A/N: First off, I do not own Dinotopia. This will keep going if you guys like it, but if you don't, I probably won't update as often. Please give this a try, and please review.

My name's Shannon. Few interesting things ever happened in my life. I'd never been to sleep-away camp, never had a boyfriend, never really done anything interesting, to tell you the truth. That remained true for a long time. When I was fifteen, something did happen – something I'd like to share with you.

I was going on a trip on a sailboat with my family to who-knows-where. It was some island, I suppose, but it had some long name that I couldn't pronounce. I gave up trying to say it, after a while, so I just stated calling it 'that island.' Well, we got shipwrecked.

It was the scariest thing I'd ever encountered. I was on deck, luckily, where a storm was blowing like mad, and waves the size of Everest were billowing and crashing all around me. I don't know why I stayed out there.

I was soaking wet, and frozen. I guess I just liked it out there. The storm seemed so powerful, as if it was the strongest thing in the world. It's one of those things that make you feel small, like a principal, or a mountain, or a picture of earth from far away. Those things just astound me how one minute you can feel at the top of the world, and the next you're a tiny speck that's not much bigger than an ant.

Anyway, I stood there, holding on to the railing, just staring into the waves. I suppose anyone who saw me would think I was insane. There were a few sailors on the deck, but they didn't notice me. They probably weren't looking. What insane person would be on the deck in a storm?

"Shannon? Where are you?"

It was my mom. Her voice seemed like it came from far away, but when I turned around, I realized that she and Dad were standing five feet away.

"Can't you see me?" I called back. I could barely see five feet away, and Mom's eyesight wasn't so good. She wore glasses. I doubt she could've seen anything through the glass.

I could see her silhouette through the sheet of rain. She kept wiping her glasses on her shirt, and trying to see something.

"Shannon, is that you?" Dad yelled. He didn't have glasses, except for reading. It was just that the rain was blowing in his direction, and he had to close his eyes to keep them from getting destroyed by the rain.

"Yeah!" I screamed. At that moment, the boat gave an even bigger lurch, and we were thrown into the ocean. As I fell, I tried to hold onto the railing, but it was wet, and my fingers were cold, so I couldn't hold on for long. I had it better than Mom and Dad, though. They didn't have enough time to think to hold their noses.

I plunged into the water. I could've sworn it was below zero degrees. I began shivering as soon as a drop of water touched me. I broke the surface, and gasped for air. I hadn't stayed underwater for that long, but it felt like forever. I looked around, and saw my parents gasping and half-choking.

"Mom? Dad?" I gasped.

"Shannon," Mom coughed.

Mom held her glasses in her hand. I have no idea how she kept them. They were kind of her life-line. She was blind as a bat without them. If I were her, I'd have lost them as soon as I fell.

I looked down at my legs that were frantically trying to tread water. A dark shape came up under me. I screamed.

I knew it was a shark. It must've been that cut I'd gotten the week before while climbing a tree. I'd been talking to my best friend, Katie Wood, and I lost my balance on the branch. I'd fallen, and gotten a huge cut on my arm.

Katie'd been my best friend, and my only friend, since kindergarten. We went from playing dolls together, to climbing trees together, and doing homework together. Katie was the kind of person who'd tell you everything, even stuff you really didn't want to hear. She made you want to shout 'TMI' to her every time you were together.

It still had a huge band-aid on it that fell off from the force of the collision with the water. I remembered reading somewhere that sharks are attracted to the smell of blood. I glanced at my cut, and saw it beginning to bleed.

"What is it, Shannon, sweetie!" Mom shrieked. Her glasses were still clenched tight in her hand.

"It's a shark!" I tried to say, but the words couldn't come. My mouth just opened and closed like a gaping fish. Great simile, in this circumstance.

Instead of a sharp pain from a shark's teeth, I felt a push in between my legs, as something lifted me out of the water, and pulled me away. I was hovering in between consciousness and unconsciousness. I was vaguely away of my parents being alongside me.

"Mom?" I whispered, "Dad?" There was no answer. I tried to call louder, out of desperation.

"Mom?" I yelled, "Dad?" I heard a groan, and that was enough for me. With that to comfort me, I allowed myself to be pulled into unconsciousness.

A/N: I know that it's short. I'll try harder next time. Just click that little button, and leave me a review.