After reaching the air, they bob back below.

Hubert hits the surface and takes in a gulp of air. He spins around, the waves shoving him from side to side. He catches glimpses of nine faces, all coughing. So, he heads to the shore. From there, he watches as the other strangers struggle in the water, but his muscles have tensed from the cold.

Alvaro shakes his head, trying to get the water out of his ears. His feet hit the ground. He isn't sure how he was feet below the surface but now he can stand. In fact, the water is only waist-deep. Still, he hurries over to Hubert and sits on the rocky shore.

Behind him, Mickey comes up. He throws his pinstriped suit on to the rocks and moves over to help a blonde girl, struggling to inch forward due to her long, soaked dress.

When the man takes Bev's arm, she smiles. "Thank you. I thought the tide was going to take me."

Mickey gives her a nod but checks over her shoulder to make sure everyone else is okay. His eyes land on a girl with brown hair, pined up behind her head. She crawls forward on her hands and knees due to the weight of her dress. Every wave nearly causes her face to plant into the sharp stones beneath her.

A hand wavers in front of Clara's face. She sees a boy, with eyes bluer than the ocean, and a hand outstretched for her. Her hand delicately takes it.

"Thank heavens for this," Flo says, wrapping her fur shawl tighter around her body. She shivers from the cold. "I'd freeze to death otherwise."

The comment doesn't register for Maverick, who shakes uses his pinkie to try and pull the water from his ears. As the others walk to the shore, he finds himself staring at their surroundings, deciphering if this is some severe hallucination from his lack of sleep, or a dream. Surprisingly, Maverick hopes that he is about to get awoken by his undoubtedly angry father.

Tim finally pulls himself to the shore. He takes off his letter man's jacket and flings it up against the rocks. It looks too uncomfortable to sit down, but he sits down next to Alvaro anyways. He has already had a bad day; what words can a greaser say to make it worse?

In the water, Ivy still floats, staring up at the sky. Her arms and legs are spread like a star, as she beams up at the day. She wonders why her blankets are wet, and why they give her chills.

Adwin stares at the girl, peering over top of her. "I need some help."

Before Maverick can move, Mickey is up and running. He grabs Ivy by the waist and flings him over his shoulder. Adwin walks beside them, trying his best to steady the two.

Finally, all nine of them reach the shore. Mickey careful lays Ivy on top of his suit jacket, checking her chest for breath. Though water spills out of her lips, and her skin has gone cold, she is breathing.

Any thoughts in their heads are drowned out by the sound of the water hitting the shores.

They look around. Water stretches in front of them to the horizon, and surprisingly, beyond it. The sun leaks from behind a cloud on to them, and only on to them. Behind them are woods, thick and dense. To the right side of where they are, more specifically to the west, is a lighthouse atop a craggy hill. They can see nothing behind it.

Adwin turns from the view back to the girl. He puts his hand on her arm. It's not cold enough for ice (he doesn't know this, but ice is actually leaving the land), but she feels frozen through. A glass sculpture, immaculate in detail, almost like a statue from Ancient Greece.

"Is anyone a doctor?" He asks, as Mickey rolls up the sleeves to his white shirt. He adjusts his straps as he stares down at the girl.

"I have some medic training," he mumbles as he slaps the girls face. Really, his training was limited to tourniquets and bullet wounds, rather than drowning. He puts his head against her chest, and feels as she breathes.

Ivy coughs up water. In turn, Mickey cradles her head. "She's damn cold."

Though he rolls his eyes, Alvaro shrugs off his leather jacket. After all, the water has probably destroyed it. Soon, Ivy is wrapped up tightly.

"Is she alright?" Clara asks. She stumbles on her wet dress, only to catch herself at the last second. Through the crowd, she spots the boy with the blue eyes staring at her. She stops herself from swallowing.

"She's fine," Ivy's voice is a whisper, one that blends in with the beating wind.

Maverick looks away from Ivy, because he can't stand the sight of her pale skin. It feels wrong, to look at the collarbone of a woman without her permission. Instead, his eyes scan the water. "Where are we?"

None of them seem to know.

Adwin glances at the people around them. Bev, who stands next to him, catches his eye first. Her clothes have shifted, as have the receding tides, and so he sees the top of corset peeking out underneath her clothing. He must have stumbled into some poorly timed historical re-enactment.

