The Pool

It was hot. The hottest day in a decade, at least. The sun was an unforgiving ball of fire, beating down on my shoulders, licking my pale skin until it peeled and blistered and turned darker. Unrelenting for a week now. My parents now prayed for rain every night before bed, in hushed voices, sweaty hands clamped in front of the only fan in our house.

My hair was glued to my forehead, beads of perspiration merged into a sticky swamp on my skin. I was wearing the smallest, shortest clothes I had –my sister’s old school uniform, a shirt that barely covered my belly, shorts that were as short as the girls’. Yet, blood pulsed beneath my skin, tinting it a deep ruby red.

‘Tom,’ Micah said. He was my best friend since third grade. His hair was drenched, hanging in dark clumps over his eyes. His brow, beaded with sweat, was pulled low over his eyes. ‘Theo’s invited everyone to his pool this afternoon. Says his parents are opening it to the neighbourhood.’

I lazily glanced over at him. The heat had stolen my energy, everyone’s, really. The classroom, a stinking, stuffy room with shades covering the windows, was quiet. Unusual for our class. But not after the air conditioning had decided it was too hot to work.

‘For us?’

‘Yeah. For everyone. Want to head over after school?’

‘Hell yeah. Too damn hot to be inside.’

Too damn hot for everything else.

Theo’s parents opened their side gate, where a steady stream of sweaty school-goes clutching backpacks with bathers and goggles and mini water guns staggered through. Climbing shrubs crawled up the fence and formed a thin canopy, meeting with the side of the house. Micah and I stepped over long, tangled roots that criss-crossed along the ground, shirts glued to our backs with sweat.

‘Hey, Micah, Tom. My parents bought icy-poles. Want one?’ Theo was a short kid, small for his age, dark eyes and even darker hair. His parents were the kind who let others sleep over whenever they wanted, and filled bellies with warm, home-cooked meals. Relatively new to the neighbourhood, but instantly well-liked, pleasant, eager to please. Theo was just like them; a host, an entertainer. His shirt was off and he was still in his school shorts, chest glistening with sweat.

‘Yes, please!’ I said, grinning. Theo brought Micah and I to a plastic table that was strewn with multicoloured plastic-wrapped icy-poles, the ends haphazardly snipped off with a large pair of scissors lying nearby, leaving a sharp plastic edge that I knew would cut my tongue.

A handful of kids were already in the pool, resting on floaties or splashing each other with water. Sunlight danced on the water.

‘Thanks,’ I said, letting the cool ice soothe my tongue, a sugary burst exploding in my mouth.

‘No problem.’ Theo said, and I could see his tongue was stained purple. ‘Pool’s open till six. Then Mum says it’s time for dinner so everyone has to leave.’

‘Sweet,’ Micah said.

I dumped my backpack on the floor and fished out my bathers –a pair of boardshorts I got for my birthday, a bather top Mum insisted I wear to cover my torso. ‘Your skin is fragile,’ she’d said. ‘Protect it.’

After a moment of hesitation, I shoved the top back into my bag. No one else was wearing one. All the boys were shirtless, droplet-splayed chests glistening (or burning) in the sunshine.

The pool was crowded, sweat and saliva mixing in the water. Leaves had drifted in from trees that lined the backyard. It was cold, no, cool, enough to strip away the radiating heat that clouded my body but not enough to leave me shivering.

‘Thank God,’ Micah mumbled beside me. One hand was clutched around his icy-pole, the other wrapped around an inflatable ring. Flecks of juice lined his lips. I laughed, dunking my head under the water. Droplets clung to my eyelids and glued my hair to my forehead. I moved effortlessly through the water, a pillowy, weightless place, free of the burden of blistering heat that plagued the town for a week. A jet on the side of the pool blasted cool water towards me. The air rippled above the surface. But inside, I melted.

Micah scooped the crystal-clear water into the head of a water gun, which he aimed at my forehead from point-blank range. I coughed as the cool water splashed against my face.

‘Not fair, you’re too close!’ I whined, kicking water in his direction.

Micah only laughed and danced just out of reach of my hands, leaving fistfuls of water spurting through my fingertips.

The sun soon sunk beneath the horizon but the stifling heat didn’t subside. A layer of clouds had drifted overhead, trapping the warmth, suffocating, like we were baking in an oven. The stone tiles that surrounded the pool were scorching, burning my feet as I waded out of the water, which had wrinkled and pruned. I’d spent all afternoon in the pool, away from the summer heat, for as long as I could.

