Once again, thanks for the reviews, love ya all (especially my darling reader/reviewer/writer ScribbleDribble, it would be cool to turn this into a script). And for the reviewer who made the comment about not referring to the characters by their hair color: I'm sorry if it bothers you but that's the way I write, it's much better then using their names over and over again. Sorry it's taken so long, but here's another chapter and there's another chapter of the musical on the way too, by tomorrow or Thursday by the latest. Please review and enjoy.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Harder to Breathe
Kimberly pressed a wet washcloth against Altessa's forehead, hoping that the cold liquid would revive the teenager long enough for them to decide what their next move was going to be. Once Kimberly had managed to pull herself to her feet and join Thomas on the concrete deck, they had decided it was best to bring the teenager back into the house instead of back to their apartment; now that all of Altessa's family was dead, it was unclear what was going to become of her.
Altessa stirred slightly but didn't open her eyes, though they twitched beneath her eyelids; it was slightly obvious that she wasn't ready to wake just yet, wasn't ready to embrace the painful reality that was the only one that she would know for that moment on. Kimberly stood and turned away from the couch and turned her attention to Thomas, who had his back to her, studying an array of photographs spread across the mantle. She joined his side, eyes sweeping across the framed pictures, ranging from school portraits to photos from family vacations and animals of different species. She sighed deeply and rolled her shoulders, her guilt returning in full force; Death had already won in the strictest sense, for even if they managed to break the Design, Altessa had still lost her family.
Thomas looked over at her, slipping his around loosely around the brunette's waist. "How are you?" He questioned, catching her off guard with his question, something he could see in her eyes.
"What do you mean how am I? I'm the wrong person to be asking such a question; though, I'm not fine...this whole thing, it seems somehow...worse then last year. Though, I don't know how I could say such a thing but..." Kimberly trailed off, realizing that she was babbling with nothing pressing to say.
Thomas nodding sympathetically, as though he understood exactly what point she was trying to make. "It's harder because you think that you should be able to stop everything that's happening, because you've all ready gone through it once." He remarked, causing Kimberly to look at him with a mixture of surprise and affection mixed upon her face.
She was about to reply when the sound of Altessa's voice caused them both to turn around, startled by her sudden speech. "It wasn't a dream, was it?" She asked when she saw that she had both of their attention.
Kimberly pursed her lips, leaving Thomas' side to join the teenager's, sitting next to her on the couch when Altessa drew her knees toward her body. She wasn't exactly sure what to say, but she understood the pain of seeing your mother die, it was a pain she experienced herself a few years ago. Finally, Kimberly finally shook her head, drawing the teenager into a sisterly embrace, hoping to comfort her physically when she couldn't think of anything to say verbally. Altessa returned the brunette's embrace, stifling her tears, refusing to let herself get lost in her grief once more; there were still four more survivors alive, still a chance to save someone. "What do we do next?" Altessa questioned, though she wasn't quite sure where the question had come from or what she was referring to. She didn't know what step to take next when it came to saving the other survivors or salvaging what was left in her own house. No one in her family was still alive and no friends to seek comfort in, aside from Kimberly and Thomas; if not for the other survivors, Altessa wasn't sure she'd continue to even fight.
Kimberly thought about how to answer her question, not sure of what do herself. "Well, for starters, you can come stay with us, if you want." She offered, looking over at Thomas to make sure that he didn't mind her offer. Thomas nodded once in conformation, knowing it was best to offer the teenager a place to stay, for it seemed that there was no other option.
Altessa smiled slightly, for the first time in what seemed like days, meeting eyes with the brunette in front of her. "Really? That would be great; I don't want to stay here anymore, not alone...without my family." She confessed, frowning once more as she thought about her life without her family.
Kimberly nodded, a 'don't mention it' gesture, before standing up and pulling Altessa to her feet as well. "You should pack a bag so we can hurry and get home and check on Scott and Skye. Now that...another survivor is dead, we don't know who's next." She suggested, and Altessa headed upstairs to do just as she recommended.
