Chapter Four: Beasts in the Brine
Under the waves it was chaos. The current pulled Sarah in every direction. Her eyes burned and there was no breath in her lungs and all her limbs were too heavy and wouldn't work. She couldn't find up or down. There was roaring in her ears and salt water in her nose and throat. She was panicking. Her brain shut down and all she could think was FIND UP. DON'T DIE.
FIND UP.
DON'T DIE.
FIND UP.
DON'T DIE.
DON'T DIE.
DON'T DIE.
Her head broke the surface and she took a huge gasp of air, only to be pushed down again by a wave. She couldn't see anything but grey water and bubbles.
Her head broke the surface again and she fought for it, desperately pulling herself upwards. Her flailing fist crashed into something and she grabbed for it; one of the wooden oars. It seemed determined to float, so she held on.
She saw the little blue boat drifting a few meters away, and the tower a few miles behind that, so she pushed the oar out in front of her and started to swim. The creatures seemed to have disappeared, but the ocean kept trying to pull her under. The waves pushed the boat towards her, then pulled it away again. Her hands and feet were numb, but her muscles burned. Dark shadows moved in the water beneath her. Everything was short goals, short thoughts.
DON'T DIE.
A wave pushed the boat suddenly almost on top of her. She scrabbled out from underneath it and tossed the oar over the side. The bottom was full of water, but it was still afloat. Sarah started to pull herself into the boat, just as something huge moved in the water behind her.
She pulled herself into the boat as quickly as she could, almost capsizing it on top of her, as a huge serpent rose out of the sea. It was black and bronze, covered with seaweed and corals which made it look like tarnished copper. It had the cold, empty eyes of a shark and so many teeth that they spilled out of its mouth and along its jaw. She could just register the shapes of other creatures clinging to the beast's scales, crabs and eels and strange symbiotic fish with suctioned mouths.
"Hello", Sarah called out feebly.
The serpent dropped suddenly into the sea, driving towards Sarah with lightning speed. She crouched in the boat, gripping the sides and bracing her body. Suddenly the serpent was underneath her, the boat dragged along in its wake. On impulse she reached over the side and grabbed a handful of seaweed, and she was pulled along so suddenly her arm was almost yanked from its socket.
Sarah clung on as the serpent raced through the water, sending up huge sprays of water on either side of its body. This was better than jet-skiing or wakeboarding or any of the other extreme activities she and Karen had bonded over on family holidays. She whooped with delight, tossing back her head and letting her hair stream out behind her.
In a matter of minutes they were almost at the tower and without warning the serpent dived. Sarah was again dragged under the water, the boat flipping over and leaving her behind. They were deep, deep under the surface, a land of shadows and speckled light. The serpent's body stretched out through the water behind her, glimmering in sinuous motion. It was moving slower now, veering right around a thick, black rock which rose out of the ocean floor.
The tower.
If she didn't let go soon, she was going to miss it. And also, probably, drown. Sarah steadied her legs against the serpent's back, bending her knees. Her brain was beginning to scream at her to take a breath.
The beast stopped, suddenly, and its head snaked around to look at her. It fixed her with its flat grey eye, then motioned with its head towards the rock. She looked where it was directing her; there, craved from the stone, was a doorway.
Sarah nodded and gave the beast a thumbs up. It blinked, slowly, squeezing its eyes shut like someone smiling. She braced her legs against the serpent's back, bending her knees, and kicked off as hard as she could in the direction of the doorway. She swam towards it, trying to concentrate and her arms and legs and not her need to take a breath. The serpent moved behind her, and its motion through the water sent her tumbling through the entrance.
There was light a little way above her, and Sarah pushed towards it. Her whole body burned and before she could stop herself she drew in a lungful of ocean water. She was panicking again. She wasn't going to make it.
FIND UP.
DON'T DIE.
Sarah broke the surface of the water and managed to draw a sputtering breath before throwing up sea water.
"Eeeeew", she whispered to herself as she treaded water. She was in a huge cave, lit by orbs of cold white light. The walls were black and shining, and stalactites hung from an unknowable ceiling almost to the surface to the water. An ornate stone staircase led out of the water and curved its way around the cave wall. Sarah swam towards it, dragging herself up onto the steps. The stone was just as cold as the water, and she immediately began shivering.
"At least I don't smell like sweat now", she mumbled, squeezing water out of her hair. "How much time do I even have left anyway?"
Sarah dragged herself to her feet and began to climb the stair.