Different Wavelengths

Everything is not as it seems.

They think they can keep me from her, but they're wrong. The very people, who I blindly used to see as my family, are trying to prevent me from being with the girl I'd give my life for. We've been in love with each other for as long as I can remember. Her name is Daisy, and the mere thought of touching her soft, dark hair again brings tears to my eyes. All I have motivating me to survive is knowing that, if I don't make it home, she'll be left alone to raise the kids. I won't let that happen. 

Right now, I float aimlessly on a large, circular white raft in the middle of the ocean. No food, no water, and no idea where I'm going. My only hope of returning home lies in the hands of these five people; and I'm lucky to have even made it this far. It all started when Daisy's family found out she was pregnant. Her family and mine both literally wanted to kill me. Screw them. Who are they to tell us that we can't be together? I finally realize that the moral values I've been raised to believe, are all really a corrupt, uncultivated set of rules. When the lowbrow scum that I previously called my "family" found out that I knocked up my girlfriend, they sent me away. 

Against my will, they threw me in the car, and drove me to the pier. I remember the sweet aroma of a small bakery filled the air that day. That same bakery which I wistfully watched fade away into the thick fog, as I was carried away on a giant grey boat. It was the saddest, longest boat ride of my short life, and that was just yesterday. As soon as that boat docked, I took off and didn't look back. They shouted out, "Vince, we love you! Come back!" I know they didn't really mean it. They're probably happy they don't have to deal with me anymore; and honestly, I'm happy I don't have to deal with them either. After about three hours of desperately fleeing, I returned to the gloomy terminal where the boat had docked. My nose was suffused with the smell of dead fish. Without any of the workers noticing, I snuck onto the ship. A lot of people were making rude comments about me. I'm not sure why though. People can't ever seem to just mind their own business. I just ignored the discerning stares and took a seat in the very back of the humongous ship. 

I watched the sun subside below the crest of the sea as the boat headed back to the pier by the bakery. Stars elegantly illuminated the night sky and casted gleams of shimmering light throughout the shadowy waves. I had just closed my eyes to rest, when, out of nowhere, everyone started screaming. I immediately jumped up and saw an intense bright light, which was immediately followed by a powerful collision. I don't know what we hit, but the forceful impact hurled me into the wall right in front of me. A thunderous array of sounds, which consisted of splashing, crashing, crying and screaming vehemently blasted my ear drums. Suddenly, the same wall that I had just been launched into was now beneath my feet. The entire back of the boat was elevated high in the air, while the front was headed straight down toward the floor of the ocean.

 

Lives of innocent people were rapidly taken away by the dark ocean along with the sinking boat. As my legs quivered with fear, along with the inability to keep steady on the slippery wet surface, I looked over to see a tiny, fair-skinned boy hanging from the edge. About 10 strides across from him was a huge raft that was bound to the boat by a somewhat bulky rope. I quickly gazed over at the raft, and then back at the boy. His light curly hair and fearful eyes kept appearing over the ledge as he struggled to pull himself up. I wanted to help him, but my mind was too set on making it home. With my chances of survival quickly sinking away, I chose the direction of the raft over the boy. 

While I shakily moved across the unsteady ground, I thought about my kids. What if one of them were hanging for their life? There was probably a parent, just like me, who would give his last breath to save that boy's life. I couldn't just let him die like that. With one quick leap, I found myself flat on my belly by the edge of the surface. I struggled to hold my position while I stretched out to the dangling boy. Fear radiated through his pores as he gazed up at me. His eyes were filled with great distress, but he showed a flash of hope as I tightly gripped his wrist. Powerfully jolting backward, I yanked him up to the floor with me. There was no time to waste. As the sound of chaotic screams decreased, the earsplitting destruction of the boat against the waves picked up. I hastily made my way over to the raft with barely any time to spare before we reached the ocean surface. 

The intense vibration beneath my feet set in an adrenaline rush like I've never felt before. Survival was not an option, it was my requirement. I wasn't afraid to die. I was only afraid that Daisy, my children, and the young boy beside me might not make it without me. Scanning the area as if I was searching for a live grenade, I looked for something to cut the rope. There was literally nothing besides myself, the boy, the raft, and the wet wooden floor. My heart pounded harder than I'd ever felt. With no tools and no time to spare, I had to make use of whatever I had. So I began to chew. Like a rabid wolf eating his prey, I frantically ripped away at the rope. Sitting inside the inflated raft, the young boy leaned over the edge and also tried chewing at the rope. Of course his efforts were ineffective, but his tenacious drive motivated me. Exerting every last bit of my energy, I yanked, teared, and jerked at the thick rope to the point of my lips bleeding. 