"So what do we do next?" Thomas asked when the teenager had disappeared up the stairwell. "We don't know who's going to die next and now that every member of her family is dead, how can we tell Altessa is going to be so willing to help us now?" He didn't want to say such words but he figured there was no other way about it. He wasn't so sure if he'd want to help a group of near-strangers if his entire family was dead.
Kimberly didn't even waste a second considering her answer before she spoke. "She'll help us, I know she will." The words weren't even out of her mouth before Altessa was heard heading down the stairs once more, a duffel bag in her hand, dutifully waiting Kimberly's next 'orders.'
It seemed that Kimberly was right for the time being.
* * *
The apartment was just as it had been left before the trio had departed, congealing blood stains and all. Altessa absently threw her duffel on the couch as she followed Kimberly and Thomas into the kitchen, where they were intent on finding something for dinner (though none of them were hungry) and checking up on Skye and Scott. Only to keep her busy, Kimberly began routing around in the refrigerator while Thomas dialed the number to Scott's apartment, leaving Altessa to sit idly at the kitchen table.
"Scott? Yeah, it's Thomas," the officer was saying, and Altessa lent a half ear to their conversation, knowing that there would surely be nothing of interest. "I was just calling to see if you and Skye were all right; another survivor...died, so watch out."
Altessa turned to look at him, a thought popping into her mind so suddenly and forcefully that she found that she couldn't ignore it. "Tell her to watch for cars." She commanded without thinking.
Thomas studied her a split second before relaying the information to Scott and then hanging up, placing the phone back on its cradle. "What was that about?" He questioned, not quite sure he really wanted an answer but that stop him from asking.
Altessa could do nothing but shrug, rolling her shoulders. "A feeling I just got. What harm could it do telling Skye to watch out for cars, she could be next." The teenager remarked and judging by the way she spoke, she seemed almost certain that what she was saying was true.
Kimberly turned around, holding half full Chinese takeout containers in both hands. "Do you see Skye die or what's going to happen to her?" She questioned, laying the boxes on the counter and pulling three plates out of the cabinet above her head.
"No, but as soon as Thomas said Skye's name, I was certain that something bad is going to happen involving a car." Altessa explained, forcing her words to make sense, hoping that Kimberly, at least, saw where she was coming from.
The brunette nodded once, dumping the contents of box onto a plate. "I think we all need to test our instincts now."
* * *
Kimberly picked at her cold Chinese food, pushing it around on her plate with her fork. After Altessa's semi-prediction about Skye's demise, none of them had said much or, in that case, eaten much either. Altessa had done nothing more then simply stare at her plate, as though, if she looked hard enough, she could find all the answers between the rice and sweet and sour chicken. Kimberly finally stood, unable to take the silence any longer. "I don't think any one's going to eat right now, so I'll just put this stuff back in the refrigerator." She offered, glad that she hadn't thrown away the cartons.
Altessa stood as well, grabbing her plate and following Kimberly over to the sink. "I'll help you." She offered, setting her plate down on the counter.
Kimberly turned around to face her, shaking her head. "No, I think you should take a hot, relaxing bath to sooth you and help you get your thoughts together." She recommended, thinking of the remedy that always seemed to help her when she had a lot on her mind.
Altessa finally let herself be talked into submitting to a relaxing bath and headed down the hallway, leaving Kimberly and Thomas alone in the kitchen. Thomas turned to face the brunette, who was busy dumping Chinese back into its container. "Do you think Skye is next?" He questioned.
"Yes." Kimberly answered without hesitation, not even bothering to glance over her shoulder. "I think Altessa's right and I think I feel it too. But it won't do any good to let her know it, just yet; fear just makes people rash and rashness sometimes gets people killed." She advised, causing Thomas to nod, understanding where she was coming from.
After another moment of silence, Kimberly exited the kitchen and entered the living room to retrieve the radio that had warned of Amanda's death earlier. She carried it back into the kitchen, switching it on and settling into the most normal of tasks: washing dishes.
