Fatebound

Chapter Seven ~ Rescues

When Brea woke up, she groaned and shook her head, trying to clear herself of the dizzy spell that soon followed.

"What?" She murmured as she tried to stand up, only to stumble a little and gasp in pain as she realised that she must have hurt her ankle.

"Oh no." she said out loud and to no one in particular.

"The boat!"

Brea gasped as she realised with a terrible feeling of doom that the boat might have headed back without her. She began to try and walk back up the glistening caves stairs, but they were too slippery now and there was nothing she could hold onto help herself up them, so she slumped back down in defeat, deciding that she should go with the best plan B she could come up with on the spot, which of course was to yell for help until someone could hear her.

This plan went all well and good of course, until her voice started hurting and she began to truly panic. Surely there were still a few tourists that had also come to explore around the cave, right?

Right!??

She thought, but just as she was about to call out again she couldn't help but to think that barely anyone would be as crazy as she was, to explore a sea cave in the dead of a Scottish winter.

After sometime of trying not to have a panic attack, Brea remembered that she had bought her phone with her that day, funny that she hadn't remembered this until than, and rather unfortunate too because once she had looked down to check the current time in Scotland, she realized that it was now six thirty PM.

She had arrived at the cave at four PM which could only conclude the fact that she had been unconscious for almost three freaken hours! So of course the boat had left, probably thinking she had found her own way back.

If this wasn't making the poor woman panic enough, as soon as she began to feel water crawling up her legs, she realised with an large feeling of dread exactly why the stairs had become so slippery and why she had been hearing a mysterious dripping noise ever since she had come too.

"Wh...what do I do mum?" she asked the cave, as if she was expecting either her mother or the very Selkie that kept her there to give her instructions, but when no voice answered, she sighed as she hiccupped and sobbed and gave the stairs another try.

When again this plan failed, she stuffed her hands into her pocket and lent against the slowly flooding cave. "Wait!" she said as she felt something in her pocket. "That's it!" she exclaimed as she brought out the only number that she had gotten from someone who lived in Skye, and began frantically dialling on her low-battery device.

"Hello? Who's this?" The receiver answered and Brea tried to hold back her sobs as she answered, but she knew that the sailor could probably hear them.

"I..It's Brea, w..we met before, y...you gave me your jacket a..and I know this is incredibly random and s...so not a great reason to contact you b...but I'm kinda stranded and...you have a b...boat, helpmeplease?"

Brea stumbled over the last few words she said, but they where all the women on the other end of the phone needed to hear.

"Alright love, I'm going to need you to calm down for me, take a few deep breaths and when you can, tell me exactly where you are."

Brea did as she was told and as she took the deepest breaths she could muster, she heard the sound of an engine starting. "Still with me there sunshine?" Brea let out a mixture between a laugh and a sob at the persistent nickname "Yes. I..I'm in Spar Cave... I... I don't know exactly how I managed it, but I w...was exploring when I think I...I think I fell and hit my head... I woke up too late and now I'm stuck and... the tide. Oh god the tide Miranda. W-what do I do?"

Miranda sucked in a breath at the other end of the phone and let it out in a whistle, she seemed to like whistling Brea noted as she began to feel slightly dizzy again. She was the very definition of a Scottish sailer, and a very sexy one at that.

"Ok, I'm on my way Brea, just do me one favour for now, don't fall asleep ok?"

Brea just nodded, but when she realized that the other women wouldn't be able to see this she replied with an exhausted

"ok."

Minutes passed, how many, Brea couldn't tell, but after a while the woman on the other end of the line spoke up again.

"Ok, I'm almost there, are you literally inside the cave, or are you at the entrance?" she asked, and Brea bit her lip, knowing that things where only about to get even harder as the entrance that led into the cave was steep and slippery at the best of times. Especially now that the sea water was trickling in.

"Unfortunately, I'm inside, and my ankles d-done a thing, so I-I don't think I can get back up, I've already tried a m-million times." She stuttered our as her teeth began to chatter uncontrollably.

Miranda drew in another breath as she went silent for a moment, probably thinking of the best course of action to take. She sighed. "Ok so, here's what where going to do." She said.

"I'm going to tie a rope to the boat post and abseil down to you, you're going to climb on my back and hold on tight, and then we'll get you out of there, ok?" Brea gasped a little at the plan, but said that it was ok. After all what choice did she have? It would surely prove to be more dangerous to stay where she was.

Just as her phone was about to die Miranda reassured her. "I'm going to have to put my phone down for now, but I'll be with you very soon Brea, hold on for me for just a little bit longer."

That was the last thing that Brea heard before the screen on her phone went black and she let out another sob that was only muffled slightly by the quivering hand that wasn't occupied with holding herself up. A few minutes later Brea heard the sound of feet against the steep ramp that led into the cave, and when she looked up blearily to see an angel's back, abseiling down towards her, she knew that everything was going to be ok.

Once Miranda had reached the ground, she noticed that the water in the cave was already up to her knees, and because Brea was shorter, it was almost up to her thighs, she cursed. She had to get the poor girl out of there before she caught her death.

"Ok. Let's get you out of here love. Grab onto my back." Miranda instructed. Brea blushed bright red at that. Half from the fever she was certain she would have in the morning, and half from the command she had given her.

"W...wont I hurt you though?!" she asked, but Miranda managed a tight smile. "No time to argue, I'm stronger than I look. Besides, if it means that I get to hold you, I'm ok with that."

She replied as she bent down for Brea to get on, and when she struggled, Miranda grabbed hold of her legs to keep her up.

"Now just make sure to hold on tight, it's going to be a bit of a climb." She instructed and Brea wrapped her arms a little tighter around her brave saviours neck.

It was indeed a very steep climb, and Brea, if she wasn't so dizzy and terrified at the time, would have exclaimed about how strong and brave her rescuer was, but she was dizzy, very dizzy indeed.

When they emerged out of the entrance of the cave, Miranda helped Brea walk the short stretch to her boat and also helped her up, before pulling herself up as well. Brea realized soon enough, as the two of them sat on the boat, trying to catch their breath, that it was raining, and this is what made the tourist fall to pieces in hysterical laughter, because honestly, could her adventures be any more similar to her mother's?!

Miranda laughed with her for a few minutes, even though she didn't know what the laughter was exactly about, but when Brea's, in Mirandas opinion rather adorable laugh had turned into sobs the sailor scooted over to engulf her in her arms. "Hey, shhh, it's ok now, your alright."

She murmured as she comfortingly rubbed circles on the other woman's back.

"I..I... officially despise Selkies." Brea mumbled out in between her sobs, and Miranda laughed a little as she helped the other women too her feet.

"Come on now, lets get you down below where it's warmer." She said softly, but before she could begin leading the freezing woman into the small cabin she lived in on her boat, Brea gave her the only warning she could manage, before everything around her went black.