Even though it was a secret, as soon as the clouds started to clear from where we flew, I noticed the crystal-clear pool from above. The water was bright, reminding me of the palace ponds.
Covering the place where large, dark willow trees with their long and winding vines dipped into the blue water, the pale green was so nice as it swam around in the water. The trees, along with a few stones and lily pads, filled the space before there was a huge open riff that was just a complete mass of water.
It wasn't a pool, it was an ocean!
"Come on!" Seth and Bridget held me as they began to guide me down to the water.
A lengthy line of wooden planks stretched out ahead. This was the path they were guiding me down, and it was here that I spotted several animals in motion. Their wings stirred the air, scattering their lively forms onto the dark wood. These were the heaven pups. Among them was Casper, who began to wag his tail energetically when our eyes met.
He jumped up, almost passing the roped fence due to the big but dangerous fall into the ocean. My feet landed on the planks, which slightly cracked under my weight. I was ready for Casper to jump on me like a hyper puppy, so when he did, I managed to catch him. He began to lick my face with affection.
I gave a low giggle, rubbing his head as he leaned into my touch.
"He never does that to me," Rory pouted by my side while they glared at the dog.
"That's because he likes her." Seth teased them, kneeling down to a jumping Jack Russell who yipped at the soft pets.
Rory stuck their tongue out at them, jumping over to a few pugs that were playing tug-of-warring with one another. Bridget began to pet Casper, along with a shy German Shepherd who came over.
"Hey, Vienna?"
"Yeah?"
"Can you swim?" Bridget stood back to her height, eyes looking back up to me.
Swim? I had to think about that; I believe I could. I had been in the water before, fully submerged and alone, where I had to do something. I don't remember what it was; I knew that trying to remember would only cause me pain.
"Yes," I decided to answer, finding truth in my own words.
"Good." Seth slugged an arm over my shoulder, surprising both of us. I gave him a weird glance; a look of mischief stared back at me.
"Come on, losers!" Rory called for our attention, their arms waving wide and proud near the fence. To my surprise, they didn't even look back as they jumped up and over the line of protection.
Their wings flew flat before they closed and allowed them to drop straight down into the water. The water flew, along with a few yips and barks from the heaven pups. I watched as almost all of the dogs jumped to follow the redhead.
"Now it's our turn." Bridget looked at me before she suddenly flew up into the sky above the water. Her wings curled behind her, and she fell into the water with a loud splash. The shepherd soon followed, their own wings doing the same.
I turned to Seth, feeling suddenly hyper yet confused. He gave a wide smile, "you know who's next."
I let out a breathy laugh, my smile feeling light on my lips. "They let go."
I held his arm, turning and running over to the fences. I felt him hold my hand before the air lifted us into the sky; I let it drift through our wings. Following what both Rory and Bridget did, I curled them around myself before I was let out of the sky.
The icy splash of water filled my sight. It came quickly, the frigid rush enveloping my bare skin. This sudden sensation jolted me, causing my head to bob and rise back to the surface. I felt Seth pulling me, bringing me up to be beside him.
I gasped while looking around frantically on the surface for the blonde angel. His hand was warm in mine, the sudden warmth spreading to my side as I turned to see him giggling beside me.
"Why are you gasping like that?"
"What..?" I shook at him.
He replied with a low chuckle, steadying his arms on my shoulder. I felt the sudden weight, a lot of weight, actually. It was heavy, which made me think of my now wet and soaked wings. They were useless and wet, only trying to tug me down into the depths.
"You don't have to hold your breath," the blonde tossed his golden bangs from his forehead. "The water won't hurt you. It's safe."
To demonstrate, the boy let himself sink, leaving my hand and its warmth for the cold water. I watched; he looked back at me through the clear surface with a dazzling grin, his mouth open as if it were natural. Like he had done this before. He opened his mouth, gulping in the water with ease.
I started to understand. My face turned red with embarrassment at the sudden realization. It was soon bumped away when a loud sound forced me to look around. It was barking from Casper. The bounding pup jumped right in, landing on top of me.