* * *
Altessa sighed and dropped onto the closed toilet seat, watching the warm water cascade from the faucet into the dingy tub. The shower doors rattled every time one of the upstairs neighbors thumped too hard on the floor and she was almost afraid that the doors would just come clattered off their hinges all together. When the tub was filled with lukewarm water, the teenager turned the faucet off, squeezing a few drops of soap into the water and swirling it around until the water was covered with bubbles before slipping into the tub. Altessa let herself sink beneath the surface, shutting her eyes against the bubbles and letting the water run over the top of her head.
She attempted to relax herself but found herself unable to do so, too tense and clouded to let her grief and fear simply slip away. Altessa tried not to think of the violent deaths of her mother, brother, father and best friends but knew that was a lost cause as well. The whole situation seemed like a lost cause, the sort of thing you only continued doing to spite your opponent. Altessa didn't know just how much fight she had left inside of her.
A particularly rough thump caught her attention and she lifted her head, blinking and exhaling her breath. Another thump followed suit and the shower doors rattled even more loudly, grating against their hinges. There was a soft plunk as something landed in the water; Altessa cocked her head curiously, fishing around in the water to retrieve the object that had made the sound. Her face fell and her senses prickled when she saw what she was holding: a tiny, rust covered screw.
Altessa looked over at the shower doors in time to see the one closest to her topple forward, more identical screws preceding its fall. The teenager sunk beneath the water in time to keep the shower door from knocking into her head as it fell across the width of the tub. Altessa lifted her head only to have her forehead knock against the glass, sending a jolt of panic through her body as she realized that she was trapped beneath the heavy glass door, which wouldn't budge no matter how hard she pushed upon it.
There was less then an inch of space between the surface of the water and the shower door and Altessa lifted her head up as far as she could, attempting to suck in a breath and getting little oxygen and more soapy bubbles and water. She pounded on the door, hoping to move it and praying that, if she couldn't, Kimberly or Thomas would hear the banging. "Help me!" She sputtered, spitting out the water that she had inhaled when she had shouted. "Kimberly!"
The door still refused to give way and Altessa began to lose what little hope she still had left in her. They had begun to believe that Skye was next to die but now it seemed that they had missed the mark by a long shot.
* * *
Kimberly continued to wash the few plates that they had used in the past few days, completely unaware of Altessa's peril, the radio drowning out the sounds of the teenager's shouts and half-hearted pounding.
Just like she had the day she left for Daytona, or even a few days ago, Kimberly began to get a bad feeling, the sort of feeling like being watched, though she had begun to understand that these feelings were something different. Her feelings were usually the harbingers of a particularly lethal situation. She looked around cautiously, not quite sure what she was expecting to see; Kimberly was alone in the kitchen, Thomas having left her minutes ago to check the news and she didn't see anything other then the kitchen table and the few knickknacks they had decorated the room with.
Instead, Kimberly returned her attention to the radio and the dishes in her hand; a new, semi-catchy song was playing currently, attempting to fight through the static that was slowly over powering it. "Like a little girl cries in the face of a monster that lives in her dreams: 'is there anyone-'" The lead male sang, before the song completely lost out to the static and the radio picked up a different station.
The song on this station Kimberly recognized as a ballad from a boy band that was popular a few years back. "..You keep me drowning..." The static returned, as did the other station, the song she had been listening to seconds before resuming. "It's getting harder and harder to breathe." The male voice returned, catching Kimberly's full attention now. "Is there anyone out there 'cause it's getting harder and harder to breathe."
What were the odds of both songs on two completely different stations would be about basically the same thing; even metaphorical drowning made it hard to breathe. Were the songs some sort of Sign? Realization suddenly dawned upon her and Kimberly dropped the dish she was holding into the sink without even realizing she had done it.
Understanding exactly what the Sign was warning her of, Kimberly rushed out of the kitchen and down the short hallway; her sudden motions caught Thomas' attention, who turned to regard his girlfriend with interest, attempting to figure out what she was doing. Kimberly threw open the bathroom door and rushed inside, praying that she wasn't too late to save Altessa from whatever Death had manipulated at the moment.
