A cold plunge

Posted on Mon Jul 31st, 2023 @ 11:33 by Claire Cavendish & Kaylee Ashton BSc & Sarah Bright

Chapter: All Hallow's Eve
Location: The Loch outside Avalon Institute
Timeline: 00:01 November 1st, 1992 (immediately following The Witching Hour)
1662 words - 3.3 OF Standard Post Measure

Claire reappeared, this time it was about two metres off the ground. "-..CK" With that she plummeted down, with Kaylee, Adeline, and Sarah splashing into the cold October water of the Scottish Loch right outside Avalon institute. It was almost as if they held still above the surface for a second before gravity caught up with them and pulled them into the waiting arms of the icy waters.

One moment Sarah had been eating an eyeball-shaped cake, the next she was hovering mid-air above a lake, then suddenly plunging into its cold waters. Her mouth, half-full with cake and agape due to the sudden shift in environment, was instantly filled with lake water. And unfortunately for the librarian, she quickly discovered that her jacket and boots, both made of sturdy leather, made swimming a very difficult feat. Doing so while already choking on water? All but impossible. And at first, the strange power surge only appeared to make things worse for her. Her body went into shock, and she seemed unable to struggle against her fate as she quickly sank out of view, before anyone could reach for her.

Reappearing not far from Claire, Kaylee fell with a splash into the lake. Struggling to keep swim to the surface due to her now soaked wedding dress, she panicked and let out a burst of her icy powers. While this had the intended effect of helping her to the surface, it wasn't quite as graceful as she'd intended as her powers had formed a block of ice around her, causing her to float like an ice cube, "Claire, what the hell!" she called out, now stuck in her own ice.

Still sinking, Sarah was slow to react, but after a few moments she eventually did. Unfortunately, her first attempts to react were not productive, and only resulted in useless thrashing that only served to use up some of what little oxygen her body still had at its disposal. Those were mental reflexes, however, and her body was quick to put a stop to them. Though Sarah's strange powers did seem to lend her mind some power over her body, there were some rare instances where her body did take charge, and acted as if with a mind of its own. Firstly, it refused to acknowledge the initial fight or flight signals her mind tried tried to execute as it panicked for a way out. As a result her body went limp to conserve oxygen, and as her arms began to dangle above her Sarah noticed an immediate, beneficial effect. Her jacket, now much looser, ballooned from the water current, and was actually pulled up and off of her arms and back.

Though the sinking sensation slowed, Sarah still couldn't override her body and find the will to try again to struggle to the surface. The panic threatened to return, but then she felt her boots hit mud, and she collapsed onto the lake bed. and only then did her control over her movement return. She knew she had to get her boots off, or she would never be able to swim back up to the surface. But she still had time, and with that in mind, Sarah did something that felt very counterproductive, but was very necessary. She exhaled all her remaining oxygen, along with the bit of food, and water in her mouth. If she didn't, her choke reflex might trigger, and that would be the end of her. Best to do it while she could still control her ability to exhale.

Unfortunately that seemingly counterproductive act did not make things look very good for her on the surface. It was bad enough that all those air bubbles rushed to the surface at once. What made it worse was that they appeared not far from her bobbing fedora.

Claire kept herself afloat, the prop weapon on her back weighing her down rather significantly so she made sure to throw off the strap while kicking her legs to stay above the water level. "Where's Sarah? Wasn't Sarah here with us?" She looked around just in time to see the air bubbles come up from underneath the surface and didn't hesitate to dive down into the dark waters. It was as if she could see just as well as if she were in a well lit courtyard. Normally she didn't really have enhanced vision in the dark, though she was easily able to navigate even in low light situations. Whatever it had been that had put them in this predicament it was affecting her abilities.

The head mistress spotted the Librarian fighting her way back up towards the surface, looking like she might be actually losing said fight. Closing the distance with some strong strokes Claire was able to grab on to Sarah's upper arm and started to pull her up by kicking the water away under her and propelling them to the surface. As they broke the barrier between water and open air the purple skinned woman took in a gulp of fresh air, making sure Sarah her head was well above water as well.

Sarah had never been a big fan of swimming to begin with, but at that moment she reckoned it would take an awful lot of convincing to get her to ever willingly set foot in a large body of water again. Though she generally didn't feel many of the discomforts that typically went along with outdoor swimming, such as the cold, that didn't mean she would be immune to whatever misery might accompany the activity. Such as soaking wet clothes. Or lungs partially filled with water.

It took what felt like an eternity of uncontrollable coughing to get that water out, to the point where Sarah could breathe without instantly triggering another coughing fit. If there hadn't been someone there to hold her head above water, she more than likely would've gone under again. Misery wasn't even the half of it. but Sarah was grateful to be alive.

"I think I'm gonna throw out all my shoes... and just wear flip-flops from now on..." Sarah said, amid sputtering and labored wheezes. Was it a joke, or was she being serious? It was doubtful that anyone at the institute knew her well enough yet to know that that was never going to happen, but at that moment it was almost a consideration.

Seeing Claire resurface carrying Sarah, Kaylee gave a sigh of relief before refocusing on her own predicament. While she was in no danger currently, being stuck in an ice cube wasn't Kaylee's idea of a fun time. "Claire? What happened? why are we out here?"

"I..." Claire struggled to keep her head above water as well as keeping Sarah afloat at the same time. "I don't know, but we should get to shore before we tire out." She had learnt rescue swimming and could probably get the librarian to safety, but if she could just swim on her own that would of course be much preferable. "Can you swim on your own?" She asked of the librarian currently in her arms.

Sarah had been coughing to try and expel the rest of the water from her lungs while the others discussed what had happened. As such, she was really too distracted to keep track of what was being said. Then she felt warm breath on her cheek and realized that Claire had turned her head back and was speaking to her. Would she be able to swim on her own? Her body was still in a low power mode of sorts to conserve oxygen, but that was no longer needed now that she could breathe. To test that, she took a deep breath, and was only interrupted by a minor coughing spasm.

"I can... thanks." Sarah said with a bit more stability in her voice as she started moving more, going through the motions to try and tread water. Only then did she notice that her fellow faculty member Kaylee had been transformed into a floating... iceberg? She stared with her mouth agape for a moment, before shut quickly shut it so that no more water could get in. Sarah couldn't help but wish that she had a more useful set of powers.

Claire made her way over to said iceberg and put herself on top of it, feet still in the water. "Don't worry, you're safe. We'll get you back home." She figured that if it was buoyant she'd also be able to easily displace it. She started kicking her feet in an effort to move it towards the shore. It wasn't far away and even with the huge teleports she'd done she hadn't gotten the sense that she was low on energy.

"Sarah, can you help me get Kaylee to shore?" The headmistress looked to her side to see if the librarian was still above water and capable of lending a hand.

Struggling around in her icy prison, Kaylee was getting a little frustrated, "come on.......budge. I'm the Ice mage here damn it" she said as the ice cube started to slowly move as Claire pushed against it.

Sarah didn't respond, as she was afraid to open her mouth, and had already started swimming toward them. If one could call doggy paddling swimming. She was actually a decent swimmer, but her most recent near death experience had left her shaken, and to tell the truth she was feeling a little... off. She couldn't explain it, but until she figured out what was happening to her, complex movements and unnecessary exertion felt like a bad idea. At least until she got her feet back on solid ground.

While paddling toward her colleagues, the librarian spotted something and took a minor detour, adding a slight delay to their next course of action as she spied her bobbing fedora. She grabbed it, and placed it back onto her head. It seemed like the thing to do.