Adrift

Why couldn't I breathe?

No matter how hard I try, I can't breathe. My body feels like it's floating and it's pitch black. Why? That's the question I keep asking myself.

My eyes jolt open, but they are suddenly filled with a stinging sensation, so I close them again. I finally feel my body coming back to life, and I am able to move my limbs. Slowly opening my eyes once more, I see a faint, white light above me, and start swimming for it.

I broke the surface, and cold, chilling air hits my wet face. Without a second thought, I take in a sharp breath, but I go into a coughing fit, which stings my throat and chest.

I try to keep myself afloat, while taking in my surroundings. There was nothing but water from where I was to the horizon, and a clear night sky with a full moon shining high above me. "Help!" I tried yelling, but my voice came out weak and dehydrated causing me to cough again.

My arms started to tire, and became sore, and I felt my eye lids becoming heavy. "No, no. I can't fall asleep." I urge myself.

"Help!" I'm snapped back from my thoughts when I heard someone shout, but a few moments I realized I must've been my imagination. No one could be out here in the middle of the ocean in the middle of the night, right?

"Help!" I hear the faint shout again, and I know this time it isn't my imagination. I swim in a circle until finally I see a silhouette in the distance. My heart skips a beat at the thought of not being alone, and I start swimming as fast as I can toward whoever it is, though my muscles and bones are screaming at me to stop.

It seemed to take forever, but I finally drew close to the person. When I got close enough to see their features, my heart nearly stopped; In front of me there was a boy with tattered clothes, dark brown hair, and dark blue eyes, and the only thing keeping him afloat was a plank of wood.

In instant I knew who he was, and all my memories that had been lost since I had woken up in this watery plain came back to me in a flash.

This boy in front of me was the school bully who always picked on me for being quiet and nerdy; Blake Walkers!

"B....Blake?" I finally questioned, once I had found my voice. He jolted up and looked at me; his face went from angry to desperation in moments.

"Allison, …What the heck?" he responded. I swam in front of Blake, and told him, "I thought you were out of town for the summer." Flashes of memories from the Tsunami formed in my mind; no one was expecting it, and there was no warning.

I had just gotten groceries from the store and was walking back home; I decided to walk along the shore, and I hadn't noticed that the ocean tide had pulled back far from the edge. When I did realize something was wrong, it was too late and I had gotten caught up in the Tsunami's wrath.

"I was, but we had returned home that day due to my mom becoming sick. So, I went to the shore, and that's when it started, but that doesn't explain how you got here." Blake answered my question, but said the last part it bit snarky.

"Do you remember which way-"

"Yeah, but I think I broke my leg while getting swept up." he cut me off.

Examining him, I could see his breath was ragged, and he only his right leg was moving in the water. "Which way?" I asked. I caught Blake rolling his eyes, but I paid no attention to that. He pointed behind him, and after doing so quick calculation I realized that was west.

"Alright, let's go." I replied, swimming up next to him. I turned the plank in the direction Blake pointed in, and made sure I turned Blake around too.

"You're not leaving me out here?" he questioned, as we pushed the plank westward. "No, you may have left me if the situation was reversed, but no I'm not gonna leave you behind." I respond, without looking at him.

I heard him grunt a little, and I looked over at him, and said, "Get on top of the plank." Blake looked at me shocked, and I gestured to the board. Weakly, and hesitantly he got on the board, and I continued to push.

"Why are you helping me Allison? Blake questioned. I let out a small laugh, but I didn't answer; it should be obvious. Seeing him frown at me, I smiled, shook my head, and answered, "I was raised that way. My parents would never let me turn my back on someone."

Upon hearing Blake scoff at my statement, I rolled my eyes, clamped my mouth shut, and kept pushing.

I swam for what felt like an hour, before my eyelids started to close again, and this time I couldn't stop it. "Allison?" Blake's voice was distant though I knew he was right there.

Before I fully closed my eyes though, I was stopped by a nudge on my foot. I tensed at the feeling, and chills ran up and down my spine. "Allison, are you alright?" Blake asked, less distant this time. I was too terrified to say any kind of warning, as my eyes scanned the dark waters that swallowed the lower part of my body in it's darkness.

