Chapter Text
It was a terrifying sight. Despite the downpour of rain, flames kept flickering on the ship. I swam around to see if anyone had fallen overboard.
“Everyone, quick! To the emergency boats!” a young male’s voice shouted. I looked to where they would plunge themselves down. To my dismay, she wasn’t in the crowd. I couldn’t see her anywhere on the ship.
“Where’s Chiemi?” an older male asked.
“We have to go after her!” a female voice called out. Yes, yes. Please wait for her.
But then the rope holding the boat ripped off. Although that boat was crowded, everyone on board seemed to be fine. I turned my attention back to the ship, swimming away from the other humans.
“Chiemi!” I shouted. And then I saw her. She was standing in a blue, sailor dress, her hands clutching the ends of the dress. I could see her crying and shaking. She was looking out to the sea.
“Chiemi!”
She turned around to me. I held my arms out. “Don’t be afraid,” I assured her, “jump and I’ll catch you!”
I saw her lips move, but I couldn’t make out what they said. And then, one of the poles on the ship swung towards the backside of her head and she flew into the ocean.
With no time to spare, I quickly swam underwater to locate her. If there was anything the fire was good for, it was that I could locate her better. Her eyes were closed and her body was still. I put my arms around her body and swam back to the surface.
I placed her on a board and slapped her face as gently as I could. She coughed, water coming out of her mouth. I held her in place and tried to swim where the emergency life boat was at, but the people she was with were gone already. Thus, I had to swim her to shore myself.
The trip was long, but all the while I kept looking back at her. Her breathing was slow, almost as if it were an indication to how much time she had left to live. Luckily, we were able to make it to the shore by dawn.
I dragged her to the land and caressed her face. Her hair and clothes were full of sand, and there wasn’t a single part of her that was dry. However, she didn’t stop breathing. I pulled my head closer to her ear.
“Chiemi,” I whispered.
Her head turned. I pulled away, my hand still on her cheek. Her body was squirming and her eyes were barely opening before fluttering.
I smiled. “Thank God you’re okay.”
“What?” She stared at me, before placing her hand on top of mine. “Who…are you?”
“Chiemi….”
“Hey, I think I heard something!”
“It’s coming from the beach!”
I let go of her and made my way back into the ocean. I hid behind a nearby rock and sneaked a peek as to what was going on.
There was a tall boy with glasses and another boy with his hair swiped in front of him. They knelt down beside her and carried her away.
I didn’t know where they had taken her. I didn’t know what was going to happen to her. Worst of all, I didn’t know if I would ever see her again. I had to make sure she was alright. Somehow, someway. I swam away and went to the only one who could help me.