End of the Beginning (A New Hope Series)

Chapter Twelve - Salvation

When Rey regained consciousness, which only took a few seconds, she inhaled a mouthful of water. She lifted a hand to her throat and began to choke, unable to cough up the water that she had inhaled. Frantically, Rey kicked off of anything her feet could touch and swam for air as fast as she could. Her vision began to fade and Rey started feeling dizzy from the lack of oxygen. This only caused her to push harder and swim faster. She couldn't loose consciousness again. If she did she would surely drown. Her vision began to go black. Rey held what little breath she had left as she propelled through the water, towards the surface. She couldn't die like this. She couldn't drown. If she drowned, then the baby would die too. Rey couldn't let that happen.

   Once she broke the surface, Rey gasped for air, coughing and sputtering out the water that had entered her lungs. She took several deep breaths, allowing air to fill her lungs as fast as possible. The wind licked at her face, chafing her throat as she inhaled. Rey struggled to keep herself afloat as water began to pour in from the hole at the top of the cave. It must have been high tide. She didn't have much time to get out of the cave. More water poured in, causing the water to become choppy. The waves were rough and the water rocked her back and forth. She struggled to maintain her buoyancy, too weak to swim to the edge of the cave. It was hard enough to stay afloat despite the fact that she was emotionally drained and out of breath.

Within a few seconds, Rey caught her breath and came to her senses. She gasped as the memory hit her like a pile of bricks and she remembered why she was here. She remembered what had happened before she had plunged into the water and why she had fallen. "Ben?" Rey called, pushing herself above the water as far as she could manage. She searched the cave but there was no one in sight. She then scanned the waters but there was no sign of him. Rey's throat constricted. "Ben?" Rey swam in circles, spinning frantically, searching for him. "Ben?" She cried, a little more urgently. Rey took another deep breath. "Ben?!" She screamed with any hope that he might hear her. Ben was nowhere to be seen. Had it all been a dream? Just another vision to torment her??

   Rey shook her head. She hadn't imagined it. It had been real, she was sure of it. So Rey continued to search for him. Minutes passed with no sign and Rey began to panic. But then suddenly, a light passed over the cave. Rey looked up to see the full moon, perfectly aligned with the hole at the top of the cave. It shone like a spotlight over the center of the pool. Rey let out a shallow breath as she followed the path of the light and saw a shimmering at the bottom of the pool. The moon was reflecting off of something. Rey looked closer and saw a blurry image of something dark, sinking in the water, near the glimmer. Rey squinted and tried to make out whatever it was at the center of the pool, but she couldn't quite make it out.

   Rey took a deep breath, ready to dive and investigate when another gust of water poured into the cave and Rey was knocked under the water. The current pulled her deeper, twisting and spinning her through the water. When she finally came to a stop, Rey had to blink a few times to help clear her vision. The current had made her extremely dizzy. Since the had already been holding her breath, Rey swam deeper, diving to where she had seen the glimmer. But when she reached the bottom, she saw something else that caused her to freeze. Rey had to clamp her hand to her mouth to keep from gasping and loosing all the air in her lungs.

There, unconscious and sinking deeper and deeper towards the bottom of the pool, was Ben. Rey covered her mouth with both hands. It took all of her willpower not to let out a cry for joy. But just as she began to rejoice, the severity of the situation began to set in. Rey didn't hesitate and sprung into action, swimming towards him as fast as she could. She was running out of breath quickly and didn't have much time. Rey knew that there was not enough time to make it back to the surface for air and dive to reach Ben again. He would surely drown. So Rey pushed herself harder to reach him. The small thought entered her mind that this was all just another vision, but she couldn't hesitate to worry about such doubts.