Ascension Trap

The dream started the way it always did, complete with the vortex of utopian colors followed by a jarring sense of normalcy. Raiven found herself gazing out at the ocean as the sun set, already below the horizon. She knew she would be there soon, her guide? Protector? She still wasn’t quite sure who she was and could never get her name since they didn’t speak. But she knew that the vibes were always good, and they always met at the water. That was enough information for Raiven.

The tiny conch necklace, with its nondescript black chain, always appeared around her neck when they met, and she tinkered with it while she waited. She had fun with her astral friend, but she had never wished to take her back to the real world; the same couldn’t be said about the necklace. Raiven wasn’t materialistic by any means, but this was a rare, simple beauty that brought her tremendous peace. She remembered the one time she’d come into the dream and it hadn’t been there. She’d gasped for air and found none, the pressure in her head threatening. She remembered reaching for her necklace—just to feel one last bit of comfort—and widening her eyes when she realized it wasn’t there. Then she was back in bed, eyes wide open as she coughed for at least five minutes, trying to expunge her lungs of water that wasn’t even present. Since then, Raiven made sure to check for it at the start of every dream. Now that she felt it, she breathed out deeply and let the memory fade.

Movement in her peripheral made her turn to her right. There she was in all her glory, gliding across the sand with only a red rag to cover her bottom and the ever-present thick, gold herringbone chain. A smile crept across her umber face as she drew nearer, and Raiven felt herself mirror the expression back. She was always so awestruck by the sheer confidence her friend exuded that she never initiated any of their interactions; she was too busy taking her in.

They hugged briefly before her friend grabbed her wrist and ran towards the water. Once they felt the land falling away under their feet, they both surrendered to it and dove under. They swam in circles around each other, going further out into the expanse with each completed cycle. As if on cue, they both rushed up and broke the surface of the water at the same time.

This was ritual. And the only intention was to relax and connect. Raiven had never needed instructions on how to do that; her first visit here at thirteen had been just as seamless and natural as this moment.

As she floated on her back, looking up at the stars in the darkening sky, her friend grabbed her hand, face pensive. When she saw that she had her attention she dove underwater, knowing that Raiven would follow. Raiven instinctively reached for her necklace as they descended. She trusted her friend, but they usually didn’t go this deep. Still, she ignored the tingle in her spine as she followed.

Eventually, the ubiquitous black and blue began to give way to small, craggy lines. Raiven realized that what she had assumed was just a rock here and there suddenly connected and stretched and jutted out in all directions. She was so busy taking in the view of the structure from above that she almost lost her friend when she suddenly dipped between two identical, jagged columns, swimming even further down. Between the two columns, the space was pitch black, but it got brighter as they swam along, moving horizontally now instead of straight down.

Finally, the water became a bright teal again as they came upon a large opening with marble floors that felt oddly in place. Glowing algae lined and grew along the pillars that surrounded the space, making the tall columns appear electric. Half of the people present rushed over to her friend; she was obviously just as powerful as she walked. She did a quick signal with her hands, and suddenly Raiven felt movement under her feet. Everyone stomped on what she had first assumed was marble but now realized was more like the rawhide of a drum. She looked around her in wonder until she caught her friend eyeing her with irritation. She pointed at Raiven’s feet, and Raiven began moving, doing her best to keep up. Any other time, Raiven wouldn’t have even tried, but after seeing that death look, she was pretty certain that was not an option here.

To distract herself from thinking about how silly she probably looked, she glanced around her, noting how the rhythm changed as some people got on their knees and hit the floor with their hands. Others sat down and banged on the rawhide with their heels. She took notice of how a select few people also played clam shells, which added a steady knock to the nearly uncontrollable bass of the drum. Even fewer played conch shells, giving the otherwise happy beat a slightly more ominous undertone. The event felt ceremonial. She just wished she knew what they were celebrating.

It was as if something had heard her wish and decided to grant it; a few more stomps of her feet and she was lost in the music. She spun in quick circles, arms out and eyes closed. The way her hips wound while she circled defied physics. She could never do anything like this back home. Perhaps the knowledge of how deep she already was in the ocean gave her enough comfort to surrender. Maybe it was the fact that her protector was right by her side. Whatever the case, Raiven happily lost herself to the dance, all questions tabled for the moment.

And what a short moment it was. She suddenly was very confused, and anxious. How could she possibly already know which beats she wanted her body to hit? Why was she finding it so hard to make herself stop moving? As quickly as the euphoria had come, it had gone again, and Raiven teetered dizzily on her feet, trying to get her bearings. She felt a strong hand on her arm holding her steady, and after a couple moments she opened her eyes to find her, her protector, staring intently into her face.

