Ocean Deep, Mountain High

Zachary Rogers


Alyssa Stone

@ Aoibhe

Zachary stood on along the side of the ship, looking out into the sea. It was a lovely day, clear skies, beautiful calm water. The type of day that made him just want to lay on the deck and relax the day away. Though, even as much as he would love to do that, he did need to ensure that things on the ship went smoothly, and that included looking out at the sea and on the coast. At least he would be able to enjoy the day for a little bit.

As his eyes scanned the area, he soon found himself staring at a dark figure in the water. Oh odd. What was it exactly? As he leaned over the boat a bit more, the realization hit him like a ton of bricks. Quickly, the man grabbed some rope that was tied down to the boat before jumping overboard with the free end of it. Luckily, he had managed to lead quite a distance into the water so it did not take him long to make it to the floating figure.

Once he reached the person, Zachary dived down and grabbed them, pulling them up to the top of the water. Already, he could tell it was a female, and that she was completely unconscious. Were they dead already? Fuck he didn't know. Zachary quickly tied the rope around the motionless body and swan back to the boat, climbing up the side before using the rope to pull her body on the deck. The moment her body hit the floor, he started to compress down onto her chest, seeing the sea water spew out of her. And soon enough, the sea was out of her and he could see the unconscious figure breathing. A sense of relief started to floor through him.

Alyssa found herself jolted to alertness, her face pressed against some hard wood as she coughed and splirted, her chest sore as she struggled to gasp in a breath. She lay against the hard wood for a second, her brain trying to process what was going on. Why was she wet, her body so cold she could. Barely feel it. The realisation dawned on her far too quickly as she quickly tried to push herself off the deck and move away from the figure, but her body hit the ground again with a deafening this, her arms too weak to even hold her up for more than 30 seconds.

She lay there, clutching her eyes shut tightly as she waited for whatever was about to happen to her. "Please" she croaked, her voice barely audible it was so hoarse. She couldn't even beg for mercy from whichever of her past haunts had caught up to her. Her body shook as she felt arms wrapping around her as she finally got a look at the figure that had been standing over her. Her eyes washed over him, wide with gear. She didn't recognise him, but of course that didn't mean he wasn't a threat.

@ BearGirl

@ Aoibhe

As the girl woke up, Zachary turned and yelled at another crewman to bring him a towel and to get a room ready. He then turned back to the young woman and gently pushed her wet hair out of her face. "It is okay, everything is going to be okay. Just try to relax and we will take care of you." As another man came forward, he set the towel down on the deck besides Zachary before quickly heading off again. Zachary grabbed it and started to dry off the woman's face and hair. "See, is that not already a little better?"

"Okay miss, I am going to bring you to one of our spare rooms." Zachary said as he moved his arms behind her back and against her shoulder, gently lifting her up. "We'll need to change you into some dry clothes first and I'll check your vitals, okay?" He carried her down to the underside of the deck. A long, metal, narrow hallway greeted them and the man continued down a few doors before walking into an open room and carefully setting the woman down on the bed before going into the closet.

"I'm afraid we don't have any woman's clothes on board, but this will have to do." He pulled out a large long sleeved shirt and pants. "At least they will keep you warm." Zachary set them down on the bed besides her before looking down at the woman. He already knew she would be too weak to change herself but he didn't want to get too handsy with a woman who was clearly in panic mode. "Is it okay if I help you change? We need to get you out of these clothes before you get hypothermia or phenomena."

Alyssa's eyes darted around as she tried to follow the men across the deck, she wanted to know what was going on at all times. Her head was pounding with pain, so much so she could barely even keep up with what the man was saying to her. She allowed herself to give in a little as he picked her up off the ground, her body leaning on to his. She figured if he was going to do something malevolent to her there really wasn't much she could do to stop it right now.

Aly was slowly began to realise just how cold her body was as she slowly began to feel her toes and fingertips again. Her lips shone a light blue colour against her pale skin as she sat on the bed. At first she refused his help getting changed, but she quickly leaned that she would need the help. She nodded slowly, holding her arms out as far as she could to assist him. "I'm Alyssa" she whispered as he began to change her. "How did you find me?" She croaked out.

@ BearGirl

@ Aoibhe

"I found you drowning in the seas and I rescued you." Zachary said softly as he walked up to Alyssa. Carefully, he peeled her shirt of off her shivering body and did the same with her pants. Now that she was out of her soaking clothes, he took a moment to dry the woman off with a towel before helping her pull on the PJs that he had found. "Is that not much better?" He said as he helped Alyssa sit up in the bed a little. The man from before came back in and set down a doctor's bag before leaving again.

At this point, Zachary grabbed the chair by the desk in the room, sat down and cleared his throat. "My name is Zachary Rogers and I am the captain of this ship. You are on a military vessel, miss. Now, I am going to check your vitals, ask you a few questions and then I will leave you so you may get some rest." Opening up the bag, Zachary pulled out a thermometer and placed it against her head to get her temperature. "What is your full name?"

