Black Sea

Chapter 2

The large school of fish which had disrupted my sleep by bumping into the raft returned and never went away. I can see them during the day just under the surface patrolling the area around the raft. I believe they may be sharks waiting for a meal but I cannot say for certain as I have not seen any fins above the surface.

All I know is that I haven't had an uninterrupted rest in several days. I'm not sure how many days I have been out here now as I lost track some time ago but I have twelve days' worth of rations left.

I can't at this time do the math correctly but I have been in this raft for way longer than I had hoped. I have decided to go without eating and drinking for as long as I can in order to conserve my food and water.|

The rains have not come lately and I might as well be floating in the desert. The days are sweltering and the dark brings sounds I wish I could not hear; terrors of the deep which only small membrane of rubber separate me from.

I turned the raft into the breeze once again and something catches my eye; is that an Island? It is cloaked in haze but I believe I see land in the distance, yes I do indeed believe that is what that is.

I lift the sea anchor into the boat and begin rowing furiously but after thirty minutes of this I am spent and I have to slow down and take breaks. All of this strenuous activity begins to make me thirsty but I try to ignore the temptation to drink and tell myself there will be plenty of water when I reach this haven.

As the sun sets I am no closer to that spot of land than I was before I started. I toss the sea anchor overboard and settle in for the night. I take a well-deserved drink of water and eat half a biscuit and lay down to wait for my nightly visitors to return; which they do.
The fish ram and hurl their bodies mercilessly against the raft's sides and bottom, sometimes if swear a whale is going to lift my craft out of the water and spill it on its side. The onslaught finally ceases and I am able to lie down and sleep; but fitfully.

I awaken just as the sun is rising and am anxious to start once again my attempt to reach sanctuary. Upon unzipping the top I look out on an empty ocean, I spin the raft in a full circle but there is no sign of the island.

I must have drifted during the night; I must have! I started rowing furiously first one way and then another but by mid–day there was no sign of the land I had seen and I fell into the bottom of the raft and buried my face into the neoprene floor and began to blubber like a baby.

I completely broke down and then I must have fallen into a deep sleep because when I awakened it was pitch dark and the cover was unzipped. As I sat up and reached for the zipper I heard the unmistakeable sound of an airplane.

I was instantly alert with my head out of the enclosure. The engine droned somewhere out in the darkness but I was unsure of its location. I searched for lights but saw none, why would a search plane be out here in the dark?

Then I remembered the flare tubes in one of the care packages and I immediately began scrambling around in the dark. I found the flashlight but I hadn't even stuck the batteries in it.

I searched vainly for the flares which I finally located and after several failed attempts I managed to fire, instantly the night was illuminated in a burning reddish glow as the tiny flare rocketed into the sky above the water.

It reached the zenith of its arc and as it did the parachute deployed and it began to slowly descend. It was then that I noticed I could no longer hear the sound of the plane, I strained to listen and cupped my hands over my ears but to no avail; the plane was gone.

I remained awake the rest of the night lest I miss another opportunity to signal the plane if it comes around again. But the plane did not come around again and there was no sign of it at all the next day. Disappointed is not a strong enough word for how I am feeling at this moment.

I have seven days until I have no rations left, seven days! I have absolutely no idea how long I have been in this fucking raft or how long I have been floating around on this god forsaken ocean but I need to get off this thing!