Cobra, Hawk, and Bill all went tense. If they’d had an undamaged battleship, they might’ve been able to weather the storm. But after the damage from the whirlpool, the ship was barely holding together. A storm now could spell the end, and even the usually stoic crew members found themselves on edge.
Ryan, staring at the darkening sea, grew grim. The smell of the salty, briny air should have been a warning, but in the chaos of their escape, he hadn’t picked up on it in time. Not that it would’ve changed anything, but now, the storm was upon them.
“Keep up the speed and head for the nearest island,” Ryan ordered.
At this point, they couldn’t follow the original route back; they didn’t have the time or speed for it. A sea storm like this was terrifying.
Everyone’s expressions grew grim. They knew that nature’s power was limitless. Just because they had survived once didn’t mean they’d escape unscathed again. The Dark family members understood that it was all or nothing now.
Hearing the voices of people who were normally so composed now laced with hints of panic, Echo couldn’t help but feel a growing fear. Sitting in Ryan’s arms, she looked out and saw waves rising, the wind swirling, and the air thick with the sharp smell of salt. Towering waves crashed one after another, booming like thunder, as the darkened sky hung over them. The once-still ship began to rock violently.
Echo’s heart pounded, her face draining of color. Even in her dazed state, she could tell how serious the situation was. It was as if her life was on the line here.
Her body started to tremble uncontrollably. She gripped Ryan tightly, biting her lip until it almost bled.
“Fear’s useless now,” came a cold voice from behind, clear enough for everyone to hear.
Hawk and the others paused, surprised, then nodded and focused back on their tasks. Whatever fear they’d felt vanished with that single statement from Ryan.
Ryan wrapped his arm around Echo, pulling her firmly against his chest. “Hold on tight,” he ordered, gripping the control lever with his other hand.
Echo obediently held him tighter around the waist, whispering as if to herself, “Ryan, we…”
“Whether we live or die, we fight to find out. There is no need to be scared.” Ryan shouted, giving her a fierce look.
Echo immediately fell silent. She knew he was mad, but he was right. They were already in this situation, and fear wouldn’t change a thing. Fate didn’t care if you were scared; it wouldn’t go easier on you just because you wanted it to. The only choice was to fight.
Taking a deep breath, Echo nodded and said firmly, “Got it. Don’t worry-I’m not letting go.”
She’d clawed her way up from a harsh life herself. She understood that living was about struggling-struggling against others, struggling against the odds. Only by fighting would you ever know the outcome.
Ryan gave her a curt nod and barked, “Turn the boat around! Head straight into the waves.”
The waves were growing higher by the second, the fishy wind now mixed with rain, pouring down in a sudden onslaught. There was no warning, no sign, just a violent shift in weather with no way to dodge it.
“There’s an island thirty nautical miles from here,” Bill reported, scanning the navigation map and calling out the coordinates.
“Push it faster! Full speed ahead!” Ryan barked, slamming the throttle down.
The battered warship roared as it adjusted course, speeding westward.
“This storm’s a monster-what are we supposed to do?” Michael, looking rough and pale, stumbled into the cabin from the back deck. The ship in its current state could barely hold up against a drizzle, let alone a storm like this.
“What we always do-handle it,” Cobra said, not even glancing back as he worked frantically with the few instruments that still functioned.
Michael, catching his breath, realized the cabin was eerily calm. Everyone’s expressions were cold and steady, as if this wasn’t a storm that could obliterate them, but just another day out at sea. It was almost unsettling.
Michael took a deep breath, gripped the doorway, and steadied himself. “Tell me what you need. And don’t say you don’t need help.”
Without turning around, Ryan replied, “Bail water.”
Two words were all he said. Michael paused, then quickly understood. Without another word, he stripped off his shirt, stuffing it into a leaky crack by his feet, then tied himself to a pillar for stability. Grabbing a metal drawer, he prepared to start bailing.
