Mr. Rush: An Island Rush Bonus Chapter Read Free Page B

above water, it took a bit to see it again. When I did, somehow, it clearly was land.  Trees appeared stacked high in the distance with a long beach before it all.  We weren’t far away either for me to make it out, which was still incredibly shocking.
    For how sore I was in numerous spots along my body, it felt like it took forever for me to reach shore. The weight of the woman I held also didn’t make it any faster either, but I didn’t care.  She was alive, and that’s what mattered.  Making sure her head stayed above and on my shoulder, it didn’t give me a chance to look around or see much.  It wasn’t until my feet touched the bottom where I felt like I caught a break.  That I was alive, and this really was land we were reaching. 
    I walked up more, the rocks under my shoes making it hard to stay balanced. It became more of a challenge when the water reached only my stomach as I moved up the shore.  I held an unconscious Janice with her full weight now resting in my arms. Stunned and blinking my wet hurt eyes, I took in the long beach only a few yards away. It was gorgeous yellow sand but also desolate. Very desolate with nothing but nature. I had a feeling we would be the only ones here. 
    That thought… it made my knees want to give out more.  It was hitting me with each step up this shore that what I did was wrong. The crash happened in a matter of seconds, and my decision was made just as quickly.  But what I did was still wrong, and I will forever deal with my choice. I will always have guilt and weight over my shoulders. Staring down at the girl in my arms, though, would I change it?  I don’t think I would if it meant she is alive and okay.
    Brows down and my anxiety passing boundaries, my disturbing thoughts left me for now.  I finally reached the dry sand and set Janice down on her back in the sand.  I needed a break, and more than anything, I needed to make sure she was still okay.  Kneeling beside her, looking down at her blank and wet face, all thoughts vanished.  There were only her and my reason for everything.  Sighing sharply with the pain at the back of my throat, I knelt closer and cast a shadow over her from the high sun.  My shaky hand moved forward and rested on her cheek, moving aside some of her dark hair stuck to her face.
    Leaning down and letting my ear hover over her parted lips, I could hear and feel her breath.  She was okay, and when I pressed my hand to where her heart was, it helped feeling it beat beneath my palm.  She was okay, and I would try to wake her up soon.  First, I needed a minute.
    Closing my eyes tightly, still leaning over her, I spoke automatically without even hearing myself.  “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” I said, turning my head out towards the water… towards where everyone else was. The sun hit my face more, and when I opened my eyes, there was nothing.  Just water. Just blue. It was nature but a tragic and horrible sight for me.  “I should have…” I whispered so softly I might as well have just mouthed it.
    Trying to get my breathing under control, it was so hard to fathom anything. All those people I knew were gone. I knew most of them. Most of them were just kids and didn’t get a chance to live their lives.  I knew all the staff who had families of their own.  I knew Mrs. Marshall, who wouldn’t be able to go home to her family she spoke of.  Just thinking of those, hurt. I never felt such a pain before, and it was eating me alive.  What if I tried more, did more, or wasn’t selfish? 
    Turning back towards her, staring down at her, I knew it couldn’t be any other way. If I tried more, did more, wasn’t selfish… she might not be alive right now. That’s what I will have to keep telling myself. Otherwise, I’m going to go insane. I’m going to start hating myself. I’m going to lose it and I can’t. I can’t lose it, and I can’t scream or cry.  I will have to accept I am here and everything that happened,