It looks like a thousand feet down to the teeny tiny raft. As I stand there mentally preparing myself for that far drop, a huge wave raises the raft high in the air. Quickly, before the opportunity flees, I release my death hold on the guardrail and fall through the air to land with a resounding "THUNK" in the bottom of the raft. Pain shoots up my left leg and I grimace with the intensity of it. I twist around just in time to watch Colin untie the rope and throw himself over the side and down into the raft. I silently hand him the emergency beacon and put my arms around the twins. Colin's switches the beacon on and watches the yacht as it slips of the reef and slowly sinks down to it's eternal slumber, sorrow etched on his handsome, young face. As we drift further and further from the reef, the yacht slips completely beneath the surface and all we can see are foamy waves rising and falling, rising and falling. I see Colin look from person to person in our little crew, and I know the thoughts passing through my mind are the same thoughts in the front of his. With no food, no shelter, and very little drinkable water, what will happen to us? MORE SOON
UPDATE The bright hot sun glares down upon our little group. Somehow, we managed to survive the night despite the rolling waves, and the hungry sharks circling our pathetic, air filled refuge. The storm has long gone, leaving hot sun, calm seas, and our fates uncertain. We try to pass the time playing dumb little games like Guess the Lyrics, 20 questions and by talking about our life dreams and aspirations. The games soon get boring, and we realize there's really nothing to do but float here and wait for Destiny to decide what is to become of us. Day sinks into night, night explodes into day. Days and nights soon become blurred in a haze of hunger, thirst, and in the daytime..heat..at night.. Bitter cold. Emotional exhaustion, hunger, thirst and pain become my reality. It's difficult to discern what is real or a hallucination now. I dream of Troy jumping out of the raft and swimming and then of hearing his frantic screams. I dream of hearing Colin shouting at Amy, Lia, and Mike to not drink the seawater. I float along on my little cloud, completely oblivious to the things happening around me. Sorry if this isn't up to my usual standards. More coming later this evening.
Sorry it's been so long since I've updated (like forever), I've had bit of writers block. Update to come soon
Our raft comes to jarring stop. I crack my sunburned eyes and slam them back down as the harsh glare of the sun pierces my eyes and stabs knives of pain into my skull. I sink gratefully back to the blessed darkness of unconsciousness. Something cool and wet splashed on my face. I moan as more and more of the cool wet stuff hits my scorched face. A bit of the liquid leaks between my dry, cracked lips and coats my parched tongue. I instinctively open my mouth wider and let the nourishing rainwater fill my mouth. I swallow mouthful by mouthful from the torrential downpour. Colin had the foresight to use any means necessary to collect rainwater from the tropical storm. For days he slowly nurses me back to consciousness by feeding me sips of water, and bites of fruit. Day by agonizing day I build up my strength with his help. More coming soon. Promise!
I open my eyes to the glorious warmth of the sun and stretch languidly in the sand. The wind makes the roof of our makeshift shelter flap and thump. I relax and take in everything my senses can. The salty smell of the ocean, the smell of warm wet sand, the sweet fragrance of exotic fruits and plants. I roll out from under the tent we made by propping the raft up with sticks. I think of the things we need to accomplish today, building a better shelter being at the top of the list. Sorry so short, my motivation for writing has left me, and now I must seek another.