text: Warning: Autistic Meltdown (Including restraint and self-harming behaviors) Leah fiddled with the volume button on the dash, turning the pop music up so loud it shook the car. Q covered her ears with her hands, wincing as the sound hit her eardrum. She glanced at Tytus, who was sitting in the back of the van with her. He said something Q couldn’t hear, and the car stopped shaking as Leah turned the music back down. “Sorry about that, Q-tip,” Leah said from the front. “That’s not my name,” Q responded, looking out the window at the blur of trees. “It’s just Q. You know that.” Leah laughed a little, fidgeting with her pink hair. “Yeah, but Q-tip is more fun.” Q smiled a little, nodding along to the beat of the song playing. She was excited to get to the Air BnB they were heading towards. “Oooh, do you think it’ll have-- like-- a pond or something?” Araria questioned excitedly. “Probably not. There was nothing in the description about that. There is a pool, though.” Iris turned onto a dirt road. “We’re almost there. Someone wake Tobias up.” Araria saluted and proceeded to kick Tobias in the side. He grunted and turned to glare at the girl with tired, brown eyes. “What the hell?!” The two began bickering back and forth from the middle seats as Iris pulled into the driveway. “Children! We’re here!” Leah cheered and burst out of the passenger’s side as Tytus barked a laugh. “Moooom, I’m hungry,” he said in a whining tone. “Shut up,” Iris said. They all clambered out of the van, grabbed their things, and went into the cabin-like house. It was huge, with a large living space in the middle and three bedrooms clustered down the hallway. Araria and Q walked into the room they had claimed as their own. The large window on the far wall filled the room with bright sunlight. Unpacking went without too many hiccups. At one point, Q looked out of her door to see Tytus chasing Tobias with a pillow in the room across from theirs. After a half-hour filled with pulling clothes out of her suitcase and hanging them up as well as filling the one bathroom with all six of their things, the house filled with the smell of delicious food. Q hesitantly walked into the hallway, met with the sight of Leah and Iris cooking together like an old married couple. Even though both were the same age as the rest of them-- just out of high school-- they always became the two parents when it was just their group of friends. Q jumped as the sound of crashing lightning rang through the house. She looked outside to see it was still sunny. “I’ve never seen lightning without rain,” she wondered out loud. “It’s probably going to start raining soon,” Iris murmured. Araria whined from the table. “Aww, I wanted to play outside.” Iris was right. By the time they all sat at the table and began eating the stirfry Iris had cooked, rain was pouring down outside. Q watched as the water dripped down the windows, smiling a little. She always loved watching the rain. The rest of the night was filled with laughter as they played a board game Leah had packed. Tobias ended up falling asleep at the table, and Araria won. She gloated all through the time they all spent getting ready for bed. “There was no way Tytus was even close to winning. Like, he placed second, sure, but he wasn’t even close,” she continued as she pulled a bonnet over her orange braids. Q hummed in acknowledgment as she closed her eyes, quickly drifting off. Q slept fitfully. The boom of thunder shaking the house woke her up multiple times. On top of that, she kept waking up sweating from the heat. Eventually, she threw off the blanket she was wearing in an attempt to cool down. By the time the house began stirring, Q only got a few hours of sleep altogether. She groggily stood up and stretched. Araria blinked up at her from where she was snuggled up in her bed. “Mornin’ Q,” she mumbled, sitting up a little. “How’d you--” “What the-- Why won’t it work?” Tytus’s voice ran through the house, interrupting Araria’s question. Q peeked out the door to see Tytus in his room, the door partially open, flicking the light switch back and forth. “What’s wrong?” Tytus glanced over at her. “The light won’t turn on!” Q hummed, turning back to her and Araria’s room and trying their light. It also wasn’t working. “I wonder if the power went out.” Tobias poked his head out of the bathroom. “Yep, that’s what I thought to. The water’s not working either so it looks like it. That would explain why it got so hot all of a sudden last night.” “Damn it,” Tytus mumbled. “That means my phone didn’t charge and...” He grabbed it, fiddling with the buttons. “Yeah... it’s dead.” He sighed, throwing it back onto his bed. “Aww, this sucks.” Araria pouted. She walked down the hall and knocked on the door to Iris’s and Leah’s room. “Guys, wake up! The power’s out.” Eventually, everyone was awake and sitting in the living room. Iris walked in with breakfast bars and fruits, handing them out to everyone. “Well, I messaged the owners of the house, and they said that it seems like the storm took down the powerline that powers this property. On a good note, they are giving us back half of what we paid for the Air BnB.” Tobias grumbled, “That doesn’t help us now.” “We can either leave now and just go back home, or we could stay here,” Iris said, ignoring him. “I vote we stay and make