Page 8 of Rainse
“Where… where am I? What happened?”
His gaze flicked briefly to the sea. “You fell. The water tried to take you. A beast was about to bite you when I intervened.”
The shark. I remembered. I gripped the kelp tighter, desperately hoping it was still covering all the important bits. “Did you take my clothes?”
A shadow crossed his face, something like guilt or confusion. “They were wet. Cold. You would not have lived.”
I wanted to argue, to demand an explanation, but my tongue felt thick and my body heavy. Logic told me he was right; wet clothing in open air could have killed me. Still, awareness prickled over my bare skin. He had seen me, touched me.
“I should be dead,” I whispered.
Rainse looked at me for a long moment. “You are not.”
He said it like a fact, not a comfort. Then, more softly, “You are safe.”
Safe? Naked? With him - whatever he was? Maybe safe from sharks, but I didn't feel safe at all.
"Where is Jammie?" I asked instead of voicing my thoughts. "He was with me when the shark appeared. He's my PhD student, he-"
"Is he important to you?" Rainse's voice was cool and steady, but I could swear I felt some tension in his words.
"I feel responsible for him. And he's a friend. Not that that's any business of yours. Did you save him as well?"
A small pause. Then, "Yes. He is safe."
"But not here."
He shook his head. "No. Not here."
I looked around me, really taking in my surroundings now that I felt a little steadier on my feet. We were on an island so small that I could see the ocean on all sides. To my right, black rocks reached into the sea, covered in the same kelp that I now had wrapped around me. To my left was a small copse of coarse bushes, not high enough to offer shade from the sun. Behind where Rainse stood, the island rose a little, and sand gave way to grassy soil. Six trees stood haphazardly together, all different kinds - seeds blown here by the wind, lucky to find a spot to grow roots. One of them was a coconut tree. A small spring bubbled among rocks at its feet. I stared up at its lofty heights. Five, six coconuts. That wouldn't keep me going for long - and I'd first have to reach them.
I turned back to Rainse. "Can you get me back to the ship I was on? The Minerva?"
My ribs throbbed just from sitting upright, but the question burst out anyway. The thought of staying here another night made the ache feel trivial.
He didn't hesitate. "No. You’re hurt. The waves would break you before we reached halfway."
"Why?" I shot back.
He looked out toward the open water.
“The ship is gone,” he said simply. “The current has taken it far from here. You are weak. You would not survive the swim.”
Something inside me balked at the calm finality in his tone. “Then signal them! You must have—” I stopped myself. What could he possibly have? A phone? A radio? The man didn’t even have a shirt.
He shook his head once. “No signal. No need. They found the other one.”
The certainty in his voice made the hairs on my arms rise. “How do you know that?”
“I saw them take him,” he said, still not meeting my eyes. “He will tell them you are lost. They will look, but not here. This island is not close to the current that would have carried you away, if I hadn't brought you here."
A chill that had nothing to do with temperature crawled up my spine.
“So that’s it?” I asked. “You’re just… keeping me here?”
“I keep you safe,” he corrected softly. “The sea is dangerous. The sun, too. You must rest. You will heal.”
“I don’t need—” I started, but the world tilted again. My legs gave way, and I dropped to my knees. He was beside me in an instant, steadying me with a touch so careful it made my throat tighten. His hands were warm, strong, the texture of his skin distinctly non-human.
