Pulse of Heroes

by A. Jacob Sweeny

  Michelle had never seen one of those before. “I wish,” she whispered, “but I’ll survive.”

  Dave handed the pad over to Michelle and insisted she use it. She didn’t want to. She didn’t want to seem like some helpless princess waiting for someone to save her. But he wouldn’t give up, so eventually she took the pad and thanked him. “Goodnight,” she whispered, and he wished her the same. Michelle lay there for a while, listening to the crashing waves and telling herself not to worry because there was no way the water could make it all the way up to the campgrounds. She was being silly. So she decided to enjoy the sounds of nature and with that thought in mind, she fell asleep.

  Michelle was awoken by noises coming from outside the tent. She had slept amazingly well, and was hoping that it was still early enough in the night for her to go back to sleep. She heard someone telling some else to keep it down. There was a lot of hushing, mixed in with the sound of zippers. Zippers? What if someone was going through their stuff! Michelle turned around to shake Samantha awake but her sleeping bag lay empty and so did James’. She looked over to where Dave was sleeping but his sleeping bag was already rolled up neatly. She was the only one left in the tent. Where did everybody go? What did she miss? When she got out of the sleeping bag it was very cold and she hoped that the daylight would bring warmer temperatures. Her bones creaking, Michelle unzipped the tent’s large plastic zipper and peeked out. James and Dave smiled at her.

  “Morning,” James called out, half whispering. Michelle stepped out of the tent and stretched out her limbs. It was freezing.

  “How was sleeping on that pad?” Dave asked proudly.

  “I thought I was in my own bed.” That was the point, he told her smiling. Michelle thanked him again for lending her the gel foam pad thingy.

  It was 5:50 AM and they had about another 45 minutes till sunrise. Samantha and Liz returned from the bathrooms with their sleeves pulled down over their fingers for extra warmth. After seeing how messy their hair was, Michelle realized that she must look like hell herself. She instinctively began combing through her hair with her fingers.

  “You look great, if that’s what you’re worrying about,” Dave said. Michelle blushed a little, and got to the business of making breakfast. Nick had coffee brewing and it smelled like heaven. Eventually the aromas of cinnamon and coffee drew Rob and Marion out of their tent and they all ate.

  After breakfast they packed all their gear and valuables into the Suburban and drove to the launching area. James would return the vehicle to the campsite and then meet them on foot. Although the small cove was only a 10-minute walk from where they were camped, they wanted to be the first to scope out the area, and carrying their gear by hand would slow them down.

  The first rays of light appeared from over the hills, and when James got back he told them that he had run into Tim at the small convenience store next to the campground. Tim’s group was setting up to launch from a cove right around the corner from where they were. Thinking of Tim, Michelle wondered if it would somehow hurt his feelings if he saw her hanging out with Dave. It wasn’t like she and Tim were going out or anything, but something in the back of her mind told her that she should avoid doing anything that would stand out in Tim’s eyes.

  The group headed down a narrow ravine that ended abruptly. To get to the water they had to walk around jutting rocks and slippery tide pools. The sea was relatively calm, and once they were down at the edge there was a large rock forming a natural bench that was perfect for a few people to sit on, mainly the girls. Liz was the only girl that was actually suiting up and going out diving; in her wetsuit she looked like everyone else. Six strange long-legged black seals.

  Michelle walked to the water and bent over to touch it. The temperature was freezing. She couldn’t imagine how a wet suit was going to be of any help, but she kept her doubts to herself. The mere thought of being immersed in the frigid water sent a chill up her spine. The divers grabbed their floating devices and slowly waded in. Liz yelped and turned to yell at the girls.

  “It’s freaking freezing!” she called, but continued after the guys just the same. One of them, Michelle could no longer tell the difference, pointed out to an outcropping of large rocks that was about 15 feet away. The first person lay down and began paddling on top of his floater. He gave the group the thumbs up sign and they followed him like ducklings in a row.