the best of it. There’s a pool outside so we can stay cool.” Leah smiled widely. How she was always so upbeat, Q would never figure out. “Yes! We still have to pay half of the price, so it’d be a waste of money to leave now. If we get hot, we can sit in the AC car,” Araria reasoned. “Let’s just vote,” Iris suggested. After voting, it ended up a 50/50 with Tobias, Iris, and Q wanting to go and Leah, Tytus, and Araria wanting to stay. Q looked at Tytus, who was staring at her with blue puppy eyes. “Q...” he said pleadingly. She sighed. “Yeah, okay, but only if we eat all the ice cream that’s not melted yet.” Araria squeaked, running to the freezer and throwing semi-melted popsicles at all of them. “The rest of it is melted,” she said with a pout. A few hours later, Q was sitting in the shade, fanning herself with paper fans Leah had made as she watched Tytus and Araria have a ‘splash-off.’ “At least they’re keeping cool,” Iris sighed, leaning against the glass porch door. “Iris, babe, come on,” Leah said from the edge of the pool. Iris hummed at her before walking up and sitting with her legs in the pool. “That’s all you’re getting. I don’t want to put my swimsuit on, Leah.” Leah sighed but took it in stride, immediately splashing her girlfriend’s legs. “Tobias,” Iris called as she looked over her shoulder, “Can you grab water bottles for everyone?” Water was distributed to everyone-- warm, of course, due to the lack of refrigeration or ice. Tytus was the only one who didn’t run towards the water; instead, he floated on his back and looked at the sky. “Tytus.” Q approached the pool, sitting next to Iris and crossing her legs. “You need to drink water.” He hummed in acknowledgment and came to take a sip of the water labeled with his name. “I’m swallowing enough of this pool water that I’m the most hydrated I’ve ever been.” “Doubtful,” Tobias said. He jumped into the pool next to Tytus, causing a large splash right in his face. They sat there for a little longer before Iris suggested they go in and eat food. Everyone clambered out of the pool, dried off, and changed. Q and Iris-- the only two who stayed relatively dry-- worked on setting up sandwiches. They took their chances with the warm vegetables and condiments, but Iris refused to let anyone touch the hot lunchmeat. Q sat down with her sandwich, taking a bite and trying not to wince at the uncomfortable texture. Q felt like she was drowning in sweat, her purple shirt sticking to her back, and the others didn’t look much better. Araria had been drinking water bottle after water bottle like it was no one’s business; Tobias was alternating between fanning himself with two paper fans and taking bites out of his sandwich; and Leah had forgone the half-sleeved shirt she was wearing for a loose crop top. “It’s too hot in here,” Tytus complained. “I’m going back outside. At least there’s a breeze there.” He grabbed his plate and opened the porch door. “Tytus, seriously?” Iris asked incredulously. “It’s over 100 degrees outside right now.” “Yeah, and it’s 100 degrees in here too.” Iris shook her head. “Q,” she said, “give this to him.” She handed Q a water bottle. Q grabbed her sandwich and drink and went to go sit with Tytus outside. “Thanks for the water,” he hummed around his sandwich. “It’s really too hot to be outside,” Q said. “I repeat: it’s just as hot inside, dude.” Q wrinkled her nose. “Don’t call me dude, Tytus. We’ve been dating for like 6 months.” “Really, dude? I don’t know what the problem is, dude.” He shot her a goofy grin and poked her in the side. She flinched away, shaking her hand back and forth a little. Tytus’s smile faltered. “You good?” “Uh, yeah,” she said. “I think I’m just a little overstimulated.” “Sorry,” Tytus said, moving a little further away from her so their sides were no longer touching. She smiled a little. “Love you,” she mumbled. “L’ve you too.” He blinked a little, leaning against the wall behind him. His eyebrows were creased. “Are you okay?” Q asked. He hummed in response, shrugging. “Tytus, seriously, you don’t look good.” He exhaled a laugh. “Very kind of you, sweet... uh sweetheart.” He blinked a little and put his sandwich back down on his plate. He had only taken a few bites. “I’m fine.” He sits up, blinking a little. “I’m going to dip my feet in the pool. It’s way too hot.” He stood up and took a few steps towards the pool. Q watched, jumping up when he stumbled, his eyes rolling back and his face losing color. Her heart plummeted as his body went limp and hit the water. She froze for a moment; his body began to sink to the bottom of the pool. Her brain whirled as the water from the splash touched her toes. She couldn’t save him; she could barely keep her head over water when she swam. She couldn’t even lift him out of the water. But he was going to die if she didn’t do anything. He was going to die. She was going to watch him die. Her breath turned sporadic, and her vision went blurry. She became distantly aware that there was noise around her. More water splashed her legs, making her back up. She hated the feeling of water on her skin. It mixed with the sweat that was building from the heat, making her feel sticky and gross. She kicked her legs out, trying to dry them off, and began rubbing them. When that didn’t work, she hit them, hard. It hurt but was nice in a