Kimberly saw that one of the shower doors had fallen and had seemingly imprisoned the teenager in the bathtub; Altessa looked seconds away from losing consciousness, still attempting to push at the door that had imprisoned her. "My God..." Kimberly muttered breathlessly, not giving herself anymore time to stand around.
Altessa's eyes flicked when she noticed the brunette but she did nothing more to acknowledge her appearance. Kimberly attempted to work her fingers beneath an opening between the shower door and the side of the bathtub but she could find none. Jerking her hands away in frustration, she shouted for Thomas' help, not bothering to wait until he came to aid as she searched for some way to lift the door off the teenager.
Thomas arrived what seemed like an entirety later, understanding the situation without a word passing between him and Kimberly. "Kimberly, the back of the tub curves, see if there's a gap there." He instructed, checking the front of the tub as he spoke. Kimberly was relieved to see that there was indeed a gap and she quickly slipped her fingers beneath the glass, pushing upward as hard as she could.
From the other end of the tub, Thomas pulled the door upward and Altessa jerked upward suddenly, coughing and retching up the water that she had inhaled seconds earlier, her thick hair draped across her face like a black curtain. Kimberly turned to snatch a towel off the rack, knocking the plugged hair dryer off its spot near the sink, ignoring it when it toppled harmlessly onto the toilet cover. As Thomas propped the shower door against the wall of the shower, Kimberly helped the sputtering teenager out of the water, wrapping the cotton towel around her shoulders. Altessa pulled the towel around her body and slid to the floor, exhausted, leaning against the wall, still struggling to catch her breath.
Kimberly knelt before the girl, a concerned expression upon her face. "Are you all right Altessa?" It was a stupid question, but the one that was asked most in these types of situations.
"I am now, thanks to you." The teenager answered, finally catching her breath, looking at the brunette with a grateful expression upon her damp face. She shivered slightly, knowing that it wasn't from the cold; she could still taste the soapy water in her mouth, could still feel the terror that she had felt when she believed that she was going to die.
Kimberly smiled slightly, grateful for the Signs she had been able to interpret on the radio. She turned back to the tub and spied a pair of rusty screws lying beneath the water and, absently, reached in to pick them up, knowing that they were probably be needed to repair the shower door. Thomas moved to join his girlfriend's side, accidentally jostling the hair dryer as he crossed and knocking the device into the bathtub.
There was a loud pop and Kimberly fell backward, lying motionless on the floor, a dazed expression upon her face. "Kimberly!" Altessa and Thomas cried in unison, both moving toward to the brunette's side.
Kimberly was still for a moment longer before blinking her eyes rapidly and shaking her head, as if to clear it, the dazed expression still upon her face. "Wow, what happened?" She questioned, sitting up slowly, still attempting to regain her focus.
"You were electrocuted." Altessa mumbled, letting out a sigh of relief that the brunette was all right after her near brush with Death.
"I feel...funny." Kimberly muttered, glancing around her, as though to reacquaint herself with her surroundings. She had never been electrocuted before, though it was true that she had escaped Death many times, though none of her near brushes ever involved electricity.
Thomas knelt beside her as well, looping his arm around her back to help her sit up. "Thank God you didn't have both of your hands in the water, or I doubt that you would feel much of anything." He told her, feeling painfully guilty about the events that had just unfolded. Kimberly could be dead that moment all because of his carelessness.
Kimberly let herself be led out of the bathroom but Thomas and Altessa, who was still clutching the towel around her, and sat down upon the couch. The tingling feelings of the shock were beginning to wear off and something else was beginning to dawn about the flustered the brunette. "You know what?" She questioned, causing Thomas and Altessa to glance over at her, surprised by her sudden pensive nature. "Doesn't it almost seem like the visionary is the last to die? It's it kinda weird that Altessa almost drowned right before I almost died too?"
