Red Dawn - Book 6

Stranded

The second we hit the water, Sophia was ripped from my arms by the force. I screamed, the sound being muffled by the water. I opened my eyes and watched as my daughter began slowly sinking away from me.

"Sophia!" I screamed as I dove for her.

I caught her just as a shark passed by. As quickly as I could I surface. Sophia sucked in a deep breath of air before she began wailing at the top of her lungs.

"Shhh. Shhh, darling, its going to be okay. Momma is here." I cooed to her as I began treading water.

I looked around and saw nothing but water, a sinking boat and darkness. We were alone. Nic was gone and-

Then I heard the sound of a motor starting and watched as the a jet ski exited the yacht just before it was completely submerged by water.

"Nic." I breathed as he reached down and pulled me up onto the jet ski. "I thought you were gone." I panted.

I wrapped my arms around Nic, sandwiching Sophia between us to keep her warm. Then we were off. The only sounds in the darkness was the wind, whistling past us, the sound of the waves, the rain and the engine of the jet ski.

We rode for nearly 2 1/2 hours before I felt the engine begin to sputter. Suddenly it cut out and we were drifting.

"Dammit!" Nic swore, hitting the handle bars. "Gas is empty."

That familiar heart sinking feeling hit me. We were doomed.... We were doomed. I know it was impossible for us to die but still. How in the heck were we going to get out of this mess. Were we going to wind up swimming the way to shore?

"We have about 75 miles to the nearest land source. It is going to take us at least 24 hours, maybe longer, to drift that far. Even then, that is if the waves push us in the right direction." Nic said. "We can't do this, not with Sophia."

"Then what are we going to do, Nic!" I snapped. "We can't live like this. Not with Sophia. We need to fix this."

"Don't you think I am trying to." He replied through gritted teeth.

"You aren't trying hard enough!" I shouted back. "This was your stupid idea, coming here and doing this cruise as a honeymoon. I would've been fine just camping from my back yard or sailing through Puget Sound."

"Sailing the world has always been a dream of mine. A dream that I've held off because I wanted to share the experience with someone special, Renesmee. That is why we are here in this mess. Yes, things are screwed up but they will get better. I promise."

"Nic. Listen. Look around. Look where we are!" I shouted.

Nic turned to look over his shoulder. His mouth was wide open as if he was going to say something but then he froze and his eyes grew to the size of saucers.

"What... Nic?"

I turned to look at what had frightenen him and my jaw dropped. I tighened my grip on Sophia just as a giant wave overtook us. As best as I could I propelled Sophia and I to the surface. Then we were hit by another wave. Water was forced into my lungs as I was pushed under. But I fought back. I needed to get to the surface so Sophia could breath.

I kicked as hard and fast as I could, propelling myself upwards. I could feel my muscles straining as I pushed my body as hard as it could go. Then finally, I managed to break through.

I heard Sophia gasped and my heart was relieved. She was breathing. After a few more gasps and small coughs she began crying.

"That's it, baby girl. That's it." I said to her.