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 Posted: Tue Dec 26, 2023 9:27 pm
Quote: Prompt 5 (Ice Bath): Rainfall is rare in Destiny City during Winter; there have been a few light showers between the occasional snow but it’s never been enough to be significant. In some places, it’s just enough for a thin layer of ice to cover the ground and make it a little slippery, but ultimately it’s not enough to worry about. In an inconspicuous place in town, you step into one of these icy puddles and the thin layer of ice shatters. The hole itself seems maybe three feet wide and if you’ve ever been in the area before you know it’s just a pothole a few inches deep at most. Except, when the ice shatters, you fall, plummeting into it as if it were a lake of icy water. It’s pitch black around you and only pale blue lights shimmer above you. The darkness is never ending and you can’t make out the details of anything except the shrinking hole above you. Maybe you remember how to swim and pull yourself out, maybe you black out and feel someone else pulling you out--either way, your frozen, soaking body is pulled from the puddle. The chill is immense, but if you look at the hole after being pulled out, all you can see is the ground below. There’s no sign that what you just experienced is real--except for the fact that you’re still soaking wet.
It had been a long day. A good one! But long. Devyn was ready to go home.
He and Michael had woken to the smell of coffee and pancakes–interesting, considering neither of them had gotten out of bed. Later, they would learn that Oliver had come over with breakfast and gotten Michael’s coffee ready to go, and they would wind up spending some of the morning and early afternoon with Atticus and the Reids.
The evening was theirs, though.
Devyn’s hands had received ample treatment and he’d been taking it easy–and hamming it up a bit–to have Michael pamper him. A good night’s rest, and waking up next to Michael, had helped his mood phenomenally. So much so, that he’d even managed to set some time aside to organize his thoughts and make a few plans for what his next trip might entail.
Being productive eased the guilt, though he decided it best to save his planning with Lucien for another time. He seemed to enjoy his night with the Reids, apparently granted his own pillow between Asher and Oliver, tucked in and praised and pampered all night.
He’d like to send Atticus and Lucien over a bit more often.
They were over there now, and would spend the night again. Michael had taken Devyn out to a nice restaurant, where he could dress up enough that his gloves seemed like a part of his outfit and not a polite disguise for his battered hands. That he could wield his cutlery just fine, or at least with minimal difficulties, would have certainly been a sign that his hands were not so very damaged. But then, it was Devyn. He was just as likely to push through any pain.
Careful examination suggested his nails would be fine, and the bruising might have been ugly but the swelling had already gone down some.
He held Michael’s hand comfortably as they walked home from the restaurant.
It was a nice night–cool, but not painfully cold. Or, maybe that was just the wine keeping him warm.
Devyn loved the lights hung up around the city, so rather than call a car to drive them home, they’d decided to walk. At first, it was charming.
He got to take a romantic stroll around Destiny City and appreciate their decorations all while chatting with Michael about every little thing.
If the rest of their evening had gone as well as today had already, he might have woken up tomorrow completely rejuvenated and ready to tackle all of his problems.
The universe had other plans.
He didn’t even have time to be alarmed.
He hadn’t seen the puddle, and judging by how quickly he’d gone down, he didn’t think Michael had, either.
Devyn wasn’t used to the ground crumbling beneath him. The bite of ice water stretched over him immediately, like a thousand needles across every inch of skin. There was no reason for a lake to be under the city, but in that moment he couldn’t think of anything but the cold, dark caves he’d been in before. The sensation of being pulled into the darkness. The memories of cold water rising, to his hips, his chest, his neck.
It was almost the same, now.
A puddle, he might have expected, but in the middle of the street? Here? There was no reason for this hole. As soon as he’d started going down, Devyn had tried to catch himself. He spread his arms out. He jostled his shoulder, not so badly that he caused much damage, but it hurt nonetheless.
The pain was really the least of his concerns. Even if he’d stopped himself from falling completely under the water, it sounded like the ground around him was cracking. Maybe it was his imagination. It was cold, so cold that he could barely even draw in a breath.
