The Hollow

[MisshapenDear]

@DreamlessVoid


Doot

 

[DreamlessVoid]

As a rule, Charlie didn't swim at night. It was just a bad idea, and you could hardly see into the lake during the day. Why would anyone want to mess around in the waters when it was so dark that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face?


By the fire, it was safe and warm. He took another marshmallow off of his stick and popped it in his mouth, chewing contently. They'd ran out of chocolate already, partly because they snacked on it on the drive up. It couldn't be helped. Five hungry, bored kids stuffed in a minivan for a six hour drive? Yeah. Accidents happened. He puffed out his cheeks and reached for another marshmallow as the zipper to the girls' tent slid open.


Avalom emerged, hugging a pink-and-white polka dot towel to her chest. It matched the bikini top she was wearing perfectly. He actually rolled his eyes. Of course it did.


"Are you sure you don't want to come..? You don't even have to get in," She offered, shifting foot from foot while she waited on the others.


"I'm goimg to keep the fire going."


"...Okaaay," She turned her attention back to the tent, peeking her head back in. "Isabelle, think we can beat the boys to the water? I think your brother might have gotten stuck in his shirt again."

 

[MisshapenDear]

Isabelle laughed at those words, fairly sure that was actually true. She loved her brother, but also hated him, and was also convinced he was the clumsiest person alive. "Probably got his head stuck in his shorts, too," she snickered, clasping the back of her 'suit and tugging on a large shirt that she was fairly sure was her brother's.


It was going to double as her towel.


She moved to follow Avalom out, swatting at a mosquito that buzzed near her ear and making a face of irritation at it.


"I can hear you making fun of me!" Blythe called, pouting as he pulled on his swimming suit, even though there was no one to see it; Quinn had just clambered out of the tent, and was now raising an eyebrow at the enclosed space he had just left, hearing the pout in the other's voice. He rolled his eyes and began to make his way towards the lake without his friend, eager to swim in natural water. Pool water was nice and all, but there was just something about it that made him like lake water more.

 

[DreamlessVoid]

"I wonder if he put them on his head again," Avalon snickered, watching as Quinn walked towards the lake. She paused to pick up a bottle of bug spray, holding it out to Isabelle. "Quinn! No fair!"


Without waiting to see if anyone else was following, she took of, thankful for how her feet had long since adjusted to her running around barefoot. Avalon reached the dock in a record amount of time. She searched blindly for the electric lantern they had brought up earlier, flipping it on before dropping her towel into a chair. She was eager to get in, but she waited for everyone else.


Well. Almost everyone else. But, no worries. They wouldn't be leaving Charlie out for long, not if she had a say in it.


Charlie watched from a distance and Avalon took off towards the lake, shaking his head at her enthusiasm. He wiggled his eyebrows at Isabelle. "Don't let her get into any trouble, right? No stupid stunts. I don't feel like taking a trip to the hospital tonight."

 

[MisshapenDear]

"I'll try to keep her alive, but no promises she's not going to the hospital," Isabelle claimed once she was finished spraying herself with bug spray, grabbing her twin's ear as he climbed out of the tent -all his clothing in their correct positions, though hair a little ruffled- and began to drag him towards the lake as she covered him in bug spray, too.


"Ow, ow ow! Stop it! You can't drag me around like this, I'm older than you!" he protested, flailing and tripping and trying to pull away from his sister. No use, though, she had an iron grip on him.


"By only ten minutes!" Isabelle stated happily. "And what a miserable ten minutes they must have been, being without your darling sister!"


"No- ow -best-ow-ten-ow-minutes of my -ow!- life!" he yelped, quickly looking back to give Charlie a pleading expression. "Charlie, help! I'm being kidnapped by a sea witch!"

 

[DreamlessVoid]

"You're on your own, sorry!" Charlie laughed and watched them, leaning back in his seat. If he was honest, he would be glad for a little bit of silence. Maybe he'd read a bit. There were some books in his bag, after all. He left the fire in favor of getting one from his tent.


