Shadows Beneath the Waves

Prologue

I was lying on the beach wondering what it is like beneath the ocean. Sitting up, I look out into the endless, turquoise mass and realize what a beautiful place the ocean is. I decide to take couple of steps into the water. One step at a time so I can feel the calming feeling of the hider of the mysterious world below.
Stepping into the water, I felt something. The creamy calmness of the water seemed to be dragging me in. Not calling for me to come take a dip in the refreshing water, but rather to explore the wondrous world underneath. A sudden rush of curiosity flowed over me as I crept to my waist in the water. I could smell the salt. Inhaling the scent, I took notice of what was happening around me.
There were kids playing with a beach ball, a man barbecuing a nice lunch for his small family of three, and other people doing fun things on their beach day. I glanced up at the beach houses that lined the streets, wishing that I had parents. Wishing that I had a family, like the ones building sandcastles, where we could all live on the beach and come here everyday.
I focused back on the water, the relaxing feeling it gave me. The feeling of a place to call home. Enjoying this feeling, I went in deeper. I felt the wet sand become softer and softer the deeper I went in. Now, I was up to my collarbone. I looked around again, trying to observe more from a different perspective.
Distracted by the actions of people, I felt something grab my foot. Losing my balance, I fell face first into the water. I struggled to pull myself up out of the water. Trying to get my head above the water, even though I didn't really need to. Gulping up so much water, I thought, I'm going to drown. I'm going to get too much water in my stomach. This is it. I'm going to either drown or die from whatever is taking me. I did not know what to do. I struggled to break free, but the grip was too strong. The thing that grabbed my foot was a hand. Just as I recognized what it was, the hand adjusted its grip, then one grabbed my other foot. I did not know what was going on. I was being dragged somewhere. I did not know where nor by whom. The only thing I had left to do was wait for the result.