Black Cloaks

Fifteen - I Promise

        "Help! Please! John! Imogen! Anybody?!"

        Jade spluttered and coughed at the water that slushed down her throat.

        "JOHN!" she screamed hoarsely as her body was pulled under again.

        She kicked her legs and her arms flailed as she tried to get back up to the surface. She opened her eyes for a second but the salt stung her and along with the pain all she could see was a dark blur and she spun sideways in the current. She could still hear the thunder, the rumbling sound distorted under the crashing waves.

        "You're going to die..." the voice in her head whispered. It echoed quietly through her mind and Jade believed it.

        She gasped and inhaled deeply as her head broke the surface. She pushed back her stringy hair off of her face and dried her eyes. She opened her them and looked around despite the stinging.

        "No, come back! John!" she yelled in despair.

        The ferry that she had been on minutes ago, was already leaving.  Leaving her alone in the angry sea.

        "Damn you Isabelle!" Jade hissed before the current took her back under.

        They're not coming back for you..

        And why should they? It's not like they were her friends. She barely knew them, and they didn't know her at all.

        Jade was going to die. She was going to die friendless and alone.

        She was going to die.

        I'm going to die...

        She was going to die, so what was the point in fighting it?

        Jade let her arms and legs go limp. She clenched her eyes shut even tighter and waited. Her lungs felt like they were on fire. The water forced it's way up her nose and into her burning lungs and her body felt powerless and weak as she was thrown around like a rag doll.  She felt her head throbbing, begging for her to take in oxygen.  Instead, she breathed in a lungful of salty water and felt her insides churning.

        Is this what it feels like to die..?

        She didn't know.  She didn't know anything anymore. The pain shut down her body and she felt a kind of...peace. She was floating almost, like she was leaving life behind. She let herself float away, careless and free, apart from the name that fought it's way into her mind.

        Blue...

　

John's P.O.V

        "JADE!"

        He watched her as she was thrown over the edge. Listened as her scream pierced his ears. Felt his insides twisting as he moved and tried to reach her, but everything apart from her fall seemed to move in slow motion. When he reached the edge, it was already too late, all he could see was the water splashing into the air at the the point where she landed. He stood there unmoving, his legs stuck like lead blocks.

        "J-John, w-what are we g-going to do?"

        He turned slowly to look at Isabelle's teary face.

        "John, will Jade be okay?! We're going to save her aren't we?" Imogen panicked, her blue eyes watery and as deep as the treacherous sea itself.

        He looked at everyone. Amory's expression was hard to read, but Michael looked completely in shock. Melanie's mouth was wide open, making an 'o' shape, and Jodie and the others were huddled in the corner.

        "We-I...I don't know," John admitted quietly.

        He looked down at his feet but he knew they were all staring at him.

        He raised his head up, he had an idea. A stupid one, but an idea nonetheless.

        "Diving suits! Go look for diving suits!" he demanded.

        When they just looked at him and didn't appear to be moving, he threw his arms in the air.

        "MOVE!" he yelled.

        Melanie and Amory rushed back indoors, throwing open the lids of boxes and tossing out their contents hazardously.

        John ran a hand through his messy black hair. Were they too late? The ferry was still moving, had they already moved too far away?

        "John!  Here!"

        A diving suit was dumped into arms and Melanie's brown eyes shone with determination.

        "You can do it," she said before walking to Isabelle, who was now crying.

        "It's all my fault!" she sobbed. Melanie looked up with a 'help me!' look on her face, before awkwardly wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

        John pulled on the suit and zipped it up. He slipped the goggles over his face and pushed his feet into the flippers. He would have to be quick as he would have no air, and God only knew if Jade would be okay by the time John got to her. He climbed onto the side and took one last deep breath before plunging into the ocean.

        ***

        As soon as the water enveloped him he kicked his legs out as hard as he could. The current seem to be easing up, but it was travelling against him so he couldn't move very fast. The only good thing was that if Jade was still around here, she would be moving towards him.

        He swam forwards but even with the goggles blocking the salty water from his eyes he still couldn't see her. Not even a hint of her flowing black hair. He found it strange that they both had the strange hair colour. He had green eyes though, and she had black. He would love to have black eyes like hers.

        He shook his head and concentrated on finding her. He turned to see that the ferry was still now, apart from the waves that pushed it gently. The others must have told the captain. When he faced forward again, he was too late to stop the foot from kicking him straight in the face. He reeled backwards, but so did the body that had kicked him. He found himself with an armful of Jade, her black hair covering her face. He almost smiled, but he realised that it didn't seem like she was breathing, and he was quickly running out of air. With Jade held tightly in his arms, he twisted back around and headed towards to the ferry. It was quicker going back with the water calmer now and he could see clearly. He kicked to the surface, holding his head and Jade's above the water. He was floating next to the ferry now, and he looked up just as the rope smacked him in the face.

        "Hey!" he shouted up to whoever threw it, but all he saw was a wide smirk on Amory's face.

        "Grab the rope and we'll pull you two up."

        John twisted the rope around one of his hands, as the other one was holding Jade to his side. He hoped he was strong enough to hold on to both of them.

        "Ready!" he called up to Amory and heard him tell the others to pull.

        He felt himself being lifted slowly out of the water. He was soaked through and shivering. He held Jade closer to him to try and keep them both warmer. She was still unconscious and John felt nothing but fear and worry.

        "You will be okay, I promise," John muttered defiantly under his breath. If she heard, she made no response to it.

        He moved his hand to brush Jade's saturated hair from her sleeping face.

        "I promise,"  he whispered again and they were pulled onto the deck.