AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I’ll be okay. I just have to go slow.
Slow and steady…
Mae is counting on me.
It’s as I’m contemplating all of this and settling nicely into full-blown panic mode that I see a boat in the distance, way off on the horizon.
Boatis an understatement. An insult.
This is a yacht.
A large, white vessel in the distance, though I can’t make out much else.
Lightning strikes above it, brightening the evening sky.
It’s off course, I think, but honestly, who knows at this point? It’s also the only boat I’ve passed on this trip so far, and I feel in my gut that she’s there.
My intuition screams that this is it. That I’ve found her.
I need to get to that boat.
I turn the wheel, veering sharply to the right just as another wave slams into the boat. Torrential rain begins pelting me, making it impossible to see more than a few feet in front of me or hear anything but my own terrified thoughts.
I can’t think straight and certainly can’t keep the boat straight.
I focus my eyes on the yacht in the distance, trying to decide which way it’s headed. From here, it’s hard to tell. I just have to keep moving.
Mae is right there.
So close I can almost see her. I’ll have her in my arms in no time.
I can do thi—
A wave smacks into the boat, but I’m not ready. I slide, losing my footing, and my body slams to the ground. I cry out. Another wave splashes in, drenching me and knocking the wind out of my lungs. I fight to stand, fight to catch my breath as the rain picks up. The sound is deafening.
Thunder rumbles overhead.
Angels bowling, my mom used to call it.
I make it onto my knees, trying to grab hold of anything I can reach, as I spy a big wave coming. I can’t make it to the steering wheel. There’s no time.
No, I have to try.
I stand and lunge just as the wave connects with the boat. I feel it going up, feel myself losing my footing again. The momentum steals my breath.
I hit the water with my eyes closed, bracing for impact.
I am everywhere and nowhere all at once, in pieces and whole.
Everything hurts.
My head throbs.
My lungs scream.
My hands reach.
But there is nothing.
