Agartha's Castaway - Book 1 in The Trapped in the Hollow Earth Novelette Series by Chrissy Peebles

Author:Chrissy Peebles
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: romance, love, fantasy, young adult, castaway, shipwrecked

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Pebbles shifted under my shoes as I waded to shore. My arms felt heavy and numb. The pain in my legs intensified with the stifling weight of my wet clothes. I panted from the effort. Only a few more feet to go.

When my feet touched land, I shouted in victory, then collapsed from exhaustion. A surge of relief flooded through me, tinged with regret that my parents weren’t there. I thought of my locket at the bottom of the ocean, and wished I’d thought, in my moment of panic, to place it in my pocket for safekeeping, especially since it was a family heirloom, passed down to me from my grandma. My mom and dad had taken the necklace to the mall and inserted my favorite family portrait as a sixteenth-birthday present. I longed to see their faces again. At that moment, though, all I could think of was to get out of the water; how great it would feel to lie on a warm beach and dry off. My labored breathing eased, though my lungs still burned and my head pounded.

Gentle waves lapped at the shoreline, inches from my face. I felt the gritty sand against my cheek. Rolling onto my back, I drew in a lungful of fresh air and let the suns beat down on my skin. My eyes fluttered open against the glaring light. I knew I had to get up, but I just lay there, unable to move.

Mike crawled out of the water and fell, face-first, into the white sand. Jack struggled to stand and tumbled down next to me. I inhaled the salty scent of the ocean, with its hint of coconut. Cheerful bird songs echoed through the air. Monkeys squealed, and a symphony of insects sounded in my ears.

“We’re here…wherever “here” is.” Mike stood but then stumbled to his knees, spitting out sand and wiping it from his cheeks. He turned and faced the unbroken stretch of shoreline. “Looks like nobody’s been here for ages.”

I searched the skies for a helicopter or plane, any sign of human life. Surely someone has figured out our location and will come for us soon. It’s only a matter of time, right? But with no supplies, time wasn’t on our side. My muscles ached from fatigue, but I forced myself upright. “Where’s the search party? I don’t want to be stuck on this rock with those huge bugs.”

“It’s early in the morning.” Jack reached over and squeezed my hand. “They’re probably scanning the water first since they knew we were in a boat. It’ll take time to search the islands. Besides, knowing your parents, we’re plastered all over the news by now.”

His words gave me hope. I admired the breathtaking beauty all around me. Coconut palms dotted the sand, and the sweet scent of flowers wafted in the breeze. It was a tropical paradise like the kind you’d see on a postcard or some commercial for suntan lotion. A dense jungle peered out from beyond the sandy beach.

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