Swept Away

Even with the booming of lightning in my ears and the sight of passengers scurrying around in near hysterics I couldn’t help but notice that Conner was holding my hand. He dragged me down the hallway until we came to the front desk.

“What’s going on? Is the ship going to be alright?” he asked the staff on duty.

“Sir, we don’t even know what’s happened yet. We’re still trying to assess the situation,” the woman answered. Suddenly the ship lurched to one side, sending all the passengers sprawling to the floor. I clutched onto the purse I was holding that was slung around my shoulder. I could hear screams of terror as the lights flickered out, and then came back on a minute later.

“What’s going to happen?” I asked frantically.

“Attention passengers! Attention passengers!” The captain’s calm voice echoed through the hallway as everyone fell dead silent to hear what was happening. “Please remain calm, we are trying to gain control of this situation. For safety reasons please put on your lifejackets and wait for further instructions.”

Everyone slowly pulled themselves up from the floor and assembled a line and put their lifejackets on. The ship swayed dangerously from side-to-side, but Connor wrapped his arms protectively around my shoulders and kept me from falling over again. After five minutes of waiting in the eerily quiet hallway we heard the captain’s voice come over the speakers again.

“Attention passengers! Attention passengers! We have decided to sail out of the storm and dock at the nearest port until the weather patterns clear up again. We should be able to safety sail out of this-” The captain’s calm and reassuring voice was suddenly cut off, and cries of alarm arose from all around me.

“We’re going to die!” wailed a little girl who looked no more than five-years-old. Her mom got down on her knees and wrapped her arms around her to comfort her. Suddenly all the lights flickered out and we were thrown into total darkness, but unlike last time they didn’t come back on.

A few minutes later someone opened their cell phone, giving us a little light. We all walked out onto the deck, even though it was pouring down rain. At least outside we could see. As soon as I stepped out from under the cover I was drenched with water. Connor pulled his jacket off and wrapped it around me, trying to protect me from the rain. I thanked him before turning back to the gray sky and fear freeze my bones.

Coming towards us was at least a hundred-foot wave, towering over our small ship. It was the shark-wave again. Screams erupted from everywhere on deck. I stepped back and bumped into Connor. I turned around and buried my face into his lifejacket, holding onto him for dear life.

I glanced back just in time to see the wave sweep over the boat. I felt the floor beneath me turn sideway, then it disappeared and I felt myself falling. I screamed and thrashed around, looking for anything to hold onto. I suddenly hit the water, sinking down at least several feet. I opened my mouth to scream, but found water instead. My throat felt like it was on fire as sea water washed down it. I kicked my legs and when my head finally broke through to the surface I gasped for air, sputtering and choking on the water. I looked around frantically for Connor and found him swimming a few feet away.

Suddenly a wave washed over me, sending me spinning under the water again. This time I felt a hand grab my wrist and drag me to the surface. When my head broke through I saw Connor in front of me. I could feel tears streaming down my face, mixing with the rain as I clung to him. He looked around before suddenly smiling as he spotted something in the distance. He yelled something but I couldn’t hear him over the rain as he dragged me away from the wreckage.

A wave washed over us again, but Connor had a firm grip and kept swimming even when the wave knocked us under again. When we finally stopped swimming I opened my eyes to see a lifeboat in front of us. It was overturned, but it looked like it was in good condition.

“Help me turn it over!” he yelled over the wind. I swam to the other side and grabbed onto it before hoisting it over. With a splash it landed the right side up. I smiled at Connor across from me before I grabbed onto the edge and hoisted myself into the boat. I was about to offer my hand to Connor when a wave suddenly crashed into us, sending me flying forward. I managed to grab onto the boat, but I watched helplessly as Connor was carried away from me. All I remember next is being hit in the back of the head by something heavy (thinking back, I’m guessing it was flying debris), knocking me unconscious.



When I woke up my eyes were crusted over and my throat felt like there was a hot knife stuck inside it. My head was pounding and my arm felt numb. I rolled onto my back and opened my eyes, immediately regretting it when I saw the bright sun glaring down on me. I put my hand over my eyes and sat up, feeling dizzy. I looked around through my blurry vision and saw miles and miles of ocean. Wait, where was the ship?!

I rubbed my eyes and turned around in all directions, looking for the boat. It had to be here somewhere, I couldn’t have been unconscious for that long. I started to panic when I didn’t see anything. For miles upon miles all I could see was the open ocean; there wasn’t even a single, solitary seagull in the sky. I looked around the small boat I was in and saw that it was empty, there wasn’t even an oar. I glanced down and breathed a sigh of relief when I saw I still had my purse, even if it was soaking wet. I set it down next to me on the plank of wood and unzipped it.

Removing a couple items I finally found what I was looking for: my cell phone. I smiled as I flipped it open, but then scowled when I realized it wouldn’t turn on. I let out a frustrated groan before taking out the battery and taking it out of it’s protective case and sitting it on the bench next to me. Maybe I could get it to work if I dried it out. I knew I should have bought that waterproof purse I saw at Wal-Mart before I left on the cruise…

I turned back to my purse and pulled out a granola bar. I tore open the wrapping and bit into it. I was starving! I searched through my bag but found that I didn’t have anything to drink. I usually had a water bottle or something. I turned away from my purse and laid down on the planks of wood because the bottom on the boat had a couple inches of water in it. I munched on the bar as I waited for help to arrive soon. I couldn’t have floated that far from the boat, and don’t search parties scan the area within a certain radius around the sinking? Search and Rescue should already be on their way here, and then I would be brought back to the States.

