Falling Into The Unknown

The water puddles soaked their shoes as they moved their gear from the car to the sailboat. When they first parked at the marina, the rain poured onto the windshield so hard they thought they might have to cancel their outing. But the winds picked up, moved the storm northeast, and let the warm sun shine again on the Florida coastline.

“What did I say?” Barbara said. She slung her arm across Andrea’s shoulders and raised an eyebrow. “If you don’t like the weather, just wait five minutes.”

“I’ve lived here for a year, and I still can’t get used to all of these rainstorms,” Andrea said.

Barbara leaned closer to her best friend and whispered, “I think you were just looking for an excuse to get out of sailing.”

“Can you blame me? I don’t think this is a smart idea. There’re sharks out in that water. Besides, those boys are crazy. Did you hear they wanted to play music to see if they could get the sharks to come closer to the boat?” She shivered, but not from the cold since the temperature had gone back into the low eighties.

A chuckle escaped her lips before she stifled the sound by covering her mouth with her hand. “I’m sorry, Andrea. I’m not laughing at you. I promise. I’ve known Donald and Weston almost my whole life. They may talk big, but they’re both extremely careful when it comes to boating safety. I guarantee you won’t have to worry about a thing.”

“Are you just saying that because you’re interested in Donald?”

“You take that back! There’s nothing about him that interests me.” Barbara shuddered. “I think of him as a brother, nothing more.”

One half of Andrea’s lips tilted up, and she glanced sideways at Barbara. “Okay. If you say so, does that mean he’s available?”

“Andrea Patterson, are you crushing on Donald? How come you never said anything?” Barbara stopped walking and pulled Andrea around to face her.

“Shhh. Keep your voice down. Jeez, if I wanted it announced to the whole world, I would’ve put an advertisement on a billboard.”

This time, Barbara didn’t try to contain her giggles. “The billboard by the high school would be perfect.”

“Oh!” Andrea slapped Barbara’s arm without much force and stomped away. She tugged the bag strap higher on her shoulder with unnecessary force, causing her to stumble sideways.

Donald reached over and grabbed her arm. “Good grief, Andrea, you almost fell off the dock. You can’t be too careful when it comes to water safety. Let me help you into the sailboat. Here we go.” He held out his hand, wiggling his fingers to encourage her. With one foot on the dock and the other on the boat’s edge, he took great care to make sure Andrea kept her balance before he joined her on the deck. “Make yourself at home. Weston and I will take care of everything. Hurry up, Barbara. The winds are perfect for sailing.”

Without any further delay, the boys cast off the ropes, and Donald expertly piloted the sailboat from the marina and into the open water. Weston handled the ropes, and the girls sat at the ship’s bow and clutched the metal railing. Donald’s prediction about the favorable conditions proved accurate, and they were soon able to cut the engine and hoist the mainsail to keep on course at a decent clip.

“He looks pretty amazing, doesn’t he?” Andrea whispered to Barbara.

Drawn out of the daydream about her upcoming college year, Barbara turned away from the ocean view to face her friend. “Who?”

Andrea rolled her eyes and tipped her head toward where Donald stood with his legs wide apart, one hand gripping the wheel and the other resting on the control panel. The wind whipped his hair into an unruly mess, and his freckles were even more apparent in the bright sunshine.

“Uh, I guess.”

Andrea turned her body away from Barbara with a huff, angling herself so she could enjoy the fun of watching Donald in action.

Barbara should have skipped today’s outing; her college to-do list wasn’t going to get done with her goofing off. Still, this might be the last opportunity to spend time with her friends. She would find time to make up for this lost afternoon.

It seemed as though hardly any time passed before Donald called for Weston to haul in the mainsail. All forward momentum ceased, and the boat rocked gently with the rolling waves. Barbara’s tension evaporated as quickly as the wind fell from the sail. She sighed, inhaling the fresh ocean air, and tipped her head back to soak in the sun’s warmth.

“This looks like the perfect place to go for a swim. Who’s up for it?” Donald called out.

Weston gave him a thumbs-up sign and jumped overboard.

“What in the world?” Andrea cried out, leaning over the edge to try to find Weston.

Donald’s deep laugh barely reached their ears. “It’s okay, Andrea. Weston’s just making sure the anchor sets properly in the sand. We’ve been here hundreds of times. He knows the drill.”

“How deep is it here? I can see all the way to the bottom.” Andrea tore her gaze away from the crystal clear water to squint up at Donald, who leaned over her, blocking her from the sun’s hot rays.

“Only about forty feet. What do you say? Are you going to dip your toes in or stay onboard and roast?”

“Since those are my only two options, I think I’ll get changed into my swimsuit. I’ll be right back.” Grabbing Barbara’s hand, she pulled her along, playfully giggling as they went. “I bought the cutest bikini for this trip. I hope Donald likes it.”

“I didn’t take you for the bikini type. Who are you, and what have you done with my friend?” Barbara rummaged through her bag and finally found her one-piece suit. “You’re going to make me look like an old fuddy-duddy. Maybe I’ll just stay on board and pretend to be the on-duty lifeguard.” If anything, she should have brought her swim-meet suit, but her mom insisted she bring this one.