‘Thanks, Theo,’ I mumbled. ‘Tell your parents thanks. This was a godsend.’

Most of the kids had cleared out, leaving a mess of icy-pole wrappers, leaves and abandoned goggles. The occasional sandal or abandoned pencil from school. The water had stilled. The discarded sunk to the bottom.

‘No problem. It’ll be open tomorrow, too. Every day this week. Mum says she doesn’t want kids getting heatstroke.’

‘Awesome. I’ll see you tomorrow, then. Bye, Micah.’ I said, waving at Micah, who was lazily floating atop the water. He stuck up a hand in a peace sign but didn’t move. I nodded and stumbled towards the exit, my feet burning, skin on my back stinging like a massive hand had slapped it.

The heat didn’t subside. My mattress was sticky with sweat, the feeble fan blowing at the end of my bed circulating hot air around my room. Mum had given it to me after seeing the bright red my skin was tinted, like I had been dipped in traffic-cone-coloured paint. The window was open, letting the night in, but the temperature was the same as outside. The moon rose, the night darkened. The heat stayed.

I packed my bathers in my schoolbag the next day.

‘Did you wear your rashie yesterday?’ Mum asked, lifting a skeptical eyebrow.

‘Yep,’ I lied.

‘Really? Your neck and shoulders are all burnt. Maybe I’ll just call Theo’s mum, see what she thinks.’

‘No, no need for that. I’ll wear it.’ I said quickly.

‘Good. Glad we sorted that out.’

I grumbled some strained agreement and slung my bag over my shoulder. My head was already throbbing. I wasn’t allowed a shower more than a couple of minutes –water had quickly become a scarce resource to be savoured. In the background, the T.V was on, the shiny face of a blonde-haired blue-eyed weather reporter warning of the extreme heat and advising people to stay indoors and keep cool.

‘You coming to my pool again, Tom?’ Theo asked at school. The air conditioner had been blasted so had refused to come back to life. Two classes of antsy kids were shoved into one small classroom, sweaty hands, red-faced. The teachers had given up trying to get anyone to learn, and now facilitated number and card games in small groups, fanning themselves with hands or papers. The classroom was dark. The window shades were down. I sat with Theo. Micah was away.

‘Yep,’ I said. ‘I’ll be there. Have you seen Micah, by the way? I haven’t seen him since last night, at your place.’

Theo frowned, waiting an awkward beat too long to respond. ‘No, don’t think so. Didn’t he go home with you? Wait, no, he didn’t. I don’t know. Maybe it’s too hot for him, or something.’ He wiped his neck with his palm.

I laughed dryly. ‘Too hot for all of us.’

Theo shrugged and smiled lopsidedly. He lowered his eyes and turned his attention back to the stack of cards between us, whatever game we were playing, that I knew nothing of except that he was winning.

Theo’s pool was even more crowded than the day before. I was lucky to even get an inch of space around my body, without running into someone’s kicking feet or splashing hands. My bather top sat uncomfortably on my sunburned shoulders, goggles compressing over my blistered face. Somehow, it was impeccably clean, like a vacuum had suctioned up all the rubbish the storm of pre-teen kids had left behind the previous day.

The water hugged my body, tight, smooth, cool. My skin tingled. My muscles loosened. The sting of the sun vanished, and only the chilling water contrasting the dry, blazing world outside remained.

‘Tom. Time to go. Parents say it’s dinner time.’ Theo stood on the pool’s edge, one foot wedged in a too-small thong, the other suspended above the hot stone tiles. He sounded stressed. It was me and one other boy still in the water. Icy-pole wrappers littered the bottom of the pool. The time had vanished, been stolen by the blissful chill of the pool, refreshing against my burnt and sweaty skin.

‘Right. Of course. Did you see Micah, at all? Not like him not to come.’ I asked, wading to the edge of the pool. My skin was dry, cracking, but the extra layer of heat like a thick jumper had loosened.

‘No, he didn’t come. He wasn’t here.’ Theo said quickly. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow.’ Without another word, he vanished into his house. The light flicked on. The other boy still paddled underwater, oblivious.

I quickly draped my towel over my shoulders and slung my backpack over my shoulders. Pebbles and dirt clung to my wet feet. I padded through the back gate, the sounds of the water fading to silence.

