~Under a month ago~

I was laying in bed in one of the cabins below deck of the ship that was supposed to bring a new beginning to me, Gil, and a family I had saved. But Gil was gone. There would be no perfect, happy future for him, or for me.

I couldn't hear John Reed, Gil's friend, or any of the other crew members on deck. I could only hear the lightning crackling outside, and the thunder clapping. I could hear the waves sloshing violently against the side of the boat, and feel it sway as it traveled over the choppy, murky water. This weather was sure to keep me awake, although grieving had made good sleep nearly impossible for a month now.

A sudden jolt to the right found me gripping my bed tightly to keep from falling out of it. I shot up from my bed quickly, only for another jolt to send me back to the bed. Gripping surfaces as tightly as I could, I returned to my feet and made my way to the door. I reefed it open and stumbled past it, almost falling right into the opposite wall as the boat tilted. I ran down the hall as best I could in order to make my way to the stairs before the boat tilted again, holding onto the railing for dear life as I climbed them carefully, one by one.

"Alyce! Go back down below deck!" John Reed yelled at me as I made it to the top of the stairs. He was being pelted with water, as waves crashed over the side of the boat and on the deck. He was soaking wet, and so were the rest of the men that made up his crew. We have it under control! I looked at my map and we shouldn't be too far from land!"

As if in reply, veins of lightning formed across the sky, giving life to the heavens. The light from above illuminated the ship, and I saw the dark shadow of another huge wave came creeping over the side, causing several men, and John, to fall to the deck floor. They struggled to regain their balance, as the worry in me grew.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" I shouted desperately over the waves and the booming thunder.

"Get below deck with the others! I don't want you out here in this! You'll get hurt!" John pushed, and he turned away, expecting me to go back to the cabin, just like the family was. Already, he was treating me like he was my guardian and protector. I knew very well why...

"You don't owe anything to him, John!" I yelled over to him.

"What?" He turned to face me fully, trying to put together what I said, his blond hair a mess of wet curls in his face. He could barely hear me over the howling of the wind, so I moved closer onto the deck. I stood as the rain pelted and stung my face, and the wind spiraled my hair wildly out of control about my head.

"You don't owe him anything else. You couldn't have made him any prouder!" I shouted over the wind, desperate for it to reach him.

His sad, but appreciative smile, told me he heard me loud and clear. His brown eyes filled with tears, but it could have just been the rain playing tricks. A loud crack made us look over, and we saw the mast splitting apart, ready to fall. A gasp caught in my throat.

"No!" John exclaimed in panic, and half tackled-half pushed me out of the way. The mast came crashing down onto the ship with a loud, sickening crack as it broke part of the boat. John's pained screams made me quickly sit up in fear, and I took in the mast laying across John's leg, having crushed it in the fall. John was pinned.

"John!" I screamed in terror, and ran to his side, almost slipping on the soaked and flooded deck. He was breathing heavily, and he was whimpering in pain. I tried not to wince for his sake as I took in his crushed leg. "I'm going to get this off of you! You bare with me!"

I tried to ignore the screams around me as I focused solely on John, on getting him free. I put my arms around the mast and put all my muscle into it, to try and pull it up, but there was no way. The mast was too heavy for only me to try lifting.

"I need help! Somebody help me!" I yelled, but everyone was running around, either trying to continue to function the ship, holding on for dear life, or simply panicking. My heart dropped to my stomach as I took in the horror that had befallen us. We were going to die.

I was kneeling on the ground beside John, and he grabbed a hold of my hand, but he stayed silent. I crawled behind him, letting him rest part of his body in my lap, to bring him some sort of comfort. I wrapped my arms around him, resting my head on his. His breathing didn't slow, and his grunts of pain didn't either, but I felt the tension in his body relax every so slightly.

"Thank you, John." I said to him. He only squeezed my hand in response.

A large wave, several feet taller than the ship, loomed over me. I couldn't utter a sound before it swallowed me, pulling me over the side of the ship, and away from John. I tried to grab a hold of something, anything, but my hands met only emptiness.

I was submerged in complete darkness. I was tossed around like a rag doll in the wet and cold abyss without remorse. The panic and fear of death devoured me until I felt nothing else. Finally, my head hit something hard and rough, and everything blackened further and I faded into nothingness.