As I was gently pushed back into the cool water, I instinctively moved my body to get my face closer to the surface. I took a moment to calm myself and decided to try what Seth did. With a light breath, I prepared myself for that familiar, unsettling sensation of the water entering my lungs.
To my surprise, it didn't. It felt like I was on the surface as if I were swimming through the air. Casper pushed himself over to me, trying to lick my face under the water like a goofball.
I scolded him with a finger pointed at his actions. His small, pointed ears tilted back slightly, but he got the memo enough to give a light nod. I noticed his wings, how they were curled up and almost glued to his back. Forcing my body to move in the water, I used my hands to push against the water I was swimming in to help me move my weight across the waves. It did so, allowing me to turn and see what was happening in front of me.
I gaped at the sight, watching my three friends, along with the heaven pups, playing in the water like they were flying through the air. Bridget met up with Seth, who was called by the pups that tried to nip at their flowing clothing. Rory, on the other hand, was off with the same dog they had in Pup's Cove.
The redhead was just as fast in the air and in the water, zooming past the other two along with some pups that chirped at the fast angel and followed them. I quickly noticed how they were going so fast; they were actually using their wings in the water.
Using it to paddle them along with their hands helped increase the speed. Rory's eyes made contact with mine, a smirk on their lips as they headed straight for me.
"Oh-"
They crashed into me, gripping my arms as we spun around together. Tiny bubbles burst around us as our rapid movements created ripples in the water. I barely noticed that until Rory abruptly turned me to face them.
"Hey, you're not doing it right!" Their words were muffled, but I could make out what they were trying to say.
"What do you mean?"
"Use your wings; don't just let them hang on your back like that and make them useless." The angel nudged me, earning an annoyed growl from my lips.
"What do you expect me to do?"
Rory gave an eye roll while the other two slowly swam their way over to us along with the pups that followed. Instead of answering my question, the redhead turned and flipped her head back.
I watched the other one just like Bridget and Seth did; Rory flipped their wings on their side and used them to steady and turn in the water. Bubbles flew from the fast motion, launching the angel up and off from the rest, they also continued to use their feathers to nagel them to drift much more easily. It looked easy, it looked light and natural.
"Showing off once again," Seth mumbled to my side.
"It looks like fun," I couldn't help but breathe out. I took my eyes off them to drift from the two beside me. Casper flew under my feet, making sure that I knew he was there. "Let's try it out."
I decided to try it, swimming over to the angel, who stopped to look back at me. I could see the toothed grin through the blue water. Following what they did, I spread my wings out before using all my strength to curl and shrug them back out. It flung me slightly forward, the water feeling heavy as it crushed my weight from being pushed.
So, it was not as easy as I imagined. But that only made me strive to continue it more and more, to do it and get better. So, I did what Rory did, using my hands to help push water and move me forward. It felt like the water was pulling me back, harshly tugging as I forced my wings and curled and pushed with the same motion with my arms.
"Yeah! That's my girl!" Rory wooed on the side; some yips and barks replied back to their excitement.
I grinned, feeling a warmth slowly below me. Near my feet, Casper swam close to me so I could see him. His muzzle opened wide to yip at the speed we were going; he was just using his wings along with doggy paddling in the water to move himself to my speed.
"Come on guys, don't be boring." I heard Rory say off from the side, turning my head to notice them pulling the others over to where I was swimming around.
Bridget chuckled, jumping up and forward with her smaller body to swim right over to my side. Seth grumbled at Rory; the redhead had held his hand with a tight grip as they dragged themselves along with the male in circles. I followed along with Bridget, who also took my hand, so we maintained side by side.
Of course, Casper, along with all the other Heaven Pups who joined us, followed right behind.
If I were watching this from the side, out of the water, it would honestly look weird. Seeing four angels with wings gliding rather smoothly just above the surface, with a trail of pups barking and yelping under the water, its both strange but also pretty unnatural.
Yet, everything in Wonderland was. Everything is unnatural, but that doesn't mean it's wrong..
I knew this couldn't be wrong, yet I felt that same sinking feeling inside me. It lingered, leaving me uncomfortable and unable to fully enjoy this time with my friends.
