Shallow Waves (Azur Lane) -UNDERGOING EDITING -

Invitation to War

William Thompson's P.O.V

The corvettes, despite being ships, came out as mere children when they were brought into this world. They were capable of doing the jobs they were drawn up for, but they still had trouble overcoming the fear of war and, I knew well enough that an attack of this scale would have them hide away in terror.

I have tried many times to build their courage, but it has proven to be a long process. They are relatively easy to fire up and find confidence with a bit of encouragement from me or others; however, we couldn't just keep running to them for a talk every time something big happens. Their support was needed, even if they were much smaller in comparison to others.

I jumped out of the lecture hall and dashed for the concrete bench that surrounded the anchor medallion for cover. Siren planes zipped overhead and forced me to duck as they fired at the ground around me. Chunks of concrete flew in every direction, and I covered my head to prevent any injury. 

When the dust settled, I leaped from my crouched position and ran around the back of the lecture hall. My legs propelled me in the direction of the bridge that separated the main island from the dormitories.

As the harbour came into view, I stopped to watch in horror as the ships came under heavy bombardment, their structures burning from the damage. Planes continued to fly overhead, being pursued by Allied aircraft, as my gaze turned toward the short bridge that spanned across the water.

The sight of its exposure caused me to mentally prepare for what I was about to do before I burst into a sprint. Carrying on with the mission, I passed several ships whose protests about my presence were ignored as I kept my sight forward.

My heart was pounding in my chest from fear while I tried my best to regulate my breathing. I found my focus narrowing as the first goal came into view as soon as I turned a corner. Lined up with the road I now ran down, the bridge sat untouched as the Sirens focused on their targets.

The turtleneck I wore raised my body temperature to what felt like a boiling point as I exerted myself. While keeping my head on a swivel, I watched as the middle of the bridge came closer while the buildings around me were charred from a torrent of fire. 

Finally, I managed to reach the bridge and never stopped until I noticed two planes gunning straight for me from the right.

The sight made me panic, and I dropped to the asphalt while hugging the concrete barrier and covering my head. I listened to the two planes as they opened fire and tore up the asphalt around me. The barrier I hid behind was also hit, causing shards of stone to fly out in all directions. Some of them managed to hit me, peppering my figure with chunks of the stuff, leading me to yell in pain.

The planes soared past while I continued to lay there for another minute, just waiting for them to make another pass. Thankfully, they never did.

I sat up and touched my cheek where one sliver had hit me. Bringing my hand back, I found a small amount of blood covering three fingers before I felt more run down my jaw.

"Just a cut," I reassured myself and proceeded to continue running, eventually passing the halfway mark while still keeping an eye on every area within my field of view. 

The dorm building could now be seen as I nearly tripped on my own foot. Further along to the right, fires raged out among the docks as the ships themselves fired their AA into the air, taking down several planes.