Ranger [ON HOLD]

Chapter Three - Landing Storm

I was falling.

Rather, I was tumbling through the air heading downward with no sign of stopping.

My body twirled and flipped in the air, leaving me breathless from every turn and sharp twist I made. The air slapped at my cheeks, tossing me almost violently as I descended.

I could feel sharp needles of pain dance over my skin as rain met my exposed flesh from every angle. The wind forcefully tugged my hair back with invisible fists, tearing my glasses from my face and sending them off into the darkness. This was far more vivid than any dream I'd ever had before.

Wake up already!

I crashed.

The impact was painful, and likely to have at least broken a few of my bones. My eyes snapped open, to gaze upon a nearly blackened stormy sky before water rushed in around me, encasing me in darkness. A terrifying suffocating darkness.

The waves rocked around me, pulling at my hair and clothes roughly as it pushed me down further into the unknown. It proceeded in yanking me this way and that, as it rolled over and around itself, with me as its helpless captive.

My arms extended, legs kicking automatically although I had no way of knowing which way was up. The water fought me every inch of the way, until mercifully my fingers were greeted with icy wind.

My mouth opened as my head broke the surface, lungs burning and craving air desperately.Yet water filled my mouth before the air could, overwhelming me as I was pulled back under. Tiny spots danced before my eyes, and my limbs slowed ever so slightly in their struggle.

I'm dreaming... I fell asleep reading about a storm... I'm dreaming...

A numbing sensation was spreading up my legs from my toes. It was uncomfortable, and a distant part of my mind was screaming for me to do something. Anything to make it leave.

Swim... My heart lurched painfully and my body seemed to kick into action once more, arms stretched up and my legs kicked wildly. They were sore from the struggle of pushing against the waves, and my legs seemed to only assist in dragging me down. Still I pushed. Until soon, I couldn't even find that strength, and slowly my limbs began to halt.

I sank down further, the darkness slowly growing deeper and deeper as my arms and legs abandoned their fight.

Don't you always wake up when you're about to die?

My arms slowly relaxed to float with the rest of my body as my eyes gazed up through the stinging water toward the surface, which seemed to light up at random intervals. Lightning, I realized. It would have been a great help had it appeared seconds ago during my search for air.

An invisible hand seemed to be squeezing my heart, as though testing its strength. Finally I released what little air I had left in my water-filled lungs, allowing my eyes close and the dizzying weight of the water to consume me.

A tight pressure formed around my wrist.

And then I was being tugged, my body as limp as a rag-doll through the water. Something thick and strong slid around my waist, dragging my dead weight through the currents. And for a tiny flash, I felt hope that I was going to survive.

My senses faded.

The scent of honey and lavender touched his senses.

Save her... A familiar voice slid through his mind, soft and feminine.

His eyes were drawn to what looked like a small falling star, twisting and curling about itself as it broke through a layer of storm clouds. It was close, and on a one way path toward the mass of water before them.