"Come on! You're almost there!" anxiously exclaimed the boy. I began to feel the mist of the rapidly sinking boat on my legs and I knew that I needed to rush. "Hurry!" shouted the boy over the roaring crashing of the waves. Pushing through the pain of my excruciatingly sore jaw, I forcibly jerked my head backward and ripped through the last of the nylon strands. Elated, relieved, and shocked, I hurried into the raft. Within seconds, we were floating atop the dark, wavy ocean; and the entire ship was underwater. I stood in the middle of the raft and cried out in an attempt to help any others who may have survived. They probably wouldn't have done the same for me. I just do what I think is right, not what I think is fair. Until my lungs couldn't take it anymore, I continuously wailed out, and was fortunate enough to help 3 men and 2 women. We all sat frightened, silent, and cold in the rocking raft. We were surrounded by nothing but rubble from the shipwreck and darkness. The long night eventually turned to day and now here I am, lost in the middle of the ocean with nothing in sight but a flat bed of water. I'll be home soon Daisy. I promise. 

The hot sun shines so brightly that I need to shade my eyes, which just adds on to my list of problems. Noticing my obvious thirst, a young dark-skinned woman, wearing a white T-shirt and rolled up pants, gives me some of her water. I gaze into her eyes with pure gratitude, and quickly take a few sips. This brief moment of satisfaction abruptly ends as the canister of water is ripped away from me by the kind woman's mother. She glares at me with an angry scowl and proceeds to shout at her daughter. The fat under her arm shakes as she heatedly points at me. I just stay quiet. I don't want any problems. The infuriated mother wears a bluish sundress, has short dark hair, and really seems to hate my guts. I'll keep my distance, although that doesn't really mean much when you're in a raft. Directly beside her sits an old, light-skinned man with no hair and a white bathing suit. Slightly stretching the wrinkles of his sunburnt skin, for some strange reason, he smiles. I curiously tilt my head to the side at the sight of his oddly timed grin. Who could be happy in a time like this? Whatever old man, to each his own. 

I look over to my right at two large men with black bathing suits and white tank tops. They don't smile at all. One of them has light skin with shoulder-length blonde hair and a scrubby beard. The other has very dark skin, a bald head and sunglasses. He pulls a wooden paddle out from the water and hands it to his friend, who takes over steering the raft. They seem to know what they're doing. I sympathize for them as they sit there drenched in sweat, with only the water which the lovely girl and her mother are willing to spare. That's a lot more water than they'll give me at least. The young boy, who sits close by my side, suddenly nudges me in the ribs. He quickly points out his finger, directing my attention toward the old man. I see him tightly pressing his hand to his chest. He gasps for air, collapses, and begins to convulse on the floor of the raft. Quickly leaping up to my feet, I rush over to help. As soon as I reach him, the large light-skinned man shoves me away and attempts to save the elderly man. I don't see how that was necessary, but if he's going to save his life, then I guess I can handle being pushed. Everyone anxiously watches as the old man is turned on his side, widely smiles, and then ceases to move. We're all silent. The young girl begins to sob, and her mother comfortingly embraces her. I think about his big, wrinkled smile during his final moments. Maybe he was ready to move on from this life. Wherever he's going, I'm sure it's a much better place than this raft. 

After a few sorrowful minutes, the two large men place the old man's body gently atop the water. He floats flat on his back, slowly disappearing into the glistening sea. Another day passes, and we still have no sight of land. The sun shines even brighter and hotter than yesterday. I can tell the boy is becoming faint by the blatant distress in his face. I call out to the two women across from us, hoping they could spare just a little more water. The girl wistfully looks up to her mother, who responds by letting out a perturbed groan. "Fine" she says as she slides the half-full, white container to the boy. With an extremely gracious expression he grips the water canteen with both hands and takes a couple big gulps. Then, to my surprise, he begins to pour the water into my mouth. The severe dryness of my mouth is quenched for a short moment, just before I feel a powerful thrust against my throat. Out of nowhere, the hefty light skinned man savagely hurls me over the edge of the raft, and into the salty ocean. I'm a terrible swimmer, so I frantically splash around in a panic. 

Every time I try to get back on to the raft, he slaps my head and sends me back into the water. With tears pouring down his face, the young boy furiously swings his fists at the man's calves. He's much too small to be of any help, and the large man easily kicks him away. The salty water burns my nose and my eyes as I kick my legs in a frenzy to stay afloat. I can barely hear everyone screaming and shouting over the sound of my splashing. This can't be the end. Suddenly the young girl hops onto the man's back and starts clawing at his eyes. The large raft vigorously rocks back and forth as the man yells out and falls backward. Seeing a brief window of opportunity, I attempt to pull myself up. The boy notices that I'm struggling, so he quickly dives to the edge to help. Soaking wet and heavily breathing, I finally make it onto the raft. 

