“We’ve got one shot,” Ryder said quietly, putting a hand on each of my shoulders as he gazed intently into my eyes, “that tide goes out and we go with it. If we miss it…..”

I swallowed painfully when he didn’t finish. I knew what would happen if we didn’t make it. We’d be trapped here forever; the portal would close.

For what felt like the thousandth time, I wished with all my heart that I’d chosen a different career path. Being a writer wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. Or maybe it was way more than it was cracked up to be…

I’d been researching a power plant for a news article I was working on, and one of the reactors exploded and some kind of portal opened; sucking me in with it. This island was coming apart at the seams, and the person that created the portal was standing right next to me.

“Why did you have to make a portal controlled by the ocean!?” I yelled irritably over the rising wind.

“You picked a nice time to ask me that,” he responded calmly, “how was I supposed to know it would even work?? Isn’t this awesome!?”

I just frowned at him, but I began to feel a small twinge of guilt at my attitude towards him. We were about to die and I was spending my last minutes being angry.

“I’m sorry,” I sighed, hugging my knees to my chest and staring at the ocean.

I could see him watching me out of the corner of his eye, and he reached forward and nudged my shoulder.

“Hey don’t worry about it,” he laughed, “when we get back to earth or whatever you can sue me.”

“We’re not going to make it,” I said numbly, shaking my head as a sudden wave of despair seized hold of me. “There’s no way we can time it just right. We’re gonna die here and no one will ever know. Why even try to-”

“Faith, listen to me,” he snapped, and we locked eyes, “I don’t care what the odds are, I don’t care what you think you know; but I made this portal. I say we can do it. It IS possible, and so help me if I have to drag you all the way I will. We are going to make it home. Break down and cry and wallow in self pity for the next five minutes if you want to, but after that it’s game on. I’ll let you sort this out and then I’m coming back to get you and you’re coming with me whether you like it or not.”