Bright rays of light sprayed down the sidewalk as the summer sun heated up the streets, baking the town with warmth. The air was dense and humid, and time seemed to slow down with each step the boys took. Tyler, Isaac, and Jack, three best friends since middle school, made their way down the neighborhood street towards the community center. Sweat dripped down their backs as they sought some sort of escape from the blazing summer heat. 
“I feel like I'm melting,” Tyler complained, taking a sip of his water.
Isaac rolled his eyes, looking up at the cloudless sky. "At least it's better than being stuck inside school.”
“You got that right” Jack stated. 
They made their way down a straight path leading towards a set of double doors. A large sign on one of the doors read "Facility Closed For Maintenance"
“Are you joking?” said Isaac.
“I didn't walk all this way for nothing. C'mon guys, let's go check if the back door is open.” Tyler demanded. 
“I don't know, if the gym is closed maybe we should go home and try another day” Jack said as his eyes darted between Isaac and Tyler. 
A mischievous grin grew on both the boys' faces.
Jack sighed. “You guys are unbelievable.”
Tyler slapped a hand on Jack’s shoulder. “Come on, we're already here.”
With a reluctant smile, Jack followed as the trio veered off the main path and slipped around the side of the building. Crunching across dry gravel and weeds, they crept past a row of foggy windows and locked maintenance doors. A delivery ramp led them to the back of the building, where dumpsters buzzed with invasive flies and a repulsive odor. The smell made Isaac gag. They turned the last corner and stopped in front of a rusty metal door. Standing on their toes, the boys peered through a small rectangular window, foggy with grime and stains, and observed the abandoned hallway inside. Tyler reached for the handle. The knob jolted once reluctantly. Tyler turned it again this time with more force when it finally clicked. 
They strided through the dimly lit hallway. Bulletin boards crowded the walls filled with old flyers, some reading “Water Safety Class” and “CPR Certification Course”. 
“Do you guys hear that?” Isaac said, stopping in place.
An eerie silence filled the corridor. A faint sloshing of water could be heard in the distance.
“Must be the pool” said Jack, pointing towards the large double doors at the end of the hallway. 
They approached it slowly. Grabbing the moist handle of the right side door, Tyler led his way into the room. 
“Woah,” he said, “it's huge, and empty.”
The indoor pool stretched out before them with blue tiles lining the center and a few buoys found on the wall. The water completely still and mirror-like. Isaac grinned, peering into the rippling reflection his face made in the pool’s glazed surface as he breathed over the edge. Tyler squatted down, running his fingers through the surface of the water. 
“Woah that is freezing” he said as he quickly retracted his hand. The group proceeded to walk around the perimeter, observing various equipment and trash along the way. Every step they took echoed uncannily.
 Isaac leaned over the deep end. “Its crazy how quiet it is. You can hear your own heartbeat.” 
“Or someone else's," Tyler joked.
Jack gave him a look. “Drop it.” 
Tyler chuckled softly, proud of himself for getting slightly under Jack’s skin. 
“Relax dude, it's just a joke,” he said, still grinning.
Jack didn't respond. His gaze remained on the water, observing every languid movement it held. The air started feeling heavier, colder even. 
“We should jump in, just to see how it feels,” Isaac said suddenly, taking off his sneakers. 
Tyler raised an eyebrow. “Are you serious, that water is probably freezing. I heard they just filled it up earlier this week.”
“Thats the point.” Isaac said, already taking off his shirt. “Just for a second, to test out the waters.”
Jack took two big steps back away from the pool.
 “Guys I’m serious don't do it, that water doesn't look like it's moving much. It could be dangerous.” 
Isaac crouched down towards the pool's edge, ignoring any remarks Jack voiced. 
“Dangerous? What, like it's haunted or something?” he said, playfully splashing Jack. A few frigid drops landed on his shirt. 
“Stop it.” Jack snapped. Goosebumps raised on his skin from the slight touch of water. 
Tyler grabbed a discarded pool floaty, looking mostly amused but slightly uneasy. He threw the floaty above the water and it landed with a small splash towards the center of the pool, miniature waves rippling out from under. 
“Let's play a game,” he said. “You’ve got to swim across and grab that thing, first one to make it wins.” 
Isaac chuckled, his voice echoing strangely, filling the room's air with a hollow sound that didn't fade immediately.
 Jack shook his head. “You guys are just acting stupid at this point. I'm serious, if something happens nobody will know we're here.”
But Isaac already made his way into the water before Jack could finish what he was saying.
“That’s freezing!” He said as he gasped sharply. 
Violent splashing filled the room, reverberating along the walls. Tyler was elated while Jack simply stood there, his stomach twisting. 
Tyler peered over at him. “Come on now, your turn!” he exclaimed. 
“No way,” Jack muttered. “It's too cold in there.”
Isaac swam back to the edge, his lips pale and shivering uncontrollably. 
“It's fine,” he said through chattering teeth. “Just a little cold.”
The faint lighting above flickered once. Then again. Dimming the entire room briefly each time.
“I think it's time for us to go” Jack stated, gulping deeply. 
“Alright alright we can go,” Tyler said, “but first I'm gonna take a quick dip.”
“Stop!” Jack shouted, leaning over to try to stop him from jumping.

But his foot slipped on the soaked tile. It happened too fast. A splash, then the thud of a body hitting the water. “Jack!” Isaac shouted, rushing to the edge. 

Violent splashing filled the air as quick, terse breaths could be heard struggling to reach the surface. Tyler dove in out of pure instinct. His muscles locked up the second the water touched his skin, a shock stealing his breath. He forced his eyes to open under the chlorine filled water. Something brushed past his leg and next thing he knew a pair of arms wrapped around his shoulders, pushing his body further down into the water. The cold stole most of the strength he had and with the remainder he struggled to break free of the figure holding him captive. Through gasping breaths, he pulled himself over the edge. Tyler and Isaac looked at the water in front of them, but instead of seeing the familiar frame of Jack lingering over the surface, only a few periodic bubbles rose to the surface. The fluorescent light above flickered a few times, more rapidly, then finally gave out, engulfing the entire room in an intense darkness.