Southern Heat (Southern 6)

I don’t even want to know what happened to her. The thought’s too much to bear as I hold her in my arms, knowing she could take her last breath at any moment.

"Five minutes out!" Ethan shouts from the front.

"Did you hear that?" I say. “Five minutes and we are there."

She stirs in my arms. Her one eye slowly opens, and I see the greenest eyes I’ve ever seen. So crystal clear, it’s like you can see right into her soul. “You’re safe,” I say as the ambulance stops, and she closes her eye.

Chapter 2

Willow

So much noise. I try to put my hands to my ears as I hear shouting, but my arms are so heavy I can’t lift them. "Don’t make a peep," I tell myself from under the bed. The coldness seeps into my bones like ice.

I look to the side, seeing the blonde we were following for the past couple of months slumped down on her side. Her eyes open once, and we make eye contact. Her mouth opens, and then her eyes shut the same time as mine do.

Footsteps stomp into the room, so close to me, and I try to open my eyes, but they are so heavy. I try to force them open or to scream, “I’m here. I’m here," but it’s all for nothing. The more I open my mouth, the more nothing happens.

Someone is right next to me. I can feel their heat rush over me, and the coldness almost leaves me. My arm is being lifted and then more loud voices. My arm drops to my side, the heat of their hand gone.

I hear a soft voice, and I know I must be dreaming. There has never been a soft voice in my life in over eight years.

I open my eyes, and I’m in the middle of the forest. Turning around in a circle, I hear the soft voice again and I fight like hell to run toward it. I hear other voices around. Light shines through the leaves, and I hold out my hand to feel the heat from the sun. I smile and look up, feeling the sun on my face.

"Did you hear that?" His voice is so soft, yet feels so far away. “Five minutes and we are there." I hear the voice echo through the whole forest, and my body lights up. I run straight to the voice, and I’m surprised when my eyes open.

But instead of the darkness of the cabin, light is all around me. But I’m too busy staring into the bluest eyes I have ever seen. Blue like the ocean I’ve always dreamed about swimming in. Blue like the sky on a summer day with no clouds in the sky.

"You’re safe." His voice is soft as he looks into my eyes. I take one look at him before the wave comes and sucks me under the water. My whole body feels like it’s sinking, and when I open my eyes, I’m on a beach. Waves crash against the sand as I look up at the blue sky. The sun shines brighter than I’ve ever seen, and I close my eyes, basking in the heat.

A sense of peace settles over me as I lie here, feeling the warm water wash over my feet. My arms are stretched to the sides like a starfish, and my hands play in the sand. The little grains of the sand are scratchy when I rub my fingers together.

Opening my eyes, my gaze lands on the lone bird flying in the sky. "I’m not fucking leaving her!" Hearing someone shouting, I look right and left to see if anyone is on the beach with me, but all I see is sand and water.

"We don’t have time for this!" someone else yells, and I feel the wetness of the water coming over my legs. I close my eyes and tilt my face up to the sky, feeling the sun’s warmth.

"We’re losing her," someone else says. I sit up, looking around at the emptiness of the beach, yet the voices are still coming. The crystal blue water matches the man’s blue eyes. The water goes as far as I can see it. "You need to let us work on her."

Where are those voices coming from? Looking around at nothing but sand and water, I get up, my feet sinking into the cold, wet sand. I take a deep inhale as the salty ocean rolls over my feet.

I run along the shore, just as I’ve dreamed of doing my whole life. It was my safe place I would escape to when I closed my eyes. I lean down and put my hands into the water and throw it up into the air, laughing as it falls back on my head.

This is my happiness. Being here and free is what I’ve always wished for. I kick the water up, and the sound of the waves crashing onto the shore get louder and louder. "I think we have a pulse."