Free First to Dance by Sonya Writes

there as well.
    Ayita did not cease in trying to override the setting and reset the destination to Earth, but her efforts were unsuccessful. The hour it took to arrive at Adonia seemed to last both an eternity and but a moment to Ayita as she desperately tried to change course. The spaceship broke through the atmosphere and moved closer and closer until finally it was so close to the ground that Ayita could see the tops of trees whizzing by in the daylight. Then the spaceship shut off completely.
    Ayita panicked, but she didn’t have any time to make a decision because the bottom of the spaceship bumped on the ground. The impact harshly jolted her in her seat and knocked the wooden turtle from her hand.  Thankfully, the seat-belts kept her secure. Ayita could see people running away, and the spaceship hit the ground again. It skipped along the earth like a stone skipping on the water until finally it crashed into a lake and this time did not bounce up again.
    Ayita’s breaths were short and quick as she clutched at her seat. She watched the water rise up over her window until she could no longer see the sky. Ayita quickly unbuckled herself and pulled the emergency lever on the door. It seemed to be jammed, but nothing would stop her from trying. When the door finally opened, water came rushing in so strongly that it knocked Ayita backwards. She took a deep breath and pulled herself through the door, out of the sinking spaceship into the rushing water.
    Her breath didn’t last long enough and by reflex she tried to breathe. Water w ent up her nose and stung. She could feel herself choking, her chest contracting and suffocating.  The sun shone brightly through the water, as if it was taunting her.  The air could only be so far away.  She kicked her legs furiously and pulled on the water with her arms.  She reached, higher, higher, trying desperately to reach the surface.  It was right there and she could see it but she couldn‘t seem to reach.  Her fingertips broke through the liquid snare, but then her body refused to move any further, and her hand fell back down to her neck as she choked on one last mouthful of water.
    I’m going to die, she thought, but a strong arm reached around her chest and pulled her up.  It swiftly brought her head above the water and moved her along the surface until at last she could feel the sturdy ground beneath her.  Every sense was dulled, but still there.  A strong hand pressed down on her chest, just above the abdomen, strong short presses until she coughed and the water spurt out of her mouth.  The hands turned her body to her side and she continued coughing until the water was mostly gone. Air began moving into and out of her lungs again.  For a while she could barely see; it was all just shadows and blurs.  There were numerous voices surrounding her.  They blended together into a kind of humming, but one voice stood out above the rest.  “Are you all right?” he said.  “Can you hear me?”
    She moved her lips, forming but not speaking the word “Yes.”  Yes, I can hear you.   Shadows and fuzzy shapes came together until a face appeared above her, concerned eyes staring down, with short wispy hair in the way.  She blinked her eyes to focus better, and the face above her faintly smiled.
    “I think she’s okay,” he said, turning his face to the surrounding crowd.  He backed off a lit tle and though there was no one hovering above her now, she still felt claustrophobic with everyone around her, all asking questions. They spoke loudly and quickly. It was difficult to understand exactly what they were saying.  They had an awkward accent, stressing vowels and syllables she wouldn’t normally stress, and their words seemed more drawn out, yet quicker at the same time.  Maybe it was the water in her ears.
    Ayita drew up her knees and pulled herself to a sitting position.  As soon as they saw she was up, the questions were directed to her rather than each