Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 33209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 166(@200wpm)___ 133(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 166(@200wpm)___ 133(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
I went under. The rolling sea caused me to lose my orientation. I didn’t know which way was up or down. I stopped fighting as I could feel my lungs strain for breath. Then the sky lit up from lightning, and I saw the boat heading down. I kicked my feet toward the light before it disappeared again. There was nothing I wouldn’t do to survive and see my daughter again. That was my last thought as my limbs got heavy. My brain begged me to open my mouth and breathe. My fingertips breached the surface of the water just as darkness overtook me.
My brain came back online with my face buried in the sand. I coughed and rolled onto my back.
Heavy footfalls came in my direction before hands rolled me back to my side. “No, love. Stay on your side.” His accent was thicker than ever, but I recognized the voice all the same.
“Agan,” I managed to say. Rapidly, I blinked my eyes to clear my vision. From my position, I could only see sand and more sand. “Where are we?”
He plopped down like he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. “I don’t know.”
I coughed more, spitting out a little water before pushing myself to sit up. We were near a shoreline and the water was calm and the skies were blue. How long had I been out?
Apparently, I’d spoken aloud because Agan answered. “Several hours is my guess. I thought—” He choked up on the last word.
It wasn’t hard to imagine how he would have finished that sentence. “What happened?” I asked more firmly.
“You weren’t breathing. I got you in the raft, but you weren’t breathing. I did as much CPR as I could while trying to make sure we didn’t sink,” he blurted in a diatribe of words. “I didn’t know if you’d make it. When we ended up here, I tried again until I felt a faint pulse. I had to see if there was anything around. I was afraid to leave you on your side in case you rolled to your back and choked, so I put you on your stomach. But you wouldn’t wake up…”
I’d almost died. Or had I died, and he’d revived me? Tears burned my eyes as one name screamed in my head. “Zoe. I need to get back to Zoe.”
My affection for the man next to me had grown to epic proportions, but I loved one person more than myself. That was my daughter.
“Good news or bad news first?” he asked.
“Whatever. Just tell me all of it,” I demanded.
“Good news: there was a black box on board. An extra feature my father insisted on,” he said. I blew out a breath. “Bad news: it’s at the bottom of the ocean with the boat.” Before I could go on, he continued. “Good news: there was a beacon with the life raft. I activated it just before we jumped. Bad news: it isn’t working anymore.” He held up a yellow handheld device that was not as wide as a phone, but longer.
“How is that good news?” The thing didn’t work.
“It would have sent out an initial signal and continued until it stopped working. I was busy trying to save your life, so I can’t say when it stopped working.”
I reached out a hand and placed it on his forearm because there was something I should have said from the outset. “Thank you.”
His somber eyes met mine. “I’m sorry, Haley.”
Confused, I asked, “Why?”
“I brought you on this trip and now…” He waved a hand, indicating our situation.
“This isn’t your fault. There was a storm.”
“That’s the thing. I don’t think a storm did this. I heard a rumbling. I got up and went deck side. We had already been flung forward, but we were dragging because of the anchor. Thank God I got it up or we would have been at the bottom of the ocean before I had time to wake you up.”
“What do you think it was?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know, but we are far from where we should be. I’m certain of that.”
“What do we do?” Then I asked the question that scared me most. “Will we be found?”
He scoffed. “My father will find us for sure. How long?” He shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“How will we survive?”
He glanced back, and I followed his line of sight. The bag he’d taken was behind us. “There are several bottles of water and protein bars. But we should be careful how we use them.”
I glanced back at the ocean that had spit us out on this island. “I have to get back to Zoe.”
“I know. I’ll do whatever it takes or die trying.”
I agreed with his sentiment as we remained quiet for a time.
He finally broke the silence. “I’m going to explore the island and see if there’s anything. Plus, I need to gather some wood that isn’t wet to start a fire.” I nodded. “You stay here in case you see a boat.”