Falling Into The Past

Chapter 17

                         SAM'S P.O.V.

         "We fly!" is what Paul said. I'm speechless, blinking rapidly at him.

         "COME! WE FLY!" I yell in Courtney's direction without taking my eyes off of Paul's.

          Without skipping a beat, she hollers out, "WE FLY! On what...do we fly?"

         The boys are looking at us like we just farted rainbows, but I couldn't resist! Paul just happened to say the perfect line from my favorite movie.

          "Oh come on guys! Hocus Pocus? Sanderson sisters? Thackery Binx? Any of this ring a bell?" I ask, but all I get are blank stares.

          "Hocus Pocus doesn't come out until 1993, Dummy!" Courtney says sarcastically. Well damn!

           "True! We'll make sure you all watch it when we return to 2020!" I promise them, but they look unimpressed. Oh well. They'll love it after they see it. Everyone does!

         "How does this work? What if you drop me?" I start to slightly panic.

          "Hey, hey, hey now! What happened to the girl that rode the roller coaster with me 17 times in a row and didn't hurl even once after? You'll be fine. Flying is a thrill! You'll love it, Baby! Don't you trust me?" I can tell my answer will stay with him forever.

         I try to show how I feel through my eyes. I know they're shining bright in the moonlight.

          "Of course I trust you. I trust you more than any other vampire I know!" I tell him and then yell, "No offense!" to the rest of the boys.

           I can see delight and something else in his gaze. Could it be? No way! I'm seeing shit... right? Do vampires feel strong emotions like humans do? Maybe I'll ask Dwayne some time. He seems like he'd be the right one to ask.

          "Arms around my neck, hands locked together, legs wrapped around my waist. At least until you get comfortable in the air. I swear I won't do anything to make you feel uncomfortable. Safety first!" Paul tells me. I know he won't act up with me in that way. I feel nothing but pure trust for him in this moment.

         I smile brightly and wrap around him like a baby koala bear. Courtney does the same with David. Once we're locked in tight, the boys jump off of the cliff one by one, laughing with glee.

          I immediately start loudly giggling. We went straight down and are still falling! Like on a carnival ride, but way more fun! We make an abrupt turn to the right, crossing paths with a grinning Dwayne.

        Oh hell. He's aiming us straight into Marko's line of sight!

         Marko is grinning like the Cheshire cat. He puts his hand under his chin and wiggles his fingers at me. What is with the boys waving like that all the time?

         Marko slides into Paul's side, knocking us down about 20 feet. Paul laughs loudly and does 3 big loops before straightening out again. I'm laughing so hard at this point. I can hear Courtney and David doing the same up ahead of us. She looks over David's shoulder and waves wildly at me. She looks so happy. Dwayne is upside down posing like a model beside them. I'm glad we got to do this. We all needed a good laugh together.

        They all slow down and just linger in one area, catching their breath. What a rush! I glance at my sister with a huge smile.

        Marko raises his arms. "Hey guys! We should...."

        BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!

         I'm knocked out of Paul's arms and start falling straight down to the ocean below. My head is ringing so loudly that I can't tell if I'm actually screaming or not. I think I am. I know I'm trying to! What the hell just happened?!

        I can faintly hear my sister's screams as she hits the water seconds before I do. I'm plunged into the ocean. Water surrounds me as I fight to swim my way to the top. Shit that's cold!

         I can already feel my arms starting to tire out. I kick my legs frantically, finally reaching the surface. I inhale deeply and immediately start looking around for Courtney. I don't see her anywhere. She's isn't the strongest swimmer in the world, but I have faith that she isn't still under water. She at least made it to the surface!

        I can't panic right now. If I do, I'll only go under again. Then I might not have the strength to come back up.

        "SAM! SAAMMM!" I hear a high pitched scream calling my name. It's my sister! Oh my God! Where is she?? I turn my head in every direction until I see a flash of red to my right. Her hair! I start swimming in her direction, and she does the same. We grab on to each others hands, and she starts crying hysterically.

         "Sam! I don't understand! What happened and where are the guys? Are they ok?" She sounds so pitiful. I know I do too, but one of us has to hold it together. And right now, that's going to be me.

         "I don't know, but we'll find them! Do you see land anywhere close by? Or even a lighthouse? Maybe a boat on the water?" I ask her as we tread water.

         I'm thankful we didn't drop over where the huge waves crash. The water out here is as calm as can be. I see lights way off in the distance. I can tell that's the Boardwalk, but that's too far for us to swim.

         "I see a lighthouse! Over there!" Courtney yells excitedly. "It doesn't look too far away. We can swim a little at a time and float a little at a time!"

        We float on our backs for about 30 mins or so before we start to swim towards the light flashing over the ocean. We continue like that for what feels like hours before our feet touch solid ground. We collapse on the sand, our chests heaving from exhaustion. I try to sit up and am hit with a wave of nausea. I roll over and vomit in the sand, repeatedly until I have nothing left in me. Tears are streaming down my face and my throat is raw. I crawl over to Courtney and pull her into my arms. We sit side by side and cry as we watch the sun come up over the water.

          Where are our boys? Where are we at? What happened? Who the hell is responsible for this? So many questions flood already pounding head. All I want to do is lay here and cry, but I don't. We survived for a reason. The guys need us, and I'll be damned if we'll let them down!

        I pull my sister to her feet, and we start walking down the coast. I can see what I think is the Boardwalk far off in the distance. If we keep walking, we'll reach it eventually. We can make our way back to the cave after that.

          Don't worry, Boys. We're on our way!