There was a loud buzzing filling the air as we fell. It was so loud it vibrated in my chest.
Gravity was pushing my curled up body into the seat, and I wrapped myself in the seat belts. Daring to peak through my arms, I saw an empty aisle and fire through the windows.
The roar was deafening and the shake of the cabin unbearable before the inevitable end as we crashed into the ocean water.
The force was like we hit a concrete wall, the seatbelts cutting into every part of my body and knocking the wind out of me. It felt as though my ribs had been crushed and I struggled for air. I squeezed my eyes closed, concentrating on letting the breathing back in. My lungs refused at first, as though air was the enemy. I could hear my heartbeat pounding in my ears, threatening to bust my eardrums.
It felt as if I were about to pass out when my body finally gave in and the air returned. I took deep gulps, feeling my blood pressure drop. I opened my eyes to see the water was rushing in faster than I was ready for. A steady stream was rushing in from the front end of the plane and the windows had waves lapping nearly to the top of them.
Panic set in and I rushed to untangle the thick belts strapping me to the seats. Weak from shaking hands, I couldn’t push the button hard enough to set me free from its buckle.
The ocean water had reached the edge of the bottom of the seat now and I could see the glow from my eyes against its glossy wetness. The windows now fully submerged, the cabin growing dark as it sunk into the ocean. I rocked with the flow of waves as I continued to struggle through my restraints.
The water licked out over the soft grey material, touching my stuck legs that sat underneath me. The water was warm, warmer than I thought it would be. I had never been to the beach before and only saw the ocean on tv and when flying over it these last few days. It smelled of seaweed and old fish.
As the water soaked through the blue of my jeans, turning them dark, I screamed out for Grayson. I had managed to release my shoulders, but the straps around my waist had become too tight for me to move, every jostle making them pinch against my waistline. I began to whimper as the water obscured the seatbelts wrapped around me, the water now up to my navel. It was coming in quickly and with it, my breathing began increasing into short pants, a small whine at the end of each one.
I anchored my hands against the bottom of the seat and attempted to pull myself free, using all my might and wriggling wildly. The attempts were fruitless and I was starting to make peace with my impending death as the water reached below my breasts. My eyes began burning again, like they had the previous night only I wasn’t wearing any contacts this time.
The water illuminated and the burning intensified as the edges of my vision flickered with a bright and deep amethyst hue. I squeezed my eyes shut, wishing for Grayson to save me.
A sloshing noise suddenly caught my attention and I looked up to see Grayson looming over me in the aisle, halfway into his beastly form. The water only slightly above his waist in his standing position and his wet bare chest glistened with dew drops from ocean water and sweat.
Water dripped from his soaked dark brown hair and steam looked to rise from his shoulders. Without a word, he dipped into the water, thick claws outstretched. The tightness holding my hips down released and I floated to the top of the water. I stood on my seat, relief washing over me.
Grayson rose from the water, a furious glow under his scrunched up brow. He was scowling in anger, probably at my weakness. He grabbed me by my wrist pulling me towards the exit. "I can’t swim!" I shouted, the whimper still fresh in my voice. He made a half-grown, half-growling noise and turned towards me.
Dipping into the water again, he pulled my legs from underneath me. Instinctively, I wrapped my arms around his broad shoulders and he continued sloshing through the aisle. The water was to his chest now and the plane felt to be drifting faster into the abyss.
"Take a deep breath and hold on tight." He grumbled and as I did just that, he lowered us into the water. The heat of his skin burned into me as I hugged myself onto his neck. His natural scent filled my lungs with my deep breath in and the water slowly replaced the air around me.
I never went swimming as a child. There was a local community pool and even a nearby lake, but my mother never took me. My friends would go and with their invites came an excuse from my mother. Shopping sprees or movie tickets, mother-daughter days always took precedence. Then, as I grew older, the embarrassment over not knowing how to swim kept me even further from any excuse to be near water.
Now, this felt like a grave mistake as the expanse of the endless ocean surrounded us in every direction. Grayson’s hand moved from his hold on me and he propelled us through the exit of the plane and into the great abyss. The surface seemed so far away, each strong stride from Grayson’s arms bringing us closer but not fast enough.
I wanted to panic. I wanted to let go from my hold on his neck and violently reach for the surface. But the quiet beckoned me instead. Holding my breath wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be. Grayson’s face was determined as he continued his ascent and I stared around at the emptiness before me.
My ears were muted but I could hear the singing of the world around me. I could see the way the currents moved and the deep blue felt more familiar than air itself. When we reached the surface, it was like awakening. One minute everything was quiet, the next the wind and the waves filled my ears and I could feel the sun on my face.
Grayson was taking deep long breathes with his eyes closed. His arm had found its way around my waist and he turned onto his back, floating with me lying on his chest. I waited for his breathing to calm.
When his eyes opened, the beastly glow had softened into a light grey, almost blue and very human color. The anger still remained and I wondered if that might just be how he looked all the time.
With his strength renewed, he paddled upright to look around. Every direction was blank as far as the eye could see except for one. Off in the distance behind us was the mirage of land. A shadow on the horizon.
Grayson let go of me and began a breast stroke towards the mountain peaks. I dipped into the water momentarily before grabbing onto his shoulder and pulling myself on his back.
He didn’t protest as he continued his pursuit, uncaring if I lived or died. I could taste the salt in my mouth and my eyes burned, but not in the same way as when the purple blaze was taking over. My muscles threatened to fail from my hold on Grayson and I locked my fingers together to keep them in place.
I closed my eyes again, letting the water lap over my face while I listened to Grayson’s labored breathing while we glided through the water with an inhuman speed. His powerful strides pushed us as though he were guided by his animal spirit. He eventually grew tired and turned to a backstroke, sighing as he pulled me up by my behind onto his chest like he was my life-raft.
I felt him raise, his arm wrapping underneath the pits of my knees as the water retracted from our bodies. The world became heavier as I sunk into the single arm he carried me with. Finally, opening my eyes, I could see white sand just beneath the water’s surface.
Once the water reached Grayson’s knees, he dropped his grasp under my body and the weight of myself made my hands slip from his neck, dropping me into the ocean water.
The water splashed just above my chin as my butt hit the sandy ground below the water’s edge. I gasped as he stalked away, fists balled and the ocean spray dripping carelessly from his tensed physique.
Standing up in the water was awkward, the sand squishy underneath my feet. I wasn’t used to trudging through open water and my legs felt heavy as I made my way to the beach where Grayson had sat himself on the dry land.
"You didn’t have to drop me," I called out, making sure to sit far away from him before sprawling out on the scratchy and warm beach. The sun beat down on me. The clouds in the sky white and wispy and beautiful compared to their bright blue background. I could see the sharp cliff edges in the peripherals of my vision. Light and dark brown rocks and deep green trees surround the peaks. It was like a painting, more than that, a dream of a painting.
I had never felt more relaxed and relieved while, at the same time, panicked and frightened. I went from a normal school day with my friends to birthday gifts from my mom, then meeting my estranged father who sold me to a stranger in another country. Then getting rejected by said stranger and learning freaking werewolves were real and now being stuck on an island with one. I must be dreaming. That’s the only explanation. I’m really just asleep in my full-sized bed in my tiny house in my small hometown.
I pinched myself, the pain very real. I blinked hard, still an ocean beach in an island escape. Pulling myself onto my elbows, I looked over to Grayson, whose scowl had deepened as he surveyed the landscape. Yeah, I thought to myself, I’m really marooned with a monster.