Chapter 38

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I couldn't seem to be able to make out where I am. My vision is all fuzzy, and I can't make out a single object clearly. Everything seems to have a double image, triple even. It took quite a while before everything settled down to only one solid image, but everything around me is still very blurry.

Despite that fact, I still glance around. Blotches of grey, black and white spots filled my vision field.

I heard the sound of metal grinding against metal and I suspect that there's a metal door and that it's being pushed open, but ever so faintly. My heartbeat was pounding loudly in my ears. It's a sign that I'm nervous.

Calm down, I tell myself, calm down. I felt a sharp pain in my stomach. I groaned, almost inaudibly. I soon felt a small prick on my right arm. What happened next, I have no idea, because I find myself slipping away from reality after that.

~~~ ♥ ~~ ♥ ~~ ♥ ~~~

Before I knew it, I literally felt myself being whisked off to some place. I couldn't exactly tell where I was headed off to, because I felt like I was travelling in the speed of light and all the 'scenes' around me were like blurred videos.

I feel as if I am in those kinds of 'travel back in time' tunnels.

I soon saw a bright blinding light that seemed to be indicating the end of the tunnel. And it was getting nearer... And nearer... And nearer... And nearer... Until...

I fell out of the tunnel. I braced myself for a hard impact, but it never came. Instead, I felt myself landing on something soft and grainy. Very fine grains. The bright light was just too much for me. So, I just squinted my eyes and took a good look at my surroundings to find out where I was.

I had landed on sand – which explains the 'something soft and grainy' – and the sand was soft and golden. I stood up and deliberately brushed all the sand off my T-Shirt and sweatpants. Then, I did the same thing as a normal, curious human would do: observe my surroundings.

The beach was deserted, and remarkably clean. The sand is a soft shade of gold, and the crystal clear water glistened in the sun. It was that awesome moment before sunset, and the sky was breath taking. It was that amazing moment when the sky is made out of three colours – white, blue and pink – and the colours are swirled together, which made the whole stretch of sky look gorgeous.

This is one of those beautiful scenes where I have only ever seen once before in my whole life.

But somehow, at the same time, all of these look so... Familiar. Eerily familiar. I can't really place my finger on it, but somehow, it seems like I've been here before, in this exact same situation. Or at least been somewhere similar before. It's like déjà vu.

I took a step forward towards the blue water, leaving an imprint of my foot on the sand. I took another step forward. And another, and another, and another, and another, until I was standing right at the edge of the water.

The water is just so... Blue. So crystal clear. So clean. I have never seen a beach this beautiful before. The water began lapping at my bare food that was covered in a thin layer of sand. The water was so cool. I began to waddle in the water until it reached my waist, the water soaking my blue grey shirt.

All of a sudden, playful screams and giggles reached my ears. I tried to find the source of the sound, but failed miserably, and before I knew it, two silhouettes came into view, running along the edge of the beach.

And that was exactly what made me realise why this scene looks so familiar.

I've gone back into my memory – if that was even possible.

But it's not vague, flashes before my eyes, like how most of my flashbacks mostly are. This is so vivid. It's so real. I can see and touch every single thing around me. The cool water, the soft sand. Even the broken pieces of shell beneath my feet.

So... Why is this memory so vivid?

There must be only one answer.

Out of the blues, I felt the earth below my feet start to vibrate. And my vision became distorted. Either that or everything around me is starting to get distorted. The former seems more likely though.

I felt a sudden force of water hit me, and it knocked me over. I fell into the sea water, and accidentally started gulping mouthfuls after mouthfuls of extremely salted water.

During the few seconds intervals that I managed to open my eyes while trying to stay afloat, I managed to piece together the whole situation around me.

The soft beautiful sunset sky had turned into a dark, eerie and stormy night. The waves around me were no more gently lapping at my body, but they were rough, and full of force, as if trying to warn us that a raging storm is about to start.

I started flailing my arms around frantically, attempting – in vain – to keep my head bobbing above the water. But the waves kept pushing me back under. The lack of oxygen started to make my head spin, but I am not the type to give up so easily.

I am just not the type to do so.

I kicked my legs as hard as possible, trying to get my arms useful by attempting some rhythmic strokes in the sea water. But that is extremely futile for me, as I am as hopeless a swimmer as I am a victim right now.

I could barely manage to break through the surface of the water, and I was quickly running out of breath. And even if I did manage to go to the surface, it will only be seconds before the force from the waves push me back down once more.

My limbs – especially my arms – are getting tired, very tired. I suddenly felt myself being pushed in a circular motion through the water, getting more and more rapid. I soon felt myself being sucked down into the dark depths of the cold ocean.

Despite the numbness in my limbs, I continued paddling through the waters, which slowed down the process of me being sucked into the mysterious depths of the ocean. And that was only when I realised the reality of the situation.

I was trapped in the middle of a whirlpool in the middle of a storm.

How my memory managed to turn into this, I have no idea. But it's very scary, nevertheless. Very scary.

But I guess all good things have a price. And all good things must come to an end.

I tried opening my eyes underwater. But that resulted in nothing. Only pain. My eyes were stinging painfully from the salt in the water, and I could see nothing but darkness all around me. That is, until I saw something yellow and flashing headed straight towards me, looking like it's a part of the lightning in the sky.

Initially, I was curious, and wanted to find out what that object really was. But then, when it came closer – a lot closer – I managed to see exactly what it was.

It was an electric eel, the same way I used to imagine it when I was still a kid. The same way almost all cartoons would show it.

My eyes grew in shock and fear.

Oh, heck no.

This is a nightmare enough, without the stupid eel.

The animal was headed straight towards me. I opened my mouth to scream, but only bubbles came out of my mouth. I had forgotten that I was supposedly under water. Instead of a loud, ear-piercing scream, no sound was heard. Only water deliberately being forced down my throat.

I wanted to cry. I would if I could.

And that eel kept approaching me. It seemed to be getting closer with each passing second, but it also seem that it would never be able to reach me. I felt a sudden surge of adrenaline course through my veins, and the whole world spun around me due to the lack of oxygen. I blacked out before the eel could ever reach its destination...

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