I slowly reached up to lay my hand on my head but it was abnormally cold to the touch. I put my hands together and breathed into them to attempt to warm them. "I need to breathe," I announced as I weaved through my friends and walked to the front of the boat, leaned my side against the fence, and looked out to the dark blue ocean below us. The stars' lights sparkled like glitter against the ocean.
"I didn't even help," I told myself, "Ugh I'm such a burden on them."
I looked behind myself at my friends who had gone back to what they were doing except for Madelyn. She was sitting down next to Kathy. I turned my gaze back around to the ocean, it was filled with little waves but mostly calm.
"I can't believe I didn't help," I said quietly, "I would've helped."
A voice cracked from behind me, "No you couldn't have, don't beat yourself up about it."
I turned to see Carter sitting down a few feet behind me. I had no idea how I didn't see him when I looked at my friends. I turned my whole body to face him.
"Yeah I could've. I would've torn the sword out of me as soon as I was stabbed and I would've been fine, and I would've been able to fight," I argued.
"Carla, seriously, there was nothing you could've done. Don't beat yourself up about something you have no control over," Carter consoled, "I'm being serious, don't be so hard on yourself."
"I could've helped..." I whispered.
"The important thing is that you're still alive, and that's what matters," Carter explained, "Everyone was worried about you. Everyone was crying when Nathan started chest compressions when you didn't have a heartbeat. I even tried to shock you awake."
I looked down at my feet and then back out at the ocean. I slowly turned my head back to Carter, "How many times did I die?"
"When Madelyn was trying to get the sword out you passed out. Shortly after that Mia surprise attacked Madelyn and when Madelyn dove over you her leg hit the sword which forced it all the way back in and further up which ruptured you're heart. You're body was trying to heal itself but the sword was in the way. We had just finished off the people attacking us when we heard Madelyn scream. When we got to you guys there was a hole through the trees and Madelyn was looking at her hands. Kathy ran over to you and checked on you. That's when she started repeating 'she's not breathing, guys she's not breathing' over and over. Madelyn pulled the sword out of your chest in a quick motion and tried to stop the blood flow while starting chest compressions. I had to turn and walk away, I couldn't bear loosing two friends in one day," Carter admitted. "Madelyn started crying to the point she couldn't do the compressions anymore so Nathan took over."
I felt as if he was avoiding the question so I nodded and glanced at the ocean before looked back at Carter, "How many times did I die?"
Carter looked at the floor and then back at me. He hesitated to answer the question, " Madelyn said we ended up breaking ribs from the chest compressions and that made me feel horrible."
"Well I feel fine now," I answered.
"Good, you should probably get some food since you haven't eaten in a while though."
"Okay," I said as I pulled myself up, using the fence to help me. Instead of going right downstairs I walked over to Kathy who was zoned out on the floor. I sat down next to her.
"Hey," I greeted.
"Hi, how are you feeling?"
"I feel normal, I'm sorry about the scare." I apologized.
"Don't apologize, you didn't purposely do it. It broke Carter the most, you died in his arms when you went into cardiac arrest." She blankly said, still looking at the floor.
"I feel really bad," I admitted, "I didn't help with the fight, I was just a burden. I couldn't even take on the only person who attacked me. What's the point of me even being a super human if you can't even manage to be a half decent superhero."
She looked me in the eyes with the most serious face she could put on, "Carla, you're the only one of us that could keep up with Carter in practice, you're the only one of us who can deflect bullets, you're the only one who can smash someone like a bug with a rock that could fit in your hand at one point," Kathy explained, "Don't be so hard on yourself."
"That's what Carter said earlier," I said.
"He was right, you should stop being so hard on yourself, you're a great person, and a hero," Kathy said.
"Thank you," I thanked.
I moved to start to leave when Kathy gave me a hug, "I'm glad you're not dead."
"Yeah," I paused, "Me too."
