"Day- Day! Do you like to swim?!"
Day quickly spun his chair to look in the direction of the voice with a big, wide smile on his face.
"Sure I like to swim, Sammy, why do you ask?" Day responded in a cheery voice.
Moments before, he was stuck studying for an exam, so he was excited to hear that someone was here to free him from his shackles, even if it was just for a moment.
The person who came was one of the younger members of the orphanage, Sammy. He was standing in the door frame with one hand on the left side. He had a joyous smile on his face that screamed childish innocence, and he seemed impatient, like he had been waiting for a while to come talk to him… but that didn't last for long.
When Day finished speaking, there were a few moments of silence… then the boy named Sammy crossed his arms and started to grumble with a frown.
"Dayyy! Why do you lie so much? I already asked Ms. Anastacia, and she said you haven't! I'm not a kid anymore! I can handle it if you don't tell me what I want to hear!"
Day stifled a laugh, leaned back in his chair, looked down at his fingernails for a few moments, as if contemplating something, and then shrugged and looked up to meet the little boy's gaze.
"Fine, fine! You caught me, I was just joking! I haven't swam before, Ana was correct. Seriously though, why do you ask? Especially if you already knew."
"Oh… I just wanted to see if you would lie."
Day purposefully decided not to respond, and stared at Sammy with a raised eyebrow and a look of wonder clearly displayed on his face.
Sammy squirmed under his expectant gaze for a few moments, and then continued:
"Um, so… me and Alyssa have been working on this project, and we finished building a little pool! So, uhh, the truth is, I actually wanted to ask if you would ever be open to swimming with us just once?"
Day threw his pencil on his desk and sighed in disappointment.
"Sammy, to think you called me a liar… This is what you came for?"
After Day said that, Sammy's head drooped dejectedly, like he was ashamed.
Upon seeing that, Day busted out in laughter.
"I'm just joking, don't be so upset! I thought you said you weren't a kid anymore? Are you really that sad over my words?"
Sammy's head shot back up like a streak of lightning.
His mood had undergone an immediate and prominent change. Anger flashed across his face and he took a few steps forward while pointing at Day in an accusatory manner.
"I'm not a kid! I just- Grrr… Day, you're being so annoying!"
"Alright, Alright, I'm sorry! Anyway, Sammy, on swimming. Hmmm… I think it would be scary, but… Sure, I would be open to swimming."
"Really?! Okay! Don't worry, I'll teach you! I think we did a good job at making sure we won't get caught…"
"You're really sure?"
"I'm one hundred percent sure!"
"..."
When Day opened his eyes, there was only darkness.
And with that endless darkness came suffocation.
Day's arms flailed wildly as he struggled to contest what he soon vaguely realized to be water's resistance, but even as the seconds trickled by and his increasing fear started to grow exponentially, nothing came.
There was nothing at all. No sight, no air, no warmth, no solace…
So he had to fight.
He began to claw at the darkness and kick his feet. His arms started above his head and then slowly moved down to his side, and when he noticed he was moving, he repeated this action again, and again, and again, and again…
Until finally, after what felt like an eternity of suffering drawn out over a mere dozen seconds, he emerged from the confines of the sea and tasted freedom once more.
'Air… Air! Ugh… My lungs… I have no clothing… Damn it, it's cold…'
When he finally oriented himself in a way that allowed him to stay afloat, he let out a series of guttural coughs. After he finished, his eyes shot around.
There was only water as far as the eye could see in every direction… Except one. In this direction, there was a colossal, seemingly impregnable wall that rose high above the vast sea.
The moment he saw it, he knew that was where he had to go if he wanted to survive.
There was a big rule that he was frequently taught throughout his life.
Never enter large bodies of water…
Unless you want to die.
So he kicked his feet and flailed his arms, scared out of his wits of the terrifying scene. He had never swam before, so he had to practically invent in his mind the way to swim as the moments went by.
Unfortunately, he didn't have the luxury of patting himself on the back for doing just that… nor did he have the luxury of stopping, because after a few moments, his ears were bombarded by a cacophony of terrible screeching and crunching sounds that were slowly coming in his direction. It was like the moment he appeared, something immediately noticed his presence and started coming his way.
He reached the wall long before the sounds caught up to him; but he had no idea what course of action to take.
"How do I climb this? What should I do… What should I do?! Oh no… I'm going to… Damn it, damn it all!"
He tried to pull himself up by the spider-web-like cracks in the wall that were just barely deep enough for his nails to fit in. Completely out of his mind, he made a mistake and ended up tearing one of his nails clean off.
He yelped and fell back into the sea with a splash. When he emerged once more, he looked back to see what he was dealing with, unable to chase away the fear of the unknown anymore.
There was a large swarm of creatures coming his way quickly. Each one of them was chomping at the air ceaselessly with their razor sharp teeth, uncaring, even as they tore away at their own kind. None of them were huge, but each and every one of the grotesque, fish-like beasts were at least the size of Day's chest.
He turned back to the wall and looked up with panicky eyes.
What could he do? Was he going to die with the chance of safety right in front of him?
'No… I can't. I need to think of something… Anything!'
Suddenly, an inkling of an idea sprouted in his mind.
'I don't know if this will work, but… '
Day stopped, and then shook his head.
"No… this has to work. There's no time for doubt. "
He raised his hands and closed his eyes, trying to focus his mind even in the midst of almost certain death, and then slowly… He felt the same warmth he had many times before over his four week stay at the Academy.
That same sensation that could be compared to flexing a muscle enveloped his being, and then soon after his mind started to become strained as well as thin nails began to grow from his enlarged hand.
The process took ten slow, dreadful seconds. The moment it finished, Day was almost immediately upon the wall. He stuck his brand new, sharp fingernails into the web-like cracks and used all of his limited strength to pull himself up.
When he finished pulling himself out of the water and started his ascent, the swarm of ravenous creatures crashed into the wall with a deafening boom and screeched as they slowly piled up, chomping at each other in an attempt to be the first one to reach him.
Multiple times, they almost got a taste of his foot, but Day didn't know that. He was hyper focused on climbing up. The already tiny crevices he was inserting his newfound nails into were becoming increasingly smaller at each passing moment, so he had to focus his mind and be certain he didn't fall.
It was difficult, but eventually, the swarm of creatures began to slowly slide down, and Day finally arrived at the top.
He reached his light-born hand up and gripped onto the ledge, and then painstakingly pulled himself up onto the flat, coarse ground of the wall with a small roll. He laid on his back with his arm over his eyes, panting heavily; more out of fear than fatigue.
The second he calmed down, however, his woes were far from over.