10Hey readers, this is Thomas Knightshade here with a new story. My very first story in fact. That being said, I am quite excited about writing this, as it is something of a passion project of mine. Without further ado, here is Adrift in Remnant.
AN
Over a thousand years ago, stood the Song Dynasty. It is regarded as one of, if not the most successful kingdoms of the era. This was brought about by one of my ancestors, Pan Chong, who served as regent and advisor for the state of Chu. When King Cheng of Chu decided to make a younger son the crown prince, Pan Chong aided the elder prince Shangchen instead. He then forced King Cheng to commit suicide and ascended the throne as King. Pan Chong, my ancestor, was made the "Royal Tutor". This fairy tale is tangible and will follow our hero every step he takes.
It was supposed to be a normal day.
My family and I were supposed to enjoy the weather at Lake Mead, We were supposed to relax, have a nice day with family, and we were supposed to go swimming in the nice blue lake that I enjoy so much.
It wasn't meant to be.
It was a normal Saturday afternoon. The sun was shining and the birds were chirping. You could smell the refreshing air as a cool breeze passed me by. I was enjoying myself as I basked in the warm sunshine watching my little brother, in the meantime, Father fired up the grill and Mom was preparing the sauteed meat. Life was good.
"Thomas!" Mom called out "Go help your father with the barbeque!" "Okay! Hang on!" I exclaimed as I got up to go help dad set up the kerosine for the grill.
Now, my little brother Leo is a good kid, seven years old and the embodiment of the energizer bunny. He was so excited to go swim in the water and was rambling in the car the whole way to the lake. He was having so much fun in the lake that he started to drift further from the shore. So it was to my absolute horror when I heard his voice echo from the lake.
"Help me!" my younger brother cried out "I can't breathe!" Wasting no time, I jumped off the pier and into the darkness below.
The icy water shocks my system as I plunge beneath the surface of the lake. My heart races and my chest tightens as the situation dawns on me. I only have a few precious minutes before my brother starts to sink below the waves, and with only a hundred meters in front of me, I start to swim.
I kick my legs as fast as I can and part the water with huge strokes of my arms. I probably don't look graceful and I don't care. My chest is on fire. I need to breathe.
As I was starting to near him, he is dog-paddling towards me with fear in his eye. "Big Brother" Leo whimpered "I'm scared." Flashing a confident smile I don't really feel, "It's fine Leo, I'm here." I see the pier and panic at how far it seems. I take a deep breath and swim towards the docks.
My muscles are starting to numb with pain as we near the docks. And after the longest five minutes of my life, we finally reach the pier. With the very last of my strength, I lift my brother over my head and onto the docks above. Relief poured over me knowing my brother was safe and sound. That was until my body stopped responding.
As liquid brushes against my lips and invades my nose, as I let out a deep breath to blow the water out. My body fights me on this, it wants to breathe in. Once more I break through the surface, spitting out the sickly-sweet water. I speed up my strokes and will my legs to kick. It wasn't this a few minutes ago! I writhe, trying to get on my back, but it doesn't work. My legs are lead, heavy. They slow. It's so difficult to get them to move. A chill seeps into my bones and weighs me down. Even my arms become weights. My body is screaming at me to rest, it cries for it, and I feel pinpricks run throughout my entire body. I have to keep going... move legs. MOVE!
The frozen finger of realization shears its way through the fear and makes me realize the truth of the matter. No one was coming for me. Is this how I die? I don't want it like this, I'm only 17! I push down the water around me, trying to keep my mouth above the surface. I want to shout but I can't even do that. I suppose my legs are still moving. I can't even feel my feet anymore. The water rushes in around me again.
This time, when I fight my way back to the surface, I see them. A silhouette. Oh, thank god, another person. I want to cry out, but dare not open my mouth. They're getting closer. The sunlit world is above me. I force my leaden arms and legs to move. My worn-out limbs show me what they think about that.
The figure is gone. I want to cry, but I don't have the energy for that. Was it ever really there?
Dad isn't coming. No one's coming. My limbs are winning this fight. As hard as I will them to move they just won't. They decided to rest instead. I take a deep breath as the water closes in around me. I can't die this way. I'll never see Mom again. And my baby brother… I'll never see him graduate elementary. The sunlight flickering down through the water taunts me. A slight pressure pushes on my chest from the inside. My clothes swirl uselessly around me, weighing down even further. A ringing deafens my ears, but otherwise, it's quiet.
My lungs burn. I clamp my mouth shut and try to kick my legs. The urge to breathe is unbearable. My chest is going to explode. No. Nonononono….
Bubbles spew from me, taking with them my precious air. I should force my legs to move, but I don't want to. I just want to sleep. My vision starts to blur as everything fades to black.