Salt Water

A young woman is drowning in the beauty of the ocean. It only gets worse from there. Until it doesn't.

Salt water clung to her skin, her eyes, her lips, burning. Exhaustion overwhelmed her as she desperately clawed the chilled ocean waves, trying to keep her head above water. Her damp, cold clothes were salt-encrusted and scraped her thin flesh like barbs, dragging her down with their waterlogged weight. Her throat and lungs burned from the salt water she had swallowed and inhaled. She had no energy left. She was clinging to terror and panic and a desperate need to live and absolutely nothing else. The sun glared down hot and burning, turning the expanse of salt water into a blindingly bright blue. She was trying so hard to keep her head above water, but she found herself going under for longer and longer periods of time. She felt like her body was a dead, screaming weight. And her mind was delirious with pain and fear and exhaustion. 

Salt water from her eyes met and melted into salt water from her surroundings as she finally gave up and let the ocean take her. Her chest felt like it was being wrung dry as she sank deeper, surrounded by darkness and cold and the heavy all-encompassing weight of death. She sank deeper and deeper, and found herself surrounded by a thick, rough, cutting substance that she could not figure out what it was. And then everything went blank. 

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Five men stood on a metal fishing boat. It wasn't the largest, but there was space enough to comfortably move around. They were surrounded by crates of fish but the fresh ocean air kept the stench of seafood at bay. They were pulling their nets up, noticing that they were much heavier than usual. 

"What the f**k?" a brown-haired, muscular man exclaimed as a thin, lithe, dark-haired young woman tumbled out of the ropes, drenched in salt water and tinted in blood. 

"What the f**k. I don't know what this is," a man with blond hair in a bun stared down at the scene, at the closed eyelids and limp, skinny limbs. 

"I didn't f*****g ask for this. Did you?" another man with brown hair and a skinnier build looked at his friends. 

"I did not f*****g ask either." A man with black hair and a square jaw looked up at everyone else, an annoyed expression on his face. 

"Well is the girl even alive?" A strawberry-blond man asked with clear irritation in his eyes. 

"Well there's one way to check," the dark-haired man replied as he bent down and felt for her pulse. "Just barely." 

Without asking for permission the strawberry-blond man knelt down to do CPR on the unconscious girl. After a few minutes, some broken ribs, and a bunch of water on the floor, the girl was coughing, life seemingly put back in her small form. She looked around, startled verdant eyes taking everything in in panic and confusion. 

"What the f**k, Jesse?" The muscular man asked the girl's rescuer, "now we have to deal with this. You could've asked us first." 

"Shut the f**k up Mike. We can still talk this over. If I had waited longer she would've died." 

"So?" the dark-haired man asked, "how is that even our business? We don't know her or what the f**k she is or what she wants." 

"Petey I swear," Jesse started, "we can figure out what to do with her later. Just trust me on this, once." 

"You better." 

"Well what are we going to do with her?" The blond one asked. 

"We can discuss it later, Leo." 

"Who made you the boss?" 

"I did now shut up Liam." 

Leaving the girl there, half-sitting on the floor supported by her arms with a bewildered expression on her face. 

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The girl sat there, completely confused as the burning sun dried her, leaving her thin blue cotton dress stiff with salt and her black hair stiff with curls. She was in so much pain, almost delirious with it. Especially in her chest, which hurt so much. She looked around. She had no idea where she was or how she got there. She felt the sun too hot on her skin and the sea spray rough inside her chest. She heard snippets of conversation from the men who had gone around to the other side of the boat and were obscured by the cabin. She tried and failed to piece together what just happened, her mind swimming with pain and exhaustion. 

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The men stood leaning against the railing or the cabin, in heated yet hushed conversation. 

"Why are you on her side Jesse? We can't afford to keep her here and you know it." Petey's voice was almost patronizing. 

"I'm not on her side. Do you not have eyes? Look at her, all lanky limbs and delicate features and large startling eyes and full pink lips. It would be a shame to let that go." 