The apartment was silent as everyone let Kimberly's words sink in, looking for a reasonable answer to her question. For the moment, they could find none.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Okay, this chapter was kinda lame but it's another one of my (beginning) attempts to devil in the mythology of Death. I know the Signs and the whole set up were kinda lame, but it's works... "Harder to Breathe" belongs to Maroon 5 and "Drowning" belongs to the Backstreet Boys. So, please review and I promise I'll get the next chapter up sooner.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Harder to Breathe
Kimberly pressed a wet washcloth against Altessa's forehead, hoping that the cold liquid would revive the teenager long enough for them to decide what their next move was going to be. Once Kimberly had managed to pull herself to her feet and join Thomas on the concrete deck, they had decided it was best to bring the teenager back into the house instead of back to their apartment; now that all of Altessa's family was dead, it was unclear what was going to become of her.
Altessa stirred slightly but didn't open her eyes, though they twitched beneath her eyelids; it was slightly obvious that she wasn't ready to wake just yet, wasn't ready to embrace the painful reality that was the only one that she would know for that moment on. Kimberly stood and turned away from the couch and turned her attention to Thomas, who had his back to her, studying an array of photographs spread across the mantle. She joined his side, eyes sweeping across the framed pictures, ranging from school portraits to photos from family vacations and animals of different species. She sighed deeply and rolled her shoulders, her guilt returning in full force; Death had already won in the strictest sense, for even if they managed to break the Design, Altessa had still lost her family.
Thomas looked over at her, slipping his around loosely around the brunette's waist. "How are you?" He questioned, catching her off guard with his question, something he could see in her eyes.
"What do you mean how am I? I'm the wrong person to be asking such a question; though, I'm not fine...this whole thing, it seems somehow...worse then last year. Though, I don't know how I could say such a thing but..." Kimberly trailed off, realizing that she was babbling with nothing pressing to say.
Thomas nodding sympathetically, as though he understood exactly what point she was trying to make. "It's harder because you think that you should be able to stop everything that's happening, because you've all ready gone through it once." He remarked, causing Kimberly to look at him with a mixture of surprise and affection mixed upon her face.
She was about to reply when the sound of Altessa's voice caused them both to turn around, startled by her sudden speech. "It wasn't a dream, was it?" She asked when she saw that she had both of their attention.
Kimberly pursed her lips, leaving Thomas' side to join the teenager's, sitting next to her on the couch when Altessa drew her knees toward her body. She wasn't exactly sure what to say, but she understood the pain of seeing your mother die, it was a pain she experienced herself a few years ago. Finally, Kimberly finally shook her head, drawing the teenager into a sisterly embrace, hoping to comfort her physically when she couldn't think of anything to say verbally. Altessa returned the brunette's embrace, stifling her tears, refusing to let herself get lost in her grief once more; there were still four more survivors alive, still a chance to save someone. "What do we do next?" Altessa questioned, though she wasn't quite sure where the question had come from or what she was referring to. She didn't know what step to take next when it came to saving the other survivors or salvaging what was left in her own house. No one in her family was still alive and no friends to seek comfort in, aside from Kimberly and Thomas; if not for the other survivors, Altessa wasn't sure she'd continue to even fight.
Kimberly thought about how to answer her question, not sure of what do herself. "Well, for starters, you can come stay with us, if you want." She offered, looking over at Thomas to make sure that he didn't mind her offer. Thomas nodded once in conformation, knowing it was best to offer the teenager a place to stay, for it seemed that there was no other option.
Altessa smiled slightly, for the first time in what seemed like days, meeting eyes with the brunette in front of her. "Really? That would be great; I don't want to stay here anymore, not alone...without my family." She confessed, frowning once more as she thought about her life without her family.
Kimberly nodded, a 'don't mention it' gesture, before standing up and pulling Altessa to her feet as well. "You should pack a bag so we can hurry and get home and check on Scott and Skye. Now that...another survivor is dead, we don't know who's next." She suggested, and Altessa headed upstairs to do just as she recommended.
"So what do we do next?" Thomas asked when the teenager had disappeared up the stairwell. "We don't know who's going to die next and now that every member of her family is dead, how can we tell Altessa is going to be so willing to help us now?" He didn't want to say such words but he figured there was no other way about it. He wasn't so sure if he'd want to help a group of near-strangers if his entire family was dead.
