Chapter 13 - What Ramon wants

Johnny is doing well until the suspended part. He looks down at the sea below. It is about a 3 yards drop, but the sight makes him dizzy and his hands lose grip on the chain mail. He falls down in the sea below, fully dressed. The others hear a splash and see that Johnny has fallen.

Logan rushes overr and looks at Al's arm. Those look a bit rough, let me see if I can do something to help.

Logan pulls out a handful of napkins, from a cargo pocket on his shorts. Adding to it his last bottle of water, Logan tries to clean the cuts as best as he can.

The slow motion drop at least landed him in the water, a drop onto the rocks would likely have landed him in the hospital with broken legs... Swimming in the ocean was a lot different than in a pool! I'm okay! he called, probably just as surprised by that as anyone. Spotting the stairway a bit further down the coastline, he decided that was a better option than trying the climb again.

"Ouch," Al comments, poking at her cuts with her finger. As Logan fusses over them, she turns to Ripper: "Go, jump and swim after Johnny!", she tells her. "He'll help you get here to us."

Al walks to the edge where Johnny fell into the water, ignoring her bleeding cut. She points down at the water where Johnny is. "Follow him!", she tells Ripper. "Hey, Johnny! Wave at Ripper, so she knows to come to you."

Johnny slowly makes progress towards the deeper end, hindered by his shoes and clothes. He is a strong swimmer though, and despite losing some snacks and cans of soda in the dive, he starts advancing along the rocky outcrop.

The rock towers above him, and the sea is quite deep here. He reaches the metal staircase in relief.

Trying it for stability, he finds it sturdy and hauls himself out of the water. Thankful the unexpected swim happened on a sunny July day, he starts climbing up on the zig zag ramps.

Taking a moment to catch his breath after the swim, Johnny climbed the switchback stairway to meet Logan and Alana at the top. The humidity kept his clothes from drying in the heat and just made them cling to him like a soggy, uncomfortable second skin.

As Alana reaches the edge where she's seen Johnny fall, he is gone. Al points at the drop, prompting Ripper to jump.

Ripper looks down at the 3-meter drop and whines in confusion.

"Ripper...", Al complains. Then she sighs. She sits down on the edge of the cliff and then drops down, letting herself fall into the water. It stings on her open cuts but she suppresses it and looks up at Ripper, opening her arms to her. "Come down, Ripper! Be brave!", she tries to urge her.

"Ripper!", Al calls her. "You're supposed to be brave and strong!" She feels herself get exhausted and the water in her cuts really stings. She swims towards the staircase and gets out of the water. "We have to get Ripper over to this side somehow!", she explains to her friends.

Alana quickly realizes that even the short swim to the stairs is too much, in her current state. Each stroke is agony for her cut arm as the skin is pulled by the motion, and the burn in her hand stings like crazy in the salty water.
After a couple of warning signs of losing buoyancy and going under, she desists, and is forced to go back towards the closer, less intimidating shore destination.

Ripper is very agitated while Al is in the water, but follows her back to the shore as she sees her U-turning. She barks happily as Al drags herself out of the water.

It seems like there can't be a day this summer without a fully clothed swim...

Logan and Johnny regroup under the red and white Lighthouse, and Ripper's barks make them notice that Alana didn't make the swim and went back ashore.

Al curls up after climbing out of the water. Her hand hurts and the cuts hurt. And Ripper is up there and doesn't understand how to get to her.
This was supposed to be a fun ghost chase. But now it seems difficult and painful and for the first time, Al is thinking of giving up. She wipes her nose on the dripping wet sleeve of her shirt and hopes that her friends figure out a way to save the day.