Chapter 30: Ends

The boat stopped at the dock and Tristan immediately stood up. “Can you stand up, Nora?” he asked, looking down at the girl. She nodded, her eyes half closed. She began standing up and tipped backwards, threatening to fall off of the boat. Tristan quickly caught her, helping her to balance. He and Ron helped Nora out of the boat and onto the dock.

“Should we take her to the hospital?” Tristan asked Ron as they walked slowly back to his little shop. Ron sighed.

“Probably. Let’s let her get this diving gear off first, though.” Ron replied softly. Nora’s oxygen tank was already off of her back, and her flippers and mask had been removed as well. She had slipped her wetsuit on over a t-shirt and shorts, so it didn’t take long for her to take it off. However, it would have taken an even shorter amount of time if Tristan didn’t have to steady her every two minutes.

Finally, Nora and Tristan were walking out of the shop, Ron following closely behind in case they needed any assistance. The two men helped Nora into Tristan’s car before Tristan walked around to the driver’s seat.

“Are you sure you’ll be all right? You don’t want me to come with you?” Ron asked, sounding concerned. Tristan shook his head.

“We’ll be fine. I’ll take her to the hospital and have them look her over and…” Tristan paused, thinking about what would come next. “Well, I guess we’ll go from there.” he said with a small smile. Ron nodded.

“If you need anything, help or information, just give me a call. You’ve got the number, right?” Ron said. Tristan nodded as he got into his car. Ron bent down so that he could see Nora. Her window was rolled down. “Nora?” Ron began gently. Nora’s sleepy eyes turned to him. “Don’t fall asleep, okay? Stay awake for as long as you can. At least until you get to the hospital.” he finished. Nora nodded weakly. Ron sighed heavily then glanced up at Tristan.

“I’ll call you with an update.” Tristan said as he turned the car on.

“Thanks. I’ve never had anything like this happen… The first lesson is always the easiest… I just can’t explain this one… I feel awful though, I really do.” Ron said sincerely.

“It wasn’t your fault, Ron. It was a freak accident or…well, I don’t know what else it could be, but none of it was your fault.” Tristan reassured him. Ron sighed again.

“Thanks, Tristan.” he said softly. “I’ll try to figure out whatever it was that grabbed her. I’ll call up a few of my friends and get their help, too. Maybe I’ll check with the police or something… See if they’ve got any information that would be helpful…” Ron said, mostly to himself, as he stood up. Tristan slowly backed the car out of the parking space while Ron watched them. Tristan knew that the man was concerned; it was evident in his expression. Ron waved a sorry goodbye as Tristan pulled out of the parking lot.

The drive to the hospital was only a few minutes long. Tristan helped Nora walk into the hospital and the two of them went straight to the emergency room. Tristan told the nurse behind the counter what had happened and she told him to have a seat and wait. He walked back over to Nora and sat down, twidling his thumbs nervously.

“Tristan?” Nora mumbled.

“Yes, Nora?” Tristan said, glancing over at her. Nora slowly reached out her hand and placed it over Tristan’s hands.

“Don’t act so nervous. You’re making me antsy.” she said softly. Tristan smiled a little then nodded. He and Nora sat there for a few minutes, not speaking to one another. Tristan was silent because he was too busy trying not to look worried, even though he was, and Nora kept quiet because speaking seemed to be incredibly hard to her for some reason.

Finally, a nurse called out Nora’s name. Tristan helped Nora stand up and slowly led her over to the nurse. The nurse led them through a door and down a hallway, into small room. “The doctor will be right with you,” the nurse said before she turned and walked out, closing the door behind her. Tristan sighed heavily, rubbing the top of Nora’s hand with his thumb. Nora rested her head on Tristan’s shoulder. Tristan closed his eyes then rotated his shoulder, pushing Nora away from him. He looked over at her sadly and shook his head.

“You can’t go to sleep.” he said softly.

“But I’m so tired…” Nora mumbled, her eyes drooping. Tristan shook his head again.

“You’ve got to stay awake, Nora.” he said, sounding a bit more firm this time. Nora didn’t respond. “Nora, stay awake.” Tristan said sternly, his eyebrows coming together to form a scowl. Nora still did not reply. “Nora,” Tristan said, panic mounting in his voice. He reached up and poked her cheek. Nora’s face contorted into a grimace. Tristan frowned. “Nora, open your eyes.” he said, sounding stern again. Nora sighed then opened her eyes halfway. She stared at Tristan for a moment, looking directly into his stern expression. Slowly, though, his stern expression melted away and was replaced by a worried one.

“You scared me.” Tristan said softly. Nora looked down, a little embarrassed.

“I didn’t mean to… It’s just so hard… I’m so tired…” she mumbled.

“I know, but you can’t go to sleep. You have to see a doctor.” Tristan continued earnestly. Nora sighed then nodded slowly.

“Okay…I’ll stay awake…” she muttered. Tristan smiled a little.

“Thank you.” he said softly.

“For what?” Nora asked.

“For not dying.” Tristan replied. Nora was silent for a moment.

