Magnus Chase - Rise Of Darkness

Chapter 16 - Drowning Without Water

I was hazy to the sound of ocean water and creaking. I ever so cautiously tried to open my eyes, then opened them completely when they were able to make out a strange, blue hue.

I was sprawled out a large shard of rust metal and wood, the ocean still swallowing my ankles and almost to my knees. I was in the middle of the ocean, which for some reason was glowing blue with little lights beneath the surface, moving.

"It's the plankton," said a voice near me. Saar Corbain floated next to the raft, keeping herself steady with one and clutching the corner. The rest was shoulder deep in the sea.
"It glows at night."

Every part of my body ached, like I was a bedsheet that got twisted around in the machines.

"Huh." I gurgled in curiosity.

"You were out for a while." Saar said, her voice low and gruff. "My estimate is about two days?"

I nodded solemnly, but something caught my eye. Across from me, on the other end of the raft with the length of a couch, a heap of charred whiteness was motionless against the current.

"Cyrus!" I exclaimed, but my voice was a bare whisper. They were huddled in a ball and unconscious, their weight making half the raft sink.

"They're alive," Saar promised "like you, they've been through the wringer." She looked up at me, raising an eyebrow a bit. "What's with the hat?"

I scrunched my eyebrows together and felt my head and the bucket hat. By some miracle, Alex's hat was still in my possession.

"It's Alex's, it slipped onto my head." I said.

Her second eyebrow shot up "M'kay." It sounded like she wanted to comment more.

At the talk of Alex, another worry slithered into my mind. "What about the others?" I croaked.

Saar faced me "What about them?"

"Are they okay?" I emphasized impatiently. My voice suddenly starting to come back.

"I don't know." She answered.

"What do you mean you 'don't know?'" I barked. She was there, she should have been paying attention to the others!

"I mean I don't know!" She fired back defensively "It was a mess, how was I supporting know anything?"

"You were on the ship after I flew off!" I yelled back. "They're also your friends and you should have seen if something else happened! Did someone else go overboard? Did the ship get significant damage? Did—"

"SHUT UP!" She screamed.

We fell silent, the tension between us thicker than the lapping waves of the glowing sea. So weird how it wasn't like this before. Saar looked out to the horizon again, the plankton glow reflecting from the water.

The daughter of Hodur started to hum. It was soft, but soon became more recognizable as the song Strangers In The Night. Another Frank Sinatra song from the elevator.

"Strangers in the night
Two lonely people we were strangers in the night." I sung with the tune quietly. Saar gave me a surprised look before adding on.

"Up to the moment When we said our first hello Little did we know,Love was just a glance away."

"A warm embracing dance away, and
Ever since that night we've been together" we sang lightly together. "Lovers at first sight, in love forever It turned out so right
For strangers in the night"

We both chuckled at the end of the lyrics. The green haired einherji's golden and brown eyes running past my mind. From the nonchalant look on Saar's face, she was thinking about someone too. Burning eternity passed until we spoke again.

"I'm sorry," I admitted "I didn't mean to snap at you, I'm just stressed."

Saar nodded sadly "I know, I am too."

"I know you tried your best to do what you could," I continued "thank you."

Saar hesitated, mentally figuring out what to say. "All I know," she said finally "is that I saw Alex and Hearth signing frantically.  Blitz was unconscious, but looked alright." It wasn't the best news, but better than nothing.

We sat there again in silence, allowing the microscopic critters to swirl around us. In a strange way, it was alien, though I should be used to that by now. I wasn't the biggest fan of the color blue, but this seemed to cool to hate.

I would have enjoyed it more if it wasn't for the sour feeling in my stomach that made me woozy.

Saar seemed to notice my sickness and became concerned. "You're dehydrated," she noted "just try to rest, I don't have any supplies on me to help."

I didn't want to leave her floating next to the raft for another few days, but my body forfeited. I slumped back down, allowing the dehydration to claim me and sway into darkness

                                       Ÿ

I wish I could say I felt better after the rest, but no. I got worse.

I would wake up every so often and trade places with Saar for a few hours. The raft could only support two people at a time, so one had to float in the water. Saar finally got her rest. 

Because of my horrid health condition, I had trouble remembering certain details of our journey. One moment I was resting on the raft, starring into the black void of the sky. Others I was almost submerged in the sea as the sun rose and fell.

But then, a large part of my vision and memory cut off. The last thing I remember before that was my dehydration and hunger getting so bad,  I could feel my pulse throbbing with my headache, and nausea that made me question which way was up or down.

By the time I came around, I didn't want to open my eyes. My whole body felt sluggish and too heavy for me, my eyes blinded by sand and gravel. Through my slit of vision, I could see the damp sandy ground, and black boots walking off.

Moments later, another vision went by; the sounds of an approach car, the tires moving in the sand. The opening car door, and voices muttering in Dutch.

I felt hands grip my shoulders and ankles as I was lifted into a fresh black SUV, something you would see the government drive. The inside was leathered with the AC making it as cold as a fridge. The massive shift in my climate made me lose conscious again.

Once again, my vision faded in and out. Soldiers in black fashion looking down at me as cold water poured down on me, down my throat, washing the sand off me like the storm did to me off the ship. Though others were dressed in maid and housekeeping outfits. My tears of relief were masked by the water. So long out at sea with water I couldn't drink, food I wouldn't eat, and the fact that my condition could kill me any moment was edging.

Another sight was also in my memory, laying sideways in cushioned furniture, looking up at three figures. Two in those black uniforms and Saar.

"Ich werde ihm alles erzählen, wenn er aufwacht." She explained to the two taller ones, this time in French. "Im Moment ist er hier zu Gast; ein weiterer Bewohner."

"Thank you," I mumbled deliriously "Thank you."
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Sorry for the short chapter, but I couldn't leave you hanging too much.

Now, I want to get real here: Saar's character background may be a bit touchy. Now, I don't want to spoil, or make all Europeans look bad or anything. This is Saar, my character. This is how I portray her. This is an official warning. This will take place the chapter after the next, chapter 18.

If you're nervous, send me a message so I could spoil it. I'm just putting this up because I knew someone who was sensitive to this topic.

Sorry for grammar and pronoun errors.

See you on the next chapter!

Remember, it's chapter 18 that the warning applies to. You definitely want to ready the next chapter that will be soon.

See ya!

Hydro fury.