"Now don't you get sun burnt Herry" said Grannie as she waved goodbye to the titans in the jeep "And swim where the life guard can see you"
"Awe…don't worry ickle Herrykins" said Archie standing up in the car, leaning forward and pinching Herry's cheek "we'll protect you"
Herry gripped the steering wheel leaving finger indents. It was taking everything he had not to turn around and give Achilles' descendent a good thumping, but his Grannie was there "Good bye Grannie! Take care"
"So Odie" began Jay watching him from in the reflection of the car mirror "How's the new PMRs?"
"Just finished them this morning Jay" said Odie with pride "now better then ever. They have everything like the old ones but this time they also have a clock, recording, water proof up to 25 feet and even a camera" He started handing them out. They were the same size as the old gadgets but with a new silver back
"Very swish" said Neil taking his, eyeing himself on the reflective back
"Same rules guys" said Jay shoving his into his pocket "Keep them with you"
"I can't wait!" said Theresa excitedly "I haven't been to the beach in ages!"
"Are you going to swim?" Atlanta asked Archie "Or are you gonna play with the toddlers on the sand?"
"I don't know 'lanta. I really haven't thought about it"
"You look tired"
"I didn't have a very good night sleep" Archie smiled at the pleasant thought of sleeping in the sun all morning…watching Atlanta in the water…
Theresa was talking to Herry "Are you going to go in the surfing comp?"
"Only if I don't break the board"
"Grab you towels guys" said Jay "we're here"
Herry parked the jeep. The moment engine stopped half the titans jumped out of the jeep and sprinted towards the golden sanded beach. Only Odie and Archie could contain their excitement
"Hey you have speed" Odie said to him grabbing his boogie board "I thought you'd be in the water by now" they began walking towards the beach, their feet squeaking in the sand
"Odie…You've got claustrophobia… um…" Archie wondered how to tell him this "Well, I kinda don't like the water. You understand?"
"Cool" he knew perfectly well what he meant
"Err…don't tell the others. Just say it's my back"
"Sure" they reached the spot where the other titans had thrown their gear. Archie spread out his towel and lay on his stomach while Odie stripped off his t-shirt and rand towards the waves with his orange boogie board under his arm
Archie's head was resting on his folded arms. He closed his eyes and let the sun warm his pale bandaged back and soon he had drifted off to sleep
"Why's Archie staying on the beach?" said Atlanta catching the ball and throwing it to Theresa
"Bad back" answered Odie, catching the ball from the strawberry blonde
Archie's face was screwed up in pain…the sound of crashing waves upon the shore and the smell of the sea brought back the rest of his nightmare
His mother returned red in the face with tears streaming down her face. Damien cried out to her "He's gone under!"
"No!" she ran forward "Don't give up Archie! Don't give…" in her feverish haste to save her son, she slipped on the ice and fell, her head collided with the cold concrete like surface, her body slipped beneath the icy water.
Archie was exhausted. He kicked fiercely and brought his head above the water once more "Don't give up…"he was only able to grab a single mouthful of air when his worn-out body dragged him down again. He couldn't feel his legs, and when he opened his eyes underwater all he could see was inky blackness. Archie's head ached, he was loosing hope. He struck out his hands and they brushed against something soft. Without knowing what it was he pushed the object up, hoping it would float. But it was large and heavy…his muscles gave in to weariness…and with his mother's words still in his head, his word became peaceful blackness
When he next woke up he was in hospital. His father was sitting on a chair beside him, his head resting on the white covered bed. He had bags under his eyes and looked very weary. It had been three days since the incident, Archie had nearly drowned. It had been Damien who had saved him. He had flagged down the first passing car and some strangers of the car tied a roped around their waste, dived in and pulled him out. They had been too late to save his mother. Later Damien told him that he saw Archie trying to pull his mother to the surface and it nearly killed him.
Archie did not need anyone to tell him whose fault it was. When the morning came of his mother's funeral, the looks he received from her relatives was enough; Anger, sadness, blame. If he hadn't have gone skating…hadn't asked his mother if he could learn…not let his pride be tarnished and not taken up the challenge to beat his cousin…she would still be there saying…
"Well done my boy. I'm so proud of you; you never gave up"
But he did
Archie screamed when cold water splashed on his back, waking him up from his dream. He rubbed the salt water and tears from his eyes
Atlanta was holding an empty bucket laughing "You scream like a girl Archie"
The wet violet haired teen was still recovering from his dream. He had dreamed more that time.
Atlanta was in the water with the rest of the titans pardon one; Archie. He had been sitting on the beach all day. Twice she had got up to try and get him to come into the water, but he had refused. She had even thrown a bucket of water over him.
