Servant's Pride

24. Breathing

Immense disorientation hit Hongjoong with the literacy of the frigid waves on his body. They forced him around like their plaything, having him flail and cry out in fear despite him being an excellent swimmer. The ocean shifted constantly, both the ship and the kraken beneath creating a turmoil that was too much for a mere human to resist. Hongjoong was only a meagre toy in the limits of nature.

Nothing but water filled his ears. Both in the rushing of it, and in the cold liquid that licked at his ears ticklishly. In one second, he believed to reach his hand out of the water. The next, his lungs filled with the spray that he tried to cough out desperately. Burning like fire, it scratched in the back of his throat, making every cough and swallow a torment.

A vortex of air bubbles in different shades of blue whirled around his eyes. Sometimes, he saw the sunshine through the surface. Other times, just deep blackness greeted him.

Hongjoong's abilities to hold himself up dwindled quickly. Every desperate kick and trash of his limbs seemed to whirl him only farther instead of increasing his chances to find the surface. Soon, the air in his lungs ran out, and they screamed for him to refresh it.

Only pain, cold water in and around him, and his throbbing torso offered guidance. None of which Hongjoong needed in his current situation.

His thoughts raced, trying to fend down the panic of having fallen and being in the water with the kraken. At the same time, he channelled his knowledge on how to survive strong torrents like these. Usually letting them push him off was his best bet. He doubted the maelstrom he found himself in forced him closer to the centre of the battle.

For a mere second, just the split of a second, he breached the surface. His legs kicked to hold him in position instantly, arms flailing wildly. He sucked in fresh air so greedily, nearly gagging at the mixture of stenches and water that came with it. Coughing, he got rid of the remnants.

Hongjoong's eyes were reddened and rubbed raw from the vicious character of the ocean. When he blinked them around to regain his bearings, hot tears tumbled over his cheeks. He shook them off with the hair on his forehead.

The Grief floated in the distance. Hongjoong had been pushed off quite a bit, several minutes' worth of swimming separating him from his crew. His back hurt from the vicious slap of the kraken. And yet, he barely focused on the pain. His thoughts were with Mingi, who direly needed them to help him and Yunho out from the storage room. With San's torn leg. And his other two slightly injured crew members. In the very second that he spent far out on the water, they needed him there to aid. And he was nowhere near.

Hongjoong's heart clenched painfully in his chest. The kraken still stayed underwater, even though a back that was large enough to be mistaken as an island sometimes showed itself. The water parted around the thick grey skin, only to mask it right again. It wouldn't let up from the ship. To get to the Jacob's latter, Hongjoong would need to swim right into its direct reach.

Even though it would likely reach his current spot, too. Risks and dangers lurked in every direction.

With his mind on an override, Hongjoong pushed forward weakly. He didn't even know if his body would be able to get him back on board. No power remained as he shivered and trembled all over, not only from the icy sea that surrounded him. He was scared beyond his wits, expecting death for him and his crew any second.

The tides had not been in their favour this time. And Davy Jones called them to punish their vicious attack on the dwelling kraken.

More tears split over Hongjoong's cheeks. His lack of efficiency frustrated him, having him pull at his hair and claw at his skin. Too weak. After all this time, he was still too weak. And he had foolishly endangered the lives of his crew members.