I felt my grip on Captain Hiro slacking and I forced myself to grip harder as I tugged the injured Captain along behind me. Suddenly I was beside something solid and then there were hands pulling the Captain from the water and then me.
In a sort of dazed awareness I felt hands pressing me up a ladder of some sort. Then against all odds I found myself in Colt's arms and I latched on with everything I had left in me.
Could this really be true or was it a dream?
I looked up to see that it really was him. Suddenly there was a jolt that threatened the integrity of my stomach's constitution and then the feeling of increasing movement.
Dazed I asked, "What's going on?"
"We're trying to outrun the storm and reach the shelter of the island. You were among the last survivors that we found. Thank God!"
I buried my face back against his chest and just held onto him. With time I gradually became aware of my surroundings. I was on the deck of the surviving battleship and all around me lay the bodies of injured and dying sailors.
"How many ships made it?" I asked in anguish of spirit.
"This is the only one left."
I closed my eyes as tears pressed out of them. So many had died and yet because of their brave actions so many more were going to keep on living. Victory always comes at a cost, but it had been an especially dear one today.
The storm, as all the storms seemed to be in this sunken realm, was particularly vicious. Fearing for the integrity of the ship even within the confines of the harbor the American Captain took no chances, but beached the battleship deeply into the shoreline of the harbor.
Despite the tempest that was already beginning to blow the native islanders rushed forward to offload the injured sailors from off the top side decks and carry them to their homes sheltered from the storm within the rocks of the island. No more lives were lost as everyone worked together putting aside old hatreds to help those who needed it most, as the lives of all were worth saving.
*****
The day was calm the storm having passed by several hours before. It had been a relief to hear the howling winds dissipate and see the orange glow come back to the clouds. I still couldn't really believe that everything had happened as it had.
There was no report of the city, other than it had been destroyed in the storm.
It had been a welcome surprise to learn from the Sea People that even more survivors than what the battleship had managed to pick up had survived the storm from beneath the waves.