Alyssa wrapped her arms around herself tightly, grateful for the dry clothes. "They are great, thanks" she told him softly, resting her back against the pillows as he sat her up. She watched the man carefully as he fussed about her, just waiting for him to turn on her. She had no doubt in her head he had been sent to find her. Her eyes settled on the doctors bag, the fear beginning to settle over her. She had been right, he was about to torture her. She was going to receive the exact fate she had been running from.

Her eyes widened even further when he said this was a military ship. The thought of being tortured quickly left her head, replaced by thoughts of being imprisoned for life. She took in a deep breath as he pressed the thermomether to her forehead quickly trying to come up with a story to tell him. "Alyssa is my middle name, my full name is Emilia Alyssa Hennessy" she lied easily, biting down on her lip softly. "I was out on a boat with my friends, we we're drinking. I must have fell overboard" she lied again.

@ BearGirl

@ Aoibhe

Zachary pulled the meter off of Alyssa's head once it started to beep. She was definitely running on the cold side, but as long as he kept her in the room, she should end up being okay. He reached into his bag and pulled out a stethoscope. "Okay, I am going to be listening to your heart now. Just take a few deep breaths." He started to move the metal part along her chest and against her back, listening to her heartbeat as Alyssa breathed. Everything sounded normal to him... It would be better if they had an official doctor on board instead of a medic. At least it seemed she did not have any serious wounds.

He pulled the stethoscope off and looked down at Alyssa before moving back into his bag. "Do you live close to here?" Zachary asked her. "Know your friend's phone numbers at all? We could call them and tell them that you are alright." He pulled out a light and started to check her ears. "We will have to bring you to a doctor before we bring you back home but it shouldn't be a problem."

Alyssa began to cough as she took in deep breaths, groaning softly as she felt a pain shoot through her chest. She pulled the blanket a little tighter around her as he tied her top back up and she settled back in to the bed again. "I don't know their numbers by heart, and I travel around a lot, no steady home" she told him softly, clutching her hands in fist until her nails dug hard in to her palms.

She nodded softly as he suggested bringing her to a doctor. She knew that objecting would do nothing only raise supicions. "Is there any chance I could get like a tea or something warm" she asked gently, as she tilted her head so that he could look on her ears.

@ BearGirl

@ Aoibhe

"I'll contact the local coast guard to see if they called your incident in then. At least then they will know that you are okay." Zachary told her as he stood up. "And yes, Miss, I can get you some tea." With that, he put the light away and made his way out of the room and to the kitchen. It seemed to him that she was completely fine. In the least, the woman was in a stable state and he would be able to get her to shore and to a doctor. From there, they could check her internals to ensure that no damage had happened.

After a quick call to the coast guard, and a cup of tea made, Zachary headed back to her room. "Well, it seems like no one called in about a person falling off. Though if they are drunk they might call in later." He cleared his throat. No call had seemed rather odd to him. Zachary set down the tea besides her. "And where are you staying now then?"

Alyssa sighed as he walked out of the room, laying back against the pillows her head spinning. She was tired of all the questions he was asking, she just needed to rest for a short while and then get the hell off this boat. She glanced over at the door trying to think, she didnt hear him lock it so hopefully she wouldn't have to contend with that. She worried about how high up he was in military ranking, if he was captain of the ship she feared he could find information on her far too easily.

Aly scanned his face as he mentioned there being no call about her, she could tell he found it strange, but she wasn't sure if he found it so strange he wasn't buying her story. She took a slow sip of the tea, shrugging at him. "Staying with a friend of a friend, I don't know the exact address, it's in Santa Monica somewhere" she told him, taking another sip of the tea, watching him over the rim of the cup. "How long will it be until we get back to shore?" She asked softly.

@ BearGirl

@ Aoibhe

Zachary let out a small sigh as she asked when they would get back to shore. They were currently on a job right now and with Alyssa not under any immediate danger, it was best that they finished it. "We will be back on shore in a few hours. At that point I will bring you to the hospital and we will figure out what to do from there." He was concerned about where he was going to drop the woman off after the incident. It was clear she had no idea where to go nor did she knew how to contact her friends. The whole situation seemed a bit fishy to him but it would need to be solved later.

"You should get some rest." With that Zachary moved to head out of the room. It was easy to tell that the woman was exhausted. And with the day she was having, it would be best if Alyssa got the rest that she needed.

Alyssa smiled at him politely as he exited the room, her face falling as soon as he left. She knew she only had a few hours to get off this boat. Returning to land just wasn't an option, she had made up her mind last night when she jumped off that cliff what her fate had to be. She finished her tea , resting her back against the pillows for a moment as she felt her eyes drifting closed. She shot up in the bed, a sharp pain shooting through her chest and head, she couldn't risk falling asleep and not waking up until they reached the port.

She sighed, pushing herself to get out of the bed. Her legs felt week underneath her but she was fuelled by her need to get out of there. She waited by the door for a second before slowly easing it open and making her way down the hall towards the stairs to the upper decks. From her earlier judgment it seemed like a small crew so she figured she wouldn't have too much dodging to do. A while later, after having to hide for a couple of moments, Aly found herself crouching at the top of the stairs looking over the top deck. Leaving out a quick sigh of relief she checked that the coast was clear before heading to the railings to climb over.