"Guys," Avalon waved them over as everyone approached, barring them from getting intk the water just yet. "We've got to help Charlie. He's such a sad case... He doesn't remember how to have fun after the brutality of that English test Mrs. Patts made us take!"


She threw her arms open wide, looking Quinn over, and then Blythe. With a sigh, her eyes fell back to Quinn. If someone else had been watching, they probably would have assumed that she was checking them out. On the contrary, she was sizing them up, deciding who would best suit her purposes.


"Alright. We've got to get him into the water! Quinn, you're the only one who'd be able to deal with him if he struggles. Sooo, you've got to be the one to push him in! No offense, Blythe," She turned to face her favourite set of twins, grinning at them, eyes sparkling, "Isabelle, my dear best, best friend.. Think you can get him down here?"

 

[MisshapenDear]

Quinn grumbled in irritation while Blythe, not at all offended, gave a small sigh of relief. He was really sick of having girls boss him around, and the slight break from it was a great feeling and he'd never loved himself for not being fit as Quinn more. Which wasn't saying much, considering he'd often wished to be stronger, but still!


Isabelle grinned back, eyes bright. "Duh," she said simply, but cheerfully. She loved going along with Avalon's plans. They were her favourite, if only because she got to annoy Blythe with whatever she could think of and Avalon was great ammunition. She loved tormenting her twin, it was the best thing ever.

 

[DreamlessVoid]

"Quinn, don't pout! It ruins your manly image," She snickered and leaned against the railing, trying to figure out the best course of action. "Tell him.. I don't know. Why would we need Charlie? Um. Maybe Blythe did something stupid? That's believed."


Avalon hummed, running her fingers along the worn wood until she came across a nail hanging out haphazardly. "Oh!" She grinned, and moved to take one of Isabelle's hands, "Maybe he stepped on a rusty nail and we need his help getting it out! He'll come right down, you know how he likes to think that we're all accident prone. Now, Blythe. Sit down and act like you're in pain, okay? Maybe think about all those girls that rejected you this year! We could use tears."

 

[MisshapenDear]

"I don't pout, and if you're so concerned about my 'manly image', then stop bossing me around," Quinn grumbled, glaring at Avalon in irritation, though his friends could tell he was more amused than anything; he was just grumpy because they weren't swimming yet.


"Hey!" Blythe protested indignantly. "Only three girls rejected me!" So much for not being bossed around.


"You only asked three girls," Isabelle reminded him, grinning. Oh, how she loved dear Avalon and her wondrous plans.


"That's not the point!" Blythe claimed with irritation. "I'm not doing it."


"Yes, you are."


"No, I'm not."


And so ensued a staring contest of epic twin proportions. A staring contest that Blythe was determined to win, just like all the other staring contests in his life. And just like all the other staring contests, except that one that had been disrupted by a bird, Isabelle won. Blythe sat down with an irritated huff. "Ow," he said, deadpan, as he poked his foot.

 

[DreamlessVoid]

"Being able to follow orders is an important quality," Avalon patted his shoulder, huffing at the twins. Okay, maybe Blythe wasn't the best actor in the word, but Charlie would still come running. "Go get our favourite nerd, Isabelle! We're counting on you. Remember- Your precious brother is bleeding out! Well. Maybe you shouldn't be too upset," She laughed and turned back around whild Isabelle went to work her magic.


"You'll be able to get in soon," She promised, affectionately patting Quinn's bicep. "So no need to fret. Just make sure you swim clear of Charlie. He's going to be pretty pissed off. At first, anyway!"


Meanwhile, Charlie was seated himself back at the fire, thumbing through a book he had to read for his English class. It was some stupid novel about war and hope and the importance of human life. He was utterly bored by it.

