Devil's Waters

'Excuse me... May I interrupt?' A calm voice spoke from behind them. 'Oh! Who are you?' Lyn who was first to recover from the shock, responded. Her other friends just stared. 'I am the security guard here. Do you know that the pool is closed?' The guard attired in white stood at the shallow end of the pool. 'But, uncle, we just finished our 'A' levels today lah. Now we are celebrating. Don't worry, we will not give you any trouble,' Yang said.

'Okay, but no matter what you do, you have to get out of the pool by midnight. And stay away from the deepest end of the pool.' 'What? But that's only fifteen minutes away. Let us stay longer, please. What's wrong with the deep end of the pool?' Samantha pleaded, in an obvious attempt to act sweet. 'Sorry guys, you have to get out by then, Fifteen more minutes. The deepest end is haunted. Someone died there last year, and since then, many people, especially children, had complained of sudden sucking force pulling down when they swim there.' Everyone felt a shudder passed through them. The security guard soon left, leaving them alone. However, a damper had been put onto the party. Slowly, one by one, they left the pool. 'Adrian, are you coming out or not? It is going to be twelve midnight soon,' Lyn shouted, seeing that Adrian was still in the pool. Moreover, he was lingering in the deepest end. Her question had fallen on deaf ears. Lyn thought that Adrian did not hear her. She walked around the pool to the deep end. Adrian swam through the water with powerful butterfly strokes. She never knew Adrian to be such a good swimmer. He used to be such a timid fellow, always staying at the shallow end of the pool.

'Adrian? Adrian!' He turned around. Lyn got the shock of her life. The whites in his eyes were showing. 'Hi Lyn, why don't you come in and join me? The water's just nice, not too hot, not too cold.' 'Adrian, lets go now!' 'No, I want to stay. Come and play with me.' Adrian stretched his hand out to Lyn. 'No.' 'No? Because you are afraid of this?' Suddenly, as if something was pulling from below, Adrian got sucked into the waters. Lyn tried to grab his hands. His fingers slipped through her grasp easily. With horror, Lyn could only look on as Adrian sank into the dark depths. Suddenly, someone pushed her from behind. Lyn gasped as she hit the water. Despite the warm night, the water was frigid. Getting over the shock, she tried to resurface. No matter how hard she kicked, she sank deeper and deeper into the waters.

Someone was pulling her down into the waters by her ankles! She struggled harder, her arms frailing frantically in the water as she fought for the surface. In her struggle, she managed to catch a glimpse of Adrian holding her ankle in a tight grip. His eyes were glowing green, like a beckoning beacon in the dark waters. The sinister look on his face sent chills down to Lyn's spine. She tried to kick at his hands, but it was futile. His grip was just too strong. She was running out of breath. Her kicks were growing weaker and weaker. Slowly, she began to lose consciousness. Suddenly, she was yanked from behind. In her dizziness, she dimly realized that someone had pulled her out of the water. 'Lyn, are you alright?' It was Adrian. 'Why did you go into the deep end?'

'No, I saw you in the water, and you got sucked in. Then, someone pushed me.' 'Huh? I left the pool ten minutes ago to look for you.' In shock, Lyn could only stare at Adrian before she fainted.