My feet was on fine sand, water was touching my feet.The water here felt calm, for once the water wasn't boiling, it was normal, like any normal beach water. My heart was calm, it wasn't racing, I felt...peace.
I could here the birds singing and they sounded so joyful.
My eyes were wide with excitement as I felt the water lapping up against my ankles.
I turned back and without thinking, I ran towards Carlo throwing my hands around his neck. I hugged him so tight.
Carlo and I became closer over the past few weeks. I guess mutual pain can bring people closer.
He made staying in the house much more bearable, when I'm with him, I actually forget that I'm dying.
"Can I take in air now?" He asked after a while with a strained voice.
"I'm sorry"
I said immediately unwrapping myself from him and moving backwards.
"It's fine"
He smiled at me and I felt my heart melt. My heart started racing again.
I looked down tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.
I'm sure my face is crimson right now so i kept my head down.
I felt cold fingers on my jaw
raising my eyes up to meet the bluest pairs of eyes I've ever seen.
"It's been a long while I actually saw a girl blush"
That simple statement made my heart beat faster.
I walked away further towards the ocean to calm my racing heart.
He came and stood beside me and we stood in silence watching the waves.
"How did you find this place? The water is cool"
I just had to ask
"Stacey found it few years ago. It's just so fasinating how this is the only water body that survived the gas. It's not boiling, it's not steaming, it's just normal"
"It's amazing how it is able to resist the pressure. How it doesn't let the world weigh it down"
I knelt down and felt water with my fingers. This water vessel fought the effect of the gas, while the rest where getting affected, bending to the pressure, it withstood it. If it can do that, I should also fight. I shouldn't let this weigh me down.
As I knelt down there feeling the water against my skin, I felt encouraged to fight.
I felt a cold hand on my shoulder and I know I'm not alone.
"Excuse me" I heard a muffled voice underneath me.
I got startled.
"Excuse me. I can't move. I'm trapped between your legs"
The voice said again.
I stood up with a start and looked down.
I saw a small turtle looking up at me.
It has been weeks I heard an animal speak. Apart from the occasional pain and numbing feeling, sometimes I felt like I had no supernatural powers.
But I guess this is just who I am now.
I squatted down and picked up the turtle.
"Hey there"
The turtle made no sound. It kept staring at me.
"You know you're the first sea animal I've seen in over eleven years"
"Yeah right"
The turtle finally said.
"It's true. The world is changing. Most sea animals can't survive in other water bodies because they are so hot, they could literally burn your skin"
"How can you understand me?" It asked with a tiny voice.
"Let's just say it os the aftermath of the world's evolution"
"I don't understand"
I just smiled at it and placed it back into the water.
"You should go now before your Ma starts looking for you"
"Okay. Bye"
It said and swam back into the ocean.
I stood there smiling like someone that just discovered an antidote for the world's madness.
Carlo was just standing there staring at me in awe.
"You know sometimes I wish I had powers too" He said suddenly.
I stared at him like he had gone mad
"but not by inhaling a poisonous gas though" He added quickly.
And just like that, it felt as if a light bulb got turned on in my brain.
"I just had an Idea. There is something in this water that made it able to resist the poison"
I was pacing excitedly, my brown long hair, flying with the wind.
"If we take a sample and compare it with other water bodies, we can find out what is contained in this water that made it impenetrable"
I stopped in front if him.
I held his shoulders
"If this work out do you know what means?"
His eyes lit up as he replied
"We will have an antidote"
"We will have an antidote"
I repeated.
We stared at each for few seconds, hope radiating within us.
When it became too much to contain I bursted out laughing and he joined in few seconds later.
And there we were two people laughing their heart out by the ocean, the world behind us and hope in front of us.
=========
This was beginning to look like a low budget spy movie. Slipping the sleeping powder into Katherine's drink was very easy. We were just at the right place and at the right time.
I strongly believe she has the documents now because she was no longer talking about them or searching for them. So they have to be hidden in her room somewhere and I must find it.
Too bad she found them before I did.
Determination made us to be dressed in black jump suits, creeping through the hallways at midnight.
"Are you sure the sleeping pills worked?"
Cathy whispered right next to my ears.
"They never fail. I'm sure she is knocked out cold" I whispered back.
We crept slowly through the dark until we reached "her majesty's" door. I could hear her snore from outside the room.
We exchanged looks and rolled our eyes.
I gently opened the door, thankfully it didn't make a sound
"Go over to her PA's room and search over there"
I whispered.
Cathy nodded and crept over to the young assistants room. Her dark hair like a veil over her very pale face, she almost looked like a ghost.
Katherine's room was very large with stark white interior. I must admit she has really nice taste.
I looked around for a while wondering where the documents could be.
I searched through her drawers, which contained dozens of papers and scraps, but there was no document.
She must be really good at hiding things.
I looked back at her sleeping form on the bed. She was still snoring heavily.
I searched around for a little while, when I noticed a safe hidden behind her closet.
It had an electronic number pad for typing in the code.
I tried different combinations but they were all void.
"Any luck"
The ear pods filled with Cathy's voice startling me.
"No, but I found a safe. Any luck there?"
"Nope. I think he's clean"
I went back to trying to crack the safe open.
I didn't notice the person standing behind me until I heard a voice behind me ask,
"What exactly are you looking for?"