The Box

The Box - Part 6

It didn't take long for Olivia's lungs to start burning, the recent past catching up to her, adrenaline burning off as fatigue set in. She started to tread water, gathering her wits and regulating her breathing. She turned to see the ship from which she had jumped, an iron titan sitting in the water. A small figure on the deck looked familiar; the man who had let her go. Olivia briefly wondered if he was impressed that she had made it, hoped that he kept his word. She felt strangely sorry that he may get caught up in the drama that would unfold when the police got here - or maybe a clean-up operation was underway right now. She hoped not; she had made a promise to James and intended to keep it.

Re-focused and reanimated with a fresh determination, Olivia swam on towards the shore, keeping her mind on the job at hand. She soon found her rhythm, forcing her muscles onwards despite the painful cold and the waves that threatened to hold her back. She thought of nothing but reaching land, how she would grab the first person she found and beg and plead for them to help her. The minutes ticked by as the dock slowly came further into view, her journey now hampered by an immense lack of energy along with environmental obstacles. Seaweed - or what she hoped was seaweed - often tickled her legs, causing her to kick out, tread water or swim even harder. She dreaded to think about what might be beneath her, floating in the dingy water.

Olivia almost burst into tears as she lay a hand on the concrete dock in front of her. Her fingertips burned as she tried to clutch at the rough concrete, the ledge too far above her head for her to reach. The water currents rhythmically banged her into the wall and she tried to use the energy to jump upwards. She began panting, cement scratching her face, hoping someone would appear and pull her up. She started to shout for help, a hoarse whisper gradually becoming a desperate cry. She eventually screamed in frustration, then she heard urgent voices getting closer.

"Here!" She shouted, desperately trying to pull herself up enough to see someone, the dock towering above her.

She heard quickening footsteps and questions that hung unanswered in the night air. She tried to wave and momentarily sank under the water. Panicking, she fought to resurface before the people left, having seen no sign of anyone.

As soon as her face broke the water, Olivia shouted again, waving both her arms and squinting until the sea water left her eyes. She saw the dock, a blurry wall a few feet in front of her and above it distorted figures, calling to her with their arms outstretched. She almost cried with relief, pushing herself to once more swim to the help she had so desperately wanted since her ordeal began. Every part of her body and mind cried for respite and even now she was distinctly aware of how long it would take her to recover from this, both physically and mentally.

Olivia reached the concrete once more and sank a little before shooting her body upwards like a dolphin at a waterpark; she thrust her right arm upwards, aiming to grab the closest of several hands waiting to catch her. She felt her upper arm grabbed by two if not three hands and before she knew it, her waist settled on the dock, her shorts clasped by her rescuers to pull her feet from the water.

She lay face down and motionless on the smooth ground, guttural cries emanating from her throat; deep, emotive sounds that she couldn't control, but which relieved a large amount of the built-up stress she had pushed into a hidden place within herself. She cried with happiness and relief, with remorse and grief. She cried with exhaustion, yet the need for immediate action.

"Police!" She cried hoarsely between sobs. "Please! Police!" As she pointed in the general direction of the ship she had left so long ago.

She sensed a person leaving the crowd, then heard a male voice asking for an ambulance and the police to dock four as soon as possible. Someone else rolled her onto her back and covered her with a blanket; she was grateful for the warmth, but felt the itchy material irritating her damp skin. Her brain was telling her to get up and get on with it, but her body was begging for rest; she tried to rise several times, only to be pushed back down with gentle insistence by the figures surrounding her. She saw faces everywhere she looked, heard voices telling her to calm down, to relax, that help would be here soon. Some of the more curious asked her what had happened, how had she come to be in the sea? Where had she come from? Was anyone else hurt?

Olivia cried anew, the vision of James lying pale and unmoving in that makeshift box finally hitting home, her body now drained of adrenaline or the necessity to bury her fears and feelings in order to survive. She finally breathed deeply, the rush of oxygen igniting a final spark in her gut until it was extinguished by pure lethargy. As she sleepily ran her eyes over the faces around her, the frowns and concerned gasps, hands over mouths, she saw someone familiar; deep green eyes like sheet moss on a rocky terrain, a square jaw covered in stubble that she always found so raw and attractive. James.

His smile brought about a warmth she had never felt before. She returned the gesture, noting a few onlookers showing concern and probably wondering if she was suffering from some kind of PTSD. Her eyes locked onto James and the last thing she wanted to do was look away. She lay still, enveloped in a beautiful moment that no-one else could possibly understand. She felt her soul was lifted, the burden of the past two days being pulled off her as she almost floated.

The next thing Olivia saw was a light so bright, she was forced to squeeze her eyes shut and turn away. It felt like the sun but didn't burn and it almost smelled of pure love, though she could never describe such a thing. She felt her heart beating rhythmically, but it was as if the rest of her body had disappeared into the silence that surrounded her. She kept her eyes closed, her face pointing towards the ship that still held the bodies of two men she once loved. The light behind her eyes grew dim and disappeared into a gentle coolness.