All around her was a stillness and peace unheard of, as she drifted upon the grey-blue tempest, while laces of white tickled her nose and her lashes, teasing and tantalizing, singing to the breath within her lungs.
Squinting through the prickly haze, Ashlyn rose and fell with the ocean's deep breath, her limbs moving in a hypnotic dance under its command. Her gaze roamed the deep expanse, her sense of direction ceasing to exist amidst the tendrils of fire that floated around her face.
My sweet daughter, the ocean cooed, its arms reaching out to cradle and caress. Enveloped in its tight embrace, Ashlyn felt herself falling deeper into its touch and the promises it whispered over her mind. Home at last. The ocean's voice tickled at the edges of consciousness, and Ashlyn blinked.
Wisps of white and silver danced upon the waters, the shape of memories forming and reforming with each flutter of her lashes. Children ran towards the tides, kicking and splashing at the waves that kissed their ankles. A man threw back his head and laughed, the child in his arms flying on the breeze as he spun with her. Smiles that brought a warmth to her chest, and the face of the man she'd thought she'd never see again, caused a familiar aching in her chest, one the ocean was more than willing to rectify.
It continued to sing its enchanting song, coaxing memories to the surface while drawing Ashlyn deeper into its embrace. One memory, one softly spoken word at a time, the ocean called her to the watery grave that awaited, the promise of her father too strong an allure.
The wisps continued their dance around her as Ashlyn swayed, her sleepy gaze lingering upon the speck of golden light that beat like a heart within each memory, a mirror to the gentle beating of her own. It pulsed with each chop and change, the collection of her happiest memories unleashed upon the nightly canvas.
Her lids grew heavy, as tiny pockets of air tickled her lips with a teasing breath. The golden lights shone brighter, the wisps dissipating around them as something brushed through them. At first, only a shadow tickled the corners of a memory, begging to be free, echoing the voice of a father's tender love. The surface cracked like glass, revealing an image her inner child had long forgotten. Lights bobbed with the rising waters, and an unseen force moved around her again, consuming all light until all that remained was a single glow that twinkled amidst the darkness below.
Mermaids, her mind sighed. He was right. The thought wavered, her mind clinging to the brink of unconsciousness as she tried to focus her vision on the subtle glow that drew closer. A weakened smile twisted upon her lips, and she closed her eyes, welcoming the light.
Ashlyn, the voice so ingrained in her memory called to her and caressed her cheek. Slowly, her eyes opened, fluttering in disbelief.
Daddy? Her hand answered, reaching through the darkened depths towards the glow below. The ocean continued to drag her down towards the thing her heart yearned for, the reunion she'd dreamed of.
Closer and closer they drew together, the relief in Ashlyn's smile quickly shifting to a frown when she saw the face of her father's memory appear as anything but. Lips twisted into a grim expression, and eyes marked by the horrors of a life spent beneath the sea, he looked right through her as though she were the stranger, and not he.
But still, she reached, desperate to feel him and know him once more. He rose to meet her, his hand closing the distance between them until barely a hair's breadth separated them.
Their outstretched hands came together with a jolt, a brush of air erupting on the water around her with her exhale.
Fight back, his voice screamed. Survive.
Suddenly, cold water rushed into her senses; the illusion shattered.
The ocean was no longer the gentle temptress that lured her deeper under the guise of beauty and peace. She was a dark and dangerous witch, chanting incantations and manipulating the life from Ashlyn's lungs, claiming her next victim.
Eyes wide, Ashlyn kicked out at the water around her, beating and clawing her way upwards while the throbbing in her head and the weight in her chest bogged her down. Every cell in her body screamed for oxygen as a thousand needles of pain prickled over every surface of her skin.
The water closed in around her, binding its tendrils around her wrists and her ankles. Filled with a deep sense of dread, she continued to fight her way out of its grasp, the red and black splotches that danced across her vision getting worse with each second. The roaring in her ears was deafening, and she could just make out that spots of white foam that churned within the waves. The surface.
Reaching desperately, she felt her arm catch upon the wind above. She opened her mouth to cry out, gasping for air as she broke the surface.
