Harley's Swim With The Fishes

After deciding to go with Liam and his brother on the trip, Harley had to scavenge some change from somewhere. It was two in the afternoon, Beryl should have been having a nap on the couch. Harley made his way into the house, and managed to sneak past her while she was watching TV. He entered Beryl's bedroom and searched for her purse. It wouldn't have much, but it would at least have enough to fill the boat up.

He searched through her drawers and bags, and any other possible ways of storing her money. He found her purse and grabbed a ten dollar note. As he came around the corner Beryl was standing there looking at him.

'Harley,' Beryl called. 'Just where do you think you're going with my money?'

'Over to Liam's place,' He replied. 'We need it to fill up the tank of the boat.'

'Well you're not getting it from here. Give that to me!'

Harley gave the note back and made his way back out the door. Beryl wasn't going to let him stay there just after he tried to steal money of her. Joy let him stay over the night and he managed to get ten dollars from her. Then he made his way to Liam's.

'Liam, I got ten bucks. This should be enough right?' Harley asked anxious of whether it would be enough to fill up the boat.

'Yeah. That'll be fine. Josh said that it's only eight dollars to fill up the tank.'

'So where are the guys?' Harley asked.

'They should be coming soon. Josh said once Mark, Jackson and Junior get here we'll set off. Have you got anything you might need?'

'Think so. I've got some snacks and water that should be enough right?'

'Yeah, it should be. Josh is calling us, we should head over to the water.'

Harley and Liam made their way down to the water's edge, and met up with Liam's brother and their friends. They helped push the boat into the water and boarded it. Harley, being as excited as a child at an amusement park, boarded the boat with a little bit too much enthusiasm. He almost fell into the water because his eagerness.

'Careful there Harley. Wouldn't want to get wet.' Josh teased.

'Funny.'

After they got the boat going, they headed north-east towards Pelican Reach. Harley was used to the water by now, and was quite casual as they made their way out to sea. Along the way, Harley spotted a few fish here and there and pointed them out to the others. Liam's brother Josh had mainly been focusing on steering the boat but every now and then he would turn his attention toward Liam and the others.

Every minute or so, a new topic was brought up for them to start talking about. First school, then games and even conversations about girls. Then they brought up the more relevant topic. The skies had begun to get dark, almost like the sky was being consumed by a black hole. The wind had begun to blow, and the current got choppier. Josh accelerated the boat to make sure they would still travel in the correct direction. If they let the waves carry them, the boat would end up off course.

Even with Liam's brother raising the boats throttle up to full blast, the wind managed to throw the boat around. The waves got bigger and the boat got harder to control.

'Guys, be careful. Don't get too close to the edge of the boat. You don't know what might happen.' Josh warned Harley and the others.

Harley was looking out towards the direction they were heading, trying to see any potential land masses, and perhaps pin point a location of which they could dock. Except it was getting rather hard to see through all the rain and fog which was gradually intensifying.

He was leaning on the front edge of the boat, looking out into the distance. Liam's brother noticed and spoke up.

'Harley. Get back. It's not safe to be leaning forward like that.' Josh called out.

He sat back in his seat but just as he did so, a wave crashed onto the boat and they were flipped over. The water towered down upon them, and sent them all underwater. Harley was pushed under for a good few seconds before he rose to the surface. Due to the sudden impact of the wave, the boat was pushed down beneath the water level and had sunk.

Harley caught his breath but by that point he had lost sight of Liam and the rest of them. He wasn't a good swimmer, so looking out for the others and not drowning would be a mission for him. He was struggling to stay afloat and was gradually loosing energy.

His legs begun to feel like they were sink weights trying to bring him down to the bottom of the sea. He wasn't going to give in, he was determined to make it. Then the waves got heavier. Along with the rain and he began to lose more energy.

He started thinking that he wasn't going to make it. He thought about Carl. His only brother. If he drowned, here and now, out at sea. He would never be able to see his brother again. Beryl, even though he didn't get along very well with her, she was still family. As well as Joy, Skip and everyone one else back at the cove. Everyone had impacted his life in some way. He just moved to wattle beach, he wasn't going to disappear that easily.

He was losing all hope, he had just about lost control of his limbs. He was trying his hardest to stay above the surface, but it was proving to be too difficult for him. Just then the current picked up, and he was being dragged away. At last, he saw some land ahead of him. What looked like a sandbank.

Could it have been, possibly...The pace they were travelling to in the first place?

He reached the sand banks but by that point, he had run out of energy completely and couldn't go any further. He looked around for any sign of a rescue boat. Left. Right. Nothing. Not a single living soul was anywhere near him. He must have been a million kilometres away from society.

He could still feel the waves, up against his skin, he could feel the salt in the water. That friendly feeling of being at the beach playing in the water had disappeared, what he felt now was fear, fear of not knowing what was going to happen. Fear of not knowing if he was going to make it. He could taste the water, it was slowly consuming him.

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye. He noticed something in the distance. A boat, with people. Coming in his direction. He could almost hear people calling his name. Just then he realised, he might be saved.