 

[MisshapenDear]

"You're the worst friend's and sister ever," Blythe complained unhappily, glaring at his foot. Isabelle patted his head like she'd pat an unhappy puppy and started back to the camp, grinning, and broke into a run so she'd seem properly winded.


"Duly noted," Quinn said dryly, raising an eyebrow at her. "If he declares us no longer his friends, I'm blaming you and giving him your tacky towel," he teased.


"Charlie!" Isabelle screamed when she got close enough to camp for her friend to hear. "Charlie! Charlie!"

 

[DreamlessVoid]

"We're your only friends," Avalon teased, messing up his hair while she watched Isabelle hurry off. A grin broke out on her face yet again, buzzing with the excitement of pulling a small prank on Charlie. "He's not that dramatic," She assured him, not missing a beat, "And my towel isn't tacky. It has character. It's not my fault that everything I own is super cute."


Charlie shot up at Isabelle's screams- This most certainly wasn't the distraction he'd been hoping for. The flicker of the fire obscured her face, so he couldn't quite read her expression. "What's wrong? Is someone hurt?" He abandoned the book, hurrying over to her.

 

[MisshapenDear]

Blythe proceeded to pout, frowning at the ground sullenly. "It's super tacky, not 'super cute'," Quinn claimed, making air quotes. "Polka dots are tacky, not cute, especially when they match."


Isabelle quickly schooled her expression into one of worry, anxiety, and disgust. "Bly-Blythe stepped on a nail," she quickly explained, snatching his arm to drag Charlie to the lake, a grin appearing on her face as soon as Charlie couldn't see. "I-It's half-way through his foot, Charlie! What if he gets tetanus and ends up dying?!"

 

[DreamlessVoid]

"Ugh! Blythe, do you think my towel is cute? Mr. Manly Man can't accept the truth," She turned to him for support, knowing good and well she probably wouldn't find it. Their little group was built upon affectionately teasing each other, though, so she was used to it.


Avalon perked up when she saw two figures running towards them. "Blythe! Get closer to the edge! Turn away and bend over, like you're in pain. Think about your exam grades. Quinn.. I believe in you!" She gave them two thumbs up and took off to meet the other two.


"Oh my god. Okay, okay. Just calm down," He said, mostly to himself. He took Isabelle's arm and took off towards the dock, shaking his head. "No one's going tp die! We just need to get him back to camp, and call a-"


"Charlie!" Avalon interrupted him, grabbing his shoulders. Her face was drawn into one of horror and panic, "He stepped on a-"


"Yeah," He sighed and gently pushed her away, quickly approaching Blythe and Quinn. "Shit. Dude, how deep is it?"


Once Charlie was out of ear shot, Avalon laid her head on Isabelle's shoulders, laughing silently. "You're great! He has no idea."

 

[MisshapenDear]

"I hate you all," Blythe muttered under his breath before his twin and Charlie appeared. Still, he did as commanded, but didn't think about his exam grades. He thought he had done fairly well, thank you very much!


Isabelle grinned back at her friend, eyes bright with mirth. "This is amazing. I love you and your plans. I'd better be your second in command when you take over the world."


Quinn grabbed Charlie's shoulder lightly when he got close enough, sighing. "Sorry 'bout this. You know how she is," he told him, and then shoved him bodily towards the water.

 

[DreamlessVoid]

"Awww, I love you, roo! Of course you'll rule at my side," Avalon grinned and turned to watch, bouncing on her toes as Quinn executed the plan perfectly. She'd never been so proud! He'd make a very good third in command someday.


Charlie's eyes widened as he realized he'd been tricked. "Please, don't-" He let out a yelp as he stumbled backwards, teetering on the edge for a second before gravity won and he fell back into the lake with a loud splash, disappearing under the black water.


Avalon doubled over, laughing so hard that tears pricked at her eyes. "Oh my God! Did you see his face?"