"De-" she cried out before the water rushed in, cold and sharp, as it stole away the breath she needed and the name she clung to. Forced again beneath the raging waves, she thrashed and choked against the icy jets that shot up her nose and streamed down the back of her throat. Head pounding with panic and heart hammering in her chest, each moment in which she breached the surface saw her tossed upon the raging torrents, tumbling in the wake of the swells.
Please, she cried against her watery prison, one final plea to endless silence cloaked by darkness.
The ocean's only answer came in the form of something strong hooking beneath her armpits. Ashlyn wanted to scream out with her last breath of life as nails sharp as talons dug into flesh and dragged her through the surface to the violent rains and wind above. Something warm and solid pressed against her back, arms locking around her chest as they hoisted her higher into the frigid air.
She gasped for more air than her lungs could contain, the rest of her body limp in their arms.
Laid down on her side, strong hands held her and supported her back as saltwater was expelled from her lungs. She coughed, and she heaved, her body convulsing with the fresh stream of water that spluttered and splashed against the deck.
"Stay back," a voice at her head shouted, the words, and their target, quickly forgotten as another cough wracked her frame, her throat burning with each drop of water that trickled from the corner of her mouth. Something was wrapped around her and tucked beneath her chin, and she could feel firm hands move over her body and her neck, tracking for any immediate injuries.
Disoriented and weak, Ashlyn tried to focus her eyes on the feet that rushed about her. Voices and heavy steps rumbled through the deck beneath her head, but her mind failed to piece any of the sounds together. The only sounds she registered were those of her body's screams of pain and the scratchy sound of air upon her raw throat as she drew another painful breath.
"...Bloody lucky..." someone said close by, their breath fanning her chafed cheek as they pressed their fingers to the pulse at her throat.
Where am I? She wanted to ask, but the thought never made it past her hazy mind.
Closing her eyes, she longed to find peace in sleep where her aches and exhaustion would be but a waking memory. She was so cold, and the trembles wouldn't stop, as her teeth knocked together violently, and her muscles seized from the icy chill that lanced through them. Just a moment's reprieve from the nauseating turning of her stomach and the painful gasps for air was all she asked.
"Can you...eyes...sweetie," The voice spoke again, his words fading in and out, swallowed by the waves and the hum of the motor beneath them.
What? She tried to ask, her lips parting with the silent word.
Her lashes fluttered as she reluctantly warded off the sleep which beckoned and opened her eyes. The floor on which she laid rolled with a wave, and she began to pant, her heart rate increasing with the haunted motion.
The sea. Angry and unrelenting. Dangerous.
It rolled again, jostling her head. Ashlyn bit back a whimper and squinted as another body wrapped in an emergency blanket wavered on the deck before her. Upright and leaning against the side, the body shifted as she tracked their outstretched legs, slowly trying to piece together the scene before her. Her heart hammered in her chest, her gaze roaming over their chest, moving towards their face when something blocked her view.
Exhaling, her eyes continued to roll around the space, tracking the activity upon the deck, in an attempt to gather her bearings.
Shifting his weight, the man at her side leaned forward, the back of his head creating an umbrella of sorts from the unrelenting rain, while he held his finger between both their faces. Focusing all of her energy on that single digit, Ashlyn brought her attention back to him, tracking his finger as it moved from the left to the right.
A small smile of relief lifted his lips, and a trickle of water dripped from his chin to cling to her fluttering lashes, the allure of sleep still too strong to resist. His mouth kept moving, forming words and questions she couldn't comprehend, no matter how hard she tried to focus. A frown formed in the crease of her brow when his lips stopped moving, and he looked at her expectantly.
Ashlyn shook her head, the motion slow. I don't...I can't... she thought, the roaring in her ears pounding against her skull, swallowing the words she needed to say. She felt as though she were trudging through a thickened bog, an ominous haze shrouding everything that made any sense.
"...name?" His lips moved again, this time a single word registering.
Name. What name? Her name?
Weakly, Ashlyn nodded, her name on the tip of her tongue. Dried lips parted with the sounds she tried to form, but all that she could produce was a husky scratch upon a whimper from the back of her throat.
"can't...mute," another raspy voice, but one familiar all the same said over the sounds of the elements.
The man at her side moved to the side to grab something, and in that brief moment, Ashlyn caught a glimpse of the face that made her heart lurch.
