Midnight Birdsong [Dreamnotfound AU]

Chapter 35: Give Us Answers

Water.
Drowning.
It was dark.
Deep water.
Freezing cold.

Clay reached.
George was deeper.
Sinking.
Arms outstretched.
Bubbles from his mouth.
Water flooding in.
Eyes closed.
Couldn't breathe.
Cold all through his body.
Sinking.
George was too far.
Too deep. Too fast.
Clay was slow.
Reaching, kicking.
George wasn't conscious.
Couldn't swim.
Sinking.
Clay was failing him.
Reach for George.

Freezing cold.
Deep water.
It was dark.
Drowning.
Dead.

Clay kept trying to get to him through the black water. He knew he couldn't but he couldn't stop either. Maybe if he could get him to the surface-
But he was powerless, he couldn't hold him.
Please
Let me get him
Escape the water
Almost no air left
Save him just-
Escape together

Clay woke up gasping for air.

Slick with sweat, he was curled in a ball, shivering. He sat up in bed, still finding it hard to breathe. He could feel the icy water like he was still immersed in it. He could still see George floating under him when he closed his eyes. George looked so peaceful and still, hair and clothes gently rippling in the water, pearly skin in moonlight, faced upwards, arms outstretched like he was falling. The air leaving his lungs.
The nightmare felt so real.

He was numb to it by dawn. He got on the bus like a corpse. He had forgotten the mystery of the night before entirely and George occupied his mind even more than before. But now it was different; he kept seeing him dead.
Sapnap interrupted everything sitting next to him.
"CLAY- look at what someone sent me last night!"

"what is it," he asked tiredly.

Sapnap showed him his phone, "Someone texted me, I dunno who."

Lunch Friday. Go alone to the library. LDNRTR

"Oh." Clay was successfully distracted for the moment and showed Sapnap his phone.
"Same for me. I don't know who sent it."

Lunch Friday. Go alone to the library. EOACHAS

Sapnap took it from him to look close. "Nah this one has different letters. What does it mean?" He compared them.
"Some code, does it mean anything to y-"

Sapnap trailed off looking at Clay.
"Hey, hey. You don't look good. Feeling okay? Did you get enough sleep?" He put a hand on Clay's forehead. "You sick?"

"I'm fine," Clay responded.

"liar," a6d said from across the aisle.

"Shut up," Clay mumbled.

"no u," a6d answered.

"No you."

"no u."

Sapnap looked between them. Clay didn't even know why he was engaging in this dumb argument, maybe to hide.
"No you."

"No youuuuuu." Bad jumped in eagerly from where he was with Skeppy, having not been listening at all. It was unclear if he was with a6d or Clay.

"No U Bad," Skeppy tried to get his attention again by repeatedly poking his shoulder. "You're sus."

"No you're sus," Bad poked him back. "Stop iiiiiiiiit that's annoying."

"You're annoying."
And thus another pointless argument between Skeppy and Bad ensued.
Clay tuned it out.

At this amazing time most of the older soccer guys came on the bus, one of them asked if Sapnap wanted to join them in the back like usual.
He refused on behalf of Clay, "Nah, I gotta work with the Dream a few more minutes, be back soon though."