She expected Charlie to resurface and scream at them, waited for it with baited breath, body still shaking with giggles. Her laughter dissolved after about thirty seconds, when Charlie hadn't resurfaced. "...Did he come up on the other side? That little minx is probably trying to make us feel bad.. Not cool." She crossed her arms over her chest, huffing.


For Charlie, something odd happened. He found himself submerged in the lake, and just barely remembered not to breathe in. He heard Avalon above him, voice strangely clear. He should have know she was behind this. She was behind everything, after all.


He made a mental note to get back at her, kicked his feet in order to resurface.


Tried to, anyways. His eyes flew open in panic. No matter how hard he kicked, the small spot of light from the lantern and the shawdows of his friends only seemed to move away. And then, suddenly, he was rapidly descending into the depths of the lake as if something were dragging him down. He struggled, flailed. His lungs are screaming and he opened his mouth, desperately searching for air that he knew wasn't there.


The lantern flickered out, and he was left alone in the dark.

 

[MisshapenDear]

Isabelle laughed with Avalon, though also ceased when Charlie didn't come back up, worry beginning to gnaw in her gut. Quinn peered across the water, frowning. "I don't see him," he said, kneeling down to look closer at the black water in search of their friend. "If he's trying to make us feel bad, he's doing a good job of it."


Blythe leaned forwards to peer into the dark to try and spot Charlie. "I don't see him, either."


"Come on, you two are probably over-reacting. I'm sure he's fine," Isabelle said, hoping she sounded surer than she felt.


Quinn began to wrestle with his shoes to take them off. Unlike Avalon, his feet weren't used to the scrapes of outside, more so used to tiles, and so he always wore shoes when outside to keep them from getting cut to ribbons. "Fine or not, I'm going in after him to make sure he didn't hit his head on a rock."


"Do you think he could've?" Blythe asked worriedly.

 

[DreamlessVoid]

"It's too deep for him to have hit his head. And he fell backwards. H-He couldn't have hit it on the dock or anything," Avalon nervously gripped Isabelle's arm, watching as Quinn prepared to dive in. "If this is his idea of payback, it's totally uncool.."


It was strange, though. Charlie wasn't the type to make his friends needlessly worry. Avalon slowly pulled away from Isabelle, scanning around the sides of the dock. He hadn't come up on the other side, and he'd been under for way too long. Anxiety laced itself into her stomach. She shimmed through the railing, nodding to Quinn.


"I'll check on his side. The idiot might be hiding under the dock," She hoped that he was. The water only gave about two feet of room, but it was possible. Avalon gave Blythe and Isabelle a grin, and slipped into the water.

 

[MisshapenDear]

Quinn slid in after Avalon a mere second later.


Isabelle glanced at her brother worriedly, walking over to sit next to him. "We should help them look," he told her.


"I'm sure Charlie's fine. He's probably just hiding under the dock," she told him, echoing what Avalon had said.


Blythe scowled at her then began to slip his own shoes off. "Well, I'm going to help."

 

[DreamlessVoid]

Avalon took a moment to get her bearings once she was under the water. It was cold, and there was slim on one of the pillars under the dock. She imagined how grossed out Charlie probably was- Right. Charlie.


The water was oddly clear once you were under it, she noted, as she swirled around, trying to find her friend. Avalon saw Quinn dive in, and realized that she must have unknowingly swam down, because he well above her. Weird. How deep was the lake, anyways?


She glanced down. No matter how clear the water was, it was too dark to see the bottom. An abyss of black glared back at her, and she quickly decided that she needed to get out of the water. Charlie wasn't anywhere near where she was looking, and as much as that unsettled her, she needed air.


Avalon propelled herself up, looking towards the surface. Where had Quinn gone..? And the dock? Had she drifted away without knowing? Her lungs were beginning to burn. She saw harder, the the surface only seemed to drift away. Confusion washed over her as her body gave up, inhaling water. She choked, eyes squeezing shut.


