Her Adventures on the Red Lion

The Ache of Shock

 Instant dizziness overtook Signe, distracting her from the feeling of falling. There was only a short moment that she realized that she had fallen quite a ways when the stars covering her view cleared for a brief moment, showing her just how far away the deck she had previously been standing on was. That moment was quickly taken away though at the sudden shock of the freezing waters surrounded every inch of her body.

 Signe instantly went into shock, leaving her dead in the water. Her brain went numb, and even though she had full knowledge of how to swim, all her body was capable of doing was moving her arms ever so slightly in a light treed that wasn't very effective in the waves.

 The current all around her floating body was rough and strong. The storm was pushing her body all around the waves, not giving her any chance to see the surface. Her numbed brain didn't realize that she couldn't breath and was still trying to function normally, hurting her more that helping her. She felt her head pound as her lungs began to burn, her vision becoming more and more faded. Her brain still was in shock and couldn't do anything to help her, forcing her to surrender to the current of the waves.

 Out of the corner of her fading vision, she saw a splash, with many bubbles rushing to the surface around it. Signe could see a figure swimming out towards her, but couldn't focus on who it was. They quickly reached out and wrapped an arm around her waist and began swimming back up. It was now Signe realized just how far down she had sunk into the unforgiving depths, as it took them a short while to reach the surface again. Eventually they did break from the sea as she was pulled above it.

 The waves around them still threatened to cover them, so she was being pulled back over to the ship. She felt as they were leaving the water, slowly ascending up the side of the ship. Everything was very blurred to her still. Her eyes were open, but she couldn't move them. She was above water, but she couldn't breathe. She was still alive, but her body was like a rag-doll, refusing to move an inch, leaving her in the saving grace of the arms of whomever had come to save her.

 She felt her body jostle hard, knocking her out of her daze. She realized they weren't climbing up the side of the ship anymore, but rather, she was on the top deck laying on her side. There was another jostle through her body. This time she knew it was coming from her back, but she wasn't controlling it. Then there was a third. She could feel the pain that came with that one, as if she was being punched in the back. Then there was a fourth. When the fourth hit her back, water quickly forced it's way up her throat again. She began coughing violently, trying so hard to breathe in, but couldn't get passed the water spilling out of her lungs.

 She continued to cough and hack, shaking her whole body, as water spilled from her mouth. She felt a had gently touch her face, moving wet hair out of her eyes. Signe reached up and gripped onto the hand. She didn't know who it was, but she didn't care, she needed someone to ground her as she felt like she was drowning all over again.

 Eventually, she coughed up the rest of it and took in a big breath. Her whole body shook, not only in getting over shock, but also with the lack of a steady breathing pattern. Panic that had taken over her body began to calm as she was finally able to breathe.

 As she began to become stable again, the hand that was holding hers moved to hold her close. Signe looked up, not quite sure who to expect, but was nonetheless surprised when she saw Anthony look back down at her. He looked completely soaked and totally exhausted. His large brown eyes still looked extremely concerned though.

 Without a word, he lifted her up into his arms as they began to walk off the deck. The storm was still raging on, so this was probably not the best spot for the two of them. Signe didn't get to fully see their travel though, as a heavy fatigue covered her brain. But as they were walking, one of the last things she saw was the wheel deck. Captain Jack, still struggling with the wheel, didn't even glance at her for a second. When he was out of sight, her eyes fell closed and stayed that way for a while.