It was a sunny day and Mark and I were hanging around on the beach, watching the waves coming in and splashing gently over our feet. Nothing ever happened in this quiet village and a lot of kids spent their time on the small pier, in the arcades or the local café. Mark and I prefer the beach though and there is a small cove where no one ever goes. There is no actual pathway down to it so those that do know about it don't even bother to try and get down. We often get tourists here though so this is a great way to escape and still be able to enjoy the beach.
We were enjoying the sound of the waves crashing against the shore and laying back in the sand, watching the clouds drift slowly by. We both jumped when we heard a rumbling in the distance and knew the weather was about to take a turn for the worst. We sat up and looked out to sea, not surprised to see the waves were higher than before and the water no longer a light blue, but dark and dangerous. The clouds had grown darker as well, but we hadn't realised as we'd been paying more attention to the shape of the clouds and talking about random other things.
It wouldn't be the first time that a storm had come and we'd had to rush home. The fisherman often seemed to know when it was going to rain, saying the waves told them, but they looked calm and welcoming to us. A few fishermen would still brave the seas and go out in their boats for a few hours while others would stay by the docks on the far side of the main beach and mend their nets or paint their boats. Still, we didn't care if there would be a storm. If it was nice weather we'd go to the beach and if it began to rain we'd just run for it. Today was no different.
We had been lying here for around two hours before the thunder came. It started raining a few minutes later and it was then we decided we'd better get going. It was almost time to go home anyway. We stood up and stretched. We made our way towards the rocky slope that surrounded the cove and began to climb. However, luck wasn't on our side today and the rain came down faster and heavier. I brushed some hair out my eyes and reached up to the next rock, letting out a yell as I fell backwards and hit the sand. I groaned and sat up. By this time Mark was at my side.
"Maybe we should just shelter here until the storm passes," he suggested and I nodded numbly. He pulled me up and we looked around for somewhere to stay. It was Mark who noticed a small space in the rocks to the left of the cove and we both ran for it. We didn't have much room but at least we were pretty sheltered from the rain. It was the first time we'd actually ended up staying on the beach during a storm as we usually scrambled up the rocks before the rain became heavy and then ran.
Still, it was amazing to see the waves foaming up fiercely and then crashing to the shore. The thunder got closer and louder, making us jump. It must have been at least half an hour later when the thunder stopped but it was still raining heavily. We decided the worst of it was over though and that we should probably get home. As soon as we stepped out we wished we hadn't as the rain was cold and soaked us right through. We both gasped and shivered before running towards the rocky slope again.
We were both about to start our way up when we heard a crashing noise behind us. We spun around and saw what looked like part of a boat. We glanced at each other before running over.
"Do you think anyone is out there?" I shouted over the sound of the waves.
"I don't know," Mark yelled back. We looked out over the water.
"I think I just saw something. You think we should help?" I shouted.
"It's too dangerous," Mark shouted back. We looked out helplessly. "Maybe we should go and find someone else – they can check the area when it is safer."
I nodded. I turned around to run back to the slope, but stopped after a few steps when I heard loud scream behind me. I turned back to find I was alone and Mark was nowhere to be seen.