"So? Oh my God Jesse, are you in love?" Mike asked. "You have a girlfriend. And I'm saving up for another car. Like you have no idea how hard only having one car is. I have to f*****g take public transport sometimes and it's so inconvenient." 

"Exactly," Leo added, "And my daughter needs new dresses. Good quality, hand-embroidered ones, none of the cookie-cutter s**t. We can't afford to keep this complete stranger." 

"We won't have to afford anything." 

"You know the boat can only take so much weight." Liam said. "She's thin but she still weighs a good amount. If we take her to shore, that's pounds of fish that we won't be able to catch. A whole day's trip wasted, Jesse. We'd be down dozens of pounds of fish. That's so much money lost." 

"Exactly, Jesse," Petey piped up, "I need to get new runners, I've had mine for a whole year." 

"We can't afford her weight. None of us are rich," Mike tried to explain. 

"I'm not saying we should bring her to shore. We can just have some fun with her before putting her back into the water where she belongs. Look, she's an incredible catch. I almost though we'd pulled up a mermaid." 

"Are you suggesting what I think you are?" Mike sounded intrigued. 

"I think I am." 

"No, no. What will our wives and girlfriends say when they find out?" Liam protested, "you do love them, don't you?" 

"Of course I love my girlfriend. But she does not need to know. Neither does your fiancée."

"Intriguing." 

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The girl was still trying to make sense of things. She knew she was on a smallish fishing vessel, on the ocean. She knew she had gotten rescued, and she was incredibly relieved. She sat with her arms hugging her legs, looking at the dazzlingly blue sky above. It was beautiful. It brought tears to her eyes. She was still in pain. But for the moment she felt lulled. 

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"Heyyy stranger." Petey smiled as he approached the girl. "We saved you. You happy?" 

"Very, sir. Thanks." In truth she didn't entirely trust the situation. But she was happy to be alive. And she did trust him - all of them - a lot. They dragged her out of that horrible cold water. They brought her back into the world. They let her stay on their lovely boat. And she thought maybe they'd keep helping her. She just needed to get to shore. 

"Well maybe you could show a little appreciation if you're happy?" He smiled again, just a bit too wide and off-kilter. 

"Oh yeah, absolutely." She smiled back, hiding the pain in her ribs. 

"Here, you're caked in salt." Mikey came up behind the pair with a bucket filled with water in his hand. "Wash your hair, girlie." 

"Thank you."

She strained against her broken ribs to bend down and dip her hair in the water, wincing as she stroked the salt and sand and dirt out of her hair. She was grateful for the chance of getting clean. She was feeling quite itchy. But damn, this method hurt. Her chest felt like it was being wrenched apart. Goddamn this was so much pain. Finally her hair and scalp felt much cleaner though, and she lifted her head, catching her breath as she waited for the pain to fade, which it didn't. She looked up at the group of men surrounding her with expressions that were overly-bright and just a bit off-putting. 

"Thanks again," she smiled up at the men. 

"Hey, it's nothing." Leo tilted his head a little bit as he looked down at her. 

"Um... would it be too much trouble to ask for some food?"

"We're really sorry. We're fresh out. When we get to shore, yeah?" 

"Okay." She tried to ignore how hunger gnawed in her stomach. 

"Hey," Liam started, "you should probably clean the rest of you up as well."

"Okay." She took another bucket from him, which had a white rag of cold water on it. She wanted to rest right now. But oh well, whatever. There would be plenty of time for that once they got to shore. These men were really rather nice. She was very grateful for their company. She did need a bit of privacy right now though. 

"Are you guys gonna leave?" She asked, looking up. 

"I don't think we are." 

She looked around for an opening, but didn't find one. She was surrounded on all sides. 

