River of Red

XXIX

A small warm body was at my legs, the soft fur rubbed nicely against my bare feet . The room was draped in a silence so nice and calming. The first peeks of the sun's rays were only just rising above the horizon of the ocean. Clear, green waves lapped at the with sand shore, washing up an abundant amount of algae and shells. Palm trees swayed in the slight breeze, the large, green fronds falling left and right. Not a puff of breath escaped in the room, beside that of the form at my feet. The little creature inhaled and exhaled in pants, the fuzzy stomach coming up and down in even flow. Tiny cotton ball clouds dotted the sky.
Gravel snorted at my feet.
He had turned back into his puppy form after I had gotten back into the room. Domitius still hadn't arrived back at the hotel, and I had mixed emotions about that. I felt happy to be alone, I liked to relax and not worry about anything but my own head. I had left the dress off, apparently the night was still warm.
Bored, I picked a sleepy Gravel off my feet, laid him in the warm indent my body left. and stood on the warm, floor. The humid air hadn't let my thick hair dry, and the dampness of it made goosebumps tickle my flesh.
I had a sudden impulsive thought: swim.
How to get down to the ocean was a thought, though.
I didn't want to walk down the stairs.
I wondered if I would turn into a pancake from falling four stories. Domitius wasn't there to catch me. Slowly, I walked onto the balcony, my mind hazy and blank. The ground was so so far below.
Without really thinking it through in my tired, food deprived mind, I stood on the railing. I needed to hurry, I didn't want the sun to get too high before I leapt. Without a second thought, I jumped from the balcony as hard as I could, and soared through the air. I apparently pushed too hard, over shot the ground, and landed in the water with a plunk. While time slowed when the water molecules spread out from under my body. Pain slashed, and woke my impulsive, sleepy head. The skin on my back split into a gaping hole, which turned the water a dark crimson. I felt the wound almost immediately heal, but it left a pulsing throb in its wake. I floated about in the water for a minute, and waited for the pain to escape from my body.
Under me, the sand swished with the waves. I was pulled back and forth, kelp swayed in the distance like a dancer. Sounds drifted into my ear, a whale somewhere, the crashes above me, the clicks of dolphins.
The horror of what I had done slammed into me.
Was I crazy?
Did I even think that I might have killed myself?
I was lucky I had landed in the water, otherwise I would be a pancake on the ground.
My hair floated around my head, my eyes could see perfectly in the now light water. Experimentally, I swam to the bottom of the ocean to run my hands through the sand. It almost reminded me of silt, it stirred up a cloud of dust, which painfully reminded me of my stay with Nolan.
I drowned those thoughts with the tide, and swam away from the little pool of dust. The water felt silky, the opposite of what it had felt like when I was being chased and almost murdered. The water here felt like it was caressing my skin, like tiny kisses were being run down the length of my body.
I swam deeper into the water, my vision cutting through the dark to see the light. Something strange came into my view: a sunken ship.
The masts were broken off, probably from the age at which it had been soaking in water. The immediate thought was that it was a pirate ship. It was wooden, with cannon holes dotting the sides. The whole thing was covered in a slimy, gritty layer of algae. I slowly swam toward the boat, awed at the majesty of it. My mouth popped open into an O. Salty water rushed in, and it didn't taste all that bad.
Curiously, I swam closer to the ship, the algae swayed in the soft current. All around the ship the underwater landscape was barren. I could tell it was really old, by the patina that laid over the metal. The ship was tilted precariously on its side, as though it was stuck in a tilt forever. I placed my feet on the rough, rotted floors below me, which squished where I touched it. I wondered how the boat had managed to persevere through the damage and stay upright all the time it had been underwater.
Most boats would be crumpled and covered in sand.
Even though the masts had long since broken off, and the ropes and pulleys lay limp against the deck, the overall condition of the boat was amazing. I noticed a door to my right, like something out of a movie. I slowly drifted over to the door, slow and steady. Fear gnawed at my about what would be behind the door.
A shark?
Skeletons?
When my hands reached out to grab the door, the rotten wood literally crumbled away under my touch. I peered into the small hole I had just made, and was relieved to find the room empty: sharks and all. The rest of the door fell away when I pushed on it, so when there was a human sized hole I cautiously swam in.
The flooring was all there, and so we're the walls, although the window was broken and the glass long gone. When I swam in, little fishies darted out of the many cracks and crevices. A very cranky, territorial grouper charged at me, but quickly backed off in fear and swam off with the rest of the fish. On the walls, pictures hung precariously, barely hanging on. A broken desk lay in the corner, probably flung there in the drama of the sinking. Various furs were laid on the floor, the hairs long since fallen off and the skin eaten and deteriorated.
A glint of something metallic caught my eye.
A small mermaid figurine stood perfectly upright on the floor, as though someone had placed it there after the ship sank. The mermaid was made out of gold, with blue lapis eyes and a matching blue tail. I reached down to pick up the perfect replica of a very beautiful woman, when a splitting pain erupted from my waist.
I screamed, little bubbles floated about my face. I tried to look behind me to attack the thing attacking me, but I was too paralyzed with pain to move a muscle. My legs were being gnawed in the giant maw of an angry beast. I arched my back, the pain too much to bear. I could feel the sweat and tears pouring from me, only to mingle with salty water that suffocated me. I accidentally gulped in a huge amount of water into my lungs, and gagged at the painful sting. Blackness grasped at the edge of my vision, and I willed it on, not wanting to be a victim for my pain any longer.
The black complied.
______________________

Should I have a Domitius point of view next chapter?
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