It wasn’t just that he’d fallen through once; if that were the case, he could just pull himself up.
It felt like something had a grip on his legs, and though he kicked and wriggled, it yanked him again. He resisted. He spread his hands flat on the ground and pushed, like he might be able to pry himself out. When it yanked again, for a third time in only a split second, it felt like it had a hand in his hair, too. It tipped his head backwards and he gritted his teeth. His neck was exposed but he didn’t go under the water. He didn’t want to go under the water.
His fingers burned. There was nothing to grab onto. He wouldn’t grab Michael, he didn’t want to drag him down, too.
He tried to spread his arms out further, tried to do anything to get himself a bit more purchase. The ice gave him nothing to work with.
Despite all his efforts, Devyn slipped into the darkness.
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Posted: Wed Dec 27, 2023 5:50 pm
There was no way for him to have expected Devyn’s hand to suddenly slip from his grasp. One moment they were walking along the sidewalk and the next Devyn was gone.
No, not gone. Something unnatural had opened below him. A tear in reality, it seemed. And he could hear the splash below.
So, so far below.
“Devyn!” he shouted down and, not wanting to risk the fissure from closing back up before he could figure out a way to help his husband, Michael did the only reasonable thing and jumped down into the darkness as well.
And into the icy water. <********>,” Michael gasped as he surfaced, but immediately turned to try and find Devyn in the dark. He could hear splashing, like there was a struggle. So Michael swam in that direction until his hands found Devyn’s waist -- he knew for certain because he’d commented on the buttons on the side of his pants during dinner -- and reached around for whatever surface Devyn was trying to climb onto.
Something seemed off though. More than just the strange hole in the middle of the city filled with frigid water, but he could feel the tension in Devyn’s body like he was fighting something. So for good measure, Michael kicked at whatever might have been behind him.
Michael didn’t have to worry about his swimming. He was perfectly capable in the water. He could tread for hours and hours if necessary, and he was a strong swimmer. He knew Devyn was capable too, but with the cold and panic kicking in, it might not be that simple as climbing out.
“I’m here, I’ve got you,” Michael tried to reassure him while still letting his eyes adjust and did his best to keep his concern and fear that they might not be able to get out, from his voice.
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Posted: Wed Dec 27, 2023 7:19 pm
Devyn wanted to tell Michael that he should not have come down here. He’d have found his way out, up, eventually.
It was dark, black. He couldn’t see anything above them, just a black sky.
–no, not a sky. Briefly, he could see the glow of the city from the hole he’d fallen through, but none of this seemed right.
Michael was warm against him, but it would have been easier if he’d just stayed up there. Devyn knew too little about what was going on down here. He thought he heard water–rushing water?–and dread filled his heart.
Rushing water didn’t mean they were going up, but as they bobbed in the water, he couldn’t really tell what direction anything was.
He couldn’t tell Michael to get out of here, where was there to go? He could power up, maybe they could–well, no, he was s**t out of luck. He couldn’t make it back to Alastor, he didn’t have the strength after yesterday.
When Michael grabbed onto him, Devyn didn’t waste breath trying to convince Michael to distance himself. He knew that if he sank, Michael was just going to follow him down.
“I’m caught on something,” he said sharply, but it was more than that because he hadn’t gotten tangled in something. Something had latched onto him.
And then, with great effort, it yanked Devyn downward. Devyn didn’t want to let go of Michael but he didn’t want to drag him down with him. He had been, of course. Michael’s grip was too strong for anything to tear the two apart. For a few seconds, they were dragged downwards, but the grip on Devyn lessened until it was almost nothing at all.
For a moment, it felt like they were simply frozen in time. Whereas it had been dark–almost pitch black, above, there was a strange light shining down from above. It reminded Devyn of the moon, but they were so far down that he doubted that’s what was shining down on them. It was a bright lift, but soft and gentle, muted beneath the rippling water.
There was nothing below them. Blackness. It churned, like thick, black tar. Like giant tendrils, covering the entire floor.
It churned like an army of shadows.
