Beneath the Waves (Ocean Song Book 1)

*UPDATED* Chapter 4: To Breathe Again

As daylight came and all signs of the storm was over, Rodion couldn't have ran out of the house fast enough. His brothers were hot on his heels as they all broke into a dead sprint for the cliffs. After all, it's where Serena spends the most of her time when she comes out here.

However, upon getting there, they find nothing. Nothing save for her personal belongings that she'd never leave behind. Her bookbag lies thoughtlessly on the ground, clearly packed. Obviously, she was preparing to leave but why is she not with it?

A few steps further, Rodion finds her phone. Dead and thoroughly wet. If they do find her, then she's going to kick up one hell of her own phone when she discovers that the thing isn't functional anymore.

Caspian rummages through her bookbag for any kinds of clues while Zale and Arion walk about the rest of the cliff. The two slowly inch their way down the cliff, and further split up to cover more ground.

Rodion, meanwhile, stares at the phone with an anguished expression on his face. He knows his sister. She wouldn't just randomly leave all her shit here for anyone to take. Especially her phone.

His gaze flickers over the sea unto the horizon. The waves move about enticingly, as they always have with seagulls darting back and forth in the sky, crying loudly as they do.

He hears Caspian shuffle to his feet and approach. A heavy hand lands on his shoulder, inciting him to look over at its owner.

Caspian's expression is unreadable, but the worry shines clear in his eyes as the sun does in the sky.

He shakes his head softly. "There wasn't anything useful to be found in her bag."

Rodion raises the phone to Caspian's eye level and shakes it. Droplets of water fly from the phone as he mutters, "She left her phone, and obviously the damn thing's dead so that's a dead end."

Caspian turns back, surveying the cliff once more as though their sister will suddenly pop up out of nowhere.

After five minutes of silence, Arion's voice fills the air. "Hey! I found something!"

Caspian and Rodion share a look before sprinting down to the area beneath the cliff where Arion chose to search.

Zale arrives before them, silver hair tousled and eyes wild with anticipation.

Arion walks out from the waves. His shorts are soaked, and his hair damp from the ocean mist. His hands are tightly bunched around a piece of cloth.

Rodion squints his eyes in confusion as Caspian takes the cloth from Arion and holds it up.

"It's a shirt," Caspian mumbles blankly as he narrows his eyes at Arion in exasperation.

But Zale abruptly speaks up. "That's not just any shirt dumbass!" He shouts as he snatches it from Caspian to get a good look at it. "Rena was wearing this the other day before she left for school!"

Silence falls over them. The obvious answer hangs heavily in the air like a darkened storm cloud, but they find it easier to ignore that answer in favor of a dumber one. The one that would make them feel better.

Surely their sister is just running around topless somewhere? That's a feasible enough answer, right? Arion grimaces.

The silence drags on for about ten minutes as they all stare at the shirt with blank expressions.

Rodion's choked up voice is the key that breaks the silence. "She's gone," he murmurs with tight fists.

Arion quickly shouts, "Don't say that! Rena's fine! I know she is!" The blood starts pumping through his ears as his vision briefly blurs every few seconds. That's the one truth he can't accept. Their mother is dead, their father missing... No, Rena can't be gone. She must've gotten lost somewhere, and lost her shirt during the storm... The rational side of his brain clearly tells him how much of a joke that is, but the other side clutches on tightly to that silly idea in the hopes that it might become true.