Page 66 of Blue in the Deep Blue Sea

Then we swam.

I was faster than she was. She kept falling behind, stopping every few strokes, crying as she struggled to keep going. Then she froze.

“There’s something below me.”

“Fuck.”

I turned and swam back to her.

“Grab my neck.”

She slowly climbed onto my back.

“Close your eyes,” I said. “And calm down.”

She didn’t answer.

I could feel her heart pounding against my back, beating so hard it almost matched my own. I swam as fast as I could, refusing to look behind me. I didn’t care what was there. I only wanted us to survive.

Relief washed over me as my feet touched the bottom of the sea.

Large rocks pressed beneath my soles, and a few more steps brought the water down to my knees. Small fish scattered around us, swimming between the rocks, probably hiding from the predators deeper out.

I turned around.

Shark was still there. Still following us.

“What the fuck?” I shouted.

I pulled Gabriella from my back into my arms and ran through the shallows until I reached the rocky shore. Her head knocked gently against my shoulder with every step.

When I finally lowered her onto the stones, she looked up at me with tired eyes, whispering, “Thank you.”

Before I could say anything, she wrapped her arms around me again, as though she’d been waiting for this moment all these years.

I let out a slow breath and held her back.

“It’s okay,” I said. “We need to find some kind of shelter before dark.”

She pulled away and scanned the island.

It was small, but still large enough that it would take around four hours to walk from one end to the other.

“Look,” she said, pointing ahead. “A cave.”

The cave was tucked into the coastline, half of it swallowed by the sea, and the other opening onto a narrow beach. It would do for a few hours. I wanted to reach the other side of the island before dark. The lighthouse was probably the safest place here, and maybe someone even lived there.

We made our way slowly towards the cave, reaching the entrance within a few minutes. I kept Gabriella behind me while I checked every corner, making sure it was safe. Apart from the shallow water pooling along one side, the rest of the cave opened onto a small beach scattered with smooth rocks. On the right, a set of concrete steps climbed towards the top of the cave.

Maybe we really weren’t alone. Those steps hadn’t appeared on their own. Someone had built them, hauled concrete all the way out here. The thought eased something inside me, but it also kept me on edge. I had no idea who had been here, or whether they’d be hostile.

“Do you think there’s anyone here?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” I said. “We could stay here and rest, then figure out how to get to the lighthouse.”

She nodded.

Stepping past me, she untied the bandage from around her forehead and wrapped it around her wrist instead. She turned towards the sea and sat a few steps away, staring at the water. There was no panic in her face this time, only a restless unease.