"Oh Crap!" I heard Blake shout, right before I felt his two arms reach under my shoulders and pull me out of the water and planted me right next to him on the board.

"Blake, what is-" he cut me off by putting his hand on my mouth and telling me to shush. Blake pointed, and I tensed when I followed his finger and saw the terrifying silhouette of a shark fin only feet away from where I once was in the murky waters.

Taking his hand off of my mouth, Blake whispered into my ear, "Stay quiet, and no sudden movements." I could hear a tremble in his voice as he said that.

Moments later, the shark fin was only inches away from our little wooden raft, and I could sense we were both as tense as we could ever be. The shark fin then disappeared into the blackness, and Blake and I looked at each other, sighed and relaxed.

However, while I had a moment of relaxation, my left foot slipped into the water and and the next moment was complete blur. There was a sudden burning pain in my leg, and I was dragged painfully off the plank and back into the deadly depths of the water.

I saw the moon's glow above me get smaller and smaller the farther I was dragged deeper. I could see Blake's silhouette above the surface, but he wasn't doing anything but looking down into the depths; he's probably happy that I'm not in his life anymore.

The sharks teeth dug deeper in my leg, and it took every bit of strength in my leg to not scream and use the small amount of air I had left in my burning lungs. I squeezed my eyes shut waiting for the inevitable.

Hearing a splash above me, I looked up and saw someone's silhouette swimming toward me, but one of their legs wasn't moving; Blake!

Suddenly, I heard the faint sound of several clicks, which I recognized and snapped in my head in that direction. There were several other silhouettes coming from the side, and I was shocked to see it was dolphins.

The air then left my lungs, and my vision started getting fuzzy and blurry. "Come on, just a little longer." I tried urging myself. The intense pressure in my leg released, as I felt the shark's teeth pull from my skin.

I felt myself start sinking, and my vision went from blurry to black in several moments. I could feel my life slipping, as blood drained from the open wounds in my leg.

However, I was jerked up by a sudden grip, and I felt myself be pulled up, but I was still weak to open my eyes. Hands grabbed underneath my shoulders and pushed me upwards, where I broke surface, and sputtered into a coughing fit.

I heard the motor of something, but I couldn't make out what it was. I could also feel someone's hands on my back keeping me afloat.

"Help! She's hurt!" I heard Blake voice, next to me. The motor came closer, and I finally lifted my tired eyelids.

Was that a boat, or just my imagination?

Soon the motor sounded like it was right next to my ear, and I felt myself be lifted out of the water and soon I was freezing and cold. "Put her on these blankets, cover her up, and and put pressure on the wound!" I heard someone order, as I was put onto something soft, but thin.

"Can you hear me?" I heard someone ask. It took me a few moments before I realized they were asking me. Pulling together the strength, I opened my eyes, nodded my head, and stuttered, "M...My name....is...Allison."

"Alright, Allison, bite down on this. What I'm going to do will hurt." the woman above me warned me, putting a gauze between my teeth.

I didn't have time to prepare myself for the terrible amounts of pain in my leg. I jerked up, and gave out a sharp gasp. The woman treating me had to push me back down. "Shh, you're doing great." she told me, and took the gauze out.

Weakly I looked around the boat, where I was laying on the floor. I spotted Blake, who was wrapped up in a couple of layers of blankets, and had his ankle wrapped up.

He caught me looking at him, so I smiled, and mouthed, "Thank you." I saw him roll his eyes, but I could see compassion underneath those tough, jerkish eyes, and I saw a smile slip on his face. I had hope things between us would be different from here on out.

I looked up at the sky, as I heard the motor start running. The sky was lighter, which meant it was almost sun up. I could see thousands of stars hovering above me, and it made me happy.

Stars give me hope, no matter how many times I see them. A hope for a better future; a better tomorrow.

I felt safe, in pain, but safe; I knew I could finally get some rest without having to worry about my future. So, relaxed for the first time in hours, I drifted to the world of sleep, happy I wasn't alone and adrift in the middle of the sea.