Altitudes

 By Emma Spainhower

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Splash! A cold feeling engulfed me, darkness surrounding my whole body. I could feel the layers of the scuba suit hug me as I began to breathe. I hadn’t realized I was holding my breath. The mask was cold, and it felt too tight for my face. I thought this was going to be fun, not scary, and dark.  

A signal from Evelyn, my instructor, encouraged me to follow her. The water only went deeper. She must’ve seen the panic in my eyes as I shook my head no rapidly. Suddenly, her hand fell on my wrist, tugging me along with her. ‘What did I agree to?’ I thought to myself angrily.  

The water slowly began to feel warmer, somehow. She pointed past me, so I turned to look. A large orange and yellow fish swam behind me. I had never seen a fish this close before! It slowly swam up to us, cautiously waiving its fin as if in greeting. Its eyelid shut—winking at us before swimming away.  

‘Since when do fish have so much personality?’ I wondered in amazement. We swam down, further away from the boat that dropped us off, closer to the sea life. A high pitch whistle got our attention, and we stopped swimming downwards. A pod of dolphins came over, circling us as we watched. Evelyn looked around, then waved me downwards, where the dolphins continued to follow us.  

I wanted so badly to just reach out and touch the fin of the dolphin, but I knew I probably shouldn’t. The closest one looked at me and appeared to wink, too. ‘What’s with all these winking animals?’ Quickly, the dolphin closest to me pressed up against me, surrounding Evelyn and I. They were communicating, whistling away sharply. My heart dropped when I saw it—a huge shark coming toward us. Evelyn grabbed onto the dolphin, and I followed suit, and quickly, the dolphins led the way. I could feel my breath getting shorter and faster, as though I was running out of air. My air supply should have been okay, though. My vision blurred as I held on for my life, barely evading the vicious predator behind us when everything went black.  

“Jonah! Honey, are you okay in there?” I could hear a voice. It was familiar, but it sounded so far away. “Jonah!” 

“M-mom?” I felt the words fall out of my mouth, unsure of what was happening. I was cold, and my body was completely soaked. What was happening?  

“Are you okay? You’ve been in there for an hour now,” she sounded closer. I looked around, rubbing my eyes. Water droplets fell in front of me from my hair, splashing in the water that filled the tub. Bright orange and yellow toys caught my vision.  

“Mmhmm,” I muttered, poking my head around the shower curtain to see my mom  standing there, her hands on her hips. “I forgot I was in the bath.” 

She rolled her eyes, a hesitant smile on her face. “Okay. You and your imagination. Is the water even warm anymore? It’s been so long—” her voice trailed off.  

I shook my head ‘no’. “Can I get more water?” I begged, staring up at her pleadingly.  

She sighed, “If you be careful, yes. I’ll come to check on you in twenty minutes, okay?  It’s almost your bedtime.”

“Thank you, mom! You’re the best!” I yelled as she shut the bathroom door behind her. I quickly drained out the water, grabbing the orange and yellow toys and placed them on the edge.  I reached up and turned the tap water back on—this time, it was hot, unlike the cold puddle of water I had been sitting in for who knows how long.  

I placed my toys back in the water, sinking back down into the heat. I closed my eyes and plugged my nose with my fingers as I held my breath and plunged under the hot water.  

A loud whirring noise filled my ears as I blinked back to what was happening. I looked down, feeling tight seatbelts over my chest and legs, strapping me in. Looking around, all I saw was sky and clouds.  

“You okay there, sport? You passed out!” I heard a man yell. I turned to see him sitting next to me, grinning widely. “That happens to newbies. Not used to being up this altitude. You’ll get used to it.” I was quiet, feeling the seatbelt as I looked around.  

My breath caught in my throat as I saw a red stream of molten lava pour down the side of a volcano. It looked so bright, red, and so hot.  

“Yep, she’s a flowin’,” the guy beside me commented. “We were lucky we could evacuate everyone before it happened.” 

“It?” I repeated, looking at him then back at the hot lava.  

“Yeah, she blew a couple days ago. This is just the aftermath,” he grimaced. “Most everyone got the memo. A few didn’t. Pets ‘n stuff, Well, that’s our job I guess.”

The whirring of the helicopter slowly died down a little, as we began to hover over one spot above a tall forest of trees.  

“Alright man, let down those ropes,” he grinned at me, tossing a couple of ladders on ropes. “Time to shine.”

 

About the Author

Emma Spainhower has always dreamed of being an author. Finding inspiration in those around her, she chooses to write in order to create a different reality. Fantasy has been a huge part of her creative process throughout the years. Despite her art being very different from reality, she is able to express herself through her words and her art.