Harder To Breathe

• Thomas Koster, Grade 7
• Short Story
• 2013

Glurp. My last intake of breath, now, I’m sinking to the bottom of the ocean. Who would have thought that a trip to the beautiful turquoise water would turn into a tragedy. The boat sank. I’m the only survivor of the hurricane. My parents, dead. They died in the storm two minutes ago. Now it’s just me, sinking to the bottom of the ocean, preparing to drown in the dark desolate sea. The further I sink, the drowsier I get.
Suddenly, my lungs are no longer bursting for fresh air. I can suddenly breathe! Is this some sort of accelerated adaptation? Or is it something different? I feel the side of my neck and touch the slimy, cool touch of fish gills. Then, what looked like a shark shadow appeared in front of me. My vision, all of a sudden, went from blurry to super sharp like the lens of a very expensive camera. But, luckily for me it wasn't a shark but the great hull of a three-masted sunken ship.
I go to open the ship’s door, which I saw through my upgraded eyes. I place my hands on the door handle, but I see that I no longer have hands. My fingers have become webbed like a frog. On a hunch I look at my feet. They are also, like my hands, webbed, allowing me to swim faster. Somewhere deep down inside me, there is a voice of fear. What is happening to me? Am I mutating? The only way to find the answer is to stay in the ocean and find out what is going on.
I struggle to open the door. However, I have not developed super strength. Just when I need help the most, the seabed beneath the ship gives away and crumbles taking the ship with it, into the unknown depths of the water. I followed the ship, kicking lazily, but to my surprise and horror, I find myself shooting down straight into the depths. This is exactly what I didn't want as I could plunge straight into death.
Crack, crunch. My face hits the rocky seabed, compressed and rough, from thousands of years under great pressure. The rocks cut into my face, tearing the flesh out. The pain is unbearable, and the blood is seeping from my face. But, strangely enough, I don’t seem to be dying. Slowly, the pain ebbs away and my flesh heals. There is a throb from my wounds but not enough to stop me. I find the ship not far from me and kick quickly over to it. The ship’s door is open and the interior of the ship is filling with water. I squeeze through the door to find myself in what seems like a surveillance room on a sunken ship. But the most astonishing thing is that there are people in there. They beckoned me in with warm smiles on their faces. The people also have webbed hands and feet. They explained everything to me…

Inspired by ‘Harder to Breathe’ – Song by Maroon 5