Page 46 of Secret Mission

Oh, my god.

Where am I?

Panic roars through me, my arms flail, water splashing into my mouth. Saltwater.

Is this the ocean?

Slowly, fog lifts, and the desperate pain inside my heart floods my whole body.

“Truck.” The word chokes out of me, a sob, a desperate plea.

“Hey! Can you hear me? Don’t struggle, we’re coming to get you.”

Within my panic, I register the sweeping beam of a floodlight.

Squinting is hard because of the violent shivers wracking every inch of me.

“I’m here!” My arm will barely raise to wave for help and when I lift it, I slip under the surface.

Coughing out the water, I duck my face to avoid the penetrating light.

The grind of an engine grows louder. The lamp’s beam growing brighter with every second.

Just float. That’s all I have to do. But even that feels too exhausting.

Finally, the engine gets quiet.

“Jesus, get her out of there!”

A man. Someone aboard the boat is angry, shouting something at other people.

Then strong hands are grabbing me, pulling me up onto a large, white platform. “Put her over here.”

My head lolls, I try to lick my swollen lips, wincing at the pain. Everything hurts, and the jellyfish sting hours ago doesn’t help.

“Allison, can you hear me? This is Justice, from Agile Security and Rescue. You’re safe now.”

I nod. Or I think I nod. “I can…hear you.”

My lids are heavier than car doors. So, I just drift in the darkness as they move me about. Exhaustion pulls me in and out—everything seems wavy, vague, dreamlike.

“Thank fuck, we found her.” A different voice, deeper, rougher. “How long do you think she’s been out here?”

“I don’t know. But where do you think Truck is?”

“Truck,” I jolt from the dream, hyper aware that I’ve just been pulled from the ocean. “Did you find him?”

No one answers.

Panicked, I try to sit up. “Is he…?”

“Easy.” Justice murmurs.

I can’t say anything else, a keening begins in my chest and fills my throat so full I can’t breathe.

Someone tucks a blanket around me, rough and impatient. “Don’t move. You need to take it easy. You’re on the boat now.”

“Who… who are you?”