  Michelle was a little jealous. She didn’t have the skill to join them, as her swimming was better suited for poolside events. Marion pulled a little speaker set-up out of her backpack and plugged in her MP3 player. The music helped sooth everybody’s nerves. It was dangerous out there in the water; nobody was going to argue that fact.

  About two hours must have gone by when the divers returned to the shore empty-handed. It was still too dark, Dave explained to Michelle, and with the thick green kelp all around them, it only made things that much harder. Free diving, especially in such demanding waters, was an activity that was physically draining and everyone needed to rest and eat something before heading back out.

  While they waited for the sun to make its way higher in the sky, they noticed a lot of traffic and activity above them on the main road. Many people walked by and peeked over the edge to see if there was any space left. Because this stretch of coastline was very rocky, space was scarce and there were hardly any sandy beach areas available, especially on opening day. The little cove that Michelle’s group had claimed was very small and shaped roughly in a semi-circle. To their left there was a huge outcropping of boulders and rocks that stuck out about 30 feet into the water. Samantha noticed someone heading towards them from that direction and thought it might be Tim, and she was right. Once off the rocks he jogged towards the girls. “Hey!” he said with that infectious smile.

  “Hey there yourself, sailor,” Samantha answered.

  Tim asked them if they were having any luck because Marcus had pulled up two 8-inch specimens which were already sitting on ice. Michelle wasn’t really listening to what Tim was saying. Instead, she was busy looking out in the water, hoping that Dave didn’t see how close Tim was sitting next to her. He was practically leaning on her shoulder. “You should really come check out our spot,” he told Michelle. Once Tim left, Marion and Samantha teased Michelle about Tim having it bad for her.

  “If I was single you’d have to use one of those abalone bars to pry me away. What are you thinking girl?” teased Marion.

  “Look at you,” Samantha added, “Two great guys are running in circles around you and you sit here and tell us you’re not sure.”

  “You guys just leave me alone,” Michelle said in a cheery voice. “I’m too young to deal with any of this.” The girls burst out laughing. “And besides, just because Dave was nice to me doesn’t mean he likes me like that.”

  Marion told Michelle that Dave was very impressed by her, and that he was actually a decent guy and wasn’t into just ‘hooking up’. He was looking for a relationship.

  “Well that’s not me,” Michelle replied. “I can’t even tie my own shoelaces let alone carry on a relationship.” Was that statement true, Michelle thought after she said it? Was she really not ready to be in a relationship?

  Somebody whistled from the direction of the water. Nicholas raised a huge abalone shell in his hand, waving it around like a Grammy or an Oscar. The rest of the divers surrounded him and were checking out his catch while the girls clapped and cheered from the beach. After that first catch everyone felt even more motivated to bring in their own Oscars, and they dove back and forth for hours.

  By noon the sun’s rays were sparkling on the surface of the water, and the day that had started out a bit foggy had grown clear and blue. But unfortunately the wind had started to change as well. It began picking up energy and the small gentle swells were turning into four-footers and then six-footers. The local park and recreation officers used a loudspeaker to let everyone know that by the late afternoon they were expecting waves that could measure up to 1
1 feet. Only the very experienced or those with a death wish would dive under those conditions. Luckily for the group, they still had a couple of hours and 2 abalones in the cooler.

  Michelle noticed that the tide was beginning to rise and she knew that if she was going to cross over the boulders to Tim’s side she would have to do it and not wait any longer. She asked the girls to watch her stuff and told them that she’d be back in less than an hour. When Michelle got to the boulders she realized that the narrowest way across was also the furthest out towards the water. She had two choices. She would either have to climb those huge rocks, which she wasn’t sure she could do, or wade out into the water and cross at the narrows. She chose the narrows.