way. Calming. She kept hitting her leg before something grabbed her arm and held it still. She whined, pulling at the thing, but that only made them hold tighter. She needed something, though. She felt like her body was freefalling. Realizing she was leaning against something hard, she pulled her head forward and banged it against the wall. It caused pain to flare from the back of her head, and she sighed in relief. When she tried again, though, something soft blocked the path. Her throat hurt as she screamed in frustration. She couldn’t do anything. Whatever was holding her down was hurting her. She wanted it off. She wanted it off. And then it was off. She had a moment of freedom, where she scratched at her leg, relaxing into the sharp pain. However, her relief was short-lived as something else was placed over her body. She tried to shake it off, pushing up on the weight. The weight didn’t move, though, instead gently putting pressure all over. Q felt her body relax a little, breathing heavily. Her eyes slowly cleared, and she could see Leah’s face hovering over where she was lying down. She didn’t remember lying down. “--Breaths, come on,” Leah was saying. She was breathing loudly, and Q felt her lungs following her. Her breathing slowly became more even and normal, and suddenly, Q remembered why she had been panicking in the first place. She sat up, looking around wildly. Her eyes locked on the sight of Tytus lying on his back next to the pool as Iris was performing what looked like CPR. She pushed the weighted blanket off of her-- that’s what had been placed on her, she realized belatedly-- and ran towards him. Tobias was pacing back and forth, fiddling with his phone. Leah followed Q, kneeling next to her. “Iris has been performing CPR for maybe a minute. After they got him out, he wasn’t breathing. Tobias tried calling 911, but we don’t have any cell service anymore because the wifi is down with the power outage.” Q didn’t respond; the words were stuck in her throat. That happened almost every time she had a meltdown: once she calmed down, the panic took her words with it. Instead, she placed her hand on his forehead. It was worryingly warm, but she couldn’t do anything about that right now. She began gently stroking his hair as his body moved with Iris’ compressions. All of a sudden, there was a gasping sound, and Tytus began coughing, his body curling into himself. Iris pulled back and quickly moved him onto his side. Once in that position, he began to cough up water onto the concrete. Q instinctively jumped back to avoid getting hit before feeling slightly guilty and coming back to his other side. Tytus continued coughing for what seemed like forever before slumping back on the ground. “Jeez,” he coughed out. His voice came out so scratchy that it made Q’s throat hurt. “Uuh, what- what happened?” They all turned toward Q, who realized that the others most likely didn’t know what happened. However, when she opened her mouth, no words came out. She let out a small sound of frustration, running back into the house and grabbing her phone. She prayed that it would work without service and opened up a communication app. When it loaded, she sagged in relief. It took a moment to type it all out, but eventually, a robotic woman’s voice left her phone. “You went to get into the pool, but it looked like you fainted. I didn’t know what to do. I’m sorry.” Tytus hummed, sitting up. Iris leaned forward and grabbed his arm to support him. “Don’t stand up yet, idiot.” “I feel the- feel the love, Iris.” Iris rolled her eyes in response to Tytus’ sarcasm. “You need to be slow. Honestly, I might have Tobias carry you to the car. I don’t feel like you should be walking after all that.” Q nodded in agreement. She stared at him for a moment too long before lunging forward and hugging him. He laughed a little, reaching one arm around and hugging her back. “I’m okay, Q. I’m right here.” She felt tears dripping down her face and onto his shoulder, as Leah gently pulled her back. “You don’t want to hurt him. Iris probably at least bruised his ribs doing CPR.” Q nodded in agreement, and they sat there for about 15 minutes as they allowed Tytus to recover a little. Iris said that they would need to go to the hospital as soon as possible, but right now, Tytus shouldn’t move too much. Once Tytus felt a little more stable, Tobias picked him up bridal style and carried him to the car. They blasted the AC in an attempt to cool him down, having decided that that was mostly likely what caused him to pass out. Only Iris, Q, and Tytus rode in the car; everyone else stayed behind to pack their things. Iris would come back after dropping Q and Tytus off at the emergency room to pick them up with all their things. The drive back was long-- almost an hour-- and Q found herself rubbing her hands back and forth against the seat until her hands were rubbed raw. Tytus assured her that he was fine now, but he was still a little pale and sweating even after sitting in front of the AC. Once they got back into a place where there was phone service, all of their phones rang with the same alert: Heat Advisory: Avoid being outside for extended periods of time. Exposing yourself to these temperatures may result in serious illness or death. After reading it, Iris groaned. “A few hours too late, phones.”