Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 59521 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 298(@200wpm)___ 238(@250wpm)___ 198(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59521 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 298(@200wpm)___ 238(@250wpm)___ 198(@300wpm)
“Grace, no, it’s too dangerous!” Aggie barks, but I’m already in the water, wading, then swimming, salt on my face, in my mouth, in my eyes.
I swim with all my might, and when I reach Rachel, I try to get her to stop freaking out so we can get the hell out of this mess, but as soon as I try to pull her away, she goes under. My legs piston, arms cutting through the water, and I dive, reaching for where her head should be. For a terrifying three seconds, there is nothing but these rolling green-blue walls, and then her hand hits the side of my face, nails raking desperate.
We surface together, Rachel coughing, screaming, “It’s pulling me, Grace, it’s—” and she’s gone under again, this time taking me with her, her arms a vice locked around my neck. The breath I held rips out in a spray of bubbles. I claw for the surface, for any glimpse of sky, but Rachel’s panic is gravity and she’s dragging us both down.
My lungs? Not burning exactly, but scalded, this hollow ache that buries itself under my ribs and starts to expand. I struggle and twist, trying to detach from Rachel, but in her panic, she is locked onto me. She’s going to kill us both if I can’t get her off. Panic grips me, making me feel sick and terrified at the same time.
Then something hard curls around my arm.
As I’m pulled to the surface, I see Ace, holding onto me as Kellen tries to calm Rachel enough to keep her afloat. I’m coughing and gasping, choking and half-blind from the salt. Ace pulls me, and I let him, because everything in my body feels like it’s shutting down. When we finally reach the shore, I land on my back, still coughing, still struggling for air.
Ace crouches beside me, hand on my neck, rubbing my back. I fold into him, still coughing, my heart hammering against my ribs, salt water streaming out my nose. He’s saying my name, over and over. Next to us, Rachel is on all fours, Kellen beside her. Her shoulders are jerking, breath wheezing in and out, and she looks so small, so entirely broken, that something in me cracks.
I gasp, and tears roll down my cheeks.
The reality hits, as jarring as the first slap of cold water: the ocean is not a playground, and we are not safe anywhere, not even on this patch of flawless sand. I look out to sea, horizon clouded with haze, and all I can think is, if the water wants us, it will take us, and there will be nothing left. Aggie kneels beside me, a hand on my shoulder. “You’re fucking insane,” she breathes, but there’s gratitude in her eyes.
“I couldn’t lose another one,” I croak.
Ace growls, low in his throat. “Nobody is worth losin’ your life for. Don’t be a fuckin’ hero.”
I meet his eyes, and I can see the fury and also fear in them. He was scared then, scared he wouldn’t get me back. My heart skips a beat.
Rachel collapses on the ground, and we both slowly get our breaths back. My lungs are still seizing, but I don’t care. I’m alive, and that means I have to figure out how to keep all of us that way. I look at Aggie, then Ace, and then back to Rachel, who is staring at me. We don’t need to say anything. We’re all thinking it: this is never going to get easier. It’s only going to get worse.
“Come on, sweetpea,” Ace murmurs, lifting me into his arms. “You need to get dry.”
He carries me up to the camp, and Kellen does the same for Rachel. Everyone else follows quietly behind. The ocean is still clawing at the shore, like it’s pissed off and doesn’t want to let us go. Ace places me down, wrapping me in a blanket and I watch it, from the dry ground.
Maybe there really is no such thing as safe anymore.
11
THE DAYS ROLL ON, ALMOST in slow motion, as if we’re repeating the same one over and over again. We’re all affected; with every passing day, our determination dwindles. Some days, we don’t really even speak to each other. We just sit, waiting, as if everything will just suddenly change. It’s sombre, and if we don’t change it soon, we may very well die out here.
Yet it seems we are unable to drag ourselves out of it.
Rachel has set up camp right near Iris’ grave. She spent days creating her own shelter, and I have to admit, it’s actually pretty good. Sure, it probably wouldn’t hold up in severe weather, but overall, it’s quite solid. She has used a large rock formation by the water to be the structure of her shelter, and built off it. There she spends most of her time. Maybe it’s a distraction, or maybe she just can’t stand being near us.