“You’ll do no such thing. Besides, that color suits you perfectly. Hurry up and get changed.” She stripped off her clothes and donned the pink polka-dot bikini without waiting to see if Barbara would comply.

More self-conscious than ever, Barbara put on her cream-colored bathing suit, complete with a cute little, skirt-like ruffle at the bottom. She admitted that it did set off her tan nicely. Besides, who was she trying to impress, anyway? Andrea’s sighs and toe-tapping increased, and Barbara shoved her bag into the small cubby before she linked arms with her friend. They practically raced each other to get to the ship’s bow first.

By the time they jumped overboard, neither thought about their bathing suits anymore. The salty water’s warmth enveloped them, buoying them and providing the perfect playground for an epic water fight with the boys.

Of course, Weston used his upper-body strength to sweep his arms across the water’s surface to create a massive rooster tail that nearly drowned his three friends. They needed to start a new game.

“How about we see how fast we can swim to the shallows and back? Winner gets to pick the next game,” Weston said.

Barbara’s unfair advantage of being on the State Championship Swim Team almost made her bow out until she saw Andrea wink at her and nod. “Fine. But when I win, you boys are going to make lunch and serve it to us on the boat.”

“Ha! Fat chance, girl. Besides, I’ve been craving breakfast burritos ever since the last time you lost to me,” Weston said.

“I still say you cheated,” Barbara shot back.

“I think you’re both stalling,” Donald challenged. “While you two continue your bickering, Andrea and I will take the first heat. Each heat’s winner will race again for all the honors.” He turned to Andrea and said, “Are you ready?

“Absolutely.”

Weston called out, “On your mark. Get set. Go!”

They loudly cheered as the water frothed white with their mad dash away from the boat. As expected, Donald held back and kept the race tight. Just as they reached the ship, he sprinted faster. Barbara slapped the water and shook her head at Donald’s win.

Reaching the boat a few seconds later, Andrea grabbed onto Barbara’s shoulder and whispered, “Let him have it, Barbara!”

Donald called off the next heat’s start. Barbara efficiently launched herself and fell into her energy-saving rhythm. When she reached the turning point, Weston was two body lengths behind her. She would conserve her strength for the final heat against Donald. After all, Donald’s swimming experience far exceeded Weston’s.

As predicted, she won by five lengths. Barbara kept her gloating to a minimum but couldn’t resist raising an eyebrow and quirking the side of her mouth at him. After all, she still needed to win the next race before she was off the hook.

They didn’t bother resting; the next race began immediately. Again, Weston called the race’s start, and Barbara launched with the same speed as Donald. As many times as they trained together in the pool, Barbara knew when to push her advantage. She’d wait until after the turn. Plans of winning filled her mind. She flipped underwater and surfaced with her usual grace.

Swimming between her and the boat was a ten-foot reef shark. She knew they were out there; she just didn’t expect to see one. Veering diagonally from the shark but still planning to make some progress toward the boat, she pulled the water with her arms and kicked her feet as if her life depended on it.

She wasn’t making any headway. The harder she worked her overhand strokes, the farther the boat appeared. Was this a rip-tide way out here? As impossible as it seemed, it was the most likely answer.

Her friends were screaming.

She stopped swimming to conserve energy while she worked out the best plan.

Donald made it to the sailboat. He hoisted himself from the water using the dangling rope ladder and urgently waved for Weston and Andrea to come aboard. By the time Donald returned with the life vest, even an Olympic javelin thrower couldn’t hurl it the required distance.

Treading water, Barbara kept the shark in view. How was she going to fix this? Hopefully, Donald would pull anchor, start the engines, and scoop her up.

Until the bubbles rose around her body.

The tickling sensation of them rolling along her skin made her think of tiny fish bumping into her. When the bubbles’ size increased and burst at the water’s surface, she ogled with her mouth hanging open. What was this?

Treading even faster, she struggled to keep herself afloat in the salty ocean water. Waiting for rescue wasn’t enough. She needed to save herself.

Now.

Filling her lungs near to bursting, she plunged herself underwater. She might escape the strange bubbles and rip tide by diving beneath them. The current pulled even harder, propelling her faster than if she wore long diving fins. Rushing water sounds seemed out of place in the sea’s tranquility. The shark swam beside her as if curious to see what she would do.

As fast as it began, the bubbles disappeared. The disinterested shark turned so quickly that its tail slapped her side. Barbara’s lungs were bursting. She needed air. Kicking hard, she rose until her head and shoulders broke the water’s surface.

She turned in a complete circle. She was alone. No friends, no sailboat, nothing. Even the sky looked different, tinged with an otherworldly teal shade.

“I should've stayed home,” she said aloud. Rather than wait for another shark to investigate, Barbara kept the sun on her left and started swimming.

Author's Note:

This is a brand new back-story for one of the favorite characters in The Levels of Ascension book series. If you want more of Barbara's adventures in the magical and terrifying world of Tuala, you can read the series beginning with Outside Ascension.

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