My feet stung. I was walking home, about a block from Theo’s house. Why was I walking barefoot? My heart sank, and I turned back. I’d forgotten my sandals.

The sun had sank by the time I returned. Shadows were draped like cobwebs over the foliage, the backyard eerily quiet. The gate moaned as I opened it.

No, not the gate. Something else. Something was speaking. Someone. And it was coming from the backyard.

Arguing voices. One I recognised: Theo. Strained. Angry. Scared. And another I’d never heard before.

‘I’m going to tell them to stop. You can’t keep doing this. They’re my friends.’

‘If you stop, I’ll send you away. You don’t want to go back, do you? We have to keep feeding it.’

‘I said no. You can’t.’ A crack in his voice.

‘You remember what it was like, don’t you? Before I brought you in?’

Silence.

Then, a groan: ‘please.’

A whisper.

I crept closer, crouching low beside the roots. I could see the pool. Crystal-clear, full, silent. Unmoving.

‘Please.’

‘Who’s there?’ I hissed. My heart was in my throat. I felt sweat prickling the back of my neck.

‘I’m trapped. They never let us leave.’ The voice sounded familiar, but empty, somehow. Hollow.

‘Where?’

‘The pool.’

‘I –’ I cut myself off. The voices had gone silent. Theo had gone silent. My mouth went dry.

‘You need to leave.’ I flinched. The voice was hushed, firm. Close. I recognised it.

‘Theo,’ I whispered shakily. ‘What’s going on? Who is in the pool?’

His dark eyes lowered. Softened. Saddened.

‘Them,’ he whispered. ‘Everyone.’

‘Who are they?’

‘One person every day. All so I can be outside.’

‘I –I don’t understand.’ I said, my voice faltering. ‘Who? What are you talking about?’

‘My parent’s colleagues, mostly. People no one will miss. But they aren’t at work in this heat. They told me –they told me to lure people in. Kids. To catch.’ His eyes brimmed with tears. ‘I’m sorry, Tom. Micah –I told him to go yesterday. He was the last in the pool when it drained. It got him.’ A tear dripped down his cheek. ‘It got him.’

My blood ran cold. My mouth opened, but no words came out.

‘What?’ I squeaked eventually. ‘Where is he? Where’s Micah?’

Theo sniffed. He wiped his eyes with the back of his palm.

‘I’ll show you,’ he said. He led me back to the pool, which was now empty, clean. Silent.

‘Where is he?’

‘Look. In there. The drain.’ Theo said glumly.

‘He’s… In the drain?’

Theo said nothing. I looked closer, squinting through the darkness. As my eyes adjusted, I saw it: not darkness, a face. Multiple faces. Eyes that were empty, lips that were pale and soulless. Whispering, overlapping voices.

‘That’s where I come from. In there. If we don’t feed it more people every day, it will take me back.’

I said nothing. My muscles were locked in place. Its eyes met mine.

‘Micah,’ I whispered.

‘Tom,’ the face whispered back. Its voice sounded like it had aged a decade, its eyes distant, milky, different.

‘No… You’re not… You can’t…’

‘Help me. Please,’ it whispered. I inched closer to the edge of the pool.

‘Tom?’ Theo said uneasily. ‘You can’t help him. Not without getting a replacement for him.’

‘Micah,’ I said again. ‘N –no. He’s my friend. You can’t keep him here.’

‘I’m sorry,’ Theo whispered.

My toes curled around the edge of the pool. Moonlight illuminated my path. I didn’t know what I was doing, yet somehow I knew exactly what I was doing. I was saving my friend.

‘I’m coming, Micah,’ I said to the face. Its eyes lit up, but in a soulless, unfeeling kind of way. The other faces whispered and murmured. Too many to distinguish each individual within the drain. Some were more boisterous, some seemed defeated, falling to the back of the pack.

‘Tom, don’t,’ Theo said behind me, but it was too late. I had already slid into the empty pool, my feet sliding against the smooth tiled interior.

My throat was thick. Was I really doing this?

‘Micah,’ I whispered, reaching for him. The face touched my hand. And then, it didn’t.

The world drained of colour. My body fell through air, through water, through space. Then through nothing at all. Every sensation vanished. My painful sunburns, blistering on my skin. The rocks that had wedged into my feet. The water that was lodged in my ear. Gone.

The air vanished from my lungs. I was staring at the night sky, an inky black, speckled with twinkling stars.

I was staring from inside the drain of Theo’s pool.