Ch 13: Into The Dark Part 2

The gunfire pulled her awareness back, prodding every erythrocytes inside her blood to swivel around along her veins as they marched to her heart in such a hideous speed. Her feet and the tips of her fingers shuddered, hung limply in the air while two grips were embracing her tight - pushing her onto a man's chest. She knew that those grips belongs to a man because of the warmth and the familiar musk mingled with his sweat as she sniffed it on his shirt, his rapid heartbeats, and his broad shoulder as her head clung to it. She remembered every single details- of how his shoulders were once tear-stained after she fell down from her bike when she was six. Listening to his breaths, she could even tell who the man really was.

"You'll be fine, Rose." His voice was hoarse while another gasps of his breaths were spasmodically being let out upon her hair. They were cold, but not as cold as his grips were -so cold that they made her shiver. Dad?

Her heart rose and fell in a second when a jump shook her and made her awareness fully awake. Alex was lowering her down onto a rough surface that was wobbling whilst she listened to the rhythm of wave came rushing forward at her. In a minute, her back bumped against the wooden surface and soon followed by her head pointed upward to the sky as it leaned heavily on solid edges.

Opening her eyes, everything was surrounded in a blurry haze. The stars glistened, showing off their well-built constellations that had been used by men to predict things- though she had never really believed in such things about human prophecies. In fact, she had never believed anything about myths. Her mind only wondered if it was already near her end as the heaven felt so close for her to reach.

Dropping her head to observe the surrounding, her mouth fell agape. She was curling up on a boat... a lifeboat that was wobbling away by the waves coming at her as though they were going to eat her alive. Only a few inches down then she would be in inside the water. Alex was nowhere in sight and she was feeling too weak to turn her head to find him.

The small boat wobbled again by a weight pushing it down into the water which indicated that someone was making a leap out of it. She neglected it. She shut her eyes for feeling too tired to stay awake or even to analyze her surroundings.

A touch on his left arm opened her eyes. She knew Alex was still there. It was quick and soon the boat was being pushed away from its main ship.

Before her, billow after billow and waves danced intensively and made her heart fell crumbly inside. She knew there was nothing there to shield her from the monstrous demons of the raging sea.

Brushing off these ridiculous thoughts, her head turned to her left. Val was lying down a few inches away from her, almost near to the edge of the boat. His hair fell weak on the wooden board and his face became paler as the moonlight stroked his skin.

His eyes closed. Dead? Is he... dead?

Her hands and knees shrieked as she laboriously crawled along the wooden surface. Every friction against the rough wood and her panting breaths made her pondered whether she could reach him to make sure that he's alright.

"Val?"Her fingers touched his left cheek with a shiver. His skin was cold, but she could feel him breathing softly and slowly.

The wave came at her again, carrying them further and further away from their father's vessel.

Squatting down, she pulled him closer- sheltering herself by leaning her face downward on his bowing head.

"Wake up!" Tears welled up in her eyes.

Her croaked whispers sounded weak, touching his right ear in a gentle blow. They should have woken up him, but he hadn't, and it made her worried even more.

She lifted her head again and was shocked by a glint of red flare coming out of their father's boat- breaking the stillness of the night as a sign for help, she knew it. Her dad must have blasted the Morse code out into the sky and no one else, but something else frightened her even more.

Gunfire erupted, widened her eyes in fears and worries as her hands reached out for Val's. She held him tighter. Her fingers trembled - having no clue about what was really happening or was that night even a reality for them. Her mind filled with questions: about the gunfire, their father and to why he didn't jump into the lifeboat with them, and especially about her mother's safety for she was nowhere to be found. Her hope was  her mother to be saved and so was their father.

Their father's boat moved forward in a ridicilous speed- heading towards a giant rock standing across its way. It crashed against the rock- bending every metal and wood that was propping it up.

Her eyes had not blinked seeing the boat sinking down.

Every object on the boat slid down to its tail, falling down into the deep sea.

Her palms on the wooden surface shuddered. Val's head moved slightly on her lap. "Rose?" He had woken up, but her concentration was glued to what was happening before her. Her upper body tumbled down and was snapping her out with the horror before her.

A giant billow jumped at their father's boat, flipped it over and knocked it down into the water. The swat created a splash reaching fast for its next victim.

Rosaline's eyes widened. She screamed as the wave outsoared above her head. Val and Rose flung outside as it finally smacked their lifeboat down into the water.

Inside.... it was dark.

She held her breaths. Her cheek puffed while her hands flapped around to lift her body up to the surface. Some of the water had already entered her lungs. She knew she must reach the surface, but below her was her brother getting further and further away into the bottom of the sea.

She reached down for his hands, but something grabbed him off before she could.

The thing gave her a look before launching off to the surface. Two red lights lit its eyes and ...

in seconds, they disappeared from her sight.

She was losing her breaths.

They had turned into bubble of breaths flying up to the surface as her hands tried to lift her body out of the water.

A strong grip grasped her on her waist - stiff like it was made from a hard metal or machine surrounding her coldly. Shriek of perpetual beeps was heard. She knew something holding her wasn't human.

"Critical alert. Water-resistant shield broke."

That voice was rigid, but clear enough to signify the voice of a man. Still, definitely it wasn't coming out from a human's throat.

The mechanical thing let her go. Everything became dark. Minutes turned into seconds as her consciousness was leaving her slowly.

Champs Les Sims Hospital 24:08

"Doctor, her pulse!" the nurse cried out.

"I know! Let's give her another shock."

The sweats on the doctor's forehead poured harder - racing against seconds that would be significant enough for the safety of the girl he'd just met.

"Come on! You can do it, little girl! I know you can!"

Author's note: This is the link where you can download the Life in a Boat