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She was horrifically tired, down to her very soul. Maybe in her very soul. Tears were silently, desperately falling from her eyes as she lay in the small cot in the cabin. They had called it "payment" for transporting her to shore. It hurt. She hurt. She hurt inside and she hurt all over and she hurt in her heart. But it's not like she could do anything about it. She wasn't in control of this situation. She didn't have power here. Her life was in their hands. If they chose to save her they would. So far, despite the hurt, they had promised they would take her to shore. That's all she needed. To get to shore and then she could work something out from there. She felt so small, so helpless, so completely out of control and weak and dying. She lifted her eyes towards the sky again, gazing at the blue before exhaustion finally pulled her to sleep. 

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A pair of pale arms lifted the small, lithe sleeping figure, cradling her like a baby and holding her to his chest. Another pair of hands slowly slipped a long strip of cloth between her teeth and then around her head, circling and layering it again and again until there was a thick wad of cloth holding her jaw open and tight around her head. He tied it and gave the knots one last tug to keep them in place. Another pair of calloused hands tied a short length of rope around her ankles, and one around her wrists. 

The nets were still sunken into the water now, but strong legs carried her to a side of the boat where there weren't any nets. Silently, solemnly, a small crowd gathered around the railing, around the young woman with the bony ankles who murmured softly in her sleep. There was a moment of hush that lulled over the boat for a moment. Everyone turned around and looked at each other for a spell, meeting each other's eyes, seemingly frozen. They looked almost shaken for a moment, before Mikey flashed a quick smile. The rest of them also smiled quickly, momentarily, before steeling their faces once again. 

"Three. Two. One." Someone wisphered under their breath. Her body tumbled into the water, silent as she dropped through the air, still sleeping peacefully. The water splashed around her as she hit it, wide eyes startling open. She tried to scream but couldn't through the gag. 

Three. Two. One. All that was left behind were ripples in the water. 

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Panic overwhelmed her for just a moment. She tried to swim but she couldn't. Water flooded her mouth and she couldn't close it around the gag. Fear pulsed hot and electric through her heart. And then it was just a hopeless, desolate sort of calm. She felt the water fill her lungs in ice-cold twisting agony. She was being pulled under. And she didn't even care. She had no will to live anymore. No will to fight. It had been ripped from her and she didn't care for it back. 

Suddenly she wasn't cold anymore. Well, she was, but it was an exhilarating cold not a cutting one. All her bonds were broken. Suddenly she could breathe, the water flowing through her as easily as air. She opened her eyes to the blue-green glow of the water, and found herself face-to-face with a woman - no not a woman - a ... she didn't really know. Nothing hurt. 

The lady glowed translucent in the water as it flowed through her. Her hair was dark black, full of thick curls, and longer than she was tall. She had a kind, passionate smile, and solemn, searching eyes. You could see the outline of tears rolling down her cheeks, though the girl didn't know how that was possible since they were in water. 

The mysterious lady slowly reached out a hand for her, not touching, just asking. The girl reached out and took it, and then swam further into her embrace. The older woman held her tight in her arms, stroking the girl's tangled hair and singing something in words the girl didn't understand. Eventually they stopped embracing and looked deeply at each other. The amount of sorrow in the older woman's eyes was overwhelming. And the girl found herself crying uncontrollably. 

The lady pressed a kiss to her forehead and suddenly she found herself waking up on a beach, body healed, a large bag filled with food, water, clothes and money on her hip. She got up. 

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The ocean spirit drifted towards the nets of the fishing vessel that was meters away now. She tangled herself in the nets, among the struggling fish. She changed her form, becoming solid and taking the shape and colours of the girl she had just embraced, ropes forming around her wrists and ankles. She smirked, then closed her eyes, went limp, and simply waited until the nets were pulled back up. 

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"Oh why this again?" Jesse exclaimed as the crew pulled up a familiar-looking corpse. 

They untangled the limp figure from the nets. But just as they leaned down to pick the body up and toss it overboard, her eyes opened. And from them shone blinding yellow light. Suddenly a bolt of lightening arched down from the clear, blue sky, hitting the boat and wrending it to a million pieces. 

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