Blame Aphrodite - SAMPLE-

The Raft

I sat at the front of the boat, Henry on my other side as we paddled away from the dock. However, using the word boat would have been a generous description. This was more like a flat piece of balsa wood with railings. 

As it turns out, the village, while on the edge of the sea, was not much of a fishing village. The biggest boat they had was the one we were currently occupying.

"There is no way this thing will make it all the way! The first big wave to come along and we're going to start sinking!" Peter exclaimed. "Look! The bow of the boat is already dipping below the water. We should have never brought this stupid bear onto this...this raft!"

The bear growled at him as if it knew what Peter was going on about. My friend flinched and moved away from Orsetto.

"Come to the front of the boat to level out the weight." I prompted, waving him on.

He scoffed and turned his nose up upon my comment.

"I'm quite sick of you cracking jokes at my weight."

"It wasn't a joke. If you come up here, the weight will level out a little bit." He sighed before scooting carefully to the front. "You can help us row, too."

"I will be doing no such thing."

"Come on, it'll be good for you." With a deep frown, he glared at me. "Alright, that was a crack at your weight. But if you help us row, it will get us off of this floating death trap faster."

Without further temptation needed, Peter grabbed a paddle and started rowing with us.

After a few hours of rowing in complete darkness, I decided that I needed a break. Henry had taken his break a little while ago and so had Peter. Now, it was my turn. So, with as much excitement as I was able to muster up, I laid down in the middle of the boat and let myself relax.

I cocked my head to the side and noticed Valencia curled up next to Orsetto, sound asleep. If only I could achieve that level of comfort between two sweaty and groaning men, I'd be set. At most, I maybe got five minutes of sleep but laying horizontal with my eyes closed felt just as good.

Just as my break was about over, I felt the raft jolt upwards on a rough wave. I sat up just in time for another wave. Glancing behind me, Valencia and the bear were both awake now.

"Waves are just a little high right now," Peter said through gasps of air.

"Well, try to avoid them as much as you can. We all need rest for tomorrow." Another wave crashed into the raft, splashing saltwater onto everyone. "I said avoid them,"

"It is pitch black out here, Everett. I can't see the waves." Peter said as Henry groaned. "He's going to need a break soon. As will I."

I took over for Henry and he collapsed into the middle of the raft with a huff. We tried our best to avoid all the big waves but Peter was right, we couldn't see anything. Henry had assured all of us though that if we kept the village behind us and traveled forward, we'd hit land eventually.

However, it was starting to get harder and harder to see the village lights with how rowdy the waves were getting.
I dragged the oar through the water just in time to catch another wave. We landed harshly on the other side of it which knocked everyone around. It was a good thing this raft had its guard rails.
The sea wasn't behaving normally tonight. I had sailed the seas many times with my father. Granted, it was never on a flimsy piece of wood but rather a ship. Still, I hadn't seen the water act like this before.

A bad, sinking feeling crept into my gut.
Over the sound of the crashing waves, thunder rumbled in the distance and a heavy rain started to fall.

"Henry, make sure Valencia is okay," I called over my shoulder.