An alarming silence settled around Nome, he should have stayed on the ship. Nome should not have been there, he should not have gone after her. This wouldn't have happened if she hadn't been at the Fast ice. The crack of a warning gunshot caused Nome to turn with a start, the sound reverberated in her ears it reminded her of a falling tree when the wood splinters and creaks, she disliked that sound.
Guns were rarely used in her tribe, it was a foreign object to her but she was aware of what it could inflict.
A sailor leaned on the side of the ship's corroded railing, a sliver of smoke rose from the barrel of the gun and curled skyward. He spit at the ground and pulled his mouth into a sneer, revealing a row of yellowed teeth "That's right Girly, yer' got no chance against us. You and that senile bastard better run or we'll be after ye'."
"No! You have to help me. Please help! Grandpa Tulik's in the water and I can't save him!" Nome was distraught, she never learnt how to swim. It was considered a useless skill among those in her tribe, the water was too cold. Even if she did save him there was a chance of developing hypothermia. The sun had started to dip below the horizon and the temperature had dropped drastically, Nome had to act fast.
With a raised eyebrow the sailor derided her plea for help; "I ain't going in those waters in a million years yer' old man doesn't stand a chance, I'd leave him to die if I were you. He's probably long gone anyways!" He laughed contemptuously and turned her back to her, disappearing from her view.
Nome wanted to scream, she grit her teeth and slipped off her layered parka and pulled off her fur boots, the biting gusts of wind tore at her lighter clothes and the chill spread to her fingers and face turning them numb and clumsy. She fumbled with the strap of her pack and lay it on the ground. Nome was scared. Nome was very scared. But she could not sit and watch as Grandpa Tulik sank deeper into the arms of the Sea goddess, Sedna. Nome had no choice but to jump, she leapt into the water.
The dark waves of the Ocean embraced her and wrapped around her, all she could see was darkness. All she could feel was a piercing cold which enveloped her like a blanket, how she wished she was back home surrounded by the warmth of her friends and comforted by the heat of a fire. But she was not. Nome gathered the last of her courage and kicked her legs out, her hair billowed around her. Her adrenaline increased with each stroke, Nome held out her hand to Grandpa Tulik's, she watched as he fell further from her reach. She willed him to take her hand. Nome repeated it in her head like a mantra. Take it. Her lungs had started to hurt, she needed oxygen and soon.
@Luca the Whore
