Sinking

The water in front of me was inky black and unforgiving like a panther about to pounce in the moon’s brilliant glow. The boat rocked back and forth in the frothy barrage of waves attacking it. People, men, women, and children alike, clung to anything that they could grab as the boat swayed and bounced. Screaming mothers clutched their crying children as sailors rushed past, trying to find the source of the leak. The waves were relentless. I wondered what anyone had done to deserve this. The boat was sinking! Although so slowly that people might not have noticed, but as I watched the furious ocean, I could see the floor of the boat getting lower by the second. Suddenly, the boat gave a mighty shudder, and tipped over onto its side. Calm down, don’t panic, I thought to myself as my hands scrabbled to find a piece of wood to cling to. A wave crashed down onto my head, pulling me under. Slowly I sank down, down, down, the bottom always far below me. My lungs were burning, and I didn’t think that I could take it another second. My feet hit the bottom, and I shot up like a cork being pulled from a bottle. My head broke the surface and I took in great gasping gulps of air. A lifeboat came next to me and someone’s strong rough hand pulled me aboard. My sodden clothes dripped onto the boat’s wooden floor as I was deposited next to a woman cradling a wailing baby in her arms. Lights flickered at the edge of my vision and I began to feel faint. Slowly darkness enveloped me and the panicked yells of sailors and passengers faded as I lost consciousness.