The Slipspace Juncture

Chapter 6 - Refuge

[LCpl Cairo POV]

"C'mon! Let's move!!!" I scream at the others.

The waves slap against my chest as the current threatens to pull me under. My body burns yet freezes as I keep my rifle raised directly above my head, over the water, and my head tilted up so that I can breathe. My nose and eyes sting from the salt, and my entire BDU is soaked. Wading through the violent waters, the only thing keeping me from being pulled back is the weight of my armor adding traction to the sand beneath me.

I want to turn around and check on the others; but if I do, I might lose traction and slip. My eyes are too blurry to focus on my HUD, so I can't even look at the motion sensor. The only thing that gives me any hope is the sound of their desperate, loud shouts as we all yell at eachother, but I can't focus enough to understand anything.

Breathing heavily, I feel light headed as I struggle to get enough air. I feel my head throb even worse than when I originally injured it, and I can't even tell if I'm moving forward anymore, I just keep trying to move my legs. I can feel my eyes unfocusing, the only sound I can hear is my hard breaths and the sound of water slapping against my chin.

Attempting to continue my trek forward, I feel my legs going fuzzy and numb, the burning intensifying. Letting out more desperate breaths, I start to panic until I feel something grab my chestplate and drag me further inland. I stumble in the water as it hits my back and sweeps my legs, my head being completely submerged. The hand drags me further inland as I thrash around in the water, trying desperately to get some air, the salt water burning my nose and tainting my mouth.

Eventually, I can get my feet on the ground again, and I lift my body up above the water to see that now it's only covering my waist. Hacking up the disgusting sea water, my eyes are too blurry to see who helped me, only being able to notice green. I breathe in the sweet breaths of a near-death experience as I spout, "Oh my god... holy shit... fuck!" I hear the person basically dragging me order, "Move it, marine! The term 'amphibious force' doesn't mean we can live underwater!" It's Eddie. I stumble around in the water, following the pull of Eddie's hand.

The water slowly goes lower and lower on my body until it is merely at my shins, and I end up tripping and falling face first into wet sand, rifle grinding into the ground next to me, as I let out a pained groan as the waves slap against my legs. Panting heavily, sand sticking to my wet face, I struggle to crawl up further inland as I eventually just roll myself over onto my back and collapse. Blinking away the tears and looking out into the darkness, the only sign of my comrades are the soft, orange glint of their glasses in the moonlight slowly coming up through the water and their loud yelling that I still can't interpret.

My body feels sick and numb, but I try to ignore that as I force myself up, emitting a grunt. My legs feel weak as I breathe heavily and look out into the water, failing to find the capsized boat in the moonlit night. Slowly, I begin to cool down as I feel my heart fall back to an acceptable level as I listen to my surroundings; the movements of the water, the crunching of sand, and the rustling of leaves.

Holstering my fallen rifle on my back, I unstrap my helmet and peel it off of my soaked head and let out a sharp sigh, feeling the frigid air flash freeze my wet ears and cool my hot, damp scalp. As relieving as my scalp feels, I know this can only mean a faster death out in this cold as my head isn't protected like my body is. I sift through my hair with my gloved hands, scratching my head, before smoothing it out and placing my helmet back on, clipping the strap under my chin once again.

I return my attention over to the rest of the marines only to find that a hand has been waving at me from the darkness. "You good? You nearly drowned," Eddie asks, worried. I bear a fake smile, trying to keep him from worrying, before answering, "Well, I'm still standing, aren't I?" Eddie just sighs and shakes his head before continuing, "Yeah, but how long will you be able to keep standing? I need honest answers, Cairo, not some half-baked bullshit." I stand there staring at him, exhausted, an awkward silence between us, my eyes wandering to the others all recuperating, before I break the silence, "Yeah... uhh... honestly, I feel like absolute shit. I don't even know how I'm standing up right now."