(I Died and got Reincarnated) My New Life as a Saltwater Crocodile Begins

CH•12 - "The Last Thing I Ever Saw"

Just as I thought of something, the waves started growing wild. The pillars that are supporting the pier is cracking and rubble falls on my scaly head and back. I open my mouth and hid Tiny in my mouth to cover him from the falling rubble. What is happening here?! As I panicked, the pier falls apart and splits itself into broken sections. Is this an earthquake or something?! I can hear people screaming from above. I'm right in the middle of two parts of the pier that got broken apart. I can see people holding on tight to the sides and others holding onto each other as the pier tilts sideways, slowly falling to the water.

The man who was chasing me before is also holding tight and grabbing hold of someone who's about to fall. Looking closely, he looks like one of the humans who went looking for Angel and got under attack by the pack of wild dogs. So, if he was there when I defended them against the dogs, then did he chase after me to thank me? Or...

Once again, nature does not let me finish thinking to myself and the man's hold breaks and both of them falls down the water. I swim after the two men who are sliding down the slanting pier. With my bulky tail, I lunge into the air right below them, and when they fell above me, the man didn't waste any time catching me. I gather my leg muscles and burst for another strong jump to the sides. When I got near one of the still-stable platform, I swung my body, hurling the two men to their safety. At the same time, I also spat Tiny out to the platform as I fell right back into the water. Tiny's soaked in my saliva now, so his wings will be too wet to fly.

Now back in the water, I can sense many ripples from the many falling objects making big or tiny splashes. There are also humans who fell as well, and... I smell blood mixed in with the water. The smell of blood awakens the beast inside me, making me want to taste human flesh again. No! Keep it in! I have to save them, not speed up their deaths! Blood means an open wound, and that means someone's injured. I have to... go help them, and... ... It's no use. I can't think straight. My thoughts are overwhelmed by the smell of blood. But then, one certain splash made me come back to my senses. This ripple is... familiar.

I rush immediately to the fallen object. It's small, about the size of a child, and as I approach closer, more rocks and rubble fell on top of me. Some hit harder than others. I look up and see that Katie was throwing rocks at me while her husband was holding onto her. Her face shows fear. The familiar ripple thrashed wildly in the water, struggling to keep air. I see, so it was Angel who fell. That explains why they're throwing rocks at me, to protect her.

It's alright. I got you. And, this time, you get your ride. Swimming under her, I position myself, letting her feet stand on my back. Now having something to stand on, Angel kept a firm stand and balanced herself so she wouldn't fall. She's surprisingly light. In the water, that is. She knows it's me who's helping her stand, and unlike before, she's not flinching anymore. So, you finally accepted me.

Sorry I can't bring you back to your parents right now, the footing they're standing on isn't stable. I'll carry you somewhere else. I'll be back for your parents too. Assuming they don't panic when I get close to them. Now, hold on tight. I'm going to speed up.

As I swim forward, Angel couldn't balance herself any longer so she kneels down and wraps her arms around the base of my neck. She was so small, she couldn't even put half of her arms around my neck. But, even so, she held tight. I did my best sticking as close to the surface as I can so she can breathe while also looking around for stable platforms to drop her off. If I go back to where Tiny is, I'd have to jump high in the air to reach them. Angel might not be able to hold onto me if I do that.

I spot a boat that's rescuing people who fell on the water. That could be it! I head towards it, and when they saw me, they couldn't believe their eyes. Well, of course, even I'd be surprised if I ever saw a little girl riding on a 6-meter killer crocodile swimming straight towards a rescue boat that's still in the middle of rescuing someone. But then, my ripple sensor detected something strange underwater. And, in a split second, a large whirlpool blocked my way towards the boat. What the-...?! Where did this thing come from?! It just appeared out of nowhere! This is bad. It's sucking me in. What do I do? What do I do?!

I look at Angel in the eye and she looks back at me. ... ... Sorry, kid. This is my stop. With the last dose of muscle energy that I gathered at my tail, I lunge high into the air. While in mid-air, I swing my head downward, flinging Angel to the boat, hoping the rescuers would catch her.

"Ah!"

Angel screams as she gets tossed. And, as much as I want to see if you landed on the boat safely or not, the whirlpool suddenly let out a huge burst of water, and since I was directly on top of it, I was caught in the water blast. It's as if there was a huge explosion that happened below the water. Then, I felt something pierce through my head and my consciousness slowly faded away. The last thing I ever saw was the sky as I fell and drowned in the water. I never heard from Angel or Tiny since.