@ BearGirl

Zachary was sitting in the captain's cabin, steering the ship when he saw Alyssa moving along the deck. What was she doing? The girl needed to be resting, not exploring the ship! Though it did not take Zachary long to realized that was not what she was doing. Alyssa was soon at the rails and beginning to climb over. Immediately, Zachary jumped into action, cutting the ship's engine before running out of his cabin. He made an absolute made dash towards the woman. He jumped over the middle railing of his ship, dropping down to the main deck where Alyssa was. By the time he got to her, Alyssa was already on the other side of the rail. Though he was quick, grabbing her under her arms and tearing her body away from the side, pulling her back over the rail and onto the deck with him.

His grip was tight as he held Alyssa into his body, both arms wrapped around her shoulders, holding her arms down as much as he could. He didn't want to hurt the girl, but he had to stop her from hurting herself. "Just what did you think you were doing?!" Zachary yelled at her as he continued to pull her farther away from the rail.

Alyssa felt the air get knocked out of her as two hands dragged her back over the railing. She began to struggle, trying her best to fight her way away from the man, but she quickly realized it was futile. He was muscly and strong built. She was 5'2" and had almost drowned less than 3 hours ago. With the sense of control seeming farther and farther out of her reach, Alyssa let her knees give way under her as she sank to the deck of the boat, silent tears running down her. Hesks as she stared out in to the blackness of the water surounding them.
"Please just let me go" she pleaded gentky, shaking her head. "I'm not supposed to be here, I don't want to be" she whispered softly, still fighting to get him to leave go of her.

She hated how he yelled at her. She had never asked for him to pluck her from the water. She hadn't intended on being found so soon.

@ BearGirl

@ Aoibhe

Once Alyssa started to give up, Zachary lightened his grip on her. Enough where he was still holding her but not so much that she felt held down forcefully. Gently, he picked her up again and started to carry her back down to the lower deck. They needed to chat but he didn't want to do it in the middle of the deck where the cold wind was blowing. "What do you mean?" Zachary asked her softly as he started to head down into the bedroom. Gently, he set her down on the bed and then closed the door so they had privacy.

"Tell me what is really going on." Zachary said. "I can help you if you tell me the truth."

Alyssa still struggled a little as he tried to carry her back down to the room, but her whole body felt heavy. She still hadn't slept or eaten after all. She watched after him as he closed door, a slight panic setting in to her mind. What if he had been lying the whole time and this wasn't a navy vessel, if he truly was just hired to bring her back.

She took a deep breath, closing her eyes tightly before she looked up at him. "I can't... I just can't" she whispered, shaking her head softly. She wouldn't even know where to start. "I didn't fall off a party boat, I jumped in, off a cliff. My intent wasn't to go for a swim" she said flatly looking him dead in the eye. "I don't want to be here" she said through gritted teeth, running her hands up in to her hair.

@ BearGirl

@ Aoibhe

Zachary felt his heart drop at her words. It was clear to him what she was trying to do, but he did not know why. He wanted to understand why she had become determined to lose herself to the sea. He was quiet for a moment as he tried to prepare himself for the rest of this conversation. Zachary had seen a few really upsetting things but things like this never really got easier.

"You can tell me the truth." He told her, his voice low and gentle. "I might be able to help you if you tell me why. Maybe just talking about it will help you?" Zachary wasn't sure if Alyssa was just going to release everything that was going on with her to him. But in the least, he would be able to stop her from doing any more harm to herself. He was going to need to keep her locked up in the room though until he figured out how to do that.

Alyssa shook her head determinedly at him, her ists clenched at her sides. "I don't want to go back, please don't make me, it's not fair" she said softly, her eyes pleading with him as the let her body rest back against the pillows, to tired to hold herself up any longer. She was beginning to realise that she was too weak to fight him, and all she could do was hope that he wouldn't try and take her home. Her hand, coldy and small gently lay itself over his, giving it a weak squeeze. "I know you don't understand, but I would rather die than go back to my life" she said, looking in to his eyes.

She wasn't quite ready to tell him about herself, she feared he may use that information to find her family, find the people she was running from. All she could do was trust that he would listen to her and not bring he'd name up to any authoritave figures.

@ BearGirl

@ Aoibhe

"I will not make you go back. You don't have to go back." Zachary assured her. "But I am not going to let you kill yourself while I am in charge of this ship. There are other options for you." He reached out, gently placing his hand on top of hers for support. "There are so many other options and if you tell me what is going on, I can help you figure it out...But for now, all I can really promise is that you can stay here until we figure out the rest. Does that sound okay?"

He wasn't going to let Alyssa leave his ship until he knew that she had somewhere safe to go. Somewhere where she wouldn't hurt herself. Though he knew he was breaking protocol but allowing a civilian to stay on the ship when there really was no need to. He knew they would want him to bring her to a psych ward to be looked after but something about that just didn't sit right with Zachary. "You are safe here."