Raiven felt a leap in her stomach, and pulled her arm back; however, it was no use. Her friend maintained her grip there and came closer, wrapping an arm around Raiven’s waist. What the hell? Get control of this, Raiven. But even as she thought it, she knew she didn’t want to. Instead, she wrapped her arms around her neck, leaning forward for the moment she knew was coming.

When their lips were just millimeters apart and Raiven’s eyes were nearly shut, a flash of light caught her attention in her peripheral. She instinctively looked toward it, up and to her right, and her jaw dropped in shock. A large ship was more than halfway underwater, obviously losing its battle to the waves. When had the water gotten so turbulent?

Without stopping to ponder that more, Raiven made a beeline for the ship. She wasn’t sure what she could do to help exactly, but she was a strong swimmer. She at least had to try. A grip on her ankle jerked her backwards, and she was spun around to face her. Considering that she stoically watched as an entire ship was sinking, it dawned on Raiven that she obviously wasn’t anyone’s protector. So who is she?

She shook her head a couple times and crossed her arms. How could she not want to save people? Raiven, not even attempting to hide her confusion now, pointed to the ship and started swimming towards it again, just to be yanked right back. Something about the adamant expression she wore this time caused Raiven to realize what should’ve been obvious moments ago: she had coordinated this entire party for the sole purpose of this destruction. Raiven breathed out at the realization and clenched her jaw to bite back the tears. How is it that she had trusted such a cruel person for over a decade?

Before she let herself get lost in the depths of it all, she pulled her knees in and stretched them back out quickly, kicking whatever-her-name-was in the face and giving herself a strong start toward the ship. She looked back only once, and to her surprise, she was not in pursuit. Instead she just watched nonchalantly as Raiven came upon the scene.

It was already atrocious. Some people obviously couldn’t swim, and seemed to speed downward, their panic only managing to assist gravity. Above, she saw a sea of feet kicking maniacally; those people would be okay for the moment. Not knowing what else to do, she swam to the steadily sinking ship, grabbing every life vest she could find on its sloping deck as the pressure catapulted the ship like a reverse rocket. It was hard work, and she only had five vests after a minute of fighting against the current. It would have to do.

She swam to the person nearest her, who hung on to the side railing. The hazel eyes were those of pure terror, terrified of letting go and being left so far below surface, but also terrified of going any deeper with the ship. Raiven struggled to get the life vest over her head and properly hooked, as the woman was bound and determined to not release the railing until the vest was secure. When Raiven was sure that the vest would stay put despite it not being on correctly, she pulled the cord, causing the vest to inflate and shoot the lady up towards the surface. She heard the crack of her arm as she was violently yanked away from the ship, and after a quick moment of remorse, Raiven pushed it aside. She couldn’t think about that now.

She looked around for another person to help as she swam back towards the group again. A dark blob, levels below the sea of feet, caught her attention. She and the blob were practically at the same depth, but hundreds of feet away from each other. She swam towards it, deciding that she would help anyone she found along the way. Suddenly the blob swam sideways, allowing her to see the sharp, C-shaped fin at the end of its tail.

She stopped in an instant. It was coming for dinner, and she had nothing to offer these people. No lifeboats, not even furniture for them to climb on; any barrier she could put between them and the shark would suffice, but a wave of hopelessness shot through her as she came to terms with the fact that there was nothing. How can a ship sink and leave nothing to show for it?

The shark suddenly rushed up towards the crowd of people, so Raiven followed suit without a second thought. She quickly ran through everything she knew about shark attacks, and realized that she would have to hit it in the eye with something a few times to drive it away…maybe. The shark swam desperately, as if it hadn’t had a meal in a while and wouldn’t be kept from savoring in this one. She swallowed the fear that threatened to overwhelm her as she pressed forward, so close now that she could see its teeth shining in the water. The shark slowed as if it had seen her while she continued on, and then it suddenly swam right into obscurity, almost as if it had created the blanket of black.

Raiven did a couple quick circles in the water, kicking rapidly. To her dismay, she realized that the creature could’ve disappeared anywhere. The water that at one point had been lit up by glowing algae or lights on the sinking ship was now back to being pitch black. Before she could decide her next move, she felt coldness from beneath her feet, slowly rising up her body. Her toes felt something slick, almost like a wet cave, and she immediately knew she was first on the menu. Just as well. She wasn’t sure what more she could do for these people anyway. She touched her necklace reflexively as the dark coldness overwhelmed her body, leaving her breathless.

