Becoming a Lioness (Book 2)

Chapter 29 Shore

The second my body hit the water I felt as though a million needles were stabbing me with the force of a freight train in motion at once. I barely had time to gasp for air before I was submerged completely in the ice cold water.

I peeled my eyes open wide and looked around in the clear water, frantically moving my arms in search for Edmund. When I realized I couldn't see him I began to swim as hard as I could to the surface.

My head popped up moments later and I flailed around, helplessly trying to catch my breath while at the same time calling for my savior. My head shot up at the rocks as the thought that he might not have jumped at all crossed my mind, and the second I did a pair of hands gripped my waist.

I gasped, doing my best to turn around, and threw my arms around the person. "Edmund, you scared me to death!"

He laughed breathlessly and held me up with one hand, using the other for balance. Under the water, I could feel his legs kicking hard to keep both of us above water , and I immediately released him. "Are you alright?"

He nodded once then peered at me. "And you?" I mimicked his head motions. "Good. We need to move before the current gets any stronger. Follow me, and remember what I said about the tunnel."

I nodded and swam behind him, glancing around at the water as I went out of paranoia, and suddenly I was hit with a memory.

When I was younger, I was fishing with my father on his friends boat on the ocean. We had been out there for hours and hadn't seen much of anything, so I decided to go for a swim. It was wonderful until I got too far from the boat.

As I realized this, I began swimming back, and as I did I felt something against my leg. Terrified, I began to swim back even faster and harder than before. I felt the sensation two more times, each time more forceful than the last, before I finally reached the boat and father pulled me back up.

The second my body touched the deck a great white shark jumped up and snapped its jaws on the edge of the boat. Father said it was one of the biggest he had ever seen, ten foot at least. Ever since then I have been terrified of being in the water. Once the memory was over I began to panic a bit, calling to Edmund, "I-I can't do this!"

"Of course you can, mags. It's the only way out. Okay, we're here. Remember, I'll go under then as soon as I do you take a deep breath and follow, alright?"

"Okay." I called back timidly, our voices echoing throughout the cave, along with the splashing of the water. I watched as Edmund took a deep breath and disappeared under the water, leaving me to do the same.

I squeezed my eyes shut and began pulling in air frantically. Once I was sure of one particular breath, I sunk down under the water and pushed my body forward.

The water wasn't as cold as soon as my head was under, but I didn't let myself think about it. Instead, I focused on keeping as close to Edmund as possible. I watched his silhouette move gracefully in front of me, my sight blurred from the water.

We moved swiftly and once I had counted to twenty- two the light had disappeared. The feeling of being in water with my eyes open and not being able to see anything was unlike anything I had ever felt before.

My whole body began to panic, and my heart beat so hard I was sure it was explode. My hands moved aimlessly in front of me and I let out a muffled cry as I brushed against something. Realizing it was the edge of the cave, I gripped it and thrust my body out into the open waters.

I glanced up and spotted the surface, swimming as hard as I could to reach it. Once I was above the water, I swam even harder to land, not stopping once to catch my breath.

I could hear Edmund calling to me, but the only thought present in my mind was reaching land. After a few moments, my knees dug into the sand and I stood as best I could on wobbly legs, stumbling out of the water and onto the shore.

I collapsed on the hot sand and closed my eyes, my chest heaving up and down as I did so. I felt Edmund do the same a few seconds later, and I laughed a bit. He reached over when I did and gripped my hand tight, locking our fingers together. "You did it, mags. You did it."

~ if I get six or more likes on this chapter by tomorrow I'll post another chapter tomorrow;)~