Iris and the List

Iris and Facing Your Fears

"I have an idea!" Colton said suddenly.

We all looked at him expectantly.

"I'll swim to shore, wherever it may be, and then come back with help."

"No. You could get hurt. It's too dangerous." I said firmly.

I may have been frustrated with him, but I still really cared about him.

"Well, we're all going to get hurt if I don't go." He pointed out.

He was right. I still didn't want to let him go, but I knew I had too.

I kissed him. "Be careful."

He held my face gently. "Don't worry about me."

I nodded, and then he swam away.

"So what do we do now?" Ginger asked.

********

Colton was gone for what felt like hours. We were starting to get cold and Rory had seen lightening.

"You know what? This is ridiculous. I'll climb up this cliff myself." Rory said.

"Rory! You can't. You'll get hurt." Ginger protested.

He ignored her and swam over to the cliffs.

She watched him go, with a mixture of pride and anxiety in her eyes.

He began to climb up, and for a few minutes it was going well. He managed to avoid the sharp spots.

This didn't last.

After placing his foot on a slippery spot, he lost his footing. He slipped, slid down the rocks, cut his leg open, and got a huge gash on his face.

Ginger frantically swam over. "Rory?"

He resurfaced, and began coughing up water. "I'm okay. Relax."

She touched the cut on his face. "You aren't. You're going to lose a ton of blood, and there isn't anything we can do."

He put his hand on top of hers. "I'll be fine. Colton will be back soon. The water will stop the blood flow anyways."

I didn't think that seemed scientifically accurate, but I decided not to question it. Colton should be back soon anyway.

I had goosebumps all over my arms. It was getting really cold in the water.

There was a distinctive crack of thunder, and a flash of lightning in the distance.

"We're going to die." Bradley said.

I laughed nervously. "We'll be fine."

Where was Colton? What if he had gotten hurt, and that was the reason he wasn't back yet. Maybe he drowned, or got struck by lightening, or got eaten by a shark. Did the Atlantic have sharks? All the way up here?

Rory looked pale. Was he getting weak from the blood loss?

"Rory. Are you tired?" I asked.

He nodded.

That was bad. He was probably going to pass out.

So this is how it'll end. We'll get struck by lightning, and/or die of hypothermia. We'll watch Rory bleed out, and then we'll eventually succumb and sink beneath the waves.

Rory had closed his eyes. Ginger was shaking him, attempting to wake him up.

"Iris! What's wrong with him?" She shrieked.

"He passed out from blood loss." Bradley replied calmly.

"Oh well, if that's all." Ginger said sarcastically.