Some people love living dangerously. For some people, the thrill of a near miss is what they crave their whole lives; the moment of panic that rises up from the pit of your stomach like your blood has turned to ice, but then washes over you like blissfully warm water as danger passes. This was one of those moments. You could hear the sharp intake of breath as the crest of the fifty meter wave frothed and foamed like the mouth of an angry Kraken. There were only seconds left to wait.
I ran. My eyes were fixed on the path before me, ignoring the screams of agony ringing all around. I pushed forward, utilising every bit of strength left in me. But I lost to Mother Nature. The water got a hold of me, weighing me down, and thrusting me onto to the gritty, tar road. I couldn’t feel much pain, but I knew I had been cut because the salt in the water was stinging in my wounds. I tried to fight back, get up, but it wasn’t working. I fought harder, only to find myself choking on water, then I decided to let go.
The current sucked me further into the sea, and finally, the current stopped. I swam to the surface to finally catch a breath of air, then I saw it. There was a huge machine underwater that seemed to be pulsating, throbbing even so I had to investigate. I took a deep breath and was ready to go back down when everything went black.
I woke up inside of what looked like an oversized test tube filled with water. I could see scientists watching me, jotting down notes that seemed illegible. My brain tried to process everything that was happening but was interrupted by the fact that I had no oxygen, and my carbon dioxide needed to escape. I slammed on the transparent windows holding me in but it was no use. I kicked at it repeatedly with all my might yet still, nothing. Bubbles escaped my mouth as I lost all my breath.
Torture, agony, hopelessness – these were all understatements of the torment of drowning. The desire to breathe grew as my body screamed for oxygen, eventually the urge overwhelmed me and I breathed. The water flowed into my trachea and into my lungs. It burned. It burned like oil in a pan. Instantly I started choking and losing consciousness. The scientists took down more notes, paying no attention to the man dying before them. I cried in pain, and everything went black. I had drowned.
It’s true, I really drowned. But I lived. I awoke within my chamber, the scientists around me jumped with surprise as more scientists started swarming around me. I was furious, but something was different. I could breathe! The scientists removed me from my cell and put me on a table. It was clear they wanted to run experiments but I escaped. Breathing underwater, strength, enhanced swimming abilities, these were all my newfound powers. I will expose these people, but I cannot right now, but I will. One day.