Beached

 The waves lapped at the girls ankles and sand slid beneath their fingers in rough waves. Seagulls cried out to each other as the day came to an end, calling to each other to come home for the evening. Sunlight bounces off the deep ocean, turning the water a soft orange while the sky turns shades of pink, red, and purple. Neither of them realized as they relaxed that storm clouds were gathering above them, looming ever closer.

Sofie picked up a little item that had been poking out of the sand. "Look," Claire turned her head and looked at what Sofie was holding out to her. Picking it up, Claire saw that it was a small, lavender colored shell.

"That's a beautiful shell!" Claire replies while moving the shell around her palm. "It would be cool if you put it on a necklace."

"That would be cool!" Sofie looked away from the shell and up at the guls flying around the sky. "We might want to head back. It looks like it's going to rain." Claire looked up at the sky as well.

"The forecast said we won't have rain until later this evening. I think we'll be fine." They laid back down on their towels and closed their eyes.

They had just started to relax when, without warning, a downpour started and the sky became black as oil. The girls were soaked in seconds as they hurried to grab their things. They rushed along the beach sand, slipping and sliding and sometimes falling. The waves reached up to catch the raindrops and embrace them in their midst, slowly creeping up the beach.

"Over here!" Claire shouted over the pounding of rain in their ears. She pointed to a small, dry cave in the cliff face. They fought their way against the wind and pelting rain. It was a relief when they entered the shelter of the cave.

They bent over their knees panting. "Nice find," Sofie, Claire's friend said breathlessly. Dropping their beach towels and bags, they slid down the rough walls of the cave.

"Yeah," Claire sounded just as out of breath as Sofie. "But, how are we going to get back?"

"I think we'll just have to let the storm wear itself out." Sofie replied. "Not much else we can do."

Claire nodded in agreement but still looked a little worried. She reached over and dug through her sequined pink bag. After about a minute, she found what she was looking for, her phone. It had a purple case with the picture of a cat on it. She pressed the power button but nothing happened.

"What's up?" Sofie asked, noticing Claire holding her phone.

Claire sighs, "I was going to try and call for help, but my phone is dead. Figures," She turned her face to the entrance of the cave, looking out into the storm. The water had risen up half of the beach and you could no longer tell where the horizon was.

Sofie pulls out her phone, "My phone has a little charge but I have no signal." They both looked at the phone longingly.

"We need to contact the others to let them know we're ok."

"Are we though?" Sofie joked and forced a laugh. Claire smiled a little at Sofie's poor attempt at a joke.

"I don't know, maybe a beach monster lives in this very cave." Claire teased Sofie and poked her in the ribs making her laugh which died away as they both looked back outside the cave. Raindrops pounded against the stone like a marching drum and waves crashed like cymbals creating horrifying music.

"I think I might go out to find a signal to contact the others." Sofie's voice trailed off. They could no longer hear the cry of the guls that once echoed on the beach and the sun had disappeared for the long night ahead of the girls. Sofie stood up, "I'll see you in a little bit, ok?"