Just as Michael finished setting up, the rain crashed down, relentless and blinding, the wind screaming in sharp gusts. The ship, barely intact from the whirlpool encounter, was now under siege by rain and waves that poured in through every crack.
Water flooded around their feet in seconds. Michael immediately began scooping it up, dumping it back out, over and over.
Anywhere else on the ship could flood and survive, but the control room was crucial. It housed all the essential equipment. Though some were waterproof, the whirlpool had already battered everything; if the water shorted the circuits or damaged any systems, they’d be out of luck.
Outside, the wind howled like a banshee, the darkness swallowing the sky, void of any stars or moon. It felt haunting, like a scene out of a nightmare, intensifying their sense of doom.
Waves crashed toward the heavens, whipped up by the storm, then plunged down, pulled back under by the ocean’s grip. The storm raged, the skies dark, the sea in chaos, as if the gods had abandoned this place and hell itself was reaching up to claim it.
The mighty ship, which seemed so powerful on calm waters, was nothing more than a speck in the storm, tossed like a weightless leaf, rising on the crest of each wave only to plunge down again. With the relentless wind and crashing waves, it teetered on the brink of destruction.
Everyone on board was on edge. The ship was showing signs of cracking under the pressure. That creaking sound-though faint under the roar of the storm-pierced through everyone’s nerves. This wasn’t the whirlpool anymore; no one could simply strap themselves in and hope to survive. Here, they had to fight for every second.
The hold was already flooded. The ship had been leaking badly, and now, with the storm pounding against it, cracks spread faster. In no time, the rain pouring down had already flooded half the back hold.
“Move it! If you want to stay alive, get to work!” Brook and Frank had no time to waste.
Most of the people in the back hold were Michael’s team-explorers and researchers. The whirlpool had already scared them half to death, and now they were huddled together in shock, barely able to breathe, much less move.
Frank, both terrified and frustrated, lost all patience. He grabbed the nearest researcher and slapped him twice across the face. “If you’re so ready to die, I’ll throw you overboard myself! Don’t just sit there waiting to go under. This ship can’t carry dead weight-might as well clear some room!” He dragged the researcher toward the door as he spoke.
“No, no! I don’t want to die! Please!” The researcher’s face was pale, his hands clinging desperately to the doorframe. Fear was all over his face, but his grip was stubborn.
“If you want to live, then get up and get moving! If this ship goes down, we all go with it.” Frank’s voice was sharp and urgent.
The cabin was leaking everywhere; if they didn’t act fast, the ship would either be torn apart by the storm or flooded completely.
“If you’re ready to die, then just stand there!” Members of the Dark family stormed in, blocking the leaks and bailing water with every bucket they could find. Each of them had tied a rope around their waist, rocking back and forth in the water, yet still working quickly and tirelessly.
The ship might go down, it might be destroyed by the storm, or crushed by the forces of nature. But it wouldn’t sink because they stood by and did nothing. They knew they couldn’t control everything, but when fate was within their grasp, the Dark family members would never sit back and wait.
The determination of the Dark family was contagious. The people in the back hold, seeing their fierce will to survive, snapped out of their shock.
Life wasn’t something you threw away, even against an overwhelming enemy.
After a brief pause, everyone in the back hold started working without needing further orders. If they could slow down the flooding, even for a moment, they’d have a fighting chance-maybe even a miracle.
Everyone on the warship threw themselves into the task. The ship swayed wildly in the storm, and the people inside were constantly tossed from one side to the other, bumping into walls and each other. But no one screamed or panicked. The strength and resilience of life itself showed in each of them.
Luckily, the ship hadn’t suffered any major damage yet. The hull wasn’t leaking, and most of the water was just rain blown in by the wind-something they could manage with enough effort.
In the captain’s cabin, Ryan’s expression was even grimmer than it had been facing the whirlpool. As he listened to updates from Bill, Cobra, and the others, his brow furrowed deeper and deeper.