The Abyssal Kingdom: part 1

Chapter Thirteen

After a broken night's sleep, fretting over last night's events, Salantina reluctantly woke up at 6 am and went out to the farm with her dad. Despite having not discussed this, James joined them too. They spent most of her morning fencing, feeding the animals and generally helping where and when possible. Her Dad enjoyed having them both there and they spent a lot of the morning laughing together. Arriving home bone weary but content, she returned to her room for a nap.

Midday she woke up to her phone beeping. Still in her hand, she opened it to a message from Fynn and read it with blurred vision. 

'Hey! I want to talk. Meet me at the beach?' 

Salantina stared for a minute or two unsure of what she should do. The weather had been turbulent all week with constant rain and high winds, why would he want to talk at the beach? She got a weird feeling in her stomach.

There was no use sitting in her room for the day though so she got up and ready.

'Will I leave now?' She texted back. Almost immediately after sending it her phone buzzed again.

'Yes. I'm here already.' 

Weird...maybe he is trying to be spontaneous. 

She read the bus times and ran out of the house moments later with only minutes to make it to the stop.

*

When she arrived at the beach, she walked down onto the sand keeping an eye out for Fynn. The beach was practically deserted with only a couple out walking their dogs and one person out on a surfboard in the distance that she could see. The sea was wild, the waves high and the sky dark, for even an experienced swimmer, like her, she felt nervous. She thought the surfer was Fynn and waited on the sand for him to come in. 

Maybe that's why he brought me here. 

When the surfer came in, after getting a good glimpse of his face, it wasn't Fynn. Confused she continued to look around but there was still no sign of him. She checked her phone again he hadn't reached out since he told her he was here. Pressing call, it rang five times and hung up going to voice mail.

Where is he?

Looking along the water, finally, she spotted someone. They weren't swimming but floating in the high waves. 

That couldn't be him, could it? 

Waving her arms she called out to this person to come in but they either didn't see her or were ignoring her. Knowing the risks she changed quickly into her prologues behind a sand dune. With still no sign of Fynn so she went down to the waters and walked out. At first, she was not able to feel the cold water thanks to the prologues but she could feel the strength of the sea. Wearily, she kept going.

By now the surfer had packed up and left. This meant it was only her and this person in the sea left on the beach. All the walkers she had seen even disappeared. This made her more determined she would not leave here without them.

Up to her waist in water, she took a deep breath and dived in. She thought about turning around, the sea was difficult to swim, but she couldn't leave them alone.

She was out now as far as the swimmer, they were turned towards the sea and she couldn't make out their face.

'Hello... you need to come back in, it isn't safe out here.' She roared as loud as she could over the water. Knowing how unpredictable the sea could be this was more than likely only the beginning of the turbulent weather. 

The person didn't turn or acknowledge her. She screamed the same sentence for a second time and waited but there was still no response. Feeling she had no choice but to get closer, she swam forward and shouted again. 

'There's no lifeguard on duty, you need to come in.' Still, there was nothing.

Are they alive?

Panicked she reached out and put her arm on their shoulder. They remained as still as a floating statue.

'Are you ok?' She shouted again. Heart in her mouth. Worried she would now be pulling a body in alone...

The person turned at last and to her horror - it was Fynn. He looked different in the water. There were black lines covering both his arms and shoulders. She hadn't noticed them before.

'F- F- Fynn... what are you doing out here!' Salantina exclaimed before her head went under the water. She kicked up and bobbed again moving with the waves. 'This is dangerous. Let's go in.'

He didn't seem even remotely concerned about her struggling to float above the water while he easily seemed to move like he was at one with it.

'For the others it is, but for me and you it's not,' Fynn replied. His eyes looked darker than they normally did. She felt afraid for the first time. 

'Fynn, please, let's go in now.' She replied her voice reaching her mother's levels of hysteria for the first time in her seventeen years.  She was about to turn around regretting her decision to swim out. The waves were getting stronger creating a distance between them. Something Salantina wasn't sorry for.

'I just can't lie to you anymore. I need to show you the truth,' Fynn shouted over the winds. 'Can you wait?' Fynn's voice had taken on a different more genuine tone. Something in his eyes seemed tormented as if with a dark thought. She didn't know what to do. She trusted him for some reason even if she did feel scared. The weather finally broke.

'Why can't we talk on the beach?' Salantina shouted. Hoping he would just swim in.

'You know why you are here,' he spoke slowly without breaking eye contact. The raindrops heavily hit her skin. His eyes felt as if they could see her clearer than anyone had before.

'Do you know where Raphael is?' She shouted while the rain became louder and heavier. 

Please, don't let it be you.

'No... he disappeared,' Fynn replied as he watched her reaction carefully. It was growing darker and she felt her head go under the water for a second before pushing her head back out.

'How do you know him?'

'You already know the answer.' 

'Why are we here Fynn?'

'Will you take my hand and I can show you,' Fynn shouted over the roaring sea as he held it out to her. She needed to make a choice now, she could turn around and swim back, or go with Fynn?

Staring at him she realised she couldn't turn her back. He made her feel alive. Not the dull robot who only studied, went to school and swam. Not the person who lived to just work. There was something that she knew she was seeking. There was more to her life. There just had to be more than this.

She put her and in his and took a deep breath before submerging into the water. 

Her eyes were wide open.