The System #2 by Shelbi Wescott Page A

muster, saw Blair’s face on the other side of the glass watching her—like Lucy was a fish at the aquarium. Lucy’s lungs burned and she couldn’t hold her breath any longer. She let her breath escape and giant bubbles formed in front of her and gurgled upward. Then she let her body travel back up to the top; there were only inches left and Lucy tilted her head backward and sucked in more air through her nose, maximizing the last final seconds of breathing.
    It happened.
    Lucy was fully submerged. All was quiet underwater; and Lucy concentrated on the air in her lungs—willing herself to hold her breath until she couldn’t any longer. She pushed herself down and opened her eyes; the boy and the girl were still fighting and then she saw him hit Blair with an open palm across the face. Her blonde hair flew and she reeled against the force. Blair stumbled backward and touched the spot where his hand had been.  
    Lucy closed her eyes.
    Drowning. What would it feel like?
    Soon she would have to breathe. Soon she would need to breathe.
    Don’t inhale. Don’t inhale. Don’t inhale . She commanded herself—Lucy kicked her legs and pounded her fists against the glass. Everything in her chest burned and ached; her brain commanded her to take a breath. She fought it as long as she could. She opened her eyes.
    From beyond the glass, Blair was moving toward the plastic box, cradling her cheek.  
    She pushed a button.
    There was a rumbling and a whoosh. The ground of the tank shifted and sunk downward, and it created a gap so the water could drain. Lucy felt herself being pulled to the bottom of the tank, propelled by the force of the water above her seeking an exit. But it was too late, even with hope of escape seconds away; Lucy couldn’t fight it any longer. No matter how hard she struggled against the impulse, her body forced her to expel the air in her lungs. And then, mechanically and instinctually, she breathed in. Water stung her nose and burned her throat, and it settled deep inside her chest like a cool compress on her lungs.  
    Then the panic set in and Lucy kicked her legs and felt the pain of death in every inch of her body. There was no air, no relief. Her body flailed and rippled with spasms; she tore at her clothes and her chest. In her head, she was screaming, but in reality, she was making no sounds at all.  
    Her body felt heavy and she couldn’t even find the strength to move; she just let the water travel into her lungs, and she sank to the bottom of the tank—she looked at the mismatched tile beneath her.
    The pain subsided, the panic drained from her. She resumed breathing, in and out, and there was a coolness in her body, like she had swallowed an ice cube and could feel it traveling past her lungs and settling in her stomach. But then she realized: she didn’t feel afraid anymore. She just kept trying to fill her lungs with water to feel the cold. Lucy thought she might have smiled as she embraced the calm and the peace of knowing this was the end.
    She let herself float now. Her body bobbed. Keeping her eyes trained on the cement above her, Lucy watched the gray ceiling move further away and then her body hit the floor. She closed her eyes and thought of her family—she had come so close and she was sorry that she wouldn’t be able to say goodbye. Her life was not flashing before her eyes but the images of Harper, the twins, Galen and her mom and dad did float past her vision. They would be sad. She hoped they would find comfort.
    But she wasn’t sad. Death isn’t so scary , she thought as the ceiling blurred and everything around her went white.

CHAPTER SIX

    Water poured out of her in a rush. She vomited pure liquid and it escaped her involuntarily and seeped out onto the tiled floor, pooling beneath her already wet clothes. Her lungs seared with sharp, shooting pain and her throat burned as the water fled from her. No matter what, she couldn’t stop herself from coughing and choking.