Etc.

Gone (a beginning to a story)

 I awoke to alarm this morning so loud my head felt like it was spinning. It appeared from beads of sweat around my forehead that my sleep was disrupted by a reoccurring nightmares. In said nightmare, I'm alone standing on the edge of the water on the beach admiring the barreling waves as they flatten into a smooth tide that barely reaches my feet. The sun is shining on the water giving the impression that the ocean is just a mosaic piece made from crystals. I don't feel anything besides peace and solitude. My body remains motionless as do my surroundings. My eyes close, my hands stretch out on each side, my fingers flexing as if to catch every last drop of sun and fresh air. A twig breaking behind me hardly breaks my concentration but a tap on my shoulder does. I turn around, expecting to find Liv or Drew trying to give me a nice scare, but it's a face that I don't recognize. My heart beats to a faster but consistent pace. Adrenaline courses through my veins like electric shocks. I open my mouth to say something or scream but neither one is available to me. They walk towards me pushing me slowly into the ocean. I can't run, I can only continue to drag my feet backwards. Once the freezing water reaches my shoulders a bag is pulled from their pocket, a bag that you might receive from the grocery store, and fastened around my head. My breath catches in my chest and and a feeling of dread settles in my stomach. It's only a matter of time now. A hand takes the back of my neck and forces it into the water; I'm unable to resist. I can feel the last bit of oxygen leaving my body and then the panicking begins. I can't seem to squirm or kick but I can feel my lungs desperately struggling for a breath of air. It seems like the longest minute of my life. Eventually they give up and water rushes through my mouth and fills my lungs entirely. It's only a matter of time now. No longer in significant pain, I float there while drifting in and out of consciousness and waiting for everything to end. A sharp pain pierces my side again and again and again and then again on the other side. Right before the world fades away I hazily notice a red stain caressing my arms as they move with the rhythm of the ocean and the rolling waves. Despite the fact that I'm obviously supposed to be dead at this point I somehow feel myself drift away from the grip of my assailant and drift into further oblivion.