up. How we’re moving upward so quickly is beyond me, but then Micah and I are thrown out the mouth of a giant fountain and into a small pond below.
I stand up, dizzy as hell, hacking and coughing into fresh, cold air. Rain is pouring down on us like crazy as Micah drags me to the edge of the small, inset pond.
The McCarthy twin shoves me up and out of the water, so that I'm lying on my back. The feeling of drowning takes over me again as he positions himself to give me mouth-to-mouth. The hot feel of his lips seems to jolt me awake more than anything else, his hands going to my chest for compressions.
I start to cough and he rolls me over, making sure I'm breathing before he tries to pull away.
“Where are you going?” I cough out, and he looks back at me with sheer, unadulterated terror on his face.
“To get my brother,” he whispers, voice breaking, his words stolen away by the wind. Even though my chest feels like it's full of fire ants, I push up and grab onto his leg. Going down there will not help Tobias.
“There’s no feasible way you could get back to him from here if you wanted to; you can't go back.”
“I have to!” he screams at me, and even through the rain I can see that he's got tears. Not such a dickhead after all, is he? He's got big feelings, this boy. “I have to,” he whispers, but then he drops down to his knees, and I know I've made my point.
So we wait, watching the fountain on the opposite side for any sign of movement. It pours down in a thick, unending stream, and even with the drain that’s located below and to the right of it, the pond’s overflowing. The grass around us is soggy, with nearly an inch of standing water.
“There!” Micah tears away from me, and jumps back into the water, helping to pull a scowling Church out. He looks so human in that moment, sopping hair falling in his face, coughing and shaking. I stand up, teeth chattering, and wait with bated breath. “Where are they?”
“I don't fucking know!” Church screams back at him. “They shoved me in, those assholes …” His voice trails off, and the two boys wait side by side, one on either side of the drain, looking up at the big round mouth of the fountain. It’s just a decorative circle, about as tall as I am, spewing out is own never-ending waterfall.
It feels like forever before Tobias emerges and Micah lets out this sound of pure joy that makes me want to cry. Later, I will. Later. Right now, there's too much at stake.
“Ranger?” Church asks, but Tobias is still coughing, and can't answer yet. When he does, it isn't good.
“We agreed since he was bigger, it made more sense for him to follow after. That way, if I slipped he'd catch me, and …” He pauses and we all look up at the fountain; if possible the strength of the water pouring from it seems to be increasing. There's no air pocket left in there, I bet.
“Fuck, Ranger, fuck,” Church whispers, and then before the twins can stop him, he's climbing up and trying to peer into the opening. Tobias tries to go after him, but Micah holds him back.
“No! You're not getting yourself killed. It's not happening, bro.” Tobias yanks himself away from his brother, but he doesn't go anywhere. Instead, they both just stand there, muscles tense.
When Church comes back down, alone, I feel something shatter inside of me.
“No.” The word's just a whisper at first, but when Church punches the rocky wall next to the fountain, I fall apart. Tears pour from my face, and I start to shake, collapsing to my knees in the wet grass.
It's not fair.
Ranger just wanted the truth about the big sister he loved. He can't die like this, not here. No fucking way. I stand up and slide into the pool, swimming across it to … to … shit, I don't know, but the twins won't let me pass.
“You're not going up there, Chuck,” Micah says, tears pouring down his face. “You're just not. We need to go find help.”
“Go get the headmaster,” Church says, and his voice is so sharp it's like a garrote. “I'll stay here in case he …” He trails off. We all know Ranger is not coming back.
Ranger drowned in the