Raiven sat up straight in bed and coughed for minutes before she finally managed to pull herself together. Touching her nose, she realized it was still frigid. As a matter of fact, most of her body was. It was just a dream, it was just a dream. She repeated it, but she didn’t believe it. No one else that she knew had dreams with real life consequences, like a huge drop in body temperature. There was no chance of her going back to sleep, so she threw on a hoodie, sweatpants, and tennis shoes, and headed to the kitchen to make tea.

Once the ginger turmeric concoction was complete, she went to the deck. The overnight crew were the only people who would be awake at this hour and she needed company.

“Hey, you okay?” Robert asked as she climbed the remaining steps up. “I never see you around this time of night.”

Raiven internally rolled her eyes; just because she needed company didn’t mean she wanted to talk. “I’m fine. Just couldn’t sleep.”

“No surprise there. It seems the Atlantic has thrown us another one of its wavy curveballs.”

Any attempt at being polite washed away from Raiven’s demeanor. “What do you mean?” she asked tersely.

“You know how this ocean is. Calm one second, turbulent the next. Same old, same old.”

Raiven gulped down more of her tea, hoping to fill the pit in her stomach. It didn’t work.

“But uh, I guess I’ll catch you around, unless you want some company?”

“No that’s fine. I will be going back to bed soon,” Raiven lied. There were enough other people up at this time, keeping watch of things and doing their security checks. That normalcy would be enough to calm her back down and was preferred over Robert’s chatter.

“Alright. See you around,” Robert said, walking off with no small amount of attitude. Raiven rolled her eyes again, outwardly this time, as she walked to the railing. Even after a dream as crazy as the last had been, she still couldn’t find it in her to stay away from the water. It was home for her. Besides, water hadn’t really been the issue; it was what lay beneath its surface that proved challenging most times.

Raiven looked out into the ocean, noticing the rise of waves that were already much closer to the ship than they had been two minutes ago. But Robert was right; that was normal for the Atlantic. No need to panic.

Raiven had gulped down all of her tea, and had almost completely relaxed when she saw a sparkle in her peripheral, down and to the left. She let out an audible gasp and wiped her eyes as she leaned over for a closer look. It wasn’t a sparkle; it was the bright white of her conch necklace, the necklace she’d only seen in her dreams, the necklace that only belonged in her dreams. It floated on the water as if it were the most natural place for it to be.

She got on her stomach and reached over the boat’s edge for the necklace. After all, she had wished for it to be available in this world. She stopped short when she saw her ex-friend’s face in the water right next to where her necklace floated, just below the surface. She watched the stoic expression slowly transform to reveal a cruel smile before disappearing back into the depths.

Raiven crawled back rapidly, scraping her knee as she tried to hold back the tears she felt forming. It couldn’t be. “No, no, no,” she whispered to herself, not noticing Robert standing a few feet away. He signaled to one of his friends to have him fetch the nurse before he approached her.

“Okay,” he said softly, squatting to get to her level. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

“It was just a dream. It couldn’t be.” She could’ve kicked herself for crying, for blubbering, for suddenly losing all vocabulary. She wanted to tell him, but how could she explain something like this?

“Hey Raiven, what’s going on?” Naomi asked, already checking her stethoscope to get Raiven’s pulse. They thought she was crazy.

That realization made her rise to her feet quickly, unsteadily. Not the strongest start. Focus. Her gaze caught the wall of water forming behind Robert and reminded her of the task at hand.

“We have to turn the boat around. The water is too chaotic. Look,” she said, pointing out at the ocean. Robert and Naomi turned to watch the wave rise and rush towards them as it got bigger. It hit the lower side of the ship with a loud whoosh, blending in with the clash of numerous other waves hitting the ship. They both slowly turned to look at her worriedly.

“Don’t look at me like that. I know what I’m talking about! We won’t survive this!” Raiven broke into a sprint, towards what, she didn’t know. Couldn’t care. She felt a firm grip on her arm, pulling her back. It was her again. How did she manage to get here? “Let me go! I won’t kill innocent people with you! Leave me alone!” Raiven felt something akin to a mosquito bite on her arm before she finally let go. Upon getting loose, Raiven looked at the spot, searching for any sign of what that hellish woman could’ve done. But before she could figure it out, she was once again thrust into pitch black.