  Michelle walked across the narrow ridge barefoot because her shoes made it considerably more dangerous. The black rocks were quite beautiful. They had been carved and polished by wind and water for ages and some of them looked like black onyx. There were also perfect little indentations for her to put her feet into that looked as if they had been made by people crossing over the rocks for thousands of years. But still she had to be careful where she put her feet because sometimes there was slimy seaweed hiding under the shallow puddles and that made them extremely slippery. Here and there she saw small crabs scurrying to get out of her way. Michelle chuckled to herself because they looked so serious, running sideways. Just silly water spiders, she told herself. Nothing to worry about.

  When Michelle made it to the other side she immediately spotted Tim but she wasn’t sure if he could see her. She shouted out for him but he definitely couldn’t hear her. The waves were getting sketchier and the white foam crashing on the shore drowned out her voice. Eventually, someone from his group spotted her and she could see them pointing in her direction. Tim immediately headed over. He was very happy and wanted to show her all the abalones they had caught. Anna and Marcus were there, but Rachael was a no show; she too was suffering from that horrible flu.

  Tim and his friends had just sliced some fresh abalone meat, sashimi style, and offered some to Michelle. She wasn’t really sure about the raw part of the eating, but when everyone started teasing her that she was a chicken she said she would give it a try. Tim squeezed fresh lemon juice on the slice and dunked one end of it in soy sauce. He cut the piece in two and gave Michelle one half. He was going to eat the other one with her for support. Everyone was watching and they counted to three. Both Michelle and Tim gobbled down their share. Michelle chewed on the abalone a couple of times before swallowing it whole. Tim was already done with his and stood there waiting for Michelle to enter her verdict.

  “Well,” he asked smiling, “what do you think?”

  In all honesty, Michelle preferred the battered deep-fired style better, but there was no way she was going to tell that to Tim. “Awesome,” she said, grinning. Tim was satisfied. Did he really like her, Michelle wondered? He was definitely trying his best, and oh so sweet.

  Tim wanted to go in for one more dive because he had only brought one abalone up. By law, he had two more to go. California was very strict about the abalone market. It was illegal to sell them, and they had to be of a certain size. The rule was three abalones per day and no more than 24 in one season. That was the only way to ensure that the abalones wouldn’t be over fished till extinction. There were always some people who got really greedy and tried to catch more than what was allowed in order to sell them on the black market. Michelle had heard that some were selling for $150 each in San Francisco, especially in Chinatown. Anyone that got caught with too many got a steep fine, and some even served jail time. It was definitely a craze, she concluded, Personally, Michelle didn’t think the abalones were all that. They were tasty, but she preferred Alaskan King Crab.

  When Michelle realized that it must have been over an hour since she had crossed the rocks, Tim was already back in the water, so she asked Anna to let him know that she had left and to give her thanks. It was getting cold again and the blue of the sky had faded into a drab gray. The wind had picked up and the surf was definitely growing wilder. By the time Michelle got to the rocks, the tide was covering the path she had used when she first crossed over. Michelle stood by the water’s edge, trying to measure how much time she would need to dart across before the waves came in. The waves weren’t too big but they sure made a lot of noise when they crashed, spraying salty foam everywhere. She counted the waves for a while and figured out that they came in sets of threes. If she crossed over the rocks as soon as the third wave pulled back to the ocean, she should have enough time to reach a safer spot and then wait for another set to pass before jumping down onto her small beach.

  Everything went as planned. Michelle counted the third wave and as soon as it started receding back into the ocean she hopped over two medium sized rocks and then across a small tide pool and onto a decent-sized boulder. She waited for the next set of waves, nervously watching as the water edged almost to her feet. She only had to wait for two more waves and then she would be home free. The whole idea of standing out on the narrow edge of a rock so far from shore and seeing white water all around her got Michelle thinking that she should have probably taken the longer way back. She could have climbed back up to the main road and then descended to the small cove from the same path that they had used that morning. She hadn’t counted on the tide rising so fast. While watching the second wave return to the ocean, she realized that she was midway between the two groups, and that from her angle she couldn’t see anyone from either party.

