Swept Away

And then the wave hit

Jessie's point of view

The body of water in front of me shimmered brightly in the summer sun, the gentle waves lapping affectionately at my feet making me shiver. I loved the water unlike my eight year old brother Andy, I always offer to teach him to swim but he just takes one hesitant look at the sea and declines. That's ok, he still loves to come to the beach with me and though it is often crowded with tourists and happy families, it feels like our own special place. As I drew pictures in the water with my toes, the earth shook beneath me for a few moments, causing me to stumble backwards. In my state of confusion it took a while for this information to sink in but then it hit me like a blow to the ribs. I knew what was about to happen. One thought went through my mind as soon I realised the danger we were in. Andy.

I looked up to see his face full of worry, confusion and worst of all, fear. After a moment, worried that my expression mirrored his, I put on a brave face and raced into action. Grabbing his wrist, we stumbled blindly across the sand. I tried to reassure Andy and get him to keep running whilst disguising my own terror about what was going to be unleashed. The tarmac clawed mercilessly at my bare feet but one look at my struggling brother blocked it out and soon I was running with him in my arms. I joked with him to try and calm him down and soon I felt him relax slightly. I glanced to either side of me and saw many different scenes; and yet they were all the same. A father strode past with his young daughter on back, a group of friends helping an old woman, a couple sprinting hand in hand... All desperately trying to run past the beach huts to the multi-story houses of the town.

I felt Andy look tentatively over my shoulder but I was unable to stop him as I had one arm snaked round his back and the other round his legs. He tensed immediately and I increased my pace more than I felt was humanly possible. He's so young I thought, why should he have to go through this? I forced back the tears that fought their way to my eyes. I had to keep my composure. For Andy. As we drew closer to the tall buildings up ahead, relief rushed through my body and spurred me on. This is what the emerald city must have looked like to Dorothy after travelling all that way on the yellow brick road. I caught sight of an office block up ahead with a fire escape ladder up the side. Nearly there. And then the wave hit.