“You’re welcome.” she said finally. Tristan chuckled, not having expected that response. However, he was truly thankful that she was in a hospital room with him instead of on the bottom of the ocean floor with whatever it was that had tried to kill her…

Chapter 21: Exhaustion

I suddenly realized that I was still in the middle of a fight. The creature squeezed tighter on my arms, waking me from the stupor I had fallen into. I fought briefly with the beast, twisting this way and that, trying to get it to release my arms. My plan didn’t work, and I realized that twisting underwater was incredibly tiring. I was no longer concerned about using up my oxygen tank, since I apparently didn’t need it, but I was worried about how tired I was getting. I hadn’t slept in at least twenty hours, and my body wasn’t built for strenuous activity when I was tired.

Just then, I came up with another plan. The creature, for whatever reason, was trying to kill me. So, if I died, it should leave me alone…in theory. However, I did not plan on dying. Hopefully, if I just pretended, it would be enough to fool the monster.

I wound down my fighting, slowing down my movements, and I held my breath. Maybe it hadn’t noticed that I could breathe underwater yet… Soon, I was floating, completely limp and only suspended by the creature’s hands. I tilted my head down towards my chest and closed my eyes. I opened my mouth, letting air out and creating bubbles in the process. The creature held me there for a moment, moving its legs only slightly to keep itself in place. Just then, I felt its hands release my arms. I tried not to move from the surprise as I floated towards the coral reef beneath us. Once I reached the coral, I layed there quietly, trying hard not to move or breathe deeply. I kept my eyes closed, but I felt the water moving around me, which led me to believe that the monster was coming to inspect its prey.

I felt large hands rolling me over, and I quickly stopped breathing. I could practically feel the creature looking me over. It was as if its eyes were burning a hole through me, making sure that I was dead.

I had a slight moment of panic as I wondered if the creature really could burn things with its eyes, but then I remembered that I was underwater, and it was fairly difficult to start a fire down here.

Just then, I felt the water move around me once more. I waited for a moment then opened my eyes a sliver and saw the creature swimming away. I watched it go before I sighed heavily and sat up. I quickly grabbed my oxygen tank and re-entered my lair, keeping a sharp eye out for the creature. Once I was inside and had changed out of my diving gear, I flopped onto the chair in front of the window. I stared out at the dark water for a moment before I reached over and pushed a small button, closing the window. I had had enough excitement for today, and I most certainly didn’t need that creature coming back and peering through my window. I still had no idea what that thing was… It was either a strange mutant that had escaped from an illegal testing facility, a new species of sea monster, or a human that…really, really hated me… I pondered these things for a while, trying to decide which answer was the most likely. I finally decided on the last possibility, because most mutants don’t survive very long and I had only ever seen sea monsters like that in old horror movies. However, even though that shed some light on one question, it left many, many more to be asked. Why would another human attack me? Who knows me and hates me enough to try to kill me? Why would someone dress up like a sea monster? Where was their oxygen tank located? Was it a man or a woman? I thought and thought but couldn’t come up with an answer to any of these questions, either.

Finally, I sighed and rubbed my face with my hands. I was exhausted, and I needed rest. I stood up and walked to another part of my cavern then pulled a bed out from the wall. I flopped onto it, resting one arm against my forehead. I glanced over at my tank of angelfish and smiled. “Good night, my sweets…” I whispered with a small smile. The angelfish all came to one side of the tank and stared at me, sleepy smiles in their eyes. I turned away from them and closed my eyes, hoping I would be able to sleep tonight…

News

Just so you all know, I am writing chapter thirty-two tonight.

I have finished the thirty day challenge.

And I am no where near being finished with the book. Which means...

I get to keep going! Whoo!

My deepest apologies to all of you who have (not) been reading this story. I wanted to post one chapter each day, but then life got complicated and my access to a computer was cut short. I have been writing chapters in the late hours of the night (and, I will admit, sometimes in the wee hours of the morning), and by the time I finish a chapter I've been too tired to post it. However, I will make my best effort to get back in the habit of posting these chapters. I really, really like how this story is coming along, and I really want to share it with everyone.

So, that being said, I am off to post another chapter. Hold on to your hats, ladies and gentlemen! This is when the fun begins! (And by "fun" I really mean fighting, hatred, little boys who know a lot about life, and much more! Stay tuned! The best is yet to come!)

So...tired...

I really need to go to bed, but I feel like I need to explain a little bit now or else I'll forget to explain later.

I have been writing a chapter a day, I just haven't been posting them because of the Fourth of July (yay for fireworks!) and a lot of other busy-ness that has led me to write my chapters really late at night. Because it's been so late, I have not posted any of the chapters on this blog. But I have not stopped writing them! In fact, I finished chapter eleven just a few minutes ago.

I don't know when I'll be able to post another chapter on here, because my life is really busy right now. Who knows? Maybe you'll be left on a cliff hanger for another week. (Mwahahaha...) But I will post another chapter eventually... Well, I'm planning on posting another chapter eventually...

Augh, I need to go get some sleep now. >.<

Oh, just so you all know, I am aware of the fact that I come up with horrible chapter titles. (If you think they're bad now, they'll only get worse.)