𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘈 𝘋𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘰𝘯; 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘐

𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙎𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣; 𝘾𝙝𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙒𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨

The sky's weeping became heavier with every passing second, and the two girls could hear the thunder of powerful droplets hitting the ground. They looked at each other in fear, but both of them knew what they had to do.

The sound of something hitting wood disgruntled Silas, he tossed in his sleep and groaned, before settling down and falling back into a deep slumber.

"Auryn!" Erin suddenly gasped, "You're bleeding." pointing to her thigh.

"Oh, I just fell," Auryn replied lightly, as if she didn't think that her several injuries were something to stress over.

"Ah alright, it doesn't look that bad, I think you'll live," Erin said teasingly, making Auryn's eyes flicker with surprise.

"No? I thought it looked a bit gruesome myself, all the dried blood, but perhaps the injury itself is not bad," She said quietly, feeling slightly stung at her sister's lack of concern. "It doesn't hurt very much, and I can't really see it," Auryn lied, making Erin look slightly confused. She gave her a reassuring smile before looking away, observing the stinging burns on her legs. Auryn followed her gaze, pity slowly flooding into her own. "Those look alright, painful, but not too bad, you were lucky." The blue-eyed girl said lightly, and Erin sighed in response. "Yeah, they are painful though," She responded, looking tired.

Erin and Auryn watched Silas, who was in a deep slumber. They were surprised he hadn't been awoken by the raging storm and the flooding sea that had leaked into the cave, bathing him in shallow water.

Both girls trekked along the beach, their shoes soaked from the shallow water that was creeping up the sand, drenched from the rain. They searched around for anything to fix one of the rowboats. Erin continued rummaging around in a pile of rotting driftwood, and suddenly let out a gasp of excitement. "Auryn! Look!" She exclaimed, gesturing to her sister to look at her finding. Underneath the debris and rotting wood, sat a small chest, the Berkian seal engraved on the lid. Auryn knelt beside her, and together they pried the rusty lid open, revealing a small hammer and a cloth pouch, filled with rusty nails, along with a coil of rope. Erin inspected their small discovery, she couldn't believe their luck. The repair box was still intact! They searched through the rest of the boats, but only found one more.

The two girls grinned at one another and tramped back to the cave, Erin carrying her prize carefully, making sure its precious contents weren't dropped and swallowed by the swirling water they waded through.

Curious to see whether or not Silas had woken up yet, Auryn poked her head into the frame of the cave. The girl was surprised to see that the younger boy was still asleep, submerged in water. "Silas!" she cried, the boy flinched awake, his eyes shooting open at the cry. He looked around in surprise, shock filling in his eyes as he realised the flood. Auryn ran to her brother, pulling him out of the water, "How on earth did you stay asleep," she murmured, wrapping an arm protectively around the boy. Their sister trudged into the cave, "What's with the ruckus?" she questioned playfully, but her eyebrows raised in understanding when she saw a very soaked Silas. The boy groaned, resting his head on Auryn, while Erin gave a small chuckle at the forlorn look on Silas's face.

Erin hammered at the boat, determination on her face as the water surged upwards with every passing minute. Silas curled into a ball next to Auryn, afraid of the howling storm in the distance as they bowed their heads to avoid the worst of the weather. Erin finished repairing the boat after ushering Auryn to help her bring it further into deeper water. The boat was still rotten, but it would hold together - for now. Erin wiped a stream of raindrops off her forehead, glancing up at the menacing clouds that drifted above them. "Okay, we gotta go before the storm gets worse," She said, gesturing to her siblings to get in the boat that was rocking roughly in the churning water.

Auryn lifted Silas into the boat, and he settled into a corner, pulling his soaked jacket around his shoulders to shield himself from the piercing wind. Auryn slipped in after him, she clambered on and sat next to the boy, sheltering him while watching her sister. Erin pushed the frail boat further out to sea until it was up to her waist. By then the water was choked with seaweed, and the water curled around them, both menacing and filled with gloom. The girl hooked her arm over the side of the boat, hesitating as it rocked wildly as she pulled herself up and tumbled into the boat.

She stood up unsteadily, her arms outstretched for balance as she reached for the oars. Suddenly a small squeak escaped Silas' lips, making Erin lookup. The girl's eyes widened as she saw what was advancing, a vast wave had formed and was racing toward their tiny vessel. Before Erin could react, it collided with the hull of the boat, causing her to slip and lose her footing. She stumbled to the floor, her hands sliding backwards as they reached the ground, the deck boards were slippery from the pelting rain and the water that slowly seeped through the damaged wood.

Silas was rocked by the sudden wave, and he crashed into Auryn, who pushed him softly back to his corner. Erin struggled to get up from the slippery deck, so Auryn offered her hand with a tired smile on her face. Erin took her sister's offering and slowly rose from the ground, and when she was balanced, she grabbed the oar and began to row the boat.

They slowly began to creep out of the cove, the current sending them right to the edge of a small inlet before a wave sent them nearly back to shore. Erin's furious paddling had little effect, and she now sat at the bow of the boat, feeling utterly powerless against the relentlessness of the waves as she watched the horizon, the sun's last golden rays fading amongst the black clouds.

The rowboat rocked angrily, but the day's drama had taken its toll on the three, and Erin adjusted her position as she watched her two siblings on the opposite side of their vessel, snuggled up to each other, their eyes tightly shut as they tried to block out the elements.

Silas had fallen into an uneasy sleep, his soft snores alerting his sisters. A slight smile tugged at Auryn's lips, and she looked over at Erin, who gave her a reassuring smile.

Erin leaned on her knees as she curled into a ball opposite them, observing her surroundings as her stomach swirled from the fierce current. Abruptly, she felt the boat scrape over something in the water. The girl sat up quickly, and carefully peeked her head over the side. Unknown to all of them, the boat had drifted towards the rocks by the cove entrance, and instead of them being carried out to sea, they were being pulled towards the dangerous boulders that rose sharply out of the waves. Erin's pulse slowed, her mind racing as she struggled to think of an escape. If the small boat got too close, they would be bashed against the rocks, and their vessel would fall apart.

She hated the image created in her mind, of a huge wave shoving the boat into a boulder, the wood splintering from pressure and falling apart causing them all to be thrown into the swirling mass of water, her sibling's frantic splashing around, before both of them disappeared under the surface, lost to the darkness, and limp bodies floating as she also struggled to stay afloat.

Erin shook her head violently, worry etched on her drenched face. She hugged her legs, pulling them as close as she could to her body, trying to keep her body temperature from dropping drastically.

It was about ten minutes before a churning current swept their boat, tugging in out to sea. Fear filled Erin's eyes, what would happen if they were stranded in the ocean? Auryn suddenly lifted her head up, blinking away the droplets of water that hung on her eyelids. She looked around, confusion obvious on her face. "Do you hear that?" She murmured, her brow furrowed. The two sisters went silent, listening to the noise around them. Auryn swore she heard the faint yells of people, but after hearing nothing but the waves crashing and the storm overhead, she brushed it off as her imagination. "I thought I heard someone, nevermind." Auryn said, resting her head back on her knees and closing her eyes. Erin looked around, an inquisitive look on her face. But she too, could hear nothing but the storm, so she drifted into a light sleep, memories circling her brain.