(Little Nightmares) Love Me, Normally

Nest in Flames

Then Sarah gets an idea. An awful idea, really. An idea so stupid even Sarah knows it's ridiculous. Yet her big-dumb-emotional heart calls out to her. It pleas, cries, implores, asks nicely, everything it possibly can. And it unfortunately wins.

Sarah takes a big gulp of air, preparing herself for the rescue mission. With full lungs and a sight of the drowning Pretender, Sarah dunks right back into the sea. She can't see underwater but with hesitant eyes Sarah can see vague outlines. As Sarah's eyes hazily adjust to the water, Sarah focuses on the green figure turning lifeless.
Not on my watch!
Sarah swims downwards with butterfly strokes, a technique she remembers from reading too many emergency manuals. Sarah grabs The Pretenders' hair, a necessary evil, and starts to swim upwards. The added weight proves the rescue mission to be harder than Sarah imagined, but she doesn't stop. Even with the ocean waves pushing them further down, Sarah doesn't stop. Even as Sarah's lungs burn and her legs ache, Sarah keeps pushing.

Sarah breaks the surface, filling her lungs with fresh air. Just as she breathes, The Pretenders' body drags her downwards. Sarah yanks the unconscious girl, keeping them barely above water.
Sarah looks around, her surroundings only filled with sea and fear. Sarah's thoughts come to a halt as she sees an incoming tide, the biggest she's ever seen, hurling towards them.
Sarah holds The Pretender tightly, taking in one big breath before preparing for the worst.

The ground feels coarse. Sarah's lips taste salt and sand. The quiet waves of the ocean surround Sarah, singing a quiet lullaby.
Slowly opening her eyes, Sarah absorbs her surroundings. She's on a beach of some kind, sand surrounding her. It's a small beach, the sea almost engulfs the place with each tide.
Sarah lifts herself from the ground, adrenaline still pumping through her veins. She looks back to the sea, noticing a rather grim sight. The Pretender is being carried away by the sea.
Once again Sarah's big-dumb-emotional heart cries for another. Tired and exhausted, Sarah climbs to her feet, almost entirely covered in sand. She marches back into the water, submerging half of her body in freezing cold water. The sea narrowly reaches Sarah's neck as she grabs The Pretenders' hair, pulling her weakly back to the beach.

Once the duo is well away from the sea, Sarah assesses the situation.
She shakes The Pretender, yelling "Hey!" at her. Sarah leans in, listening for breathing. She tries for a pulse, but inevitably checks for a heartbeat; there's a faint beating.
Sarah shifts into overdrive, realizing she has a chance to save The Pretender.
Sarah pushes The Pretenders' stomach, counting to five before (embarrassingly) blowing air into her mouth. Each five pumps Sarah grimaces, pinching The Pretenders' nose before blowing air into her mouth.

Sarah lifts The Pretenders' hair, looking at her closed eyelids before lifting them. Her eyes look empty, barely registering anything. Sarah goes back to pushing, increasing her force with each desperate kiss of life.
Sarah leans back in, pressing her ear against The Pretenders' lips. The anticipation almost kills her.
That is, until a faint wheeze spawns from The Pretender. Sarah goes back to pushing, giving the near-unconscious girl three more pumps before she begins to vomit water. Sarah helps The Pretender get up, letting her vomit land on the beach and not on her (somewhat) attractive face.
"Are you okay?" Sarah asks, distress invoking her words. Sarah leans down, trying to get a glimpse of The Pretenders' face. The Pretender, however, doesn't want to be seen in such a terrible state.
The Pretender shoves Sarah away, hiding her messy face. She checks her hair, somehow it still looks just as ridiculous as before. Sarah looks at The Pretender, watching her get up from the sand. Far above them rests The Nest, the very top barely visible from the beach.
How did we even survive?
Sarah looks back down, seeing The Pretender already marching off elsewhere.
"Hey! Wait, come here!" Sarah says, getting up from the ground. "You don't look good!"
"I don't look good? Yeah, says you!" The Pretender huffs, brushing off some sand from her gown. "You've done enough, now leave me alone. And don't ask to come with me, you can rot down here for all I care."
The Pretender speaks eloquently, like a Victorian era queen. Sarah almost laughs at The Pretenders' silly accent, yet she speaks with enough purpose and diction that Sarah realizes it's not supposed to be funny.
"No, not like that!" Sarah groans. "I mean, you look sick!" Sarah follows The Pretender, hoping to reason with the ill-tempered girl.
"For your information, I am very cool. So really, you're just complimenting me!" The Pretender smiles smugly, flicking her hair before continuing her walk.
The beach the duo walk on is very small, no trees nor grass exists to fill the empty space. Above the small sandy clearing stands The Nest, a pillar of perpetual mystery held straight by a rock that digs into the earth's core.
The beach is empty, only the duo exist there. That, and the conveniently placed ladder that leads back to The Nest's cliffs. It looks to be the only entrance back to The Nest, despite the latter only being big enough for small children to use. Perhaps the ladder wasn't meant for return trips?
It's a long climb back, the ladder doesn't look entirely trustworthy as it swings in the wind and creeks under any amount of weight. That doesn't discourage The Pretender though, she's awake and ready to get a change of clothes.
She starts her climb back to The Nest, her wobbly figure sending even more fear into Sarah. With no other choice, Sarah hazardously climbs along. Sarah looks upwards, hoping to judge the distance from the beach to the cliffs. However, she sees something else.
Sarah's face blushes hot red as she averts her gaze, the feeling of embarrassment more impactful than her fear of heights. As Sarah climbs, she sees her raincoat drift into the open sea. She frowns, her only real identity lost to the sea.

It's a long climb back to the cliffs.
Sarah is happy that she's alive but feels indifferent towards her new companion.
All she can do now is hope for the best.