I shivered and rolled over. When my hand first hit the sand, I didn't know what it was. It was only after I picked it up, ran it through my hands, and opened my eyes that I realized I was on the ground on a beach. That's when all the memories came flying back and hit me hard. The crying. The screaming. The crash. It all came back, and it caught me off guard. I wasn't ready for it. The tears immediately started streaming down my face, and I couldn't stop them no matter how hard I tried.
It was only after I settled down a little bit that I remembered my brother, and bolted up. I looked around me. Nothing. I tried to call for him, and was horrified to find that my voice was terribly hoarse and my throat hurt. I must have been doing a lot of screaming.
I stood up and brushed myself off as best I could. My hair was still wet, so it couldn't have been that long since the crash. I tried to ignore the pain in my throat, but I knew that soon I was going to need water. Or just another human being to help me. I tried calling for my brother again, but no sound came out.
For some reason, it never occurred to me that he might not have survived the crash. My big brother? The Jack Merridew? No, he wasn't perfect. In fact, he was far from it. He took complete advantage of being older than me, always stealing my toys just for the fun of it. He could be a bully when he wanted to be. He never went easy on anyone. He forced me to learn how to sing from a young age, and never let me quit even when I cried and told him how much I hated it. But he was still my brother, and I loved him. Not only that, but I needed him. Where would I be if it weren't for all those times Jack saved me from bullies at school? And he loved singing. Surely he only wanted to share that love with me, even though he was harsh about it.
Suddenly, I spotted a figure in the distance. It was the bright red hair that gave him away. I knew it was Jack. I broke into a run, crying and still attempting to yell. Jack saw me coming and started walking towards me. When we finally met, I threw myself into his arms. Jack, never being the emotional typed, pried my arms off of him. If he had been worried about me or was pleased to see me still alive, he didn't let it show.
"No time for crying, baby sister," he said in his strong voice. His face softened and he winked at me. "I'm glad to see I was missed, though." He stood up straight and quickly regained his commanding presence. He turned around and began walking, expecting me to follow. "Come on, let's go find the others."