The Death's Game

34. Game of Flatliners

She was dying and yet, she was fighting with the overwhelming feeling of slipping into the eternal darkness. Percy in her memory wasn't ready to leave her beloved world behind. And so wasn't she. Taking the last pieces of strength, she forced herself to swim up, even though she couldn't see anymore where she was swimming to.

The water was closing around her, flooding her from the inside and clenching her until she was out of breath. Although she had her hope, a part of her whispered quietly that this was the end. She felt the water stirring and a sense that she would soon be eaten by one of the mermaids came over her. On the verge of consciousness and death, she could not see the face of whoever swam up to her. That person removed the mask from her face, which slid gently and smoothly into the abyss. Although she didn't know who was rescuing her, she felt safe with this person.

Her whole body screamed and begged for air to fill her lungs as the mysterious person joined his lips to hers, giving her the air, she needed so much. Feeling herself retreating from the boundary, she gripped the muscular arm of the person rescuing her more firmly and allowed herself to be pulled toward the surface. Exactly as she expected, the longed-for freedom was not that far away. As soon as they surfaced, another person caught her under her arms and pulled her out onto the pool tiles. Chocking and coughing, she began vomiting water over the side while her entire body trembled.

When my vision finally came back with its whole power, there was still uncertainty of what actually happened. My mind seemed to be completely blurry as I tried to process almost drowning.

"Kyle?" I looked at the person who was closed to me. He was the one who grabbed me when I resurfaced and pulled out. "Blake?" I shifted my gaze to the boy, who was sitting on the cold tiles with his leg still bleeding, and the rescue jacket I've gave him. There was no chance he would be able to came back to water after he and Kyle resurfaced. His wound didn't look anywhere close to good. And that must've meant... "Ryder." I gazed at the boy, who was at the edge of swimming pool, completely wet. He was the one who saved me.

He was the one who gave me air through kiss.

"Welcome back, Percy." Kyle greeted me like we were good friends. "We were worried you wouldn't make it out. Along with the backpack." He nodded at the things I had on my back. I was in the possession of all the items needed to be handed over to the lifeguard. "What the hell happened?"

I opened my mouth but only more fought and water came out of it, making my lungs hurt, and my giving me headache. I shifted my gaze back to Blake, which Kyle noticed right away.

"Oh, he?" He pointed Blake with his finger. "Don't worry. He's fine. Or at least, he'll live. If I were you, I'd be impressed about HIM." He pointed now Ryder. The water was dripping from his dark hair, as he slowly rose from the ground. "He jumped in right after he saw us without you."

"Well, we wouldn't like to lose the chance to survive the game, and at the same time be short of a player," explained Ryder, who, even though saved me just a moment ago, again seemed distant and stone-faced.

"Most certainly we wouldn't like to be short of THIS player." Kyle blinked at me.

"What happened down there, Percy?" asked Ryder, and this must've been his nicest tone, even though it still seemed so serious.

Kyle and Blake also seemed curious about that matter.

"You disappeared so suddenly. In one moment you were with us, and the second we resurfaced, you were already gone." Kyle made a disappearing move with his hand and the sling of "poof."

"I-I," my voice seemed so harsh when I tried to speak. "I felt as if something grabbed me," I managed to say, even though my whole throat was sore and in pain when I was talking. I chocked again, and spilled more water from my mouth. "But there was nothing around me."