Anchor

Chapter 3

After a dreamless sleep I slowly felt myself being pulled back into the light.

I breathed in but my lungs were blocked and I started coughing.

The first thing I saw was a wide light blue that belonged to the sky and a few clouds.

I felt the water leaving my body as I gasped for air again.

This time I didn't feel the cold of the ocean water around me. The ground I was laying on was warm and sun reached my skin and warmed it up.

Emerald green eyes suddenly interrupted my view and I flinched a little.

'Hey, hey!' The person with the green eyes said. 'Hey!'

The voice belonged to a girl with long dark brown hair who was leaning over me.

I frowned and held my arm above my eyes to protect them from the sunlight.

'You're alive!' She said unbelieving.

'Am I?' My hurting body doubted that a little. I definitely felt more alive before.

I slowly tried to push myself up with my arm but as soon as I lifted my head slightly a sharp pain immediately appeared on the left side of my neck and my head flew painfully back to the ground.

'Slowly! That move could hurt a little.' The girl said.

Really? Haven't noticed that!

I tried to lift my upper body up a second time and this time I was prepared for the pain and the girl supported me a little. But there was also support from the right side.

I turned my head and looked right into familiar blue eyes.

'Hello!' he said smiling. I just stared at him with big eyes.

The last time I saw him he was trapped in a wreck underwater and a second later I was blacked out.

Suddenly I perceived noises from the background and looked around. I was at a beach. The beach I saw earlier from out of the water. But it wasn't how I had imagined it. It wasn't empty and quiet at all. Not anymore!

Parts of the plane were burning and spread all over the beach. Injured people laid in the sand and individual ones walked around wasted. Even screams filled the air.

It was just like on the water. How did I even get here?

'How do you feel?' The girl asked, she looked worried. Her eyes wandered from my face down to my neck and back.

'Great!' I said sarcastically and she dabbed my neck carefully with a cloth.

I flinched from the touch and from the quick burning pain and scanned the pain area myself with my hand.

I felt that there was a wound, but when I looked at my fingers there was almost no blood on it.
I gave her a confused look.

'You had a grazing wound.' She said. 'I sewed it.'

'Thanks.' I said a little overwhelmed. 'Are you a doctor or something?'

'Not really! I mean my mum is, but I'm not.'

I raised an eyebrow.

'Well, not yet!' She added.

'Oh.' I said.

My eyes fell on my legs, I was still wearing my khaki colored cargo pants but no shoes. I had probably lost them in the water. My vans would have probably been useless here anyway.

'You should lay dow-', she started but didn't get any farer since I was already standing up and starting to walk along the beach.

Almost every muscle of my body hurt with every step I took in the warm sand but after what was like three steps I slowly got used to it. Waterdrops from my hair onto the sand next to my feet.

It was already dozing a little and the sinking sun reflected on the metal while I was passing several parts of the wreck. I soon figured out that some of them were parts of the other wing.

I passed a few suitcases, some of them were tattered and some still closed, and climbed over pieces of the plane. Smoke was coming from out of the metal and people were kneeling in front of others who weren't moving. Their screams didn't quite help my slightly pounding head.

The two persons from before arrived next to me.

'You should really lay down a bit, your injury is still fresh.' The girl said concerned.

'I'm good.' I said facing her now more attentive.

Her face seemed quite familiar, but I couldn't remember when or where I met her before.

'Alright!' She hesitated but then nodded. I'm gonna look after someone else then, okay?'

'Okay.' I said and she walked over to a boy sitting in the sand a few meters away. It looked like his leg was wounded.

'So, what's your name?' The blue-eyed boy asked looking at the battlefield in front of us.

'I'm River!' I said.

'Theo!' He said facing me. 'Nice to meet you above the water!'

'You too.' I said. 'Under water it was much more..'

'Comfortable!' He finished my sentence since I didn't seem to find the right word.

'Yeah!'                                                                                                                                                                                   
We were both looking at the chaotic beach in front of us when I noticed some small metal piece flying with the wind right in front of us. It was hardly connected to the wing it belonged to and threatened to fall right into the still fast moving turbine anytime.

'Do you see that?' He asked me nervously.

'Yup.' I said with a shocked expression and we both started to run into the other direction.

I ran the fastest I could while my legs were hurting and he ran right next to me. Theo seemed to be sporty because he was almost faster than me.

In the corner of my eyes I saw that he looked back to the turbine and what he saw must have scared him.

Suddenly the sound of an explosion and lightning appeared behind me. Theo ran me over and pushed us to the side.

The loud bang hurt in my ears and I felt the warmth on my back while falling.

We landed a few meters away and rolled another few ones in the sand

I held my arms above my head to protect it from hurling things in the air.

I heard several items landing hardly in the sand around me and after a few seconds I dared to remove my arms and lifted my head a little to see something.

It was only now that I noticed Theo hadn't let go of me at all. His arm was held above me and he was holding me onto the sand like a protection shield.