Juhu! I'm back to writing my BLT story. I've missed my DxS-centric story very much, so I will be finishing this in the coming weeks/months along with my other works-in-progress. Enjoy~

Sam was just turning her attention back to starting a fire when she heard a scream in the distance. It was coming from a girl, and since there was only one other girl within at least a fifty mile radius, Sam's eyes darted to the disappearing boat. Paulina had to be more than a quarter mile away, and in the dark, it was difficult to see much more than her flailing arms.

Sam ran to the edge of the beach, trying to get a better glimpse. Then, it happened. The boat split in two and she vaguely saw Paulina crash into the water. The screams became more distinct now, and Sam found her legs propelling her to the edge of the water.

"HELP!" Paulina shrieked over the sound of thunder booming somewhere in the east and waves crashing all around her.

Sam hated the girl. Paulina was egotistical, insulting, and downright cruel. But Sam couldn't just let her drown if there was a chance of saving her. Acting on pure instinct, Sam charged into the water, swimming as fast as her limbs would allow her to.

So Paulina didn't know how to swim. Who knew? Unfortunately for Sam, this meant a lengthy rescue mission, one in which she wasn't sure if she would be able to save Paulina before she permanently became a part of the ocean. She was still a long ways off, and the screams were losing their intensity as Paulina kept slipping below the surface. The desperate, shrill screams were now becoming more muted; Paulina was fatiguing much faster than Sam had assumed she would.

"I'm coming!" Sam tried to shout over the waves, but the downpour of rain drowned out her words. There was a flash of lightning in the sky, and Sam used this brief millisecond of light to survey the waters in front of her. The split boat was still a hundred yards off or so and Paulina was nowhere to be found. The screams had stopped altogether, too.

Sam, despite her athleticism, was starting to feel both tired and somewhat numb with shock. Had Paulina really drowned? As much as the two couldn't stand each other, Sam felt awful that she hadn't been able to save a person's life in time. Pausing in the water, Sam could see that she was now closer to the dismantled boat than she was to shore. Swimming at top speed in rocky waves had exhausted her, and her chances of making it all the way back to the dark island were growing smaller by the second. Wave after wave came crashing down on her head, and finding the surface was becoming much more difficult as the storm above her raged on. It seemed that, every time she went to take in more air, another wave would just slam into her, forcing water down her lungs instead.

This completely disoriented Sam, and now she couldn't even see where she was. Was the island to the north or the south? The waves had been spinning her in different directions for several minutes now and she couldn't even make out the darkened outline of the island anymore.

I'm going to drown, Sam thought silently as another wave sent her a few feet below the surface. Just like Paulina did.

"Help," she said weakly once she was above the surface again. It was the last attempt she had before her body would give up in sheer exhaustion and let the waves drag her under for good. Nobody was going to save her, though. Danny was somewhere on the island, looking for an injured Tucker, and supposedly Paulina's corpse was floating somewhere in the waters around her.

Sam's lungs took in another gulp of water and she closed her eyes, preparing for the end. Somehow, instant death in a plane crash would have been preferable to this slow, drawn-out death.

But even as she felt her soul slowly slipping away, she could barely make out a faint glow coming closer to her. Sam wondered if it was some sort of angel or a ship light that was coming to save her. She tried opening her eyes, but even this was almost too difficult for her to manage. Ignoring the salty seawater that was burning her eyes, she squinted at the light coming towards her. It was some glowing person. They were coming closer and closer, and by some crazy miracle, she suddenly felt herself being lifted out of the ocean and pulled into the sky.

Sam figured she was already dead and this was merely an angel or something that had come to retrieve her corpse. Only when her body was laid on wet sand a few moments later did she dare to believe that she was still living. Her lungs were taking in air now, and although her body ached all over, she was alive!

The last of her remaining energy was relegated to opening her eyes one last time. A few feet away from her, the faintly glowing figure fell to its hands and knees. Just as two bright rings appeared around the figure's body, Sam lost consciousness altogether.

Let me know what you think! Reviews are a great way for me to see how I'm doing with a story and what areas need improvement or further details. Especially since this is one of my more serious stories, I definitely appreciate whatever feedback you have! Hope you liked it :)