AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Striking out for the boat, I swam front-crawl. It was the stroke I was strongest in, and fastest. I put my head down and just swam, only allowing myself the briefest of pauses to make sure I was going in the right direction and hadn’t been pushed off track by the current.
I’d never been afraid of swimming in the ocean. A lot of people didn’t like the idea of what might be lurking beneath them, but it wasn’t something I gave much thought to. The dangers lurking above the ocean were far more important to worry about. There were sharks in this area, but I didn’t have any cuts that would draw them toward me out of the millions of other creatures in the ocean, so I figured chances were they’d leave me alone.
After twenty minutes of swimming, I was starting to tire. I could normally swim for twice the time in the pool, but ocean swimming was very different. I had the current and waves to battle, plus I was pulling the buoyancy aid along behind me. I stopped for a moment, treading water, and then pulled the buoyancy aid into my body and used it to float. I glanced back toward shore and then over to the boat. I was definitely closer now—about halfway—and I was able to tell from this distance that the boat didn’t appear to be listing or have anything noticeably wrong with it. I assumed it would have taken on water, if only from the waves and rainwater, but some of that may have evaporated from the sun.
The sun continued to beat down on my head, reflecting in the water. The skin on my face felt tight—a combination of the sun and salt—and I wished I’d thought to apply extra sunblock before setting off. I was thirsty, too, and realized I hadn’t thought to bring water with me. There was some in the refrigerator on the boat. All I had to do was reach it.
That was easier said than done. As I’d expected, the cold ocean was seeping through to my bones, especially now I’d stopped moving. Resting might have been necessary, but it was also detrimental to me physically because of the chill. It felt strange to have the top of my head burning while my torso and limbs were surrounded in cold.
I had to keep going.
I set my sights on the boat bobbing in the water ahead and released the buoyancy aid again. I was slower now, my limbs heavy with the cold and fatigue. I didn’t have any choice but to keep going, however. I was now closer to the boat than I was to the shore, so it wasn’t as though I could turn around and head back again. I had to see this through. It was taking me longer to swim the same distance, and each time I lifted my head to see how much farther I had to go, the lack of progress was frustrating. I didn’t want to check but worried that if I didn’t, I’d end up swimming off course and causing myself more problems by needing to correct my mistake. My calves twanged with cramps threatening, but I ignored the pain. I gritted my teeth and just focused on reaching the boat. Once I was there and managed to get on board, then I could rest. I worried that if I stopped now, I wouldn’t get going again.
All sense of swimming style and finesse went out of my head as I struggled only to keep moving. I alternated front-crawl with flipping onto my back and doing backstroke, finding the change in muscles used helpful.
The boat was suddenly right in front of me. I didn’t know if I’d zoned out and covered more of a distance than I’d realized, or if the ocean had been kind and the current had pulled the boat toward me. Either way, the smooth white side of the vessel rose up beside me.
The waves lifted me up and then dipped again. They seemed higher now, beside the boat, than when I’d been in the open ocean. The danger was the same here as I’d considered back on the island with the cliff faces. If I was slammed against the side of the boat and hit my head, I could easily drown. Even the buoyancy aid wouldn’t save me. I needed to time this well and allow the wave to lift me to the highest point, before jumping for the back of the boat.
I wished I had more strength left, but I just had to work with what I had. I swam around to the back of the boat where there was no railing and a lower platform to allow people to climb on board. It was still higher than the ocean, however, and I’d need to use my last remaining strength to jump from the water and haul myself on board.
I bobbed in the waves, using the buoyancy aid to stay afloat, assessing the situation. Jumping from water when you had nothing to push off from wasn’t going to be easy.
Getting as close to the back of the boat as I dared, I centered my remaining strength, took a breath, and focused. I lunged upward, slammed into the side of the boat, and crashed back into the water.
“Fuck!” I yelled, though no one could hear me.
I had to try again.
I waited until the wave sank into a trough and then came up the other side, lifting me higher again. Just as it reached its highest point, I sprang upward, reaching for the edge of the deck. My fingertips caught the edge, but I wasn’t strong enough to hold on and fell back down, slamming my shoulder against the side of the boat as I went. Pain blasted through me as I hit the water, submerging momentarily before bursting back to the surface
“Son of a bitch!” I swore again and in a fit of rage slapped my palms down on the surface of the sea. Losing my temper would do no good, but it was insanely frustrating to be this close and not be able to get on board. There was a ladder that could be lowered, which was how I’d normally enter the boat from the ocean, but of course I needed someone on board to lower it.
Trying to contain my anger and conserve my energy, I used the flotation device to bob in the water and think. If only I had something I could use as a step to give myself that extra boost. I didn’t need much—just an extra couple of inches so I got a good handhold on the deck. But there wasn’t much availability of steps out here in the middle of the ocean.
I suddenly realized what I had hooked under my arms. It was far from stable, and I wasn’t sure it would work, but it was definitely worth a try.
Holding the floatation device in both hands, I pushed it under the water. It tried to push back up on me, but I was strong and determined. Waves lifted and fell, and I waited for the right moment and then pulled up my knee and planted my right foot on top of the device. I didn’t have long, already wobbly and unstable, but as the wave crested, I released the floatation device and used my footing on the top of it as a springboard. I slammed against the side of the boat with more force this time, but miraculously, my fingers found the edge of the deck, and I held on. With a growl of determination, I used my last ounce of strength to haul myself up.
I slithered onto the deck like a fish that had been pulled in from a net and collapsed on my back, breathing hard. The sun warmed my body and I exhaled a long sigh of gratitude. There had been a moment back there where I’d started to wonder if I was going to be able to get aboard. I didn’t think I’d have been able to swim back to shore, so not making it on board might have killed me.
Gathering my strength, I allowed my heartrate to return to normal and for my limbs to warm up, and then I twisted onto all fours and clambered back to my feet. First of all, I needed water, and then I was going to drive the boat back to the island, and make sure this time I didn’t give Jolie the chance to trick me again.