It angered me that my memories were still plaguing me, still trying to sink into my head and force something to hinder my actions. I tried pushing back, forcing it to step away.
But it got in. Instead of pushing back, it grabbed back at me, and suddenly...
It was dark.
I knew what was happening this time; I knew that I wasn't me, and this would only hurt to recall.
My hand reached out, grabbing at anything in the darkness, swarming in an abyss that just kept sinking deeper and deeper. The coldness sank into my skin; it felt bitter, freezing under the endless that surrounded me.
This wasn't helping..
I need to calm down…!
"You need to stop freaking out. Stop panicking and focus on one thing at a time and solve that."
The deep voice was muffled but loud enough for me to hear. The familiarity slightly made me tremble; the thoughts circled endlessly around and around like some game. The game pushed me back down with a hard tug, and I soon realized that I was no longer alone.
The hold was strong; it kept me stuck, suffocating me in the bitter cold. I wanted to open my mouth to try and gulp for air, but it was not there. The darkness slowly eased out, the surface dimming just above my head that was tugged around. I was underwater; the sun seared high above and only lit the murky surface.
My hand went up to the arm that was suffocating me, feeling the fabric of the person. I could only slightly make out their hair, which swirled in the water with the violent thrusting and yanking that formed bubbles around.
I tightened my grip on them, using my other hand, and pushed in between the hold they had on me to give myself a slight comfort of movement. My head swung back to hit their face, and hearing a gurgling sound along with their hold loosening gave me the opportunity to push away.
But I didn't leave; I didn't go back up for air. Instead, I switched positions with them. He grappled for a hold of me when I forced my arm around his neck and squeezed hard. He hit back, pushing his legs in open space to no avail. He tried to push away, to grapple out of my hold with his larger and stronger stature.
I used all my strength to force our bodies around, bubbles of air passing by his muffled groans along with my clenched teeth. My legs wrapped around his body; they were small enough to hold him completely still so he couldn't escape. He couldn't; I had him there. All I had to do was squeeze just hard enough, and he would have no choice but to-
"Okay, release!"
The voice rumbled through my bones, my body jerking and releasing the man, who immediately swam for the surface. I stayed behind a bit, my eyes blurring everything together as the man made it back, gasping for air and pushing out of the water.
"Vienna, get out!" A hand reached in, grabbing my shoulder and yanking hard to pull me out.
The air made me gasp, coughing at the newfound breath of fresh air. I coughed out my lungs, feeling the hold on my release, along with a slight chuckle from above me. My eyes felt hot and heavy, my body shaking from adrenaline. My hair stuck to my head, and the tank top and cargo pants felt heavy with matted water.
"You're crazy," the voice pulled my attention over to him. "Come on."
It was Dawson, the man looking back at me with his hand out and ready. I took his hand, and he pulled me out of the pool we were in and onto the surface. I continued to cough, panting hard with a slight sneeze. The man ruffled my hair, splashing the water around annoyingly.
"You did good, kid."
"I'm not a kid anymore," I chuckled back to him, casting my eyes over to the other side of the pool.
The other man I was wrestling with was using a towel to wipe his swollen face, the faintest hint of a red sore around his neck just under his collar. A woman came over, kneeling down to look at his neck. She looked over at me, sending a glaring expression my way.
"Don't Missy."
"But she-"
The man put his hand out, standing up with wobbling feet. "It's part of training; I did the same to her, so don't." He took the woman's hand before nodding to me and Dawson. They left soon after, allowing me to lean back and let out a long sigh.
"Man, that took a lot out of me."
"You're getting better," Dawson crouched over to my side, his knee just above my head, which was still dripping wet. "Soon, you will have defeated everyone in the barracks."
"Everyone?" I looked over at him, seeing the striking pair of his brown eyes. My lips turned into a smirk, and a teasing voice came out. "That means you too?"
A towel landed on my face, along with Dawson standing up. "Yeah, yeah. Clean yourself up, huh, kid?"
"I'm 23—" I tried to defend, but the lieutenant just mimicked me as he walked away. "Hey—asshole!" I forced myself up with the weight of the soaked uniform hanging off me.
He didn't turn back; he just giggled with a knowing smile.