Maltese Steel

CHAPTER ONE A cold March wind brushed Lucy Foster's cheeks as she plummeted from the top of the Azure Window. Once a rocky arch that stretched out from the Maltese Island of Gozo. Now just rock face with the broken pieces of the massive arch buried under the waves. It was said to be one of the wonders of the world, but after a tremendous storm wreaked havoc on both islands – it was no more. The craggy archway lost to the deep. The midnight sky was black and a freezing chill hung in the air. But it was nothing compared with the icy waters of the ocean below. Lucy would not feel it. The velocity of her fall masked the smell of the sea air. Around her, the sounds of the wind were dulled by the crashing of the waves. However, Lucy did not feel or hear anything. There was no light from the moon for the waves to reflect, which would have made the fall from the cliff seem endless – as if it was a nightmare. Lucy's body slammed against the ocean as if the water were made from concrete. Her neck snapped back, and her ribs shattered. Her right arm was dislocated and pulled towards her back. She had felt nothing. The waves tossed her fragile body up like a piece of driftwood. The wind howled, and the waves roared. Towering waves crashed against each other. Pounded relentlessly against Lucy's limp body again and again. Giant, claw-like waves reached up and grabbed her, pulling her down to the depths. The ocean surrendered her battered body to the surface once more as if tired with its prey. The waves crashed as the wind howled. Finally, Lucy's body vanished beneath the surface, dragged down into the blackened depths as she was swallowed into the abyss.