Tide

Chapter 9

As we stepped out the hospital, Isaac's knees dropped to the floor and he wept against the ground. He had just found out the devastating news; Harper had passed during her surgery. He choked on his tears, trembling at what he had just heard. I didn't know what to do. I had never seen anyone in so much pain.

The little girl with golden hair yanked on my shirt, wondering why he was crying. I couldn't answer. I was paralyzed in shock - I couldn't seem to do or say anything.

Suddenly, I heard screams and cries. I turned around, and without warning I was in water, being tossed and turned in an enormous current. I finally came to the realization that I was in yet another tsunami. The rumours about another wave must have been true.

I wanted to scream - but I couldn't. I found it difficult to breathe. Isaac, I thought. Where's Isaac?

Something trapped me, and in a flash, I was being dragged underwater. I tried to fight my way back up, but it as too late. I was too deep. As I sank further into the bottomless ocean, everything seemed to calm down. The ear-splitting racket of noise had softened, and my surroundings became tranquil. The clean coolness of water settled around me, washing my cuts and wounds. I felt calm.

I thought of Mason, and hoped he was okay. I thought of Piper, and asked myself if she was rescued. I thought of my parents, and questioned if I would ever see them again. I thought of Isaac, and wondered if he was thinking of me too.

My vision started to blur, and before I knew it, everything went black.

--

I woke up instantaneously, panting and drenched in sweat.

It was just a dream.

I sat up, a breeze of cold air hitting me. I pressed my hands together to keep them from shaking and looked around. The majority of the people around me were still asleep, silently dreaming on their mattresses. Isaac was seated at a table not too far away, scribbling something down on a scrap of lined paper. Quietly, I stood up and walked toward him.

"Good morning," I said, making him flinch. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you like that."

"No worries," he replied, offering me a smile. When I didn't smile back, he furrowed his brows. "You okay?"

I bit my lip. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just had a bit of a nightmare."

"Oh," he said. "What was it about?"

I shook my head. "Nothing."

"Alright. Let me know if you want to talk about it."

"Okay," I breathed.

Suddenly, his face split into a smile. "Happy birthday, Ava."

I raised my eyebrows, blush making its way onto my cheeks. "You remembered?" I said. I had barely even remembered, with everything happening.

"Well, yeah. When we met, you told me you'd turn sixteen today," he smiled. "My memory's not bad, huh?"

A kid sat up and shushed him. I laughed. Isaac did nothing but flash the kid a grin and shrug. Then, he moved out of his chair and walked towards the exit. He made his way outside and I followed him, the radiant sun blinding my eyes.

"Why are we outside?" I asked.

"To find a cell phone," he replied.

--

After nearly an hour of searching, we had finally found someone willing to let us use their phone. Most of the others had refused. Either they were saving their batteries, were using them or simply didn't have it on them.

"Thank you so much, I promise we won't take long." I said.

"Ladies first," Isaac handed me the cellphone. I dialed my grandmother's phone number, and listened as it rang. Please answer, I thought to myself, please, please answer.

A/N: Hi! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, once again I'm trying to leave it on a cliffhanger;) Thank you so much for reading this story, it really means a lot! Feel free to comment suggestions or feedback:)

QOTD: If you could meet/be any celebrity, who would it be and why?