Cursed Waters

Found

Alana Blue walked along the beach in the cool of the late afternoon, the sand crunched beneath her purple flip flops. She hummed a melancholy melody as she walked with a book clutched in her hands. Alana found a spot that was well shaded and began to flip the pages of the well worn book, 'Graceling.' Sooner than she'd have liked or expected, the sun began to disappear under the blue horizon and she glanced up and broke the spell of her concentration. Her eyes widened abruptly as she saw a sprawled humanoid shape further along the beach in an uncomfortable position next to the sharp rocks.

Alana snapped her book shut and sprinted towards the shape, thankful that she had shorts on. She could make out that this shape was definitely a human, and distinctly female. Alana slowed down two metres away, and could see that the woman had a large wound on her forehead, and her arm was twisted at an awkward angle. She got closer and knelt down, careful not to disturb her arm, assessing her while making up her mind about what to do next. She knew of a shop nearby that sold surfboards and other swimming gear for the tourists here, and got there as fast as she could.

Jonathan was the shopkeeper, but he wasn't there today, and the shop's sign read 'CLOSED.' Alan could still make out a form shuffling about, though, so she knocked frantically while shouting "Please come quick! There's a girl on the beach and she needs help!" Alana was annoyed she didn't bring her cellphone with her that day, as she could have called someone instead, and it would've been much faster than running.

The person inside the shop looked up, and walked quickly to the front of the store when he heard the racket she was making, he was young and had an irritable look on his face, 'What do you want? The shop's closed.' was written across every crease on his forehead, but once he heard her words, he rushed out and demanded, 'Where? Take me there.'

Alana replied by sprinting off and shouting over her shoulder, 'Follow me!' He matched her pace well, and they made good time to the rocks, while he ran, he was dialling a number on a crusty old phone with buttons, and lifted up the phone to her, while signalling that it was the hospital he'd called, and that she should tell them where she found the girl.

'She's near the sharp rocks on the East coast, the only pile of rocks there is, near The Wave.' Alana panted into the phone. She handed back the phone to the sandy haired boy and kept running.

She watched him assess the girl, and he lifted his head up 'I've never seen her before, and I've lived here for eighteen years. She must have come on the latest boat, which was last week.'

'I was on the boat coming here last week, and she wasn't on there, no one but another couple and my family. My name's Alana, what's yours?' She said, looking down at the kneeling boy.

'James, I'm Jonathan's son. Okay, I checked her heart beat, it's there but it's weak, and she seems to be undernourished,' He could see her ribcage outlined in the shirt plastered to her torso by seawater.

Suddenly, the ambulance arrived, a high pitched keening sound erupting from it's speaker. Paramedics rushed out, checked her pulse, and told them one of them could ride with her if they wished.

Alana reluctantly said 'I need to go home, my mom's expecting me, I'll give you my number so you can text me her condition.'

James nodded and recited his number to her, she placed it in her memory and repeated it on the way back to her home as she watched the ambulance tear away from the beach, sirens still screeching.