Alice Wood, The Girl With No Fears

Ordeal 4, Life of Water

Biarritz, France.

The waves here reach 30 meters high: So the perfect place to go surfing right? 

It's something a little calmer than I've been doing recently. No freefalls, no parachutes, just pure fun and adrenaline. 

Feet on the board, cool water on my back. The sun blazing mercilessly. What a beautiful day to be alive.

I'm cruising along the water, bobbing up and down. In the distance, a blue line can be seen on the horizon. Finally! A real wave.

The water builds higher, until it towers far above me.

I spread by arms far apart, steadying myself.

The water comes crashing down, toppling me over.

My body is hauled under water. I close my eyes and hold my breath.

I kick my legs furiously, my insists kicking in just like in Inga.

The shore must be close.

The longer I'm left kicking, the more I begin to doubt myself. The surface can't be this far.

Rip tides! I must have been pulled back by one... Who knows how far away from the beach I could be.

I can see light through my closed eyelids. So I open my eyes.

Instead of finding the open air, I see a shining city, hidden beneath the waves.

It glistens gold, and sparkles in the light. I feel compelled to swim over.

So I glide through the sea, creating waves in the water. I can see my reflection in the shiny city. I can see myself smiling. I reach out to touch the metal walls, my fingers skimming the smooth surface.

Black. It turns black in an instant. Ink shoots around the water and I lose the ability to see.

Something grabs my arm, I spin and throw a punch in the general direction.

My heart is beating so fast, I forget I'm underwater, I gasp for air.

Water begins to fill my insides. It burns, oh god it burns.

There's a flash and I briefly see a face, and hands grip onto me tightly.

"Human..." a voice hisses. The high pitched voice rings around my ears. I can feel bodies move around me. It's like I'm being swarmed.

The hands grip on tighter, the bodies move closer. I moves and squirm but I can break free.

"A little human in our home," the voice screeches.

I squint, trying to find the person talking. I can make out features in the inky water.

"Let me go!" I sob. My voice barely audible in the vast ocean. My body is yanks from side to side. My lungs burn with the water inside them.

Nails dig into my flesh, and the ink stings in my eyes.

"Give me back my sister!" the voice screams. I can only shake my head and sob. "I don't know where she is," I cry.

There's a pause and my heart fills with hope. "Then you must die like the rest of them!" the voice howls.

My body is yanked and pulled. The burning sensation spreads from my lungs around my body.

The urge to breath grows stronger. If I don't get to the surface soon, I'll die. I'll never see land again.

I kick as hard as I can, and can feel the grasps loosen, until something digs into my ankles and I'm pulled back down.

"Please... Please can I go?" I beg, "You can't, it's not possible,", "Why isn't it possible?", "I made a promise," I continue, maybe I can guilt them into letting me go. "To my sister,". There's a silence. "I promised my sister," the voice continues.

"You see, you humans are so selfish. You don't think about the consequences when you're barging through our once beautiful ocean.

"My sister loved this land, and as your pollution slowly killed the corals, she slowly died with it.

"And then! And then you started the diving! It was endless amounts of humans crashed through the surface, just picking up what you please.

"When my sister tried to protect this land we call home, you saw her as an oddity; something to be marveled.

"So you watched her and questioned her. You treated her like a lab monkey, no regards for her feelings.

"Then when you wanted some expert advice, you just took her. Pinched my sister right out the sea"

"and so off the humans went, taking my baby sister with them.

"I swore then and there, I would hunt down every person who dared venture to our home. I'd make them prey for their lives just as you made my sister prey for hers. Until they bought my sister home," the voice screeches.

The burning numbs, replaced with a throbbing pain which twists and turns in my stomach.

"And you'll do the exact same thing," the voice hisses.

I can hear an undertone of pain in her voice, somebody's who's been hurt. Somebody who wants justice.

Then the urge to breath sinks back in. I wiggle trying to free myself, but the grip becomes tighter. I haven't got much time. I gasp for air, my lungs filling with water. I battle to keep myself alive and awake.

Finally, I accept my fate. "I understand, I'd do the same for my sister," I sob. I think of her, running around the house, jumping around. She used to have this amazingly cute laugh, and this adorable smile.

"You have a sister?" the voice asks me. The ink beginning to clear.

"Yeah I do... I did... She died when we were younger," I sigh.

The ink clears completely. O find myself facing a young woman, my age. She has gills on her kneck and a table instead of feet. Her brown hair an blue eyes remind me of my own sister, and I'd shed a tear if I wasn't so terrified.

"Did the humans take her too?" the lady asks me. I nod, "I suppose in someway... They did," I agree.

I'm released.

Arms wrap around me and I'm given an comforting hug.

"I'm so sorry," the girl cries.