Brisa Island

Chapter 2

fully edited 11-21-21

Realizing that I needed to alert someone of our future predicament, I bolted out of my room and ran out of the guest rooms. Once I made it out onto the top deck I searched for nearby crew members, but just as I had expected no one was out. I looked out into the ocean and instead of being met with tumultuous waves, the sea had temporarily calmed, reminding me of the literal calm before the storm, causing my anxiety to spike more than ever.

But this time, instead of standing paralyzed in fear, I ran. Careful to not slip on the recently wet deck, I sped towards the front of the boat where I hoped the captain's quarters would be.

After finding a capsule-like room that could only be accessed from the outside by a ladder, I quickly climbed it and knocked on the door. I stood there on the little platform outside the door for what seemed like forever, my anxiety heightening with every passing second. Finally, the door opened and a tall, uniformed man stood in front of me. His eyes and the wrinkles that surrounded him told his age along with the gray peppered throughout his beard. The name tag that sat below his left shoulder read Captain McConnell, and it was then that I knew I was in the right place.

"Yes?" He asked impatiently, not even bothering to ask why I was there.

"Sir," I began, "I noticed that it was very stormy outside, and with the amount of pressure coming from the waves and how greatly it's affecting us, I think the ship is going to sink. I know I may sound crazy, but I have a really bad feeling about this and we need to get out of this storm as soon as possible." I finished, suddenly realizing how crazy I did sound.

At first he looked at me alarmingly, but he quickly came to his senses and gave me a sharp glare. He continued to scowl as he spoke again.

"And how did you come to this conclusion, miss?" he said calmly, with the hint of a calculated look in his eyes.

Seeing as I had no other evidence or excuse for my words I told the truth: "I... uh... had a dream about it." I murmured realizing yet again how ridiculous the situation was.

"Ah of course, I'm supposed to risk delaying twenty-five hundred people's trip home because you had a scary dream? I don't think so little girl. Dreams aren't real. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go steer this ship, so we don't actually sink." he sneered at me, before slamming the door in my face.

That went well, I thought while slowly climbing down the ladder. The rain began to slow and what had previously felt like bullets pelting at my skin now felt like whispers. Looking off to the right I saw the clouds clearing up, and the sun peaking through what had previously been a dark cloud walk. Suddenly I started to rethink the probability of my dream coming true. Maybe the Captain was right, maybe the 'giant wave' I had seen in my dream didn't really exist.

I continued towards the back of the boat, heading past the casinos, the pool, and shuffle boards and straight towards my room. I finally came to the door that lead down into the cabins, but instead of returning to my bed to attempt sleep like I should have done, I stood outside for a little bit longer, pondering the relevance of my dream.

The sun began to rise, and became somewhat visible behind the multiple clouds. The rain had let up even more than before, but my hair was still thoroughly soaked. Mildly choppy waves were still present, but didn't seem to be affecting the boat as much as they did in my dream. I closed my eyes took in a deep, calming breath of the salty ocean air. I could hear the seagulls screeching above my head and the soft cacophony of waves as they lapped against the side of the boat m. I could feel the mist from the morning fog that had set in surround me, dampening my skin and clothes even further than the rain had.

I opened my eyes, and took a deep breath. After my talk with Captain Roberts and the slow letting up of the storm, I had managed to convince myself that the ship was most likely going to be fine.

Just as I was reaching for the handle to open the door that led down to the cabins, the boat rocked violently to the right and water from the oncoming wave crashed onto the deck.

Shock splashed over me along with the salty water, but the anxiety that had previously been paralyzing me quickly turned to fear as the boat continued to rock due to the onslaught of waves. The instability of standing on the swaying deck caused to me to rush towards the outer railing.

As I held onto the pole with an iron grip, I noticed the wind and rain had once again picked up. Thunder roared once again through the clouds, the occasional bolt of lighting flashing and adding to the chaos.

Strands of soaked hair whipped across my face, leaving the feeling of déjà vu in the pit of my stomach as I watched the storm gather. My worst fears were confirmed when the final blow was delivered to the side of the boat.

Unlike my dream, the terminating wave came from the opposite side of the boat, causing my body to go flying over the railing and into the sea. I screamed as the air roared in my ears and I was dunked underwater abruptly.

As I reemerged and looked around, all I could see was the ship capsizing right in front of me. I treaded water for minutes, calling for my brother, my parents, any survivors that could have gotten out. I couldn't see anyone. I couldn't possibly be the only one left. I swam over toward a large piece of wood from the wreckage and held on. The realization finally hit me as I saw El Bote Bonito sinking to the bottom of the ocean floor. My whole family was gone.

My brother, who I loved for always being the jokester of the family and always cheering me up when I was in a rough spot. My mom, even though she was controlling, being so considerate and always helping me plan out my life and future. My dad, even if he spent his weekends working hard, always making sure that our family would be supported, and making every moment we had together as a family count. I would never see them again.

I didn't notice I was sobbing until I felt warm tears dripping down my chin. I clutched the driftwood tightly, wondering what I should do now. I ignored the hunger pangs as I realized that I had forgotten to eat dinner last night, and I would be stuck on a piece of driftwood in the middle of the ocean for who knows how long. 

I felt my body growing tired. I had made up my mind. I wasn't a very religious person, but I had gone to church growing up. I decided that if there was a god out there, he wanted me to live. I wrapped my arms around the driftwood, and let darkness overcome me.

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Hope you guys liked this chapter, it's longer than the last one (as promised). Since I have the next two days off from school, I will try to update, but I'm not making any promises.

Lastly, THANK YOU GUYS FOR DM-ING ME! It makes me so happy that you guys want me to check out your stories, and I enjoy all of them!

Feel free to DM me for anything tho. ;)

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<3 Katie

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