Upwards and Downwards
800 Words
[Apollo]
Apollo's breathing was slow and calm. His eyes fluttered open and he blinked. It was really dark, he couldn't see anything. His muscles felt stiff and heavy.
Why does it feel cold?
He tried raising a hand to his eyes, but for some reason everything felt slow. It took Apollo a second to realize that his arm looked kinda green. He looked up and he saw light filtering from above. His heart raced and he gasped lightly. Apollo realized he was still underwater. But somehow... he was still breathing?
How is this possible? I should be drowning! Why am I not dead?
Apollo tried to stand up, but his legs ached and it took him a minute to actually pull himself up. The ground beneath him was cold and slimy, which was not pleasant at all. He felt the pressure of the water compressing his body. Apollo tried to look around, but all he could see was green darkness.
I'm at the bottom of the lake!?
He suddenly felt something rush past his head and he turned around. He felt a hand grasp his shoulder and he screamed.
"Hey! Hey! It's okay! You're okay! Calm down."
A small face entered his vision and Apollo got even more scared. He pulled their hand away and stood back.
"What? Who are you?" Apollo asked sternly.
"Calm down, it's okay. You're okay now."
"What do you mean? What happened?"
"Cardosulks..."
"What?"
"Cardosulks. I saw them attack you so... I came to help. We're safe now." she said calmly.
Her eyes were a light teal and her hair waved around in the water. Lighter than her eyes, but darker than her skin. At first, Apollo thought it was Sophia because of her short hair, but he realized that Sophie's hair was not nearly that short. It looked more like puffy princess hair. Or maybe it was just the way the water was making it look.
"Are you sure I'm not dead?" Apollo asked.
"Yes, you're fine. I healed your injuries." she said with a smile.
"Then how am I breathing underwater? This can't be possible! How am I..."
"You almost drowned when I came to help, so I made a bubble for you so you could breathe."
Apollo put a hand up to his face and he felt a smooth surface that rippled to his touch. He pressed lightly against it again and it wobbled around his head. He didn't know why he couldn't see it at first.
"Oh... okay..." Apollo breathed, confused as to how that was even possible.
"Wait, then how are you not drowning?"
"Oh um, I sort of... uh. I'm from here..." she said quietly as her smile faded a bit.
She's definitely a cheerful person, Apollo thought to himself.
"Here, hold onto me. I can take you back to the surface. You shouldn't stay here."
Apollo didn't hesitate. He held onto her arm and started to pull him to the surface. Apollo kicked his legs hard to keep up. He was surprised that this girl could swim so fast. As he broke the surface of the water, the bubble around his head popped and he gasped in a lung full of air. And suddenly realized he didn't need to, which was a very strange feeling.
The girl pulled Apollo to the little beach where his backpack remained untouched. When Apollo felt his feet touch sand, he started to heave himself onto the land. It felt much nicer to be on dry land instead of slimy lake water. Much warmer too.
"You should go home, it'll get dark soon." the girl said.
"Yep, that's what I'm gonna do." Apollo said, walking to his rock and pulling a towel out of his backpack and rubbing off the water from his skin.
"Oh, before I go, what's your name? I don't think we've been properly introduced," the girl asked.
Apollo squeezed water out of his hair and rubbed his face with the towel.
"Oh, my name is Apollo."
The girl smiled. "Apollo. That's a pretty name," she said.
"What about you?" Apollo asked.
"Um... My name's Teri," she said with a smile.
"Teri? That's a nice name."
"Thank you! I should get going now. Maybe we'll meet again sometime."
"Yeah, maybe we will."
But it was already too late. When Apollo looked up again, she was already gone. He sighed.
Well, that was really weird. And terrifying. Does she live around here? Wait... she didn't see my wings, did she?!
Apollo wrapped his towel around his waist and packed his stuff. He swung his bag over his shoulder and was about to head off until he heard a loud roar from far off.
Yep, time to go.
"Maybe we'll meet again sometime." Teri's voice echoed in his head.
Yeah, hopefully not.
- Writer
