Blackout

Part One: Waking Up
A voice, faint and far, echoed in the darkness. Its words were unintelligible. The world around him was complete black, cold and silent. Save for that voice that he couldn't make out. Ever few moments it would say the same incoherent sentence. Words seemed to blend into one another as if separate voices fought for dominance. Slowly, the words began to take form, shaping into a single statement. He still couldn't understand what it was saying, but now the words were getting louder, as if something was getting closer to him. The words rushed towards him from the nothingness all around him, the sounds coming into focus until it was a single shout in his ear: Get up.

Salt water shot up into his nose, stinging his nostrils, as he came to choking and spluttering as it filled his lungs. He flung himself upward while the force of the wave pulling back into the ocean knocked him on his back. His arms flailed and he threw his legs under himself, planting his feet in the soft sand and rose from the water. He stumbled towards the beach and another wave hit the back of his knees, causing them to buckle, and he fell face first into the wet sand. His vision was blurry and he used his hands to crawl out of the water before falling to his side and gasping for air. He coughed loud and hard, forcing the sea water from his lungs and throat, and out his mouth. It took a few moments for him to regain his normal breathing and he rolled onto his back, his eyes closed as the world seemed too bright around him. Sand stuck to the side of his face like a fine dusting. His arms were sprawled out and the waved licked the bottom of his heels.