Pasado Viaje
Chapter 1
Taylor hummed along to the radio as she drove with the windows of her Chevy truck down. It was a sunny summer day in Corpus Christi and she was on her way to work as a kayak instructor at the marina on the naval air base. She had just graduated from high school a week before and this was to be her summer job before she went off to college. She loved the independence that the job gave her. It allowed her to be out there in the open water, enjoying the salty air and sea breeze.
She didn't have that sort of freedom back home with her parents. It was always work and chores. Their motto had been "Work hard now, play later." Taylor had shocked them when she got her acceptance letter from A&M Corpus Christi and told them that she got a summer job down there for the summer. They almost persisted, but she promised them that they could bring their RV down and visit her anytime they wanted. A vacation at the coast had been very appealing for them to say the least, and they got their promise when they went with her to help her move in to her new apartment. When it was time to say their goodbyes, her father had lectured her about financial mumbo-jumbo (she asked if he was channeling her Economics teacher) and her mother tried to give her tips on dating (she assured her mother that even though the studs couldn't resist the brown eyes-brown hair combo, she would be abstemious in giving out her number). Taylor stood red-faced as her parents hugged her and gushed that they were releasing their "little baaaby," out into the world.
Taylor and her new job went hand in hand. She loved to share her love of kayaking with her customers, especially if they were willing to go further away from shore. She preferred deep water because there was a sense of more room and she wouldn't get her paddle stuck in seaweed. She had been working for almost a month and so far everyday had been a blast for her.
Today, however, Taylor was instructing a female air force retiree and her teenage daughter, and both were jittery even with the slightest rocking of their kayaks.
"Ohmygawd, ohmygawd, what if I tip over?" the teenager fretted.
"Just stay calm and use your paddle and your body to roll yourself back over," explained Taylor.
"I don't think I would have enough upper body strength to do that!"
Taylor sighed. They were only in ten feet of water, but normally she would be a lot farther out. Meanwhile, her two customers were paddling nervously about and shrieking when their paddles came in contact with seaweed. She rolled her eyes and turned her kayak towards the open water. She let the wind whip through her brown hair as she observed the perfect blue color of the ocean in daylight. There were a few fishing boats out and she saw some people fishing off of the little rock peninsula to her left. She closed her eyes and let the rhythm of the waves rock her. She sat there floating and meditating for quite some time until she felt a slight pull on the kayak and someone yelling behind her.
"It's a storm!" She heard the mother yell. Taylor opened her eyes and was shocked to see how dark the sky had become. Soon enough, rain had started to pour and there was a flash of lightning in the sky. She turned and started to paddle back to shore, but she felt the waves getting stronger. She realized that now matter how much she paddled, she wasn't getting anywhere. She looked ahead and was relieved to see the mother and daughter on shore getting out of their kayaks.
"I'm having trouble getting back on shore!" she yelled. "Go get someone in the office to help!" She watched them run towards the office as the shoreline seemed to get further and further. Her arms were burning with the effort to get to shore, but it wasn't working. The rain came down harder and the waves increased in size. Her kayak spun after being tossed by a wave and soon she found herself underwater. She started to follow her own advice about turning her kayak over, but a powerful wave tore the paddle from her hands and nearly tore her from the kayak. She tried swinging her torso from side to side to roll over, but every time she managed to surface, the waves would bring her down again. She tried, but she couldn't hold her breath for any longer. She grew weak and felt herself slide from the kayak. Slowly, Taylor drifted into the darkness…
To be continued…
A/N: Ah, the summer restlessness is settling in! I love that this is a POTC fic and the regular cast isn't even in the first chapter!
Jack: Yeah! What's with that? You don't even mention rum!
Rum? I'm not even 21!
Jack: Listen, luv, you don't have to be 21 to WRITE about rum, savvy?
Ragetti: You can write about me and my fake eye!
No thanks.
Pintel: peeks through a crack in authoress's bedroom door 'Ello, poppet!
OO;
Tia Dalma: I look like I've been given chewing gum that turns your mouth black!
Will: They're taking the hobbits to Isengard!
Barbossa: APPLES! Yay:D
raises eyebrow As you can see, they're bursting to be set free to run rampant in my story, but I must mention that I am WORKING ON IT!!! (portion in caps is directed towards the random characters lurking around my computer)
I'll bring the next chapter to y'all soon!