Prologue
How did it get dark so quickly? It was way too dark …
So dark that Bethany had no idea she was falling until she felt the wind rushing through her long blonde hair—felt the sudden odd weightless sensation envelop her like the floor dropping out from underneath her on one of the crazy amusement park rides that she and her brothers loved to go on.
Except she didn’t exactly feel like laughing and screaming her guts out. Well, screaming, maybe. But not laughing. At least not yet …
Her back suddenly slapped against water. Natural instinct immediately took over, and she began to scissor her legs back and forth, treading the cold water as she squinted through the dark to get her bearings.
Tiny flashes of lightning flickered, glancing off the waves rolling and surging around her.
Big waves,
she thought grimly.
The kind of huge swells you get in a bad storm.
As soon as she had that thought, the sound of thunder boomed overhead and a heavy, windswept rain began to fall around her.
Bethany felt a shiver of fear as she tried to blink the rain out of her eyes. Then, as her vision cleared, she spotted a large outcropping of rock a short distance away, and her fear was quickly replaced with determination. She began to swim for the rock.
You can do this, Hamilton!
Bethany gritted her teeth and focused on the strength of her right arm and her legs to propel her through the choppy water. She reminded herself of the hours spentwith the swim team—on the workouts that she had developed to strengthen every muscle.
Come on! You’ve trained for times like this!
A huge wave rolled over her, but she pushed the panic aside as she struggled to keep her nose and mouth above the water. Her teeth chattered.
No time for freaking out!
She waited for a lull between waves and craned her neck to catch a glimpse of the rock. She was over halfway there.
Just a little farther …
Bethany kicked her legs for all she was worth, using her right arm in a powerful side stroke that she had developed not long after she’d lost her arm … and then she felt something brush past her leg.
Shark!
She squeezed her eyes shut, willing herself not to think about the attack — not to think about what might be in the water with her right now—and continued to swim. The waves were growing larger and stronger, and in spite of all of her training, she felt the last of her strength being sucked out of her. For the first time since the whole nightmare started, she wondered if she was going to make it.
Please, God …
Suddenly she felt the edge of the rock scrape against her hand. A dizzying kind of relief washed over her, giving her just enough strength to grab on to the rock with one arm as she pulled herself out of the water.
Weak and shivering like crazy, Bethany barely managed to drag herself up on the rock. Even through the thick sheet of rain, she could see that her arm and legs were majorly banged up, but she felt herself grin in spite of it all as she looked to the sky. The black storm clouds were retreating, and she could see a glimpse of sunshine breaking through. She struggled to a sitting position, wetand still shivering but never so happy in her life to see the sun.
Bethany brushed her hair out of her eyes and scanned the horizon hopefully for someone—anyone—that could help her. There was no one. Nothing but dark crashing waves of water as far as her eyes could see.
I’m alone.
The wind and rain abruptly disappeared, as if they were sucked away by a huge vacuum. Everything went still. She looked around, not really sure what was happening, when she felt a warm, syrupy feeling wash over her. The kind of feeling she got when she fell asleep between her mom and dad on the couch while watching TV. Protected. Like everything was okay.
Bethany bolted awake and looked around. Surf posters glinted in the moonlight. Swimsuits draped over the back of a chair. A Switchfoot CD lay open on the floor. She wasn’t in the middle of an ocean.
How did it get dark so quickly? It was way too dark …
So dark that Bethany had no idea she was falling until she felt the wind rushing through her long blonde hair—felt the sudden odd weightless sensation envelop her like the floor dropping out from underneath her on one of the crazy amusement park rides that she and her brothers loved to go on.
Except she didn’t exactly feel like laughing and screaming her guts out. Well, screaming, maybe. But not laughing. At least not yet …
Her back suddenly slapped against water. Natural instinct immediately took over, and she began to scissor her legs back and forth, treading the cold water as she squinted through the dark to get her bearings.
Tiny flashes of lightning flickered, glancing off the waves rolling and surging around her.
Big waves,
she thought grimly.
The kind of huge swells you get in a bad storm.
As soon as she had that thought, the sound of thunder boomed overhead and a heavy, windswept rain began to fall around her.
Bethany felt a shiver of fear as she tried to blink the rain out of her eyes. Then, as her vision cleared, she spotted a large outcropping of rock a short distance away, and her fear was quickly replaced with determination. She began to swim for the rock.
You can do this, Hamilton!
Bethany gritted her teeth and focused on the strength of her right arm and her legs to propel her through the choppy water. She reminded herself of the hours spentwith the swim team—on the workouts that she had developed to strengthen every muscle.
Come on! You’ve trained for times like this!
A huge wave rolled over her, but she pushed the panic aside as she struggled to keep her nose and mouth above the water. Her teeth chattered.
No time for freaking out!
She waited for a lull between waves and craned her neck to catch a glimpse of the rock. She was over halfway there.
Just a little farther …
Bethany kicked her legs for all she was worth, using her right arm in a powerful side stroke that she had developed not long after she’d lost her arm … and then she felt something brush past her leg.
Shark!
She squeezed her eyes shut, willing herself not to think about the attack — not to think about what might be in the water with her right now—and continued to swim. The waves were growing larger and stronger, and in spite of all of her training, she felt the last of her strength being sucked out of her. For the first time since the whole nightmare started, she wondered if she was going to make it.
Please, God …
Suddenly she felt the edge of the rock scrape against her hand. A dizzying kind of relief washed over her, giving her just enough strength to grab on to the rock with one arm as she pulled herself out of the water.
Weak and shivering like crazy, Bethany barely managed to drag herself up on the rock. Even through the thick sheet of rain, she could see that her arm and legs were majorly banged up, but she felt herself grin in spite of it all as she looked to the sky. The black storm clouds were retreating, and she could see a glimpse of sunshine breaking through. She struggled to a sitting position, wetand still shivering but never so happy in her life to see the sun.
Bethany brushed her hair out of her eyes and scanned the horizon hopefully for someone—anyone—that could help her. There was no one. Nothing but dark crashing waves of water as far as her eyes could see.
I’m alone.
The wind and rain abruptly disappeared, as if they were sucked away by a huge vacuum. Everything went still. She looked around, not really sure what was happening, when she felt a warm, syrupy feeling wash over her. The kind of feeling she got when she fell asleep between her mom and dad on the couch while watching TV. Protected. Like everything was okay.
Bethany bolted awake and looked around. Surf posters glinted in the moonlight. Swimsuits draped over the back of a chair. A Switchfoot CD lay open on the floor. She wasn’t in the middle of an ocean.
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