She passed out long before she could open them.


~*~


Rai stared at the image the mirror was showing him- A boy laying on the shore of the lake, fully dressed and soaked to the bone. He couldn't tell if he was breathing or not.


"This is an interesting development," His queen fluttered nervously from her throne, eyes wide with excitement. "I think you know what has to be done."


"...That can't possibly be one of the fabled warriors," Rai gawked at her. As bad as she wanted the prophecy to be true, surely she didn't believe this was what it meant? The boy- The child, rather- Didn't seem to possess any of the physical qualities that their own soldiers did. "Look at him. He can't be."


She just shrugged and grinned, folding her hands on her lap.


"You never know. And, anyways. The portal is still open.. I feel it. There's more coming."

 

[MisshapenDear]

"Fine," Isabelle snapped when Blythe began to slid in, kicking off her shoes and following him into the water, shivering at the cold. Her twin dove beneath the surface and she followed him, not about to be one-upped by her brother, even in such a worrying situation. She was half-convinced that Charlie was indeed just hiding and it would all turn out fine, and in that case, Blythe would tease her endlessly.


The first thing Quinn did once he was in the water was dive down to search for the bottom, pulling himself through the cold water. He faintly heard Isabelle and Blythe enter the water, but didn't bother wasting energy by looking up. After a moment, when he still couldn't find the bottom and panic for Charlie was tugging at his gut, he decided he needed air. He swiftly switched directions to begin to swim upwards. At least, he thought he was swimming upwards... it was too dark to tell; pure black all around him. Panic yanked at him as he thrashed for air, but none was coming. It didn't take long for him to black out after that.

 

[DreamlessVoid]

Charlie didn't know how long he'd been there- He rolled onto his back and ignored the pounding in his head. The bright sun above him informed him that it was about noon, which made absolutely no sense. He sat up, coughing as his lungs protested. He quickly moved into his hands and knees and sputtered until it felt like his lungs were water free.


Where was he? The other side of the lake, maybe..? No. If he had washed up there, he'd be closer to the highway.. Trying to sort it out made his head hurt even worse. He shoved his hair out of his fave and stood, examining his surroundings. There was a small, beach like clearing in his immediate area, but everything else was thick forest. No dock, no camp sight, no highway...


Charlie tried not to panic. He wasn't hurt, he'd probably just have to walk a little...


His eyes landed on something floating in the water. Bright pink and white stood out in the calm surface of the lake. Avalon laid face down in the water about ten yards from the shore, unmoving.

 

[MisshapenDear]

What had happened to the others also happened to the twins. It didn't take long for Blythe to decide that air was required, but when he tried to swim upwards, he couldn't make any progress and blacked out to panic. Isabelle went much the same way, though lasted just a bit longer than her brother, being that she had taken a deeper breath of air.

 

[DreamlessVoid]

Within the time it took for Charlie to drag Avalon back to shore and roll her onto her side, the other three had surfaced. Something odd was most certainly going on, but he pushed it away in favor of getting everyone out of the water. They were all out, but only a few minutes passed before Avalon gasped, eyes flying open.


She rolled onto her stomach, coughing as lake water emptied from her lungs. Her eyes were burning and she wondered, for a moment, if she was in heaven. Why else would the sun be shining?


No. Isabelle was next to her. They definitely wouldn't have gone to heaven, after all. Avalon tried to recall what exactly had happened, but her eyes landed on Charlie.


"I'msosorry," She gasped out, still out of breath from.. Drowning?


"..I'm going to kill Quinn."


"Noo. It was my idea!"


"Yeah, but he didn't have to go along with it."

 

[MisshapenDear]

A sputtering inhale signaled Quinn's awakening moments later. He rolled over and began to puke up the lake water that had entered his lung between gasps for air. He'd lived through puking water up, before, and knew that it would probably be easier if he'd just let his body remove the water, but air. Air was great. Quinn loved air.