Bloodlines of Archaea I. Afira -
Stormy Seas
“Tie up the sail!” I yelled to Akuma, “the winds are too strong,” I said, trying to keep my balance on the rocking boat. The sky behind us was dimming, but the monstrous clouds looming ahead made just a few feet in front of us incredibly difficult to see, the world ahead was unknown and dark. Rain poured down on our heads and soaked into our clothes, dragging us down just a little. A sudden jerk of the boat caused me to lose my balance, I fell to the floor of the boat. I caught myself with my hands before hitting my head, but a deep pain still surged through my veins. Ignoring this, I got to my feet. Akuma had managed to tie up the sail, stopping the howling winds from pushing us any farther off course. “Thanks,” I said to Akuma. “Sorry I wasn’t much help there.”
“It’s fine,” he said, looking out at the ocean. “I’m usually not much- look out!” he yelled, pointing to a huge wave moving right towards us. It hit like a hammer, knocking us both off the boat with enormous force. My body was tossed into the freezing water, hitting it like it was stone, then I was shoved farther under the surface by another forceful wave. The cold tore its way through my skin and into my bones, stiffening them. For a moment, I couldn’t think of anything except how cold the water was and that if I stayed there too long, my body would surely get frostbite, and I would die, painfully and alone. After regaining my ability to think and move properly under the water, I opened my stinging eyes and followed the path of my air bubbles to what I hoped was the surface. I swam fast and hard, my lungs crying for air.
I broke from the water, gasping for much needed and far deprived oxygen. I searched for Akuma. Not seeing him, I dove back underwater, trying to find him. He was unconscious and sinking fast. I swam quickly, reaching for his hand and hoping to the gods I could reach him on time. There was a horrifying moment of doubt, before I reached him, where my mind flashed to a world without him, one where I was truly alone and I could never be the same. It was a world where I went down a dark path and I too traded my soul for his, only to be fooled like Sombra. This world hurt to think of, and I had never been more grateful to feel his hand own once more. I grabbed it and used every last ounce of my strength to pull his unconscious body back to the surface, where he and I would be safe. Once more reaching the place of which the air touched the sea, I searched frantically for the boat, where we could rest from the storm. I swam with severe panic as I began losing hope of finding it. I continued searching, holding Akuma over my shoulder, causing me to swim with one arm, gracefully sweeping the water to the side.
Finding our boat tipped over with its fragile mast snapped mostly in half, but still partially attached and the mainsail torn, I swam over to the boat, grateful for its existence at all. I climbed up onto our upside-down boat, standing myself still holding onto Akuma, trying to keep his head above the water. I heaved and managed to haul him up and onto the boat beside me. I placed my pointer finger just above his nose, checking to see if he was breathing. Fortunately, he had a faint stream of air flowing from his nose, showing his fight for survival. I quickly placed my hands one on top of the other over his chest, pushing down hard and rapidly applying pressure to the beat of what Maktu had taught us, “one, two, three, four,” I counted aloud to the number fifteen. I cursed, as I held his mouth open. Without giving myself enough time to think, I spread my lips over his, trying to imagine he was Grandma Lilly, instead. I inhaled into his mouth, pausing for a moment to watch his chest rise and fall. I began a second round of compressing when Akuma began coughing heavily and spitting out water. He sat up, looking into my eyes and trying to stop himself from his endless hacking. I rejoiced, excited to see his open chestnut-brown eyes once more. I realized he had a huge gash on his forehead, where he most-likely hit the boat and was knocked unconscious. When it seemed all the water was cleared from his lungs, he spoke, “wow, I really suck at my job,” he said through tired coughs.
I chuckled, “yeah. You kind of do,” I said, teasingly. We laughed together. “But to redeem yourself, you can help me flip this thing over and see what we can do to fix it.
“Alright, but can I have a minute first? I kind of just almost died and I’m pretty sure I still have some water in my lungs,” he said, pounding on his chest, he winced. “Also, ow! What is wrong with you? I think you bruised something of mine. Maybe even broke it.”
I laughed. “You’ll be fine you big baby, it was all my rage for having a bad guard.” He chuckled weakly.
“Maybe I’m just supposed to be a practice dummy for when you have to save a bunch of people,” he said, standing up.
I stood too, “maybe. Personally, I think that would make you too useful,” I teased.
“Haha,” he said unenthusiastically. We looked out at the ocean, remembering the bone-chilling water.
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