Dead Air (Book 1 of the Biohazard Saga)

Chapter 17: Red Ocean

I woke to the sounds of screams and shouts. Above me, there seemed to be what sounded like a mini stampede and the rush of footsteps echoed across the deck.

'How long was I out?' I wondered to myself. Through the haze of nightmares and ghoulish creatures plaguing my dreams, I barely had a wink of decent sleep. Quite frankly, the screams in my dreams were not too far off from the screams I was now hearing.

Groaning, I stumbled out of the bunk and staggered up the stairs as fast as my feet could take me. I felt the coarse wood dig into my bare feet and cursed for forgetting to put on my shoes.

With my mind still swirling, it took significant effort but I finally reached the top deck... and I really didn't know what to make of it. Some people were rummaging through the cupboards at the end, tossing out hooks, bundles of fishing wire and an assortment of fishing gear. Others were dragging lengths of rope and tossing them over the edge of the boat.

What in the world is going on? Are we sinking? Why are we tossing stuff out of the boat? I willed it to be something positive; heaven knows I cannot cope with yet another ocean wreck!

I noticed Isabella and a few others shouting over the railings. As I cautiously approached them, I noticed that the group were shouting at four figures swimming towards the boat. Hot on their tails were the unmistakable fins that could have jumped straight out of a "Jaws" flick.

As one of the swimmers bobbed his head out of the water, I glimpsed the maple brown hair of my best friend – and that realisation jolted me to my senses. If this kept up, he wasn't going to make it... none of them were.

The gears in my mind spinning, I knew there was only one hope of saving them, but there was no way in hell anyone on board was going to agree to it.

Then again, when was I ever one to wait for approval.

As a young woman wearing a red bandanna ran by me, dragging a length of rope, I caught hold of her arm.

'H-hey, what gives!' exclaimed the woman, stumbling as I cut her off abruptly.

'There's no time to explain. Can you tie a dead knot?'

'Urm, I t-think so. I u-used to be a Girl Scout back in the day,' mumbled the bandanna lady. 'B-but why-'

'Hurry and do it! It's the only way to save them,' I said, the urgency in my voice getting her attention.

She hurriedly wrapped the rope around my waist and worked on the knots. I kept turning my eyes towards the swimmers, hoping that I wasn't too late.

With a final grunt, Bandanna Lady pulled hard at the knot and nodded at me.

Taking a deep breath, I ran towards the rails and much to the horror of Isabella and all those on board, leapt over-deck into the frigid, shark-infested waters.

⧪ ⧪ ⧪ ⧪ ⧪ ⧪ ⧪ ⧪ ⧪ ⧪ ⧪ ⧪ ⧪

I know what you are thinking... trust me on that. Here I was, barely recovered from having almost drowned, and now jumping back into that very same ocean the second time around. The irony was both humorous and cruel at the same time - looks like I was about to give the big blue another shot at finishing me off.

But after enduring the nightmares of losing both my best pals and my sister for good, here was one of them, alive in the flesh. It wasn't an illusion or a hallucination. He was right here, and I was in a position to actually do something. I never want to feel helpless again.

Fate or whatever you wanted to call it had abandoned me the moment it took away the people I loved. So Fuck It! I'm going to make my own fate!

Note to self, when diving into the ocean with a rope tied around you, it's very helpful if you were to hold as much as the remaining length of rope as possible. I, unfortunately, learnt this the hard way as the rope entangled my legs as I hit the water.