Just Keep Swimming

Kate stepped out of the pool, wringing her wet hair out over the edge of the pool. Reaching for a towel, she wrapped it around her waist. Glancing in the mirror in front of her, Kate automatically moved back to pull her hair back out from behind her ear. It was habit and looked even worse since her hair was dripping wet. Pushing it back behind her ear, it still looked terrible. Glaring at her reflection and supposedly waterproof mascara, she tried to avoid looking at her legs and arms. You're too thin, Tom and Dan would always tell her. But she never listened to them, just to the whispers she could hear about her in the halls. A door behind her banged and she snapped around instantly to see who it was.

Arya was pissed.

She had no clue where she was, how she got here, or even what had happened. One minute, she was crouching in a dark alleyway with a needle jabbing into her soft flesh. Now, she was in an aquatic center that looked like no aquatic center she had ever seen before.

Pulling down the bottom of her ripped dress- Arya had no clue how it was ripped; yet another mystery, she looked around. There was no one to be seen and Arya felt like she was about to vomit. Usually a side effect of the heroine.

Slamming open a door, Arya frowned. "Care to explain where the fuck I am?" She asked the girl.

A tall brunette walked in with a ripped dress. In Kate's opinion, she looked kind of shitty and might've been a drug addict. But that might've just been her. She slammed the door and angrily spat at her. As much as Kate wanted to say 'walk around until you find a girl from the 1300s', she didn't. "You're dead," Kate said to sum it up. It was the one part nobody could get. She supposed it was a good place to start. "And this is a place between life and death."

Arya stared at the girl with confused blue eyes.

No. She couldn't be dead. That was not right. Just a moment ago she felt the rain hitting her face and the wind pushing back her dark hair. There was no possible way that Arya could be dead. Sure, she blacked out. But, she usually blacked out. During those blackouts, Arya was subconsciously smart enough to stay where she was until she passed out or the blackout stopped.

She swallowed. How did she die, if this girl was being honest? Arya didn't know. Rape, then murder? Did she finally kill herself? Did the drugs do this? Arya had a feeling she would never know. The urge to vomit overcame her as she fell to her knees and purged into the pool.

"No, I can't be dead. No. That's impossible." Arya looked at the girl with sad eyes. "You're lying. I'm not dead."

Kate's eyes widened as the other girl vomited into the pool. It made her sick, she would never be swimming again. And of course, she didn't believe her. Not like she was the only one. Kate sighed, dropping the towel and reaching for a new, drier one. "You don't have to believe me." So far, she wasn't find of this girl, and didn't really care. "If you think it's a dream, that's fine. You can do that, you're not the first." Kate said, although it came out more angrily than she meant for it to. Sighing, she took a deep breath. "But just a warning - you're not waking up."

Arya pulled her knees up to her chest, slowing down her breathing. So many thoughts ran through her head. She would never see her friends again. Or her family.

Her family.

A smile erupted onto her face. Never again would Arya's mother's hand come in contact with her face again. Nor would her cruel words that stung more than Arya cared to admit. Never again would he sneak into her room late at night. Never again would she have to smell his horrible breathe as he panted over her, pinning her to the bed.

She was free. "I'm free," Arya sobbed out, her hands clutching her hair. "I'm free, I'm free, I'm free, I'm free." She chanted as she rocked back and forth, not caring about the girl in the room.

It was a long time before she calmed down. Standing, surprisingly stoic, she looked at the girl. "I'm sorry," Arya said with a twitch. "This is just a lot to process."

Kate watched the girl as she chanted while rocking back and forth. A sudden urge of sympathy came over Kate for this girl. She was free from what? Kate wondered and opened her mouth to ask, but figured it was better not to ask. She had her own ideas. "No, it's fine." Kate murmured quietly. "I understand." She responded, beginning to toy with her hair again. "Erm, I can leave if you need a moment." She also should probably tell Maggie someone had vomited in the pool.