There had been few occasions in which he had been so certain he was about to die. But he knew it for sure this time. He was going to die. The roaring of the maddened sea surrounded him, threatening to snatch him in it’s jaws. Foamy waves crashed against the side of the ship, sloshing too close to the lip for his liking. He was definitely sure when one of the bodies of his crew mates floated near him before being submerged by the frigid water. He was going to be sick.

“Melanie!” He yelled, clutching the ship so hard his arms started shaking and trying not to throw up. “You need to get up here!” There was a pause before the fear sunk in. Was she still alive? Or was that her body he saw floating in the water?

He couldn’t hear her footsteps above the roaring thunder and the lightning striking the hungry waves, so he jumped when she tapped him on the shoulder. “What’s wrong? Looks like everything’s alright up here.” She started to descend back down the stairs, her gray eyes determined, the soaking towel in her hand.

He widened his eyes. “Alright? Mel, we’re about to die! The ship is flooding! You can’t go back down there - you’ll drown!”

She laughed, which made his heart flutter behind his eyes. But the romance was quickly eaten away by a newfound roll of nausea as the ship once again started crashing back and forth.

“I’m not afraid of death, Parker. I thought you knew that by now.” The look in her eyes was wistful, and he could hear the quiver in her voice as the rain fell down her face, making it look like she was crying. She knew she was going to die. And she was going down there anyways.

“Melanie, wait!” He let go of the ship and grabbed her wrist, pulling her towards him and smashing their lips together. He didn’t care if this was the worst time in the world because it was the last time in the world he would ever get to tell her his feelings, if not verbally than physically.

But the waves tore them apart, and Melanie fell backwards, screaming as she slid into the back of the ship. It was tilting. It was sinking. Which meant Melanie would sink with it. “Parker!” She shrieked, hoping she could be heard over the noise of the waves.

Now that death had her in it’s claws, she was afraid of it after all.

“Mel!” He screamed, reaching for her outstretched arms. But it was too late. The ship recognized it’s own weight and tipped over fully, bringing Melanie down with it. “No!” He yelled, clinging onto the pole, his last chance of survival. But what was a life without Mel? How would he go on, knowing he was the reason she was dead?

So he did what he had to do. He took one last glance at the sky, the gray, thundering, frightening sky, and let go.