Potamophobia

Thump.
Thump.
Thump.

The teenager's heart was beating out of her chest.

That sound.

That horrible, nasty, frightening sound. She shook her head, trying to clear her mind, but the memories wouldn't leave.

At age ten, she had once nearly drowned in a river during summer camp. To this day, the mere sound of water flowing brought Becca back to that day; those endless, frightening two minutes she'd spent without air, that horrible sound pounding on her ears, wondering if she would ever find her way to the surface. To this day, Becca still wore earplugs when showering, and closed her eyes and shivered when washing her hands.

Opening her eyes again, she closed the tap and sighed. Would she ever get over her fear?

"Katie?" Becca called out, stepping out of the bathroom. She poked her head into the kitchen. "Where are you?"

Her friend was nowhere to be found. The house was silent. It had been like that for about the past fifteen minutes, which seemed odd to Becca.

Then, that sound got louder.

Becca raced to the bathroom. Had Katie gone in right after she'd left and turned on the shower just to scare her? She shivered. The memories of what had gone on years ago at camp flooded her mind. She could almost feel herself back there, kicking, screaming, fighting to live.

Flinging the curtain aside, she turned off the water. "Katie, it's not funny!"

That sound.

That horrible, horrible sound.

Fwoosh.
Fwoosh.
Fwoosh.

"Katie! Goddamit, you stupid whore! You know that sound scares me! Will you please turn that fucking thing off?"

She was cursing, a sign that it would only be a matter of minutes before she was fully panicking.

Kicking open the door to the bathroom, Becca quickly turned off the shower again. There, way better, she thought. Sighing, she allowed herself to slip down to the floor in a sitting position. "Stop it, Kat" She murmured. "You know I get scared." Again, images from that unfortunate accident threatened to enter her mind. In her head, she could hear her fellow campers screaming for help, Katie crying, the counselors shouting out orders to save her... and that sound.

The sound of runing water.

She stood up. Enough of the stupid water. She had to find Katie.

If only that sound would stop.

Upstairs, she started opening doors left and right. She was starting to get scared... Katie was not one to hide or play pranks like that (in fact, even the turning on of the tap that she had previously blamed on her friend seemed a bit too much.) Something had happened.

Thump.
Then she heard it.
Fwoosh.
Her heart began to race.
Thump.

"Katie?"

She had started to sweat.

"Katie? Where are you?"

She was shaking.

"KATIE?"

And that sound. It was getting stronger. Louder. Closer.

"Kah-kat-ee?" Her voice was shaking as well.

And the sound was getting louder.

She was sure, however impossible that seemed, that the sound was coming from the closet.

"Katie?"

Thump.
Fwoosh.
Thump.
Fwoosh.
Thump.

Her heart was beating out of her chest as she slowly put her hand to the doorknob.

The sound filled her ears.

That horrible, horrible sound.

Fwoosh.
Fwoosh.
Fwoosh,

She opened the door, the sound completely engulfing her ears, pounding into them, just like that day. Water came splashing down from the closet, soaking Becca, who was now screaming in terror.

And then, then came darkness.

The last thing Becca had seen before fainting had been her best friend Katie, dead; her face contorted into a scream, as if she had drowned in fear.

She was sure she would never get over her fear now.

AN: So, that's it for me trying to be all Poe. I'm still not used to writing horror, so any reviews with constructive criticism are appreciated. Thank you for reading!