  Where was the third wave? It had been a while now and still had yet to come. It should have already been there, and by her calculations a new set should have already begun, but there was nothing.

  Should she risk it and run across and then down and around to the cove, or should she keep waiting for the third wave. What Michelle really feared was being stuck halfway through and having the third wave crash down on top of her. That would be very dangerous, and she knew that her swimming was mediocre at best. She was no match to the power of the ocean. The waves crashed onto the rocks with a sound equal to that of an earthquake and they flung pebbles and sand in a powerful spray. It actually hurt when the sand hit her skin; it stung from the salt and from the cold.

  The third wave never came, and instead another set of waves started coming in. Michelle waited until she counted three of them, but the waves just kept coming, each one louder and more violent than the one before. She began feeling very nervous. She started shaking and she wasn’t sure but she thought she might be crying.

  Where were the sets? Michelle began to panic. The little cove was so close, but in reality the brutal waves stretched that distance into miles. Michelle tried to scream for help, but realized that there was absolutely no way anyone could hear her. She told herself to be brave, and that the worst thing that could happen to her would be that she might get a little wet.

  When Michelle detected a slight lull in the water, she took her chances. It was now or never. Without lifting her gaze from the ocean, Michelle began her long journey towards safety. The problem was that she didn’t realize that the lull in the waves did not mean that they had stopped, but rather that the wind and sea were gathering and storing an amazing amount of energy. The peacefulness of the mighty Pacific Ocean was just an illusion. At that particular moment the calm was only due to the suction created by millions of gallons of salt water being gathered and wound up tightly by the giant vacuum-like mechanism of the ocean floor. But of course, no tether is strong enough to hold the awesome power of the seas, and they will always break free. Just as Michelle was making her way across a broad tide pool, a gigantic 13-foot wave appeared out of nowhere, crashing upon the rocks without sound or warning and knocking Michelle off her feet.

  Before Michelle even knew what had happened she was completely underwater. It took only a second for Michelle’s brain to comprehend the catastrophic event. She was being pulled out to sea by the giant wave as it withdrew back to its origin. The coldness of the water was sharp like kniv
es and the salt stung every tiny scrape she had on her body. Michelle gasped for air. She tried to scream but each time she ended up swallowing more salt water. There was no swimming in waters that rushed at such speed and strength. She tried waving her arms, but giant sprays of white foam hid her from view. Michelle realized that she was being swallowed by the sea. She was going to die. She was going to be one of those sad casualties of the abalone season that they talk about every year on the nightly news.

  Michelle thought about her poor parents, and Toby of course. She thought about her friends out on the beach and even about Francesca and Crumb. She thought about Elliot too. She was cold and tired; she was giving up the fight. Another wave broke over Michelle’s head and she was thrown back towards the shore. She was underwater when her head crashed against a rock; she never even saw it coming.

  Michelle’s body went still and the strong currents began to pull her away from the shoreline. Once Michelle’s body was carried beyond the surf, it began a slow descent into the bowels of the Pacific Ocean.

  And yet, deep in the midst of the Pacific Ocean there was land, dry land. There was land surrounded by walls of churning waters. Columns of water swirled in the shape of tornadoes, spinning fast and clearing a small patch of land in their midst. In the middle of these columns of ocean water, There was a man. Elliot was walking towards the shore, his eyes almost white, carrying Michelle’s limp body in his arms.

  As Elliot moved forward, the columns of water behind him crashed back down into the ocean, while the waters before him kept spreading upwards like wind tunnels. Eventually, he walked up onto the sandy coastline and gently laid Michelle’s body down. He bent over to her face to see if she was breathing. She wasn’t. Elliot looked up to the sky and cried out in anger. A lightening bolt split the gray clouds. He somberly tried to breathe life back into Michelle’s wet and frozen body, but it was no use. Elliot looked around to see that he was on a deserted stretch of beach. With his eyes still shining the brightest of blues, he carefully placed his right hand above Michelle’s heart and raised his other arm to the sky.