in my own but whatever pulls her down is winning and takes us both. I feel something wrap around my ankles and as I turn to face it, I see Lucas. He pulls and swims up but nothing happens. We sink, the three of us like a chain, to the bottom.

An endless amount of time later, I notice we are rising. Lucas is making progress and I use my free hand to push up and I can feel we are rising faster. We break the surface and Chloe sputters out a mouthful of water. The water swirls around us and I can hear screams of others from the beach around us, but I see no one else. Something floats into the churning water around us and slams into Lucas, breaking him away from me. It’s someone floating face down. I scream and the waves toss the man onto his back. Danian stairs unseeing toward the sky. Blood foams from his mouth. Chloe makes an unearthly sound and reaches for him but the water surges again and I feel myself being pulled under. The more salt presses into my eyes, the less it seems to hurt. I can see Chloe and Lucas next to me. We hold onto each other and all kick for the surface but the water swirls and spins us and we have no control. I can feel the pressure in my ears rise and I know I’m sinking too far down. I need to breathe, but there is no way I’ll make it back to the surface. Lucas looks frantic as he watches me and knows there is nothing to do. I hold my sister and my lover, and the water gets darker, colder.

I can’t hold it anymore and I feel my lungs take in a breath. It hurts and I’d cry in pain, but there is only water around me, and I have no air to make the sound. Another useless breath sends pins and needles through my entire body. Things are getting fuzzy. I can’t see. Everything hurts. This is dying.

The blackness isn’t absolute. There is something yellow swirling around me. It comes for me and I can’t avoid it. The yellow wins.