Luke's power held out just long enough. Their drop through the sky had slowed, allowing them to hit the water with less force.
Both conscious now, they released each other. Luke worked to unhook Lucy from her parachute before the mass of sinking nylon pulled her down to the bottom of the ocean.
Lucy looked up, searching for Beleth, the man named after a fallen angel, the man who could change his body into anything, and even add wings. But the night did not yield its secrets to her.
Only the light of the full moon prevented them from drowning in darkness.
"Luke, we have to swim. There must be a shore somewhere close. Robert told Beleth we were near the base, so we have to be near land."
Luke grunted, probably too tired to speak.
She listened carefully and thought she detected the sound of lapping waves. That must mean a shore. With one arm over the other, she pushed her tired, cold body to swim, grateful that they'd at least been wearing their gear when all this happened.
Luke swam by her side.
Lucy's backpack weighed her down, making each stroke harder, but she refused to let it go. The sphere in her pack pulsed softly, sending her a warm, glowing energy that kept her from freezing in the icy water.
Luke lagged behind, drained by the use of his power and the torture he'd endured.
She reached out for him. "Come on, you can do it. I think I hear the shore."
"What's it saying to you?"
"Haha, you're so freaking funny. You should save your strength for swimming."
Rain beat down on them and the water surged and fought itself, fed by the energy of the storm.
Muscles burned, eyes grew heavy, but still they pushed.
When Lucy felt the solidness of earth under her feet, she nearly passed out in relief, but they could still drown in this water. "We're almost there. You can walk now."
Luke stumbled and she caught him and helped him to shore. They collapsed on the wet sand, too tired to find shelter or food.
Too tired to do anything but pass out.
***
Crystal blue waters lapped against the pale sand. To Lucy's left, a rocky cliff jutted into the water and a water fall fell from it, filling the quiet morning with the sound of water splashing. Inland, a forest, or maybe jungle was a better word, blocked her view of anything beyond, filling her vision with trees that created a canopy over the land. To both sides of her, the watery edge curved around, making her think they were probably on one of the smaller islands in Hawaii. Though she'd traveled the world many times for assignments, she'd never been to Hawaii. This wasn't exactly how she'd envisioned her dream vacation.
Luke groaned and sat up, joining Lucy in her survey of their surroundings. "Morning, Sis. You survive okay?"
She stretched out her body and mentally scanned all important parts to make sure she hadn't sustained any serious injury. Everything hurt, but nothing felt injured. "Yeah. Sore, tired and thirsty, but I'll live. What about you?"
He'd had it worse, and Lucy worried about the dark circles under his eyes and how pale his face had gotten. Even his bright blue eyes had lost some of their spark, and now looked washed out and tired.
"I'll be fine. But yeah, I'm thirsty as hell."
Nothing like swimming through salt water and running for your life to dehydrate you. The more Lucy thought about water, the more she craved it. How long could someone survive without water? Her survival teacher had said they could live without water for maybe three days, under optimal circumstances. She considered the state of her body and the level of dehydration she already suffered from.
Yeah, no. I won't make it three days. And by the looks of Luke, he had even less time.
No matter, as she didn't intend to be stranded that long, and they could surely find some fresh water somewhere.
She rose to her feet, grunting under the pain of exhausted muscles, and pulled Luke up. "Time to hunt for water."
The walk gave them both a chance to explore the island and stretch their bruised and tired bodies. Lucy led them towards the waterfall she'd seen, in hopes that it was fresh water and not salt. "It looks pretty close, maybe a ten-or fifteen-minute hike?" Her wetsuit clung to her in uncomfortable ways, but she was loathe to change into clean clothes until she could rinse the salt and sand from her body.
An hour into the walk, she began regretting her choice to hike in the wetsuit.
Another half hour and they finally arrived at a small lake fed from a waterfall above, and the lake in turn fed the waterfall she had seen from shore. For a moment, she forgot about her thirst and admired the beauty of her surroundings. The water caught the sun and shimmered like liquid crystal. The rocky shore of the lake had a colorful assortment of rocks that, when wet, shone like gems.
They approached and looked into the lake, at their own reflections.
Lucy wasn't vain, but even so, she shuddered at the mess that looked back at her. Her long hair had turned into a nest of tangles that any bird would be happy to lay eggs in, which might not be so bad; at least they'd get some food out of it.