Hello guys! It's Skye here. Thank you for reading my first try at a story. I hope you enjoy~

I'm hoping on making more chapters, so if someone is interested in being a proofreader/co-author that would be amazing!

-Skye

It all started on a simple beach.

Although she had never actually seen a body of water larger than a bathtub, she knew that the glistening expanse of bright blue water had to be the ocean. Without a moment of hesitation, she sprang forward towards the shoreline.

The sun rays gently shown down with a pale blue sky for a backdrop. As she ran, she could sense others behind her, but she didn't have time to look back, all that mattered to her was the freedom that the waves offered. Her bare feet flew through the sand as she sprinted towards the water. The air smelled of salt and the waves softly rolled upon the shore. A smile lit up her face while she waded into the clear water. Waves playfully lapped at her knees and she could have sworn she heard a gull crying above.

All fears and worries were erased as she walked the shore and watched as creatures she never knew about carried on with their life. It didn't take her long to become thoroughly obsessed with a small creature encapsulated in a small curvy shell. She squatted down to watch as it slowly made its way around the sandy bottom while waves gently rolled overhead to meet with the girls toes. The hermit crab's movements captured all of her attention. A state of awe rolled over her at the small creatures sideways movements and strange mannerisms. While she was awestruck with the crab, she didn't notice the waves starting to build up around her. Although the large waves all avoided her, one started to build up courage and charged towards her. It wasn't until her small friend was swept backwards that she lifted her head to see the wave racing towards her.

Her body was frozen in a mixture of awe and fear as the wave broke over her head in slow motion. It was if she had become part of the shore, for she watched as the wave carried a strange menagerie of objects above her. Like a pro surfer riding under a wave, the girl stared as bubbles, chains, a shard of ice, a singular baby shoe, an eyepatch, and her small hermit crab friend washed overhead.

There was a second of silence before the roar of water crashed in her ears and she was suddenly being sucked out to sea. The once beautiful sky had become ugly and scarred with large black clouds. Although she was thrashing about, she couldn't stay afloat. It was if her limbs were becoming tangled together and moving through molasses

A scream ripped through her throat as she was sucked under. The silence cascaded over her struggling body as the surface drew father and farther away. A black fog shot through the water and began to descend around her body. With a final last cry, the girl let her eyes start to close as the storm started to rage over her head. It was in the same second that lightning flashed overhead that a bright orange flame entered her vision. A pair of strong arms wrapped around her still body and brought her close.

"You will survive, I guarantee it. Just wait my child and you will see. I won't let you go."

The voice started deep and comforting, almost fatherly, but it began to morph and grow more distorted and cracked. Her eyes filled with tears of both joy and terror as everything started to fade once more to black. The last thing that she saw was the orange flames and two blue eyes burning bright.