"Just leave him be Atlanta", said Odie "If he doesn't want to come in then just leave him"
"But it's a complete waste of a day!" she argued "He should be more"-
"SHARK!" someone screamed. Immediately the beach became a stampede of people rushing out of the water. The life guards spoke over the speakers "Everybody calm down and leave the water in an orderly fashion…" they may as well been singing 'Tom Jones; what's new pussy cat?' no body paid any attention
"Come on titans" shouted Jay back to the beach
"But the ball…" began Neil, looking back at the striped beach ball silently floating away out to sea
"Unless you like your face the way it is" said Atlanta dragging him out by the arm "I suggest you move"
"SHARK!" the person screamed again. On the shore Theresa turned and searched the waves for a fin. What she saw was not a fin…but rather like a shark with no fin rising out of the water and diving in again…it was scaly and black, its belly was red as a rose
"Jay…" she began, pointing to the creature
"What's happening?" said Archie running up to them
"Are you deaf or what?" said Herry "It's a shark!"
"That's no shark Herry" said Theresa "It's a"-
An enormous scaly head broke the surface of the sea water. It had large green eyes and when it opened its mouth white sharp teeth and two long matching fangs at the nose. It had a long scaly body with spikes running down its spine to the tip of the tail
"-Sea Serpent" finished Theresa
"Oh yeah, it really looks like a shark to me" said Archie sarcastically "I think I'll call him Flipper"
At the sight of a giant black snake with big teeth and spines, the whole beach cleared. Neil on the other hand fainted, landing with a soft thump on the sand
"Oh yeah" said Odie "Nerves of steal that one"
"Any idea on how to defeat it Odie?" asked Jay, taking his sword from out of his beach bag. The others grabbed their weapons from under their towels
"It's got the upper hand" he said "We're in his element; water. He can come on land to- it's a snake after all…lasers might cut through it though. Anything that can get through his scales"
The sea serpent reared up, drawing itself up to its full height as it slithered onto the sandy beach. Jay ran forward with his sword in hand. He sliced the Serpent's red belly. The snake swung his tail around with a lightning force, whacked him in the chest and flew him down onto the sand. It then came at him with its mouth ajar, about to bite into the leader
"Hiya!" Archie cried, advancing on 'Flipper'. His flicked his whip at the snake, it tied around the creature's head, locking the jaw and he pulled, bringing its attention away from Jay. But it was strong. When Archie pulled it did nothing, instead it swung its head bringing the titan up into the air and through him towards the water. His weapon slipped from his hands and he crashed into the salty water, his whip still wrapped around 'Flipper's mouth, preventing him from biting
"I see why you're called 'Flipper'" said Herry cracking his knuckles
Archie was in the water. The salt stung his eyes as he fought his way to the surface for air, his head came above the waves and he filled his lungs with oxygen. Suddenly he felt the water drawing back behind him; he turned to see a large wave crash into him, dragging him under and tossing, turning him over with incredible force underneath the water. His head collided with an underwater rock. He felt a sharp pain… then everything went black
"Archie!" cried Atlanta. She had not seen him come to the surface as she stood on the beach. Her sharp eye sight caught a small flash of violet. Without hesitation she ran into the water and dived. Her speed came in handy and she reached the spot where she thought she had seen him in no time. She treaded water on the spot and looked around "Archie!"
She dived under the water and opened her eyes. It took her a few seconds to get use to the stinging. To her right she saw a dark shape in the water. She struck her hands out and swam to it… 'seaweed?' she thought '…no- Archie!' she put her arm under the limp form and dragged him to the surface. Trying her best to keep his head above the rough salty water she towed him to shore
Herry went around the Serpent and grabbed his tail "Look out guys" he held it up and started to swing the snake round and around. Using all of his strength he brought Flipper down as hard as he could onto the sand. Theresa ran up and kicked it square in the nose. It retreated to its home in the ocean and went under the waves with difficulty. After being swung around it felt drunk and dizzy.
"Is…it all over?" said Neil sitting up, rubbing the sand out of his hair
"Yeah, we did what you did and played 'possum'. We would have never defeated it otherwise" said Herry
"Man, that's going to leave a mark in the morning" Said Jay rubbing his back "Where's Archie? And Atlanta?"
"Bit of help over here guys" said Atlanta coming out from the sea with an unconscious Archie in her arms "You could have thrown that thing after we were out"
"Is he alright?" asked Jay as Theresa and Odie bent down and checked his pulse. He was still breathing and had a deep nasty cut on his temple.
"Water logged" replied Odie "swallowed a fair bit of water, but he should be okay thanks to Atlanta. Come on, let's get him back to the dormitory. I don't want to look at the sea again for a very long time"
At that moment, Archie coughed up water and sat up "I feel like I'm gonna puke"
"Let's leave the beach and get him to Chiron"
"But…" protested Neil looking out at the sea and spying a red dot on the horizon "what about my stripy beach ball?"