Maiden of the USS Indianapolis

Day 3

Indianapolis spun around, startled by a cry in the dawn air.
"Sharks! There's a shark right under me!"
The Maiden looked on, horrified, as a tiger shark swam just below the man who had yelled, brushing the tips of his feet.
But the shark didn't even look up at the man. Instead, it went to go join its friends over by a corpse.
Not that that was any better.
In a perfect world, Indianapolis would have saved all of the bodies of her crew, both dead and alive, for their loved ones to get back.
Then again, in a perfect world, Indianapolis would have been able to stop the ship from sinking and no one would have died to begin with.
Salty tears dropped down the Maiden's face, inaudible plops the only noise. The crew stared in horror as their fellow crew man was eaten, the water around him turning red with blood. Bits of flesh tore off and floated on the surface. One man screamed when a chunk bumped into his arm and he immediately broke down into hysterical sobbing. The men around him stared sulenly at the water, the sky, the faces of the other men, anywhere but at him.
None of them wanted to break down that fast; none of them wanted to admit that it could happen.
Gabe swam over to the man, water splashing in his wake. "Pull yourself together, man!" He grabbed a hold of the man's lifejacket, fisting crumbly bamboo paper in an effort to get the other man to face him. "What your name? I'm Gabe." The man continued to sob, but when Gabe slapped his face, he stopped. "I know you're scared. So am I. But we have to keep a brave face in order to survive this. So what you're name?"
  "Private Herbert Griesbly, sir. My friends call me Griebs." Griebs wiped his face with the back of his hand, smearing oil under his eyes. He looked Gabe in the eyes for the first time. Gabe held his gaze, not letting go of Griebs' life jacket.
  "Can you do something for me Griebs?" Gabe spoke calmly, each word coming out measured and thoughtful. His squinted eyes flickered between Griebs'. Griebs looked up at the sun, back down at Gabe, and then sniffed. "I will try my best sir."
My heart stirred to see Gabe being so stern and yet friendly towards Griebs, who was one of the new crew members picked up recently. He was only 17-he had lied on his forms and to the recruiter. I resolved to ensure that the men I had left would make it back safely, no matter the cost to me.
Some of these men had too much life ahead to loose it here.
"I need you to swim over there," Gabe pointed to his left where another group of men were floating, "and tell them to link arms and swim over here. Understand?" Griebs nodded. Gabe released the younger crew mate and smiled. "It's going to be ok. I'm sure our absence has already been noted and a rescue team is on its way from Letye." Griebs sniffed again and turned to face the other group. "What if they're not coming sir? What then?"
Gabe paddled his arms in circles, trying to keep them out of the sun and himself afloat at the same time. "Don't think about that. Just go over there and bring everyone back." Griebs saluted and started his swim over.
Gabe looked around at the remaining men in this group and shouted, "we're starting to drift away from the main group and each other. We need to link arms and try to stay together." He squinted up at the sun. "We should have an hour of daylight left to do this, but only if we start now."
Several men started swimming closer to Gabe, holding out their arms and interlocking them. Some refused, interjecting that it would "make them a buffet for the sharks waiting just below". Gabe pleaded with them, begging them to reconsider. If they would not join up with the group, they could get lost and drift too far away to be noticed by any rescue planes. A larger group may also scare away sharks. They still refused, a Commander Frederick leading up the protests.
Night was rapidly descending and the groups had converged. They were just waiting on Commander Frederick and his desenters to join. Gabe and Frederick got into a heated argument while I watched helplessly from the sidelines. I was all for the idea; staying together was safer and would mean that more people would be rescued.
But Frederick insisted, and eventually, Gabe gave up fighting. He instructed the rest of the group to take shifts. Half the people would stay awake while the other half rested and then they would switch.
Frederick just sulked in the distance.
If I could keep the desenters close to the main group over night through some mystical powers, I would, but I have very little. The world belongs to God, and we have very little control over any of its wonders. The ocean least of all.
Nonetheless, I floated by the smaller group, watching their tired eyes droop shut as the night wore on. Eventually they were all asleep and floating away from the main group.
Soon they were too far away for anyone to swim over to grab them and bring them back. The individuals had even started to scatter, different currents grabbing a hold of different crew memebers.
The night was a long one for me, pleading for the sharks to leave and my crew to come back. I prayed to God above that we would be found soon.
I didn't know how much longer we could last.