Reconcile › P. Parker [2]

021. drowning

› CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE ‹

Raleigh didn't use to be afraid of drowning. His mother started teaching him how to swim when he was just a baby, so the instinct was always there, and he knew that he would be able to fight his way out of whatever situation he was in because he had a whole life back home—something that was worth living for. So, for him, the fear of drowning wasn't anything he was ever concerned with... That is until he suddenly found himself submerged with weights latched onto his ankles.

First, there was the panic, the reflexes pushing him to try and reach something to pull himself out, just so he could get an ounce of air in his lungs. Yet, he couldn't find that rope, that hand, that anything to save himself from his end. All he could think about was how he was drowning.

Soon after, the panic turned into a sense of paralysis, with Raleigh's fingers going numb and sending stabbing jolts up his arms until they too were forgotten. His lungs were deflating, and his sights were warping into darkness, a narrow tunnel being the only thing he could see. And at the end of that long tunnel were his and Peter's yearbook pictures plastered on big screens. He was just there, staring at it, numb to everything else.

There was nothing he could do now... He was drowning in his own mistakes.

His life as he knew it was out of reach, and he couldn't do anything about it. He was just a figure, paralyzed, while his brain struggled to comprehend what the actual hell was happening. His sights never left the screen on Maddison Square Garden, even when his unblinking gaze burned his eyes. Even as Peter blurted out profanities to himself. And even as civilians gathered around the pharmacy building Peter and Raleigh were standing to record them on their phones.

Unfortunately for Raleigh, he was knocked out of his stupor when a wrapped sandwich hit him across the face. He stumbled back a few steps and finally tore his eyes off the news to identify his attacker, but he was taken aback by how many people had gathered in front of the building.

"That's right, folks!" The Daily Bugle host, J. Jonah Jameson, recapitulated. "Peter Parker and Raleigh Ridley are Spider-Man and Aureate!"

Another object was thrown at Raleigh, and he didn't bother to avoid it as a cellphone hit his chest. It clattered to his feet, and the Daily Bugle blog post stared at him with his and Peter's yearbook pictures crossed out by the spiderweb-like fissure.

"Whoa! Hey, hey, please don't throw things at him." Peter bounded to Raleigh, drawing him to his side, while his other hand waved defensively at the growing crowd. Yet, his words go unheard as the crowd grew restless upon seeing the two next to each other, and, in turn, yelling ensued.

"You're just kids?!"

"You two murdered Mysterio!?"

"What the hell's wrong with you!?"