Kimberly didn't even waste a second considering her answer before she spoke. "She'll help us, I know she will." The words weren't even out of her mouth before Altessa was heard heading down the stairs once more, a duffel bag in her hand, dutifully waiting Kimberly's next 'orders.'
It seemed that Kimberly was right for the time being.
* * *
The apartment was just as it had been left before the trio had departed, congealing blood stains and all. Altessa absently threw her duffel on the couch as she followed Kimberly and Thomas into the kitchen, where they were intent on finding something for dinner (though none of them were hungry) and checking up on Skye and Scott. Only to keep her busy, Kimberly began routing around in the refrigerator while Thomas dialed the number to Scott's apartment, leaving Altessa to sit idly at the kitchen table.
"Scott? Yeah, it's Thomas," the officer was saying, and Altessa lent a half ear to their conversation, knowing that there would surely be nothing of interest. "I was just calling to see if you and Skye were all right; another survivor...died, so watch out."
Altessa turned to look at him, a thought popping into her mind so suddenly and forcefully that she found that she couldn't ignore it. "Tell her to watch for cars." She commanded without thinking.
Thomas studied her a split second before relaying the information to Scott and then hanging up, placing the phone back on its cradle. "What was that about?" He questioned, not quite sure he really wanted an answer but that stop him from asking.
Altessa could do nothing but shrug, rolling her shoulders. "A feeling I just got. What harm could it do telling Skye to watch out for cars, she could be next." The teenager remarked and judging by the way she spoke, she seemed almost certain that what she was saying was true.
Kimberly turned around, holding half full Chinese takeout containers in both hands. "Do you see Skye die or what's going to happen to her?" She questioned, laying the boxes on the counter and pulling three plates out of the cabinet above her head.
"No, but as soon as Thomas said Skye's name, I was certain that something bad is going to happen involving a car." Altessa explained, forcing her words to make sense, hoping that Kimberly, at least, saw where she was coming from.
The brunette nodded once, dumping the contents of box onto a plate. "I think we all need to test our instincts now."
* * *
Kimberly picked at her cold Chinese food, pushing it around on her plate with her fork. After Altessa's semi-prediction about Skye's demise, none of them had said much or, in that case, eaten much either. Altessa had done nothing more then simply stare at her plate, as though, if she looked hard enough, she could find all the answers between the rice and sweet and sour chicken. Kimberly finally stood, unable to take the silence any longer. "I don't think any one's going to eat right now, so I'll just put this stuff back in the refrigerator." She offered, glad that she hadn't thrown away the cartons.
Altessa stood as well, grabbing her plate and following Kimberly over to the sink. "I'll help you." She offered, setting her plate down on the counter.
Kimberly turned around to face her, shaking her head. "No, I think you should take a hot, relaxing bath to sooth you and help you get your thoughts together." She recommended, thinking of the remedy that always seemed to help her when she had a lot on her mind.
Altessa finally let herself be talked into submitting to a relaxing bath and headed down the hallway, leaving Kimberly and Thomas alone in the kitchen. Thomas turned to face the brunette, who was busy dumping Chinese back into its container. "Do you think Skye is next?" He questioned.
"Yes." Kimberly answered without hesitation, not even bothering to glance over her shoulder. "I think Altessa's right and I think I feel it too. But it won't do any good to let her know it, just yet; fear just makes people rash and rashness sometimes gets people killed." She advised, causing Thomas to nod, understanding where she was coming from.
After another moment of silence, Kimberly exited the kitchen and entered the living room to retrieve the radio that had warned of Amanda's death earlier. She carried it back into the kitchen, switching it on and settling into the most normal of tasks: washing dishes.
* * *
Altessa sighed and dropped onto the closed toilet seat, watching the warm water cascade from the faucet into the dingy tub. The shower doors rattled every time one of the upstairs neighbors thumped too hard on the floor and she was almost afraid that the doors would just come clattered off their hinges all together. When the tub was filled with lukewarm water, the teenager turned the faucet off, squeezing a few drops of soap into the water and swirling it around until the water was covered with bubbles before slipping into the tub. Altessa let herself sink beneath the surface, shutting her eyes against the bubbles and letting the water run over the top of her head.
