Calling to the dogs, Darcy decided to complete her tour of the grounds. She had been everywhere except in the old stable, so she headed there now. The dogs went in search of shade, so she was on her own. As she opened the stable door, Darcy was aware of the smell of chlorine. The pool must still be filled, she thought, as she switched on the lights. Most of the original stable walls were completely intact, but the inside of the structure had been gutted and replaced with a beautiful indoor swimming pool.
Mosaic tile lined the bottom and sides of the pool, their green, blue and white colors very much in keeping with the soothing atmosphere of the building. Surrounding the pool itself was a concrete apron upon which sat benches, statues and plants in the Greek style. Zeus, Athena and Apollo all looked on as bathers played in the pool. On one end of the building the wall had been replaced by a set of bay windows so a swimmer could enjoy a view of the dark, cool woods from inside the structure. It's absolutely enchanting, Darcy thought. I feel like Artemis coming for a swim. The thought made her giggle.
She walked up to the deep end of the pool and peered down to the bottom. The water was clear, but Darcy didn't linger. She loved swimming and this building was a dream, but she had always been afraid of drowning. When she was eight years old she had been swimming with her sister in a watering hole on the family property. As she went under to swim her sister threw a heavy tractor inner tube over where she tried to surface. Darcy was caught under the inner tube and swallowed a large amount of water before being rescued by her father. She had been sure she was going to drown and she still felt that panicky feeling when she was around water. It didn't keep her from enjoying swimming, but it was always present.
Darcy switched off the lights and was about to leave the building when she heard a noise in the far corner of the room. She headed toward the sound, around the far side of the pool, where the water was much closer to the wall than the other side. She sidestepped the narrow walkway next to the water. She heard the noise again, and suddenly, her feet went out from her ...