I stood up and walked over to the raised platform on the back of the boat that the steer wheel was on. Nathan as sitting down against the back fence of the boat facing the steering wheel. He was using his Nano Pegs to steer the boat.
"Aye Matey," Nathan says in a pirate accent, "How is ye feeling?"
I laughed, "I'm doing fine, I'm a little sea sick but I'll be okay."
Nathan pointed at the hole in my black t-shirt where the sword was once, "You have a scar."
"Scars are simply god painting out bodies with reminders of much-needed lessons," I answered.
"They're the marks of heroes," Kathy explained as she walked up to the raised platform, "I think it's weird that the 2 people who can regenerate cells super fast can get scars. You'd think that they'd go away eventually."
All my friends started to gather around on the raised platform. Everyone was looking at the scars that painted their bodies. Liam was showing off his shoulder burn scars to Kathy, who was laughing at him.
"Isn't it funny how this turned out," I said.
"What do you mean?" Nathan asked.
"This. Most of us are on this boat, we had one casualty from our group," I answered.
"How's that funny?" Nathan asked.
"It's ironic, who would've thought that 7 teenagers with a crazy dream, would end up on a boat to a country they hadn't seen in fifteen years. It's cool, how a little prayer could make something as big as this happen."
"That's because our God, the God that receives that prayer, is bigger than any obstacle on this planet," Carter answered from a few feet away, "Oh I almost forgot!" Carter reached into his pocket as he walked towards me. He pulled my cross necklace out of his pocket and set it in my hand. I thanked him and we went back to talking.
"What was your vision about?" Kathy asked, "When you were dead."
Before I could answer, Madelyn jumped in, "I actually don't think she was dead."
"What do you mean? She didn't have a heartbeat," Carter asked.
"Well, you didn't get cold, that's a big clue. Had you of died, you would've gone cold after an hour with the current weather conditions. Your heartbeat also wasn't starting again the way a heart would, it seemed to just be getting louder. I don't think you were dead, I think you were in a coma," Madelyn explained.
"Awe so you mean I'm not invincible?" I laughed.
"If you were, do you know how extremely unfair that would be?" Liam laughed.
"We could've just thrown you at anyone who came out way because you would've been the only one who can't die," Kathy added.
"Get help, she's hurt! Then swing you at them," Carter laughed, "I don't remember where that's from."
We all laughed.
"Off topic but when do you think we'll hit America," Carter asked Nathan.
"About 4 and a half days now," Nathan said.
"Wow," I answered in amazement.
"It's really not that long, we have enough food for twice that," Nathan answered.
I nodded and looked around. The dark water still had a glisten of starlight shining off of it and the moon was pretty much above us. "It's about midnight," I stated, "I'm going to check on everyone then probably go to sleep."
Simultaneously most of the group agreed that they were tired.
"How are you tired you just slept for 6 hours" Liam laughed.
I shrugged and walked across the boat back to the front and sat down against the fence post. The waves hit the boat but nothing too violent. I stared at the water.
"Hello?" Carter said strangely a few feet away. He was holding a radio to his ear.
"What's wrong?" I asked as I stood up and walked over to him.
"I heard something for a split second over the radio," Carter explained.
Liam came running over with his radio and so did Kathy. They all had the same story: that they heard something in the radio.
"What did it sound like?" I asked.
The radios let out a high-pitched screech, mine including. Nathan ran over to us and so did Madelyn.
"What is that?" I asked.
Madelyn grabbed Liam's radio and started messing with some wires on the back and a monotone voice broke out through the radio, "Hello it is April 29th 2163, this is the 79th United States President Thomas Dickinson, there is a nuclear bomb heading for Kansas, it will wipe out the entirety of the United States. There is nothing the government can do at this point. The entire United States population has 5 minutes to reach a bomb shelter, may God have mercy on your souls."
The message played over and over without end. Everyone turned their radios off.
"How old is that transmission?" Carter asked.
"15 years," Madelyn's voice cracked out.