“Get downbelow!”
“Notwithout you!” he screamed back over the flames.
I glanced atthe hatch not too far from my right and pointed for him. “I’ll godown this way!”
I willed him todescend the ladder on his side, but he didn’t budge. I could seethe top half of his body from over the height of the fallen mastpiece, as still as a statue, and I knew he wouldn’t move until Iwas safe down below. I crept along the side of the ship, holdingonto the railing with all my might until I reached the mouth of thehatch. Turning, I shouted back to him.
“Okay,I’m there! Now, get down–” The words were ripped from my mouth asthe ship heaved once more and a massive wave spilled across theside, sucking me over the edge for the freezing sea to claim.
Istruggled against the ocean’s power, clambering to the surface forair. But there was no surface. The ocean surrounded me, and Ibecame nothing more than a mere plaything in its waves. I tried to scream but mymouth filled with sea water and I felt the freezing sensation fillmy insides.
My chestprotested as my lungs began to burn and I desperately clawed for mylife as the water tossed me around. This was it. This was how I’dgo. I always knew Ibelonged to the sea. I just didn’t think it’s where I’d die. I letout a silent prayer for the life inside of me before giving up andallowing the angry waters take me away.
Thesensation of sinking is kind of like floating backwards. You’resuspended but descending at the same time. I knew the storm ragedon the surface, but down there, it was calm. Like an eerie lullaby.The last of my air squeezed from my lungs as the icy sea claimedits place, soaking into every pore. My eyes drifted shut and mymind filled with cloudy images of colors. I was dying.We were dying. Drowning. My onlyregret was not getting the chance to say goodbye to Henry. In thatmoment, I forgave him for everything that happened. I imagined hisarms around me, pulling me close. His mouth on mine. It felt soreal, I could almost…
My eyes flewopen, despite the burning of the salt water, to find my mouthcovered by another. But it wasn’t Henry. It wasn’t even human. Thecreature that held me in its dark, scaly arms was unlike anythingI’d ever seen. Eyes as large as clam shells, and completely black.Its wide, toothy mouth covered mine and blew bubbles inside.
Ipanicked at first and struggled against its hold. The creature’stail, a rubbery sheer, floated around us, like a cocoon. My bottomlip brushed along its razor-sharp teeth and flooded my mouth with thetaste of blood. The sea creature firmed its grip around my body andblew harder into my mouth, filling my dying lungs with air. Forcingthe bubbles down. That’s when I realized it was helping me tobreathe.
It was savingmy life.
But,before I could react, the blood in my mouth washed away with thesour tang of some other substance. A poison, perhaps. No doubt fromthe puncture its pointy teeth made on my lip. Within seconds mybody went numb likemorphine had been pumped through my veins, as milky clouds filledmy vision.
And then therewas darkness.
***
The sound ofseagulls squawked in the distance and the repetitive hum of thetide washed in and out. A dry moan escaped my lips as I attemptedto roll over. Half of my face had been buried in the cold sand.
Sand?
I coughed outgranules and wiped them from my face. My eyes had crusted shut withthe dried sea water and dirt that coated most of my body, so Iwiped at them, too. I was weak and tired. But… alive.
“Henry?”I called out with a wince. My left shoulder protested when I triedto push myself up and, with a quick assessment, determined it wasdislocated. The gross sensation that spread through my body when I tried to move itwas enough to confirm. So, on the ground, I stayed.
My weary eyesstrained to search around me for a sign of the others. For Henry.But there was nothing. My good arm raised up, so a hand couldshield my sore eyes from the sun as I frantically searched the seabefore me. No sight of The Queen. No sight of anything but a thinline that divided the sea and skies. I craned my neck and foundthat I had been washed ashore on a small beach. But, according toFinn, there were no known bits of land in our path to England whichtold me this location was unknown. A deserted island.
And I wasstranded on it.
Suddenly, mymind flashed with the image of the sea creature that had saved me.Was it a dream? Did I imagine the mouth of a mermaid around mine,inflating my lungs and swimming to safety? Or was it all ahallucination and, by some miracle, the sea saw fit to spit me outon this island?
My handimmediately went to the baby and felt for any movement. I had nopain, which was a good sign. I clawed at my tattered clothes,moving the layers to check for blood. None. Thank goodness. Nosigns of a miscarriage. I could only pray that the baby was safeand alive inside of me. It had to be. Relief flooded my body and Ilay back on the sand.
But thesun, surprisingly hot for late Fall, beamed down and warmed my skina little too much for comfort. I had to get up and find shelter. Mydry tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth and I added water to thelist of things I had to find immediately. With my good arm, Ipushed against the sand and managed to get to my shaky knees. Onefoot at a time, I pulled myself up, hardly able to stay on my feet.My other arm was useless, and I admitted what had to be done if Iwanted any chance ofsurviving.
I had to pop itback in place.
The verythought of it turned my stomach. I remembered then, years ago, I’dbeen on the volleyball team at school. It was a brutal match, andwe needed one more point to win. I dove for the ball, armsoutstretched, and