Hubert doesn't want to speak. He stares at the nine people in front of him, and worries that God has not brought him the salvation which he demanded. Instead, he feels panic in his throat and a curse on his lips. "Les Étrangers."

Clara is surprised to find that the blue-eyed boy's voice is low. She watches as he sits down and puts his head in his hands.

"The what?" Flo asks as she shakes water out of her ears. She speaks French, but she can't hear out of one ear, and the ocean is still singing in tune with her mind.

"Are we in Quebec?" Maverick asks, turning around to face Hubert. He tries to scan the boys face, but it remains hidden by his hands.

"As in, Canada?" Bev asks, her eyes almost shining. She still believes that God has taken her to Heaven, along with these strangers. Anywhere this beautiful and this calm could only be her Father's Kingdom.

Adwin, now realizing that he is not alone in his confusion, let's himself continue to scan the crowd. He sees the leather jacket and the exposed stretch of skin above Ivy's knees. "Oh."

"Are you German?" Mickey looks up at Adwin, his eyes tight and narrow. He holds Ivy's head in his hands, which prevents him from charging at the other man.

"Not anymore these days," Adwin admits, because he isn't sure what Mickey knows that he doesn't. Although, there is some truth to that sentiment. Adwin's eyes keep darting back and forth, as something sinks in his stomach. He feels once more as if he has been submerged into something that he would rather not do.

Mickey is barely satisfied by this answer. "Are the rest of us Americans, then?"

"I'm Canadian," Maverick pops in.

"A Canadian?" Bev pops in, her eyes bright. "But you're speaking English?"

"Enough!" Hubert says.

He stands. The other's eyes turn to him. For a second, the sound of the ocean blends in with his voice, and the world goes still. Even Ivy, who's lips have grown purple and who's eyes are void of colour, turns to stare at Hubert.

"You are the Strangers," he tells them.

"The what?" Clara asks.

Hubert sighs. He runs a hand through his soaking hair, and so it sticks up on end. "Mon Dieu. Just, stop sharing information about yourselves. Please."

"Where are we?" Maverick echoes. "How did we get here?"

Hubert leans back against the rocks. He stares up at the sky above them, staring at the clouds. They grow darker, a mixture of midnight and hopelessness, even though it is the middle of the day and for the first time, Hubert has hope.

Maverick snaps his fingers, and Hubert looks down at him. He bites his lip and takes a step closer to Maverick. Hubert stops approaching when Maverick teeters backwards, threatening to take a step backwards. There is barely a foot of space between them.

"Do not snap at me if you would like answers," Hubert keeps his voice steady, even though he isn't used to being so serious. He can feel a smile threatening his face.

In that moment, Maverick decides he respects the man before him. Today has been stressful, both before and after the ocean surrounded him. He spoke out of line, and he needs to remember to be kinder in the future, among the other list of things he must be.

"That's fine and all, but we would like answers," Tim speaks up. He grabs his jacket and slings it over one shoulder. It's soaking wet, and his hair is ruined, but he would certainly like to know who made this prank and how it has gotten to be so elaborate.

"I'm not supposed to tell you much," Hubert says. He watches as Beverly picks up a rock, and throws it forwards. The rock skips and skips and skips, until it is swallowed by the waves, which has resumed their noise. She seems to beam. "I... I'm not supposed to tell you anything. It's not supposed to be me."

Clara follows his gaze. She smiles when Bev turns around, a grin consuming her. The girl's bright hair, though currently soaked, makes her shine like a sun.

Though you might think Alvaro is staring at her, he is really watching the water. He expects it to swallow them at any minute. Nothing seems to keep him preoccupied. Not even the gun in his pocket, which would be no defence against the water.

"What can we know?" Maverick presses on.

Hubert shrugs as he begins to think.

"What year is it?" Adwin finally asks, looking back at Hubert.

"What?" Maverick asks. "It's 1891."

The others feel their hearts seep down into the depths of the water.

Hubert, the faintest of frowns on his face, speaks. "It is 1653. We are in Alaque. Follow me."

~~~~~

Ahhh! I am very excited. I'm finding this hard to write because they are all together so it feels kind of disorienting, but I hope it's okay! Let me know if I'm writing your character correctly because I'm still feeling it out.