The
ship tossed and turned, the waves crashing insanely. She tossed back
and forth in the ship, her body smacking every wall. Her family cried
out for her, her strong dad screaming, tears falling down his bright
golden eyes. Alexandria struggled to grab a hold of her father's
hands, for once her reassuring him, which was so odd, he was always
the comforter of the family.
Alexandria
was tossed around as she struggled to crawl to her father, her long
nails digging into the wood of the ship's floor for stability. She
slipped, however, and her father's big, rough hand came to grab hers.
He pulled as hard as he could, but couldn't hold on for the water
made them all slippery.
“Alex!”
He screamed, and she cried out.
“Daddy!”
“Hold on baby girl!” He screamed and she held on with two hands as the ship started to tip over.
“Hold on baby girl!” He screamed and she held on with two hands as the ship started to tip over.
The
sky was pitch black, all the lights had all gone out and they didn't
even have the moon to look at. It was almost impossible to see, but
Alexandria could see relatively well, and her father could see almost
perfectly. A family trait. Her mother, however was blinded, and Alex
and her dad tried to get to her.
“Mom!”
Alex screamed, finally seeing her hanging on to a rail on the ship
for dear life, looking frightened. They came to her, hugging her
tightly.
“I
love you.” Her mom said to both of them, and they nodded, as
Alexandria was about to say it back she was sent careening back over
to the end of the ship.
She
hung on to the rails, dangling only inches above the dark, crashing
waves of the water. She screamed her parents names, struggling to be
heard over the water. Her heart exploded as she realized this may be
the last moment of her short life. She quickly started to pray in a
hushed whisper.
“Please
Lord, keep them safe.” She whispered, shivering as water crashed on
her over and over, soaking her clothes, and there was no warmth to be
had.
Finally
the ship tossed her overboard, and she struggled to swim, something
nobody but her mother in her family had ever been good at. She felt
the water go in her lungs and coughed it up, treading water and
trying to get her head above water at least.
“Mom!
Dad!” She screamed, squinting and looking for their forms as the
ships sunk.
The
waves kept dragging her under and she swam quickly, struggling to
find something to hold onto as she felt herself lose consciousness.
She found a board and held onto it, laying on her stomach and
struggling to hang on to it as the water tossed it about. The salt
water stung her eyes like crazy, but she still managed to scream for
her parents until she could no longer shout.
The
waves tossed her and her board around, and she repeatedly coughed up
water, the water making her feel full and sick until she made herself
throw it up. She wasn't about to have her lungs full so she'd sink.
She had to save her parents.
She
took several shaky breaths, leaning up and shivering, every inch of
her covered in goosebumps. Her clothes stuck to her, as did her now
frozen hair. She sat up on the board, looking for something,
anything. In the distance she could see land, just some sand and a
palm tree.
“Land!”
She cried softly, and got back on her belly, struggling to swim with
the board. The board held her back, however, and she realized that
she'd have to swim on her own. She jumped off her only protection,
and tried her best to doggie paddle, the only swimming she'd been
good at. She hoped her parents had life jackets.
She
kept swimming, pushing even as the waves jostled her and made her
cough. She would get there, she had to. She wasn't supposed to die
yet.
When
she finally closed in on the land she was out of breath, her whole
body cramping. She tried not to think about it, pushing herself
further and further until she could see the land finally, see the
trees and the rocks and even a fire. She smiled, thinking of the
warmth it would bring.
Then
she saw it, a tiger, growling right at her. It was beautiful in a
majestic way, clearly a Bengal tiger, a fully grown male. Great, just
perfect, either drown or get eaten by a tiger. What sort of bad karma
was she having?
She
took a deep breath, and decided a moment of warmth on land was worth
a potential mauling. She kept swimming for the land, and when she
finally made it she crawled her way toward the fire, the tiger simply
sitting there in a defensive crouch, not growling but watching, with
amazingly curious golden eyes.
Alex
sighed, crawling toward the fire and laying down. The tiger still
made no move. She coughed up salt water, hoping that as long as she
left it alone he wouldn't maul her. She took off her clothes quickly,
knowing she'd get pneumonia if she didn't. She sighed, putting them
on a log by the warmth, then sitting up, rubbing her wet, aching body
and sighing at the feeling of her muscles loosening up.
The
tiger growled and she gasped, looking to it. It appeared to be
stretching or something, and she gulped.
“It's
okay boy, I won't hurt you.” She said soothingly, the her voice was
scratchy. The tiger merely whined, and she sighed, coughing up more
water. “I love cats. Don't worry.” She said with a smile and he
looked away. What an odd day it had been, losing her parents, the
ship, almost drowning, and now she was sitting here talking to a very
snobby Bengal tiger that could easily kill her.
And
she was sitting by a man made fire. How odd. Maybe there was human
life on this Island? Unless the tiger made it. She managed a laugh at
that, which made the tiger growl, and she gulped, quieting down and
laying on the sand, wiggling her toes for the warmth, her aching body
throbbing everywhere, then tingling until it went numb.
She
sighed, smiling. Finally the pain was gone. She would search the
Island tomorrow, look for her parents or any people that could help
her. She rolled over onto her back, looking at the tiger who was
closer and staring at her in wonder.
She
chuckled, sure the salt water had gotten her high or something. “A
perv tiger, just my luck.” She said with a giggle and it quickly
growled, snarling and showing huge white teeth. She gulped, curling
into a fetal position, wishing her body could move. “I-I'm sorry,
just a joke.” She managed, feeling like an idiot, and it snarled,
stalking away.
She
let out a held breath, shaking her head in confusion. What an odd
encounter that had been. She wished she had a camera or something.
She quickly fell into a deep slumber, heedless of her nakedness, her
only worry her parents.