“Xiao come on! It’s time to go to the beach!” came the voice of Xiao’s cousin. He rolled his eyes at the overexcitement. While he loved the beach and the ocean, the 10 milliseconds his cousin was pushing him for was not worth it. The normal family outing to the beach was almost a family tradition for the Peng’s. The truth was, it was a miracle they went at all with the schedule his parents had, and they still made time for this. And he cherished it. 

He loved the water, it kept him calm and was somewhere that he felt all of his worries wash away from. As they headed for the beach, Xiao’s cousin spoke up, “Are you going to attempt to go farther out this year, Xiao?” 

He smirked. It was a valid question; he had set a challenge for himself to go farther out each time they went. His parents were against the idea at first, but after showing them how cautious he was, their fears were abated. “ I don’t know, today I kind of just want to relax on the beach. It’s not like the ocean is going anywhere,” he replied calmly.

He could see the look of disappointment on his cousin’s face, but after a short shrug, they continued on their way. As they got closer to the ocean, the smell of salt filled the air. The wind began to pick up as they neared the beach. The cool ocean breeze made Xiao smile. This day couldn’t get any better.

After arriving and setting up, Xiao lay on the beach towel and shut his eyes, the peace of the ocean waves crashing gently, and the gentle breeze making it feel like there was not a care in the world. He sighed contentedly as the heat coupled with the breeze of the ocean was perfect. So perfect, it allowed him to fall asleep.

“Help, help, they can’t swim, they went out too far. Someone please help.” Echoed in Xiao’s mind. Not being able to shake the echo, he sprang awake. Realizing it was not a dream, he looked forward to seeing a mother panic in her eyes as she pointed to her son, who had drifted past the sandbar and into the ocean.

He stood up and ran towards the woman, “Don’t worry, I’ll get him.” It was the only reply as he sprinted forward past her and dived into the ocean. Swimming towards the kid who appeared to be drowning. The current was incredibly strong, pushing him back as he swam, but he continued to push through. Until he made it to the kid who was just trying to keep his head above the water. He grabbed the boy and swam slowly back to shore as he fought the current of the ocean tide.

Trying to calm the boy as he swam after what seemed like ages, he made it back to shore and set the boy down. The last thing he saw was the mother’s smile. As a wave dragged him back out into the ocean. Xiao had not been paying attention and did not see the rogue wave as it slammed into him. As he struggled, the current became stronger as a surprise riptide pulled him out into the ocean. 

Xiao was an accomplished swimmer, but not even he could break the power of a riptide. Tossed and turned as the tide pushed him out. He tried to gain control of his movements, but it was a losing battle. Just as the tide released him, He realized he was far out from the coast. Farther out than anyone should be. Ahead of him, he saw fins in the water, at first thinking they were dolphins. He realized they were sharks. 

Panic began to spread through his body as he tried to figure out what to do. There was no way he could swim back to shore with the amount of energy that had been expended. But he couldn’t just stay where he was, or the sharks would attack, or would they? He wasn’t a threat, as he began to believe everything was OK. He looked down and saw red in the water. Not only that, but he felt a twinge in his leg and he saw the sharks begin to close towards him. That’s when he realized he had cut his leg somewhere during the tide, pulling him. He turned and began to swim towards shore, not looking back at the sharks that were inevitably following him.

He could just make out the figures that were on shore as he continued towards the shore; he dare not look back to see where the sharks were. As he continued towards the shore, he felt something brush against his leg. Looking to the side, he saw sharks. He quickly dove into the water as the shark lunged to attack. Holding his breath and trying to see in the incredible briny water, He pushed forward as the sharks continued to circle him. His strength was just about expended, and he knew that he would not make it to shore. He kept pushing, though, until he had no more energy.

If not for the attack of the sharks, he may have had enough energy to make it to shore, but having to fight three different areas, he knew there was no hope. He was about to die, and there was nothing anyone could do to save him. He looked in the water behind him, trying to see the sharks, but it was impossible due to the fact of his eyes being filled with salt water. He knew this was the end as he shut his eyes to accept his fate. All of a sudden, he felt hands grabbing him and pulling him out of the water. 

It was the last sensation he had before he passed out…