Derek, her heart and mind sighed in unison.
The man who attended Derek said something to him then stood. Ashlyn released a shaky breath, the tremble in her lips a whimper when she looked into eyes so tortured and petrified. Fingers curled against the deck beneath her blanket, the muscles throbbing from the effort it took.
He was here. He was okay. If her eyes hadn't already wept with the rain from above, she'd have cried to see him alive.
"Ashlyn." She watched his trembling lips form her name before the wind swallowed it whole, and her wary gaze fell back to the deck below.
The man returned, checking her over and ensuring she remained stable, while Ashlyn watched hands move across the deck towards her, the rustling of the blanket a static upon her ears. The sights and sounds of the world around her faded beneath the silver dome that settled by her head. Something reached under her blanket and took her hand, his fingers a cold comfort as he squeezed her hand.
Nothing but he, and the assurance of the breath still in his lungs, made sense to her at that moment. But, with him there by her side, she knew that everything would be okay.
From the corner of her eye, she looked up at Derek's face, mentally tracing every line and every mark of worry and relief upon his features. Still trembling, she tried to move her hand from his grasp so she could answer.
"Shh," he stammered, his hand squeezing a little harder. "It's okay," he added, teeth chattering. He continued to watch her, and she watched him, her whole world revolving around the espresso eyes and the storm of emotions that raged within.
Her fingers moved across his palm, threading between his, as she clung to him the only way she could. The thought of what almost happened circled her mind, providing the glue that bound their hands together. Through each rise and fall of the deck, they remained like that, while Ashlyn's strength to keep her eyes open waned beneath sleep's sweet song.
Before her eyes could close and she could welcome sleep, the boat hit the dock with a sudden jolt, startling Ashlyn.
The deck suddenly became a hive of activity and orders. Men rushed about, tying the boat down while medical staff ran aboard to attend to Derek and Ashlyn. The voices around her were overwhelming, and the throbbing in her temple caused her hand to tighten around Derek's.
This isn't right. I don't like this, she thought, her eyes finding him again amidst the sea of people as something pressed against her back. Firm hands gently rolled her to her back upon the stretcher and fitted a collar around her neck while the man who'd sat with her briefed another medic on her vitals.
Ashlyn's eyes were wide with fear when they strapped her to the stretcher and raised her into the air. They moved quickly, getting her off the boat and to the street where flashing lights and a sea of faces - familiar and unfamiliar - waited. She kept her eyes focused on Derek, who remained at her side throughout the ordeal, his hand clasped tightly in hers as his thumb brushed over the back of her hand.
When they reached the ambulance, Derek prepared to follow her onboard when someone blocked his path.
"Please," Derek pleaded, wide eyes shifting from hers to the medic who tried to hold him back. "...can't leave...again," he added, his voice thick with emotion.
Fear seized her mind and her heart at the mention of leaving. She tried to move about on the stretcher, to sit up or climb down, but everything felt heavy and numb, her mind still trapped in its disoriented haze. Her eyes darted around her to see what was going on, frantically searching for his reassuring gaze.
She strained to hear their brief conversation over the rain thumping upon the roof, her chest hitching with a sob when she saw Derek tip his head in a nod.
What is happening? Her eyes screamed when Derek stepped to her side and brought their clasped hands to his blue lips in a delicate kiss.
"It's okay. I'm right here," he said, his eyes swimming with emotion. A tear slipped down his cheek, falling into the crevice of his wavy smile.
No. Please, she tried to speak through the tremors, but her lips wouldn't move. Spots of tears trailed down her cheeks, and Derek brushed them away with his other hand.
"So brave," his lips said, his voice a whisper upon her ears.
Only when I have you, her thoughts answered.
A radio crackled with instructions, and Derek gulped.
Taking a step back towards the medic who waited to escort him to another ambulance, his fingers slipped between hers. Ashlyn tried to shake her head, but the collar wouldn't allow it. Her lips trembled, and her eyes watered as she stretched out her arm, desperately clasping for his fingertips. But it was too late. Hand empty, it fell to her side, as a strangled sob fractured the air around her.
I'm right behind you, he signed, his encouraging smile the last thing she saw before the doors closed.