AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘Look, darling.’
She had come right up close to him. He could even see the colour of her eyes, and yet all was darkness—no. A flash of light flicked across her and then vanished, returned and disappeared. He raised his eyes and saw a distant gleam. A beacon.
He felt an icy hand upon his shoulder, but when he turned there was nothing but a field of drifting weed, slimy and dark even within a greater darkness.
But he could see a light.
It washislight.
Light Island.
And the island was calling them home.
* * *
The light stayed with him all night.
Each agonising kick against the viscous depths that grew more constraining the more his body failed him.
He counted.
Twenty seconds between each strobe of white.
He tried to do one kick.
Flash.
Kick.
He did not realise the sun had come up until he lost his rhythm and realised it was all light now, a deep welling crimson reflected on the almost oily surface of the still ocean.
There was no wind at all and he could see, far in the distance, the soaring white arch of Cathedral Cliffs.
Kick.
A seagull landed on his tiny raft. It preened its immaculate wings for a while, then bent and inquisitively pecked Ben’s arm.
Which was very good because Ben opened his eyes.
Aleksey doubted he understood the significance of the bird, but that was all right. He was pretty sure the bird wasn’t impressed by either of them.
Kick.
The bird flew away.
He could not keep his eyes open. They hurt too much and he was too tired. He could not recall ever being so utterly exhausted and understood that what he had suffered at seventeen would kill him now.
Kick.
He felt a sudden warmth and saw light shafting through the water down to submerged rock. They were over a shallow reef once more but he could not touch it with his feet.
Kick.
Suddenly, an enormous explosion of water made his failing heart jolt and he blinked awake, alert, heart rate almost painful. Another, then another, and then deep plunging splashes and he saw dolphins, their softly rounded noses and grins, chasing a shoal of fish on the shallow reef.
Kick.
They stayed with him for a while, circling playfully. Unlike the bird, Aleksey was sure they knew him for what he was: a creature deeply out of its natural element. One nudged under the makeshift raft, hitting Ben’s trailing leg, and once more he opened an eye. This time Aleksey tried to tell him of the cliff, and what that meant, but there was nothing to form spit with to speak and the eye closed once more.
