A Night at the Pool

Night at the Pool

By David Powell





How do things escalate so quickly?



One moment you’re a normal twenty four year old with your whole life in front of you and the next you’re scared to death.



It was Friday night and Tim and I sat around my room bored. “I’m so tired of having nothing to do” Tim complained. He was lounging in my recliner with his legs over one side and his head hanging over the other. “There has got to be something we can do that we haven’t done a million times before.”



“Well” I started to make a suggestion for an activity when the phone rang.



“Hello” I said into the receiver, “Ryan? What’s up man? What? You’re gonna do what? Man I’m cool, it’s closed, sounds like fun however I’ll wait till the place is open.”



“Who was that?” Tim inquired is action radar firing on all cylinders.



“Ryan” I said with a look of mock disgust. “Asshole hung up on me.”



“Well, what was he talking about?”



“He wanted us to go break in the new swim club, the one they just built in the old downtown…”



Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Tim interrupted impatiently “I know the one, He wants to break in? Damage things? Steal all their new equipment?”



I had never seen this side of Tim before. He had a gleam in his eyes just thinking about the damage they would do and the suffering that would accompany that one act of violence. It was a little unnerving.



“No! Nothing as demented as that you psychopath, you’re crazy you know that?” I said.                                               



“Yeah I know.”



“He said him and Kimmy were going to break in and just go swimming.”



“Sounds like fun we should totally go.”



“No! Are you kidding? We get caught they’ll lock us up. Tim we both no we can’t afford to get locked up again. I’m still trying to pay off the money for the last charge I got” I knew he would talk me in to it. I’m weak. And I was bored.



We went that was our first mistake.





                                                        *  *    *    *    *



As we approached the swim club all the lights inside the building where off. This made me nervous.



“Shouldn’t they at least have some security lights on inside?” the question was not rhetorical, but Tim didn’t answer immediately, and must have talked himself out of what he was thinking because he slapped my right shoulder and said “Come on man let’s check it out” and with that we were off.



We could tell that Ryan and Kimmy must have already been in the club because the chain on the door was cut and the door propped open. It was cool and silent. The only sounds were the soft rapping of our tennis shoes on the tile floor.



Upon entering the room with the massive Olympic size pool there was no sign of Ryan or Kimmy.



“They must be in another part of the building messing around; they’ll probably be back in here in a minute” Tim said “Let’s just start swimming and, bro we made it, just have fun, jeez.”





“Alright, sorry” I wanted to relax.



We got in the pool and splashed around a bit, trying to drown each other. Tim decided he wanted to; once and for all, find out who was a faster swimmer, him or me. We swam to the wall at the end of the pool. Tim counted to three and we were off. Tim took a five or six arms length lead could have been more or less it was dark and hard to see. Not wanting to lose to Tim I kicked it in to overdrive.



I would have caught him but as I was closing in I swam face first into something floating on the top of water. It was as big as a body. Tim noticed that I had stopped swimming and thought I was in trouble so he came splashing up to me panicking thinking I was drowning.



“You ok!” Tim yelled



“Yeah I’m fine…” I couldn’t finish the sentence because I looked over at what I had collided with and the bloated lifeless face of Ryan was staring right at me.



I freaked and started swimming just starting to realize that the water was thicker than it should have been, stickier than water should be.



As I reached the edge of the pool lifting my self out over the edge I looked over at Tim who was getting out as well about 10 feet down from me. That’s when I saw her. I was to late Tim never heard my scream, my cry for him to look out. Kimmy slashed the knife across his throat killing him instantly.



I ran.