yay! :D so glad i can send you something this time! for the prompt: tumultuous
The storm billowed up from nowhere. One moment, Captain Neal and his crew were sailing smoothly along. The next, violent scrambling as the crew hurried to take the sails in. A mound of dark clouds was quickly approaching. Then came sheets of rain, falling so hard that he could barely see his hand in front of his face.
Captain Neal had been in many storms before, but never one like this. His glasses were torn from his face almost immediately. The deck heaved beneath his feet. He heard his men shouting around him. He did his best to keep calm, roaring orders to the helmsman as the waves crashed against the ship.
Then there was a sudden, violent crack. Neal was swept from his feet. Everything became a whirling of darkness and rain, screaming and water. He had no idea if he was in the ocean or still flying through the air.
The next thing he remembered was opening his eyes to the sight of a hermit crab mere inches from his face.
He yelped, scrambling backwards. The crab observed him for a moment before scuttling away.
Slowly, Neal got to his feet. He was on a beach with pure white sands, the horizon clear enough for him to wonder if heâd imagined the storm. He didnât seem to be injured, aside from a few tender bruises.
Further down the beach, he saw a large piece of driftwood. Something was moving near it. Another survivor, perhaps.
Neal headed towards it. He tried to think of where they might have wrecked. There werenât any islands around for miles.
When he reached the driftwood, he found a body curled up beside it. To his relief, the man was still breathing. His hair and beard were caked with sand. The face was vaguely familiar; one of Nealâs new crew members.
âMcLaughlin, can you hear me?â Neal shook the manâs shoulder gently.
The manâs eyes fluttered. âYes, sir.â
McLaughlin tried to sit up, but fell back with a groan.
Neal ran his tongue across dry, briny lips. He wasnât prepared for this. As a captain, he was aware of the possibility of a shipwreck, but heâd never thought it would happen to him. The fact that the beach was empty except for him and McLaughlin was worrying; had the storm been bad enough to wipe out the other hundred members of his crew?
The sun beating down on him was beginning to make him dizzy. Neal made up his mind. He would do his best to help his one remaining crew member, and search for the others as well.
Bracing himself in the sand, he helped McLaughlin to his feet. Together, they staggered for the shade of the trees.