While I lay on the drenched floor beside the boy, the four others fight wildly in the boat. The heavy-set mother tightly holds her daughter in her arms and heatedly shouts at the two large men; and the dark skinned man struggles to hold his friend back as he madly fights to escape his grip. He pulls, pushes, and rolls; but the dark-skinned man is able to restrain him. I'm not going to interfere unless I have to. With a swift swing of his elbow, the insane man strikes his friend in the temple. The man's bald head bounces off of the floor after he instantly collapses. Like a lion in the wild, the deranged man hastily crawls toward the frightened mother and daughter. He loudly shouts and reaches out for their water canteen, which the daughter holds behind her back. Her mother attempts to kick the man in the face, but he immediately jumps to his feet and strikes her. I've seen enough! A fierce burst of rage courses through my veins as I dart toward him. The man catches sight of me through his peripheral, but he's too late. I let out an angry cry and leap on top of him. Before I can even strike, he athletically flips himself on top of me. He's significantly larger and stronger than I am; but I have a significantly larger and stronger will to survive. 

He reaches out and violently grasps my neck. "Don't hurt him!" exclaims the boy. The man looks over at him for a moment, giving me an opportunity to avoid being strangled. Like I said before, I'll do anything to survive...so I bite down on his hand as hard as possible. He lets out a blood curdling scream while my teeth sink into his skin. Seeing him c**k back his free hand to strike me, I clench down and get ready to take the hit. Boom! His fist forcefully smashes into the side of my face. I feel as if I just got smacked by a meat-wrapped sledgehammer, but of course I don't let go. Once again, I watch as he swiftly pulls his fist back. Crazily jerking my head side to side like I want to tear his hand right off, I brace for another heavy blow. Suddenly, the man falls to the floor, manically screaming.  Crying and groaning, he lays flat on his back beside me. I release his hand. While the bright rays of the sun shine over his face, the older woman's shadow casts over his chest, where a small blade is jammed. She falls to the floor with tears in her eyes and embraces her traumatized daughter. I watch the man dying there on the floor with true sadness in his eyes. I feel like I should be happy, seeing as he tried to kill me twice; but I can't help to feel bad for him. He's not the first person to treat me poorly. People sometimes just hate anyone whose race, culture and values differ from their own; and obviously a man loses his true self on the verge of dehydration. I walk over to the boy to check if he's okay. 

His eyes are blankly fixated on the blade, which finally sits completely still as the man takes his final breath. I collapse next to the young boy, still trying to catch my breath. It's been almost 2 days out here and I've only had a few sips of water. I'm not sure how much longer I can go on, but I know it will be long enough to make it home. With tears still flowing down her cheeks, the woman in the blue sundress shakily approaches me. "Thank you" she says as she pours some water in my mouth. She sniffles, tightly hugs me, and then moves over to the dark skinned man's limp body. She presses her two fingers against his neck; and after a few seconds, she begins to cry even harder. He has no pulse. We wait a moment to gather ourselves, and then I help her push the bodies off of the raft. The young boy, the girl, her mother and I all sit in a circle, silent and thirsty. Blood fills the floor beneath us. 

Another 3, 4...maybe 5...I don't know, I'll just say a lot of hours have passed. A few clouds block the sun, making me appreciate the everyday things that I took for granted like shade. I gaze over at the girl while she takes a big gulp out of the canteen. She passes it to her mother, who takes a small sip and then hands the water to the boy. He drinks the last sip. I can't blame him for not giving me any, he probably couldn't help himself. He looks over at me with an extremely guilty expression. A tear rolls down his eye as he wistfully says, "I'm really sorry." Poor kid, I'm not going to let him go out like this. Wait...what is that smell? Is that what I think it is? They all stare at me like I'm insane as I wildly sniff the air. I might be hallucinating, but I think I can smell the same bakery from the day I was sent away on the boat. 

"What is it?" curiously asks the boy. I run over to the opposite end of the raft where the young girl is seated. That is it...I'm almost positive. I cry out and direct everyone's attention toward the East. At first, they all think I'm just in the final stages of dehydration. Though, after some persistence, I eventually persuade them to paddle the raft in the direction which I direct them. The smell progressively gets stronger, but my body is progressively getting weaker. The bright sun blinds my eyes, and Daisy's gorgeous light eyes prominently emerge in my imagination. The rest of her perfect figure begins to become clearer, and soon she's standing right in front of me. I can't believe it's you. I told you I'd make it. She walks over to me, glowing with joy, and gently lays beside me. I love you Daisy. A bright light begins to shine out of her eyes, which continuously grows brighter. My body begins to feel very weightless, almost as if air can flow through me. 

