Chapter 644. Shipwrecked

Hot, bright, unforgiving sunlight burns through my eyelids. My body feels… shattered–and itchy. Incredibly itchy and dry and… 

I open my eyes just enough to feel the grit of sand before I close them again, my stomach rolling and twisting. I cough once–a painful experience that has me moving quickly from lying flat on my belly to my knees where I choke and gag, spilling an exceedingly large amount of water from my lungs. My throat burns like fire. My teeth ache. My lips burn from several splits now packed with… sand. 

I wipe my face which only spreads the sand further. I spit more water, gulping down air and choking on it like my lungs aren’t used to breathing anymore. 

My hair sticks to my face in wet, sandy clumps. My skin is raw and blistered from the sun. 

It comes back to me in fragments. Fractured memories of a fire, of a fight, of death, hurtle to the forefront of my mind. I remember the wave last. I remember wrapping my arms aro