She attempted to relax herself but found herself unable to do so, too tense and clouded to let her grief and fear simply slip away. Altessa tried not to think of the violent deaths of her mother, brother, father and best friends but knew that was a lost cause as well. The whole situation seemed like a lost cause, the sort of thing you only continued doing to spite your opponent. Altessa didn't know just how much fight she had left inside of her.
A particularly rough thump caught her attention and she lifted her head, blinking and exhaling her breath. Another thump followed suit and the shower doors rattled even more loudly, grating against their hinges. There was a soft plunk as something landed in the water; Altessa cocked her head curiously, fishing around in the water to retrieve the object that had made the sound. Her face fell and her senses prickled when she saw what she was holding: a tiny, rust covered screw.
Altessa looked over at the shower doors in time to see the one closest to her topple forward, more identical screws preceding its fall. The teenager sunk beneath the water in time to keep the shower door from knocking into her head as it fell across the width of the tub. Altessa lifted her head only to have her forehead knock against the glass, sending a jolt of panic through her body as she realized that she was trapped beneath the heavy glass door, which wouldn't budge no matter how hard she pushed upon it.
There was less then an inch of space between the surface of the water and the shower door and Altessa lifted her head up as far as she could, attempting to suck in a breath and getting little oxygen and more soapy bubbles and water. She pounded on the door, hoping to move it and praying that, if she couldn't, Kimberly or Thomas would hear the banging. "Help me!" She sputtered, spitting out the water that she had inhaled when she had shouted. "Kimberly!"
The door still refused to give way and Altessa began to lose what little hope she still had left in her. They had begun to believe that Skye was next to die but now it seemed that they had missed the mark by a long shot.
* * *
Kimberly continued to wash the few plates that they had used in the past few days, completely unaware of Altessa's peril, the radio drowning out the sounds of the teenager's shouts and half-hearted pounding.
Just like she had the day she left for Daytona, or even a few days ago, Kimberly began to get a bad feeling, the sort of feeling like being watched, though she had begun to understand that these feelings were something different. Her feelings were usually the harbingers of a particularly lethal situation. She looked around cautiously, not quite sure what she was expecting to see; Kimberly was alone in the kitchen, Thomas having left her minutes ago to check the news and she didn't see anything other then the kitchen table and the few knickknacks they had decorated the room with.
Instead, Kimberly returned her attention to the radio and the dishes in her hand; a new, semi-catchy song was playing currently, attempting to fight through the static that was slowly over powering it. "Like a little girl cries in the face of a monster that lives in her dreams: 'is there anyone-'" The lead male sang, before the song completely lost out to the static and the radio picked up a different station.
The song on this station Kimberly recognized as a ballad from a boy band that was popular a few years back. "..You keep me drowning..." The static returned, as did the other station, the song she had been listening to seconds before resuming. "It's getting harder and harder to breathe." The male voice returned, catching Kimberly's full attention now. "Is there anyone out there 'cause it's getting harder and harder to breathe."
What were the odds of both songs on two completely different stations would be about basically the same thing; even metaphorical drowning made it hard to breathe. Were the songs some sort of Sign? Realization suddenly dawned upon her and Kimberly dropped the dish she was holding into the sink without even realizing she had done it.
Understanding exactly what the Sign was warning her of, Kimberly rushed out of the kitchen and down the short hallway; her sudden motions caught Thomas' attention, who turned to regard his girlfriend with interest, attempting to figure out what she was doing. Kimberly threw open the bathroom door and rushed inside, praying that she wasn't too late to save Altessa from whatever Death had manipulated at the moment.
Kimberly saw that one of the shower doors had fallen and had seemingly imprisoned the teenager in the bathtub; Altessa looked seconds away from losing consciousness, still attempting to push at the door that had imprisoned her. "My God..." Kimberly muttered breathlessly, not giving herself anymore time to stand around.
