Snippet #928466

There was a sound somewhere, repeating endlessly, slightly different every time, something her mind knew, all around her where she couldn’t see, even over her head. Aislinn blinked awake, and then lurched up from the sand that had instantly invaded her eyes to hack up a mouthful of salty water. Wincing in pain, she wiped the back of her hand across her mouth and rubbed grains roughly from her stinging eyes, making them swell a little. Blinking moisture back, she slowly came to remember herself, and realised her glasses were hanging off an ear at a ridiculous angle. She automatically straightened them, and unthinkingly reached out to flip off the harsh desk lamp that was so bright it was painful…
 
She flinched. Sand. Her situation threw itself upon her and she stared around, distantly aware of her mouth hanging open. This could not be happening. Where was she? Where was her room? The ship? Hadn’t she been in her room? At her desk, writing? What had happened?
 
Pulling her knees to her chest, she tried to gather her thoughts, tracking slowly through the previous evening. It had been stormy and dark, wet and thundery, so she’d taken advantage of the atmosphere and started scribbling the fourth scene of her latest attempt at high fantasy. It hadn’t gone too well, but she’d really been enjoying herself, until something she guessed was an alarm went up. The sound of running outside, her leaping up from her chair, throwing aside a door, racing to a lifeboat, huddling in the rain, lightning cracking the sky… Then what? They must have capsized or something. Or had they smashed on rocks around here? Either way she’d unwillingly taken a dip in the ocean. Her hair was sticky with the salt of dried seawater, her lungs were sore, and she had no idea where she was. She stared out over the horizon as the piercing sunlight warmed her sodden form. There was nothing there, no cruiser, no lifeboat, no rescue ship. Not even a plane. A headache began to throb at the bottom of her temple. She pressed a hand to it, newly aware that she was swaying. She coughed again, her chest feeling as if someone had taken a cheese grater to it. Maybe it had been that chef, the one that got annoyed when she’d requested a meat-free special, but it wasn’t her fault, there was nothing vegetarian on the menu… Her mind wandered, ambling backwards, remembering splinters of the cruise. Did they have to be so loud at night? It wasn’t even a real club, and the music was noisy, the bass echoing through the walls, she should’ve chosen a cabin further from the dance floor…
 
After another immeasurable amount of time unconscious, and a while more awake, she recovered enough to try and move. There had to be someone else on the island, after all. She would be terrified alone, as she had no survival knowledge whatsoever, and would probably just break down. As long as she could find somebody, things would be alright. Or at least, that was what she was telling herself as she tentatively placed her feet flat on the beach. She tentatively moved her weight onto them, concentrating on herself and blocking out the rest of the island. She slowly stood, and for a heartbeat she was fine, until her right ankle slid sideways and her leg gave way with a sharp, stabbing pain that lanced across her leg. She bit back a cry, falling to her knees, her hands hitting the sand as she steadied herself. Her leg couldn’t support her, and unless she was going to hop, there was no way she could run around searching for fellow survivors. She leaned on her left, as the sprain throbbed. She didn’t know what had happened, but it had been foolish to think she could get through a shipwreck without some kind of injury. She sat on the expanse of fine white grains, eyes helplessly scanning the surroundings for any sign of fellow life. It was too frightening for her to consider being on her own.