Was that it, then? Was some deep rooted Chaos spawning at the center of the Earth? He stared, for a long moment. It wasn’t his imagination, he saw it move. Every now and then, it looked like one of the great shadows was shifting, like it was trying to reach for one of them.
It was so cold that it felt like his skin was on fire. It didn’t feel like Chaos, but he felt sick anyway.
He hadn’t had enough air before he’d gotten yanked below the water but he could hold his breath for a while yet, even if the corners of his vision had begun to blacken.
Michael was still there. They’d get out of this. Devyn couldn’t let himself panic.
He wanted to, though. There was so much water. When he grabbed Michael’s hand and tried to swim upwards, it felt like there was an eternity between where they were and the surface. Even when he kicked with full force, it felt like he hardly moved.
He didn’t know how to give up. He certainly wasn’t going to when Michael was down here with him.
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Posted: Thu Dec 28, 2023 6:21 pm
When Devyn said he was caught on something, MIchael was filled with alarm. Maybe Devyn couldn’t see his expression, but he could likely feel the way he tensed as he held onto him. And maybe he gripped a little tighter.
He was glad that he did. He was grateful that Devyn thought to actually tell him there was something wrong instead of fighting through it. Because had he not held onto him tighter, Michael wasn’t convinced that he would have been able to keep his grip on him.
Nothing about this was normal. Destiny City had its oddities, but they were generally strange monsters, not icy depths.
He held his breath as he tried kicking against whatever was pulling Devyn, and as soon as he had the chance, he readjusted his hold so he could wrap an arm from behind Devyn and under his arms so he couldn’t be pulled away from him.
Although, that seemed as though it was being put to the challenge. He could feel whatever was pulling on Devyn trying to tug him under farther. And Michael could only hold his breath for so long.
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Posted: Thu Dec 28, 2023 6:44 pm
Michael wasn’t going to let go. In his heart, Devyn knew that they’d probably sooner drown than separate. Neither was an option. His grip tightened on Michael because if–when–they got out, it would be together.
The water felt thick. His lungs burned. His eyes burned.
He was a strong swimmer, he’d only ever almost drowned. He had a pretty good record for not drowning, all things considered. His muscles were freezing up.
Maybe literally.
The icy water was painful, stabbing. He couldn’t even tell if it was the thing that had grabbed him, or the pressure of the water, or just the frigid temperature.
He knew pain. Inside and out, there was no reprieve. His skin felt like it was peeling off of him and the longer he held his breath, the greater the fire inside him burned.
He swam, as good as he could. He wasn’t a poor swimmer by any means, and with Michael next to him he knew they should be moving.
They weren’t. He had his Henshin Pen on him, but he didn’t think it was going to be any use. Powering up didn’t mean he could breathe underwater, and he didn’t know if his world would be able to pull them out of here. Wherever here was.
There were a thousand thoughts in his head but he couldn’t even say them. He had no air to speak. Even if he had, the darkness was choking. The pressure was immense. It felt like his head was being crushed but he was too cold to focus on any singular pain.
Devyn wasn’t sure if they’d reach the top just by swimming. It felt like he was slowing down.
His arm was around Michael, his hand was on him. He squeezed him and hoped he understood.
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Posted: Thu Dec 28, 2023 7:06 pm
There was something about the darkness and ice burning through him, tearing at his lungs and limbs, that made him not able to think. He knew they had to get out. He knew they had to get back up to the surface. There was only so much they could do when something was pulling them deeper under.
And he wouldn’t let Devyn drown. He hadn’t survived all this time to die now.
He felt Devyn’s grip around him, and even though he couldn’t see anything, he felt as though he understood. Maybe he was trying to reach the same conclusion. Maybe the pulse of his necklace was pulling him to that answer. Maybe it was his starseed.
Michael stopped trying to swim. He stopped trying to fight against whatever was pulling them down, and instead just held on tightly to Devyn.
There was a surge of power that pulsed through the water around them as he powered up. It was strong enough to at least temporarily push whatever was trying to pull them under away.
Only a moment longer, and they vanished from the icy depths that wanted so desperately to be their tomb.
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