Altessa's eyes flicked when she noticed the brunette but she did nothing more to acknowledge her appearance. Kimberly attempted to work her fingers beneath an opening between the shower door and the side of the bathtub but she could find none. Jerking her hands away in frustration, she shouted for Thomas' help, not bothering to wait until he came to aid as she searched for some way to lift the door off the teenager.
Thomas arrived what seemed like an entirety later, understanding the situation without a word passing between him and Kimberly. "Kimberly, the back of the tub curves, see if there's a gap there." He instructed, checking the front of the tub as he spoke. Kimberly was relieved to see that there was indeed a gap and she quickly slipped her fingers beneath the glass, pushing upward as hard as she could.
From the other end of the tub, Thomas pulled the door upward and Altessa jerked upward suddenly, coughing and retching up the water that she had inhaled seconds earlier, her thick hair draped across her face like a black curtain. Kimberly turned to snatch a towel off the rack, knocking the plugged hair dryer off its spot near the sink, ignoring it when it toppled harmlessly onto the toilet cover. As Thomas propped the shower door against the wall of the shower, Kimberly helped the sputtering teenager out of the water, wrapping the cotton towel around her shoulders. Altessa pulled the towel around her body and slid to the floor, exhausted, leaning against the wall, still struggling to catch her breath.
Kimberly knelt before the girl, a concerned expression upon her face. "Are you all right Altessa?" It was a stupid question, but the one that was asked most in these types of situations.
"I am now, thanks to you." The teenager answered, finally catching her breath, looking at the brunette with a grateful expression upon her damp face. She shivered slightly, knowing that it wasn't from the cold; she could still taste the soapy water in her mouth, could still feel the terror that she had felt when she believed that she was going to die.
Kimberly smiled slightly, grateful for the Signs she had been able to interpret on the radio. She turned back to the tub and spied a pair of rusty screws lying beneath the water and, absently, reached in to pick them up, knowing that they were probably be needed to repair the shower door. Thomas moved to join his girlfriend's side, accidentally jostling the hair dryer as he crossed and knocking the device into the bathtub.
There was a loud pop and Kimberly fell backward, lying motionless on the floor, a dazed expression upon her face. "Kimberly!" Altessa and Thomas cried in unison, both moving toward to the brunette's side.
Kimberly was still for a moment longer before blinking her eyes rapidly and shaking her head, as if to clear it, the dazed expression still upon her face. "Wow, what happened?" She questioned, sitting up slowly, still attempting to regain her focus.
"You were electrocuted." Altessa mumbled, letting out a sigh of relief that the brunette was all right after her near brush with Death.
"I feel...funny." Kimberly muttered, glancing around her, as though to reacquaint herself with her surroundings. She had never been electrocuted before, though it was true that she had escaped Death many times, though none of her near brushes ever involved electricity.
Thomas knelt beside her as well, looping his arm around her back to help her sit up. "Thank God you didn't have both of your hands in the water, or I doubt that you would feel much of anything." He told her, feeling painfully guilty about the events that had just unfolded. Kimberly could be dead that moment all because of his carelessness.
Kimberly let herself be led out of the bathroom but Thomas and Altessa, who was still clutching the towel around her, and sat down upon the couch. The tingling feelings of the shock were beginning to wear off and something else was beginning to dawn about the flustered the brunette. "You know what?" She questioned, causing Thomas and Altessa to glance over at her, surprised by her sudden pensive nature. "Doesn't it almost seem like the visionary is the last to die? It's it kinda weird that Altessa almost drowned right before I almost died too?"
The apartment was silent as everyone let Kimberly's words sink in, looking for a reasonable answer to her question. For the moment, they could find none.
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Okay, this chapter was kinda lame but it's another one of my (beginning) attempts to devil in the mythology of Death. I know the Signs and the whole set up were kinda lame, but it's works... "Harder to Breathe" belongs to Maroon 5 and "Drowning" belongs to the Backstreet Boys. So, please review and I promise I'll get the next chapter up sooner.