So here's chapter 11 -- ta daaa! hehe Sorry it took me so long to post this up...I've been so busy lately that I forgot to get it on here sooner! This is the moment you've all been waiting for...well, some of it anyways. There's still a lot of chapters to go...thanks so much for all your reviews and happy reading!

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Chapter Eleven

- "Whatever Happens, Don't Let Go!" -

Before I could voice a reply, the moment between us was shattered by a sudden low groan in the sky. "Wha?" Sora and I murmured simultaneously, gaping upwards. The sun was now choked away and covered with ominous black clouds, and the very water we stood in formed irritated swirls around our legs. I turned to Sora once again and saw nothing now but vast depths of fear and sorrow in his eyes. "We were only in the eye of the storm," he whispered, and I understood instantly. The real storm had started last night, and the eye of it had just finished passing over us. Now if we didn't get to shelter immediately it was all over. A brilliant streak of lightning flashed above us, followed by a clap of thunder that shook the earth to its core. For a few moments time seemed to freeze in place as Sora and I stared on in shock, frozen with terror.

A sudden explosion of wind knocked me into Sora, and I came to my senses. "We have to get out of here!" I yelled above the thunder. Sora gave a short, scared nod and took my arm to lead me towards shelter when another gust bowled us over backwards, screeching onward down the beach as if it were alive. I saw Sora's eyes widen as he stared at something behind me, panic seizing me once again. "Jess, look!" he cried, pointing a trembling finger in the distance. I followed his gaze and screamed, clinging to his arm.

The trees were being ripped silently out of the sand and blown about like leaves in the wind just a mile away by an unimaginable force. As we watched in horror, I realized that after a few seconds the devastation was happening only half a mile away. Then it was a quarter of a mile.

We were next.

I felt Sora's grip grow painfully tight. "Whatever happens, don't let go!" he screamed, squeezing me closer. I heard another gust of wind shrieking towards us and buried my head in his shirt, knowing that it was too late now. With agonizing power a wave crashed into us, forcing the air out of my ribs. Numbed for a moment, I realized I had lost most of my grip on Sora and held onto his hand with everything I had, digging my feet into the sand. A heartbeat later and air was around us once again, the wind screaming in our ears. Sora got his footing and pulled me towards him with great effort, but I could see he had been injured somehow and let out a sobbing cry as his grip weakened and the wind and waves tore us apart in an instant. "Sora!" I wailed, catching a last glimpse of him sinking into the ocean. He was no longer moving, and there was a gash in his forehead that oozed crimson.

Suddenly I was sucked under, surrounded by churning saltwater. I clawed at the murky seafloor and kicked my legs, mind screaming for air. The undertow was driving me further and further down, pounding me against the sand. Lungs burning like fire, I felt my hands being torn from the floor and spun wildly through the water, kicking towards the surface. But my strength was ebbing quickly and I was being pushed ever downward by the relentless anger of the ocean. Soon I couldn't see the surface and screamed in anguish at the stabbing pain in my ribs.

All five senses faded and my world went black.