But what was I supposed to do in the meantime? It would be hours, maybe even a day, before they arrived, and I had no shelter, no water, and no food except maybe a few breath mints in my purse. But what would I drink? I could feel myself becoming thirsty as I swallowed the last bites of my granola bar and tried to ignore the burning sensation they caused as they went down my throat. I knew I could only survive without water for three to five days, so I had more than enough time, but I knew it would be near impossible to tell myself I could survive when my mouth dried out and I felt that gnawing feeling in my stomach, especially since I was surrounded by water on every side. As the old saying goes, 'Water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink.’ I turned over on my side and tried to sleep. Maybe when I woke up help would be here…



I laid on the bottom on the boat, letting the water lap against my face as the ship rocked back and forth. I had fallen off my little bench, but I didn’t have the will or energy to pick myself up. Even if I did, my head was starting to spin with even the slightest movements. The world tilted and swayed beneath me, and this time it wasn’t from the waves. Three days and not a sign of anyone, or anything for that matter. No birds, no animals (not that I would be able to see them from my position on the bottom of the boat). I had to drink something, anything. I turned my head and opened my mouth, lapping up the water from the bottom of the boat. I was beyond caring if I wasn’t supposed to drink it or not, I needed water! Within a few seconds I felt so much better. I struggled to sit up and then leaned over the side, cupping my hands full of sea water. If I didn’t drink a lot of it then I should be fine, after all, how much salt could there really be in it?

I brought the water up to my face and drank every last drop before getting another handful. No, I had to stop! I let the water run through my hands before picking myself up off the floor and laying down on the bench. Search and Rescue had to be coming any second now, it’d already been three days! They had to be close by now! I closed my eyes and dreamed of lying by a stream of fresh water.



I felt a churning, nauseous feeling in the pit of my stomach, but it was slowly making it’s way up. I could taste something nasty at the back of my throat, and it wouldn’t go away. I slowly sat up, putting a hand to my head and feeling it burn under my touch. Suddenly my stomach gave a lurch and I leaned over the boat as I threw up. I laid back down on the plank as I held onto my stomach and willed the pain to go away.

I opened my eyes a crack and could see the sky getting dark with the setting sun. I knew that Search and Rescue didn’t work during the night; could I survive until morning? I now felt even thirstier than before I drank the salt water, I couldn’t even swallow. That’s it. I was done for, I was as good as dead right now. I’d already gone three days without water, how much longer could I expect to survive? It was time I finally accepted my fate…



I could feel the sun shining dully when my boat gave a sudden lurch. I was thrown to the floor and I hit my head on the other plank. I weakly lifted myself from the floor and saw that the early morning sun was coming up and my boat had stopped moving. I slowly turned around and gave a cry when I saw an island right in front of me. I stood up with wobbly legs as the boat threatened to tip over. I stumbled out of the boat, landing in the shallow water my boat had washed up in. I stood up and ran as fast as my weak legs would carry me to the white sand of the beach. I collapsed as I reached the blinding sand. I was safe! There was a forest of trees here, and where trees grow there must be water nearby! I would survive!

I lifted my head and saw a small stream emptying into a tiny pool about fifty feet away. I nearly fainted as I ran as fast as I could to the spring. When I got there I stuck my face into the pond and gulped down as much water as I could. I never knew water could taste this good! After I had my fill I flopped down onto the grass growing next to the pond. I felt the grass between my fingers and dug my nails into the dirt. I rolled over in the grass, loving the way it felt after being stranded on a hard wooden boat for so long. I rolled onto my back and smelled the flowers that were growing nearby as a breeze blew my hair all around my face. I smiled to myself before feeling around my shoulder for my purse. I sat up with a start when I realized I had left it in the boat.

I stood up with renewed strength and ran back to the beach, grateful that the boat hadn’t been washed away with the tide while I was away. I splashed through the shallow water as I made my way to my boat and took my purse out. I moved to the front of the boat and grabbed it, pulling it up to shore so it wouldn’t wash away. Maybe I could use it to build a shelter or something. But wait, how would I put the boards together? I didn’t have any nails or really anything. And what about food? What would I do if there was a storm? What if there were wild animals on this island? How would I be able to defend myself?

Wait! Ok, calm down Kinsley! You’ve watched every single episode of Survivorman, you know how to survive! Ok, he always said to build a shelter first, find a source of water, then find food. Ok, I already had one of those. Now I just needed to make a shelter and find food.

I finally dragged the boat up to shore and let out a sigh. Ok, there was no way I could dismantle this boat without a crowbar or som-my train of thought was suddenly cut short when I glanced to my left and saw a pair of footprints in the sand. I knew they weren’t mine because they were made by bare feet, while I had sneakers on my feet, and my footprints were a distance away from these ones. I suddenly felt joy well up inside me. I wasn’t alone! There was someone else, maybe even groups of people, on this island besides me!

I was beyond overjoyed. They probably already had a shelter, food, and a source of water; I wouldn’t have to fight to survive! I just hoped they were friendly. With a shout of joy I followed the footprints as they led into the forest.