Spiorad

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

One minute I was walking along the road, the next thing I know I’m tumbling down the bank and right into the river. Oh joy…

It was my own fault. I wasn’t paying any attention to what I was doing. I guess I let the fact that I’d been walking since I was a baby get to my head, and I got overconfident in my abilities. Which is really sad.

When I hit the water I knew I was in trouble. It was cold. It hit me like an electric shock, I could feel ice water coating my skin. I went under briefly and clawed my way back to the surface.

Everything under water was murky. I couldn’t see a foot in front of me. That was a huge problem. Since I couldn’t see, I had a hard time figuring out which way was up and which way was down. I thrashed furiously, kicking and slashing the water.

When I finally broke the surface I heaved air into my spasming lungs. The problem was that I only broke the surface for about a second before I was pulled back into the river. I kept kicking and paddling and trying to reach the top. I knew that if I gave up I would die in this river. Which would suck. Majorly.

However, the harder I tried the less it seemed to be working. I came up from air two more times, but then I just couldn’t reach the surface. I started to panic. My kicking and paddling grew weak and futile. The cold seemed to be hitting my bones, freezing my muscles, and icing over my lungs. Breathing was a non-option.

I knew that I was going to die. I mean, I couldn’t breathe. That’s kind of essential to life. It sucked that I was going out like this but at least I had fought. I didn’t give up. I stopped writhing and just let the river carry me. My feet were getting snagged on rocks at the bottom, which meant the surface was quite a distance away from me.

Right as my world went dark I felt hands under my arms, lifting me out of the water. The moment before I passed out I could have sworn I heard a decisively male voice say, “Whew, that was way too close.” And then I blacked out.

The first thing I realized when I woke up was that I was cold. Really cold, about to get hypothermia cold. I shivered immediately and then winced at the pain that shot through my whole body. The events that had just transpired slowly came back to me. I shot up, looking around worriedly.

“Now, now my little Siren. Don’t be alarmed. Go slowly,” said a voice with a heavy Russian accent. I whipped my head around, looking for the owner of the masculine voice, but saw no one. See, now I was alarmed.

I scrambled back on my hands and legs, looking like a crab. Although, crabs probably had better balance than I did, because I almost fell into the river. Again.

Right as gravity would’ve snatched me and thrown me into the icy depths once more, I felt a cold hand on my arm. I was hauled back to safety. Only, I still didn’t see anyone. Even when I felt the hand, I didn’t see it. I was thoroughly freaked out.

“Alright Aisling. Look harder. I’m right in front of you. Focus, my little Siren. I know you can do it,” the voice said reassuringly. Let me assure you, I wasn’t reassured by a voice coming from no where. Yet, I found myself listening and focusing my attention on the air directly in front of me. If I tried hard enough I could just make out...a...ma--no! It couldn’t be possible.

My eyes widened in shock and my mouth gaped open. It had been eighteen years! Eighteen years and I didn’t get a spirit. So of course, right when I accepted that I wasn’t going to get one, I finally get one! Oh, this was rich.

“You!” I accused hotly. “Where have you been? Do you know how long it’s been? I have been waiting and waiting for you to come. Then I decide not to wait any longer and you come! You are unbelievable, you know that?”