"The shore! Mom, it's the shore!" elatedly screams the girl. I immediately snap back into reality, but I can feel myself fading. Everyone cheers, hugs and jumps around with excitement. That is everyone but me. Dehydrated and about to pass out, I ration every single breath. I badly need water. I look out to the shore, which is clearly in sight, but still a decent amount of time away. There's no way I can make it. Collapsing to the bloody floor, I slowly close my eyes. I just hope she knows I tried. Here comes the bright light again. I walk right behind Daisy toward a giant, glowing, white wall. Wherever we're going, I'm glad it's with her. The same sweet smell of the bakery flows through the air. The sound of a light breeze blowing through the trees sounds from all directions. Suddenly, Daisy stops. All I can see is her backside in front of the wall of intense bright light. She slowly turns around until she's directly facing me. Wait...you're not Daisy. 

Your body is the same, but your face...it's the face of the little boy from the ship. Before I can even take another step forward, the enormous glowing wall transforms into a vertically standing sea, which then proceeds to crash down on me. After feeling the cold water submerge my body, I open my eyes. I leap up to my feet in the sand, scared and confused, still so thirsty. As I look around me, I notice that I'm in the center of a large crowd of people next to the young boy. They all begin to clap their hands and loudly cheer. I look to my right and see the young dark skinned girl running toward me. The crowd bursts out with elated emotion as she falls to her knees and swings her arms around me. She frantically cries and kisses me on the head. 

"Are you thirsty?" she rhetorically asks as she holds up a big cup of water. Without thinking twice, I quickly drink the entire glass like it was the first one I ever had. A man in a black uniform walks over and picks up the young boy from the sand. After wrapping a gray blanket around him, he walks away with the boy in his arms. He stares back at me as he's carried away, and waves his little hand with an indifferent expression on his face. Stay strong kid, you've got a long life ahead of you. While the man in the uniform and the boy move away, the woman from the raft and a woman with a microphone walk toward me. I take off. I run, and run, and run some more, until I finally pick up her scent. I know exactly where I am. Hold on Daisy, I'm on my way. Her angelic scent becomes stronger with every stride I take. 

Rows of tall trees and elegant houses line my vision as I hurry down the smooth black road. I stop in my tracks, panting heavily to catch my breath. There it is. I look straight ahead at Daisy's giant white house with a long brick driveway. I cry out to let her know I'm here and excitedly run to the back yard. The soft grass touches my feet as I anxiously seek for her. All of a sudden, the glass backdoor slides open. My eyes light up with joy for a moment, but then quickly transition to eyes filled with fear. "I told you to never to come back!" I hear shouted from behind the barrel of a shotgun. Leaping for my life, the earsplitting explosion of a gunshot sounds. An awful scream belts out. Looking over, I see Daisy biting down on her owner's arm. She angrily shakes her head back and forth until he drops the gun on the floor. Letting out a fierce bark, I charge toward her owner, who immediately runs off. I turn toward Daisy. She lets out a whimper of disbelief as she rapidly wags her long, bushy tail. My heart sinks deep into my stomach at the sight of her. We lovingly rub our cold, wet noses together, lost in a paradise of complete happiness. Laying down in the lush bed of grass, her soft hair rubs against mine as we rejoice to our reunion. Nothing can stop the love we have. I'll never leave you again.

Author's Note

Read until end to fully understand.

Reviews

[A. H. Pinley]

and was fortunate enough to help 3 men and 2 women. (and my efforts were rewarded by my helping five others, two women, three men.)
I would have to agree with the other reviewers that was some twist. My thinking was set on a slave ship from ages ago. Nice write!

[A. H. Pinley]

and was fortunate enough to help 3 men and 2 women. (and my efforts were rewarded by my helping five others, two women, three men.)
I would have to agree with the other reviewers that was some twist. My thinking was set on a slave ship from ages ago. Nice write!

[Riley Justine]

Best twist ever! A really amazing way to show that love does not always have to be between to people. The unbreakable bond between pet and owner is a great thing

[Jennie Baron]

Brilliant! I love that twist at the end. And the writing is so well structured and vivid; I could easily visualize the fight scenes,for example. Very well done and deserving of the contest win.

[Mila]

Congratulations on winning the Need Reviews? IV contest!

Great write here, kept my attention. Well done!

-Mila