Chapter 2

August 7, 2019


Russel lay down and the world was chaos. Burning wood and metal plunged into the depths all around him. Booms and cracks and screams sounded from above the surface, muffled by the crashing waves. He couldn’t breathe. The water stung at his lungs. He tried to fight, to climb, but was shoved even deeper by some sinking hunk of heavy.


He fell, and fell, and fell. The world grew darker and darker until it was pitch black. But then, a soft blue glow. It floated down from above him, fading in and out. It almost seemed to swim to Russel. He looked up. He was never going to make it back to the surface. His vision was getting smeared. His head was getting emptier by the second.


The stinging had stopped now. It almost felt nice, like falling asleep. It was here now, the soft blue light. It seemed to float in front of him. For a second, he even thought he felt it touch him. It was nice to know he wasn’t alone.


The last thing Russel heard was a far-away crash, like an entire building falling into the ocean. The last thing he saw was a flash of red and the light going out.