The tide wouldn't come in until noon, right? It had done so last time he had taken a stroll, and poor Gabriel, who had never had to do much with the sea, naively assumed the tides turned at the same time every day. And so he was taking a stroll along the shale area beneath the East cliff which locals called the 'Scaur', entirely aware of the impending danger. He had walked a long way along the cliffs, beyond where fishing women gathered to collect bait and other materials, admiring the view of the cliffs and headland in the distance, and looking for fossils below in the shale. 

At some point he stopped to admire a whole set of fossils in the shale, crouching down and reflecting on the perfection of the round spiral ammonite shells and the vastness of time that lay between him and these creatures. He was so lost in his grand reflections, that he did not see how the sea was rolling in fast, until the water came close to his feet and he rose, alarmed.

The priest started striding back, but he was too far out of town and forced to walk ever closer to the high cliff as the water came further in with every wave. Suddenly, a flood of water washed over his feet, and he felt it run into his shoes - a very unpleasant experience on a winter's morning. But he had greater worries. He would never reach Whitby in time. 

Gabriel looked around anxiously and suddenly spotted one other person, some way off. And then he noticed a cave, or maybe an old mineshaft, in the cliff nearby. He was terrified to go near it, for he had heard that cliff erosion and landslides were common. But he would still choose the risk over drowning. "Hey!" he shouted at the other person. "Over here!" And he rushed to the cave with soaked feet. With some effort, he managed to climb up to where the cave was and he entered it, praying that the water wouldn't reach this high.

Anthony was terrified of the sea. But even so, he still came here. He had somewhat foolishly assumed that nothing bad would come of just a small walk along the cliffs. He was so caught up in his own mind, that by the time he saw and realized that the water was rising fast, it was far too late for him to try and flee. Anthony stumbled backwards, a bit, but that wasn't going to save him. His fears suddenly felt much more justified.

And at the sound of someone calling out to him, he whipped his head around to try and find whoever it was that had done so. Though it took a moment for him to comprehend it all, he ran after the other person as soon as he did. He climbed up to where the cave was with relative easethough he was almost expecting himself to slip and fall because of the utter fear that he was feeling.

As soon as he made his way into it, he immediately crawled away from the entrance of the cave, not willing to take any risks. This was a nightmare.

It was dark in the cave but it led straight into the cliff - confirming Gabriel's suspicion that it was a mineshaft - and the light from outside reached in for some distance.

Gabriel saw the man shoot past him like a frightened hare, and once the man stopped it was hard for Gabriel to see him properly. "Are you alright, sir?" he said. He sat down on the ground. The rim of his black cassock was soaked, but he was more concerned about his feet. He tried to take off his wet shoes, but he struggled with the buttons.

Anthony was shaking. He glanced towards the other man briefly as he spoke, but after that, his eyes remained trained on what he could see of the water.

He opened his mouth for a moment to try and reply to the other, but he found himself unable to speak. Anthony tried to swallow the lump in his throat or whatever it was that made his throat close up like that, to no success. So instead of speaking, he just nodded quickly as a response. His breathing was becoming a bit frantic.

That man seemed more frightened that Gabriel. "Come now..." he said calmly. "Calm yourself, sir. The water will not reach up to here." Was he certain of that?

Anthony knew that by all means he should be calm, but he still wasn't. He nodded yet again at what the man said, still keeping his eyes fixed on the water, almost as if to try and see the validity of that statement for himself. It didn't really help. The water simultaneously felt very close, and very far away. It didn't help the panic attack he could already feel rolling in.

Gabriel, quite unaware of the impending danger on that side of the cave, focused on unbuttoning his shoes, and when he had finally managed, he took off both his shoes and socks. Though it was very cold, it was still better than wet feet.

Anthony's breathing grew even more irregular and frantic. It didn't take long at all for him to start hyperventilating.

That caught his attention alright. Very carefully, so that he wouldn't hurt his bare feet on sharp rocks, Gabriel walked over to the other man. "We'll be safe here. Take a deep breath..." Now that he was close, he recognized the man as the poor guy he had trapped in the church before. It was kind of a habit, then?

Anthony flinched as he felt the man approach, but he didn't react to it otherwise. He would have loved to simply take a deep breath and calm down, but sadly panic attacks don't work like that, so he was still left hyperventilating miserably. Anthony inhaled sharply, and then burst into a coughing fit.