Читать книгу Soul Fulfiller - Ар'лан ис'Дрекхэм - Страница 6

Sam and I decided to go for a swim in the cold water. It was only +14°C outside, but we went for it anyway. The moment we splashed into the water, we froze our asses off, and our underwear was soaked through. Colin brought us towels — the party was insane, and my phone already showed six missed calls from Mom.

“How much longer is this going to go on?” I sighed.

Colin grabbed my phone and hurled it onto the floor.

“Colin, I’m going to be in so much trouble! I need to call her right now!” I protested.

“Oh, come on. You’re not a teenager — you don’t have to report to your parents,” Colin said, starting to kiss my neck.

From the alcohol and the buzz, my whole face was burning.

“Colin, get off me!” I shoved him away and adjusted the towel.

“You’re such a pain,” he snapped irritably and left the room.

I quickly texted Mom that everything was fine and went to look for Sam. She had already managed to drink herself into complete oblivion. Meanwhile, the guys decided to organize a race on the water — to swim to the other shore. Colin was among the participants.

“You’re drunk! The current is strong — don’t swim!” I shouted at the top of my lungs, trying to drown out the roar of the crowd and the surf, but Colin seemed not to hear me at all. He just waved me off as if I were ruining his fun and, smirking, began flailing his arms, egging the crowd on. His movements were unsteady, his eyes gleamed with alcohol, and there was a sense of sheer recklessness in everything he did.

Two others were standing beside him. One could barely stay on his feet. The other — Greg Hesley — didn’t just seem drunk. His pupils were dilated, his face gaunt and oddly detached. He giggled to himself and swayed from side to side, as if the ground beneath him were unstable. It looked as though he didn’t even understand where he was. It was terrifying.

I closed my eyes, clenched my fists, and began whispering silently to myself:

“Please let everything be okay. Please. Let everything be okay…”

The crowd around them buzzed with excitement — some people were placing bets, others were already filming on their phones. A shot rang out — someone fired a starter pistol — and the race began. The guys charged into the water, diving headfirst into the icy waves. Their bodies flashed between sprays of water and sunlit reflections on the surface. The people on the shore went wild — shouting, whistling, clapping.

The minutes stretched on like an eternity. I stood there, unable to tear my eyes away from the water, my heart pounding in my chest as if it were about to burst. After a few minutes, the first swimmer reached the opposite shore and, stumbling, threw his arms up in celebration. Colin came in second — he was breathing hard but smiling, pleased with himself. I let out a breath of relief. He made it. Everything was fine.

But where was the third one?

Panic surged through me as I started looking around, searching for Greg. Nowhere. Water, waves, noise, people — but Greg was gone.

Then, from the crowd, a desperate scream rang out:

“Over there! Over there! It’s Greg! Look!”

I whipped my gaze in that direction and froze. In the distance, slightly off to the side of the main swim route, I saw something — his body. The current was dragging him away, fast and merciless. He was lying on his back, arms spread wide. His head lolled weakly on the waves, and, most terrifying of all — he wasn’t moving.

“He’s not moving!” someone screamed, hysteria in their voice.

Everyone froze. It was as if the entire crowd stopped breathing. The loud cheers and laughter instantly shifted into panic, confusion, and terror. People rushed to the shore — some were already dialing emergency services, others started stripping off their clothes, getting ready to swim out to him. I watched as his body drifted farther away, and something icy clenched inside me.

What had started as a silly evening of fun and bravado had suddenly turned into an absolute nightmare.

“He’s dead!” I screamed. “Someone help him, hurry!”

The guys immediately rushed into the water — two of them heading straight for the waves, and one jumping into a small boat, speeding toward the spot where the current was pulling Greg. Everything around us fell eerily silent. Only the sound of the waves and their heavy breathing filled the air. The laughter and shouting of the crowd seemed to evaporate, replaced by a thick, suffocating silence filled with anxiety. Everyone stood frozen, unable to believe what was happening. Fear spread across faces like a wave — one to another, in a chilling, silent exchange.

“Call an ambulance! Immediately!” a piercing voice rang out from the depths of the crowd.

When they pulled him ashore, everything turned black and white. His body was lifeless, his skin pale, almost bluish. His head was bruised — a thin stream of blood trickled down his temple, leaving ominous red stains on the sand.

“He probably… choked,” I whispered, not recognizing my own voice.

I dropped to my knees beside him and, despite my legs buckling with fear, began chest compressions. One, two, three. More. More. But he didn’t respond. His chest remained motionless, as if it had all been over for a long time.

“I’ll check his pulse,” I said almost automatically, pressing my fingers to his cold, damp neck. Silence. Not a beat, not a faint throb. I rushed to the wrist — nothing.

“Anyone who can’t stand it — leave! Now is not the time to panic!” I shouted, turning to the others. Some turned away, some burst into tears, one girl fell to her knees, covering her face with her hands.

And then, in the distance, a siren howled. Hope — a fleeting, fragile thing — flickered in the eyes of those around us.

“Hang in there, man, the ambulance is almost here,” said a young man standing next to me, his voice trembling.

“It’s too late…” I whispered, feeling everything inside me constrict.

His face remained motionless. No breath, not the slightest movement. Just a lifeless body on the cold sand.

Around us, chaos slowly began to unfold — some were running back and forth, some were on their phones, others just stood there, wrapping their arms around themselves. A few minutes later, the ambulance and police arrived. The flashing lights of the sirens illuminated the beach, as if sobering everyone with their cold, harsh glow. It was like the final chord of this wild scene.

And suddenly, it became painfully clear — summer, fun, carefreeness… it was all over.