Across the Deep Blue

(846 Words)

I don’t know how long we’ve been out here, trying to stay afloat. We have no boat. Our goal seems so far away. The shore is but a speck on the horizon. I am tired, so very tired. I look around me and count only four others. Five survivors left. There were ten of us at one time, but many have been lost to the dangers of the water.

“We must keep going,” the one next to me swims closer, tiredness etching his face, just like mine.

“Yes,” I breathe heavily. We all pull closer together, trying to support each other.

Suddenly, the waters become rough and choppy. We look around frantically, trying to figure out what it is. The sky is still clear above us, so it cannot be a storm. Then something breaks through the water in front of us.

“Oh no!” I screech, “It’s a kraken!” We all swim in separate directions, trying to get away. I hear a scream behind me. I turn and see that the one I had just been talking to is being picked up in an enormous pink limb. The kraken tosses him from one limb to the other until it finally throws him. He goes flying and flying until we can see him no more.

This stops us in terror. How can we possibly hope to out swim this monster? Just when we think this is the end, the monsters sinks back under the waters as quickly as it had arisen.

We pull back together, now only four of us. The feeling of desperation deepens in us. Looking at each other is depressing, for no one knows who will succumb next. I focus my attention on the horizon in front of me. The shimmering mass in the distance has to be land. If it isn’t, then I should give up hope now and sink to the bottom of the deep blue.

Time passes, though how much, I cannot say. The sun is still shining bright overhead. Maybe I have gone crazy, delusional from being out here so long. I look around at my fellows and realize in horror that one is missing. There are only two others, three in total. I look behind me and see a sight that has me turning quickly away. He is floating in the calm waters, upside down, his head submerged. The others do not notice, and I do not tell them. Why bring more sorrow upon our heads?

We swim on, though much more slowly now. I try to stay alert as I can see my companions are about to fall asleep. Up ahead, I see a disturbance in the waters.

“Look!” I cry and they slowly bring their heads up. Terror again settles on our faces as we try to swim away, away from the whirlpool. It is a struggle, one for which we do not have the energy. I swim with all my might. I shall not die here!

Huffing and puffing, I pull away from the whirlpool. I turn back to see… nothing. Just the whirlpool. My friends are gone, pulled into the depths of the whirlpool. I say a short prayer for them, for all who have passed before me.

I again face the horizon, the land is closer now. I know for sure that it is land. Determination settles in my heart and mind. I will make it, not only for me, but for them.

I swim and I swim, my salvation coming closer as I press onward. I am tired, but I will not give up. I cannot stop. Stop. I cannot… stop. Rest. For just a moment. Breathe in and out. Paddle in place to stay afloat. So tired. Tired…

As my limbs cease to move, a tidal wave comes up from behind me. My heart soars as the white shore comes closer to me. I close my eyes, my body a limp rag doll. Whatever happens, will happen. If I perish upon my descent to shore, so be it.

The floating sensation stops abruptly as I hit the shore, the hard drop bruising my body. I cannot move. But I can still hear. I hear the water receding until it is but a distant drip, drip. I hear movement as someone picks me up and places me on my familiar bed. I crack my eyes open as the sun goes out. The moon shines brightly through a curtain of clouds. I look down from my perch and see the horrendous place from which I survived. Though empty now of water, I know tomorrow will bring more horrors as the bathtub is again filled with water. The large kraken will collect all of the ducky slaves, somehow resurrecting those who had fallen the day before. The cycle will continue as the child kraken plays with his rubber duckies. It will again be a race to see who can get out of the bathtub alive.

Pushing thoughts of tomorrow’s work aside, I quickly fall deep asleep. And for once, dream of nothing at all.