Ant rose to his feet and walked steadily towards the sea,staring unwavering at the horizon ahead.
He kept on walking,only pausing briefly to kick off his flip flops,before becoming ankle deep,then knee deep in water.
His determination made sure he didn't stop,no amount of rocks he stumbled on,no force from the water,pushing him back,nothing would stop him now,as the water rose up to his waist.
He continually focused on the horizon,that straight line between the ocean and sky was all that mattered right now,nothing else.
He stared straight ahead,clearing his mind.
He wanted nothing to cloud his judgement,no distraction from what lay ahead,so he did his best to put any thoughts of Dec,of Anne-Marie,of his dogs,family,friends or career out of his mind.
Those people would be better off without him anyway,what use was he to them?he had more than likely killed his best friend..he had to go through with this.
All of those people and things didn't matter now!
The water was now up to his neck,as he stared straight ahead,fighting the occasional wave that attempted to lift him off his feet.
Determinedly soldiering on,he held his breath as his mouth...his nose...his eyes were submerged under water.
There was no going back now!
He tried to ignore the stinging in his eyes from the salt water as well as desperately resisting the urge to jump up to the surface.
He knew how drowning worked!
As soon as he attempted to take a breath,the water would rush into his airways,closing them.
That would be it...the end...
Dead!
But he hadn't quite reached that point yet,he was still holding his breath,but it was getting harder and harder with every passing second.
The sound of the ocean around his head was deafening,but also somehow strangely silent and it was getting increasingly harder to focus on exactly what he was trying to do,but he knew one thing for sure.
It was time!
It had to be!
This was the end!
He prepared to take a breath,leaving his life...or death in the hands of the God that he had never been sure even existed.
At that precise moment,a gentle,but surprisingly forceful wave,washed against him,raising him involuntarily to the surface.
As the sun immediately warmed his face,Ant took the biggest breath he had ever taken since the moment he was brought into this world.
He coughed and spluttered violently and attempted to reach the seabed with his feet,which he could only just about do by standing on his tip toes.
After a few seconds,he turned to face the beach to see how far he had come.
He could just about make out the tiny silhouette of Piccolo,still grazing on leaves,without a care in the world.
Ant then stared at the shelter in the distance.
"Dec" he said out loud "oh God,Dec"
He suddenly found a burst of energy from somewhere and swam furiously towards the shore,knowing that he had to get back to Dec.
What had he been thinking?how could he have thought even for a moment that killing himself and leaving Dec alone on the island...if he pulled through whatever was making him ill...was ok?
