Survivors

Chapter 22: Family Secrets

"Have I mentioned this is a bad idea?"

"Only about a dozen times since we woke up, Alex." Kara answered, looking at the ocean, the cold, cold water and the high waves. Both girls had woken at 6 AM on a Sunday, left a note that they were going shell hunting for an art project Kara wanted to start and made the trek to the beach. A hundred yards into the water, Kara knew there was a ledge that dropped off around thirty feet. She knew the backpack was somewhere at the bottom, pressed against the ledge where she had tossed it.

The blonde took her shorts and shirt off, standing in only her blue swimsuit. Alex was shivering but started undressing as well.

"What do you think you are doing?" Kara asked her.

"Going for a swim with you. Maybe you haven't noticed that when you have panic attacks you hyperventilate and pass out. That means Blondie needs oxygen. You have never practiced holding your breath. I can't let you dive down yourself."

The girl picked up her sister's jacket and handed it back to her.

"You can't go into the water. It is freezing. You won't be able to move much less swim and dive. The temperature won't bother me. I will be right back, under five minutes."

"You are going to drown. This is..."

"A bad idea. I have heard. Stay here and if I am not back soon then... call Dante or someone to check the ocean for me. I won't be caught under but a current could move me if I am not touching bottom. I will be fine though."

Alex sighed and her shoulders sagged. "You have to do this, don't you? Why is it so important to talk to that jerk again?"

"He has information I need. I can handle him, Alex. He is just a hologram of a dead man but he is also a hologram with information. Information I want and he will give to me."

"Not if you drown getting it. Lets wait until the summer or until I can get a wetsuit. Maybe Dante can teach us to scuba dive and we can make it a summer project."

"Stay here and be my lookout. Trust me Alex, I will make it. Five minutes and I will be back." Kara told her, and then moved before Alex could say another word. She rushed into the water, feet in the shifting sands and head down, crashing through the waves until she had gone as far as possible without being able to catch air between wave breaks. Kara let herself float and then began to swim, not focusing on power but technique as she had been taught. Once she was in the deeper water, Kara found out how much different swimming in rough, cold water was, than the calmer water her and Dante usually practiced in. She had not swam in some weeks since learning to fight and had not learned to deal with currents.

The blonde strained to stay on a straight path, correcting her course many times. She knew if her muscles were able to tire she would have been swept out to sea or back to the shore right after she entered. Kara stopped finally, trying to peer through the water while floating up and down on the waves. Straining her vision to see clearly in the murky water, she was unable to hold her position and for the first time thought that Alex's plan to come back in a few months might have some merit.

Before deciding to give up, Kara spotted the ledge and moved over it, fighting the waves. Taking a deep breath she dove.

The girl was surprised that despite the waves being up top, the currents still threw her around. She reached the sandy bottom and dug her feet in. Taking a quick look around, scanning the wall of the ledge, she thought she spied the bag to her left maybe thirty or forty feet away. Kara started to move towards the bag when the burning in her chest became unbearable. Not wanting to give in, the blonde eventually had no choice and shot to the surface. Once her head broke the surface she took a deep gulp of air until a wave crashed over her, sending salt water into her mouth, burning her throat. Spitting out the water she could, Kara took another breath, this not as deep due to the salt water burning her nose and throat, and dove again. Using her powerful legs, she shot straight down and rode the current towards the bag. Reaching the bottom, the girl planted her feet and walked the remaining ten feet towards the bag. Despite the darkness of the deeper water, Kara could make it out perfectly. The bag was still intact, having survived its trip here. She took the bag in a hand and shot to the surface.