A soft breeze stirred the top layer of sand across the dunes. Pale green grasses swayed gently in the cold, crisp winters breeze. The grey clouds hung low, creating a pallet of grey tinged sand, rocks and water as far as the eye could see. The sea was both gentle and wild, subtly washing itself with its grey-white foams.

She looked down at het feet. Her broken leather boots kept as much sand inside as out. The sole was coming away on the right one. She could see dried blood inside as the sole flapped away from her foot, and she could see fresh blood oozing it's way out from under her feet.

She had lost count of how many days she had been walking, but she knew it had been some time. She paused for a minute, closed her eyes, raised her head and took a deep breath trying to remember. As she breathed in, images rushed into her mind. Chaos, bloodshed, screaming, confusion and dust in the air. A seagulls squawk pulled her back to the present moment and she opened her eyes. The gull was in front of her, perched on a long-broken piece of wooden fence. It stared at her, and she stared at it.

"Yes?" She asked, though her voice came out as a dry rasp and she realised it had been a long while since she'd spoken.

It carried on staring.

"YES?" She asked, louder and more forcefully. This time it turned slightly away from her, checked its surroundings and flew away.

"yeah, fuck off" she muttered under her breath and she began hobbling towards the shallows.

She found a large rock mottled with the yellows and green of moss, seaweed, whatever could cling on to it, and began the excruciating task of removing her boots. She carefully loosened the laces, a row at a time and then, starting with the left foot, she pealed the body of the boot away from her foot. Not so bad she thought. There were a few blisters on the heel, and a couple of still fairly raw burns on the inside arch.

She braced herself before she started on the right. As she began peeling her boot off, she could feel her tacky and burned skin clinging to the inside of the leather, the agony of releasing fresh burned human skin from tacky warm animal skin. As she eased the boot around her heal she felt the tension give and something came away. She howled like a wild thing in that moment, gritted her teeth and pulled. The boot came off.

She breathed, slow and deep preparing herself to look at her foot. One... two... three... she looked down. What a mess. Skin missing, flesh exposed, blisters, burns.

She vomited.

Easing herself from her rock, she slid down to the sand. She used her arms to shuffle herself slowly towards the sea. The damp sand was freezing on her sore, dry and split hands but all she could think about was getting her feet into the cold, salty drink.

She reached the water. She braced again, this would hurt. The wave rolled in, it was a bigger that she was expecting. As it gushed over her feet she gasped. The pain made her mind go fuzzy and the cold took the air from her lungs.

The water receded. Her legs were damp and cold, her feet felt some temporary relief.

Another wave was coming, bigger still. Much bigger.

It rushed towards her, past her feet, legs, up her back. It continued far beyond her, far up the beach. As the sea drew its in-breath it scooped her up easily with it, dragging her into its hold. She instinctively panicked and started to kick back, the cold overwhelmed her and she couldn't breathe. Frantically she trashed, flipping herself over and desperately trying to claw herself back to the shore. Her right foot struck a rock, she screamed in pain swallowing a mouthful of freezing salting water as she did so.

She grabbed at the ocean floor, trying to pull herself forwards, but with every reach it got further away. She was deep now, too deep to stand. She was shaking uncontrollably and couldn't feel her body.

She realised, it felt like relief.

Primal fear subsided, and gave way to acceptance.

She had not seen another living soul for days. Everything was burned. It was gone.

She turned herself over in the water and stared up towards the thick grey blanket above her.

She welcomed the wild, deep grey blue surf to carry her and do with her as it wished.

"I will not walk this earth without you" She thought as she closed her eyes and let the air drain from her lungs.