Storm (II)

Blurgh...

Splash!

His vision was dark. It was even difficult to open his eyes just to check within the darkness. The salty water was making it painful to open even a little bit.

He didn't dare breath as he was aware that it would just worsen the situation. Besides, his throat was already burning from the mouthful of water he had swallowed earlier. However, he couldn't hold on any longer...

Suddenly, a small light entered through his squinting eyes...

He breathed through his mouth and immediately closed it...

Then, there was a splash of water hitting his face and he went under again...

He kept rolling and rolling and rolling until he got dizzy. He couldn't tell where was the surface again...

These waves generated by the storm was violent. It wasn't showing any signs of stopping either. Thereupon, another wave made him collide on a bigger body and he was pushed deeper under.

As he went deeper, he noticed that the waters here were less violent. He tried to open his eyes despite the pain. However, there were no familar sights under even when he had gotten used to the dark. He couldn't even tell where the current was leading him and he was still getting tumbled although it was by less forceful waves.

Another unfortunate thing was that the rocks hurtling from the storm was also hitting the water as well as his body. Hence, he curled his body a little to protect his head with his arms so the rocks wouldn't hit his sensitive parts. Since he had experienced a few mishaps before, he learned how to best protect his body.

Wasn't that thought familiar? However, he didn't have the leisure to remember that event. This time, it should be better to use his 'mist' to shield him from the incoming rocks. Rather, he should have thought of that first, as it was still causing him pain even though the force from the hits lessened when the rocks fell into the water.

Once a better shield was around him, Ling could finally control his movements. As he got a little of his bearings in the dark, he thought of that body that had pushed him under. It was probably Maga. Not like there was anyone who fell together with them.

Maybe Maga could swim better and he could pull the two of them up to get some air. They had to find the ship too.

Ling was wondering how far they were taken away from the ship when he saw a slight movement from his periphery. It was coming closer and closer to his position, sent by the churning waves.

When he saw the familiar black leathery skin, his spirits lifted. He swam towards that direction immediately, thinking that it would have been better if he could also shout underwater to get his friend's attention. However, his spirits immediately sunk when he saw the red stains trailing behind the dragon.

Increasing his speed, Ling swam harder to get to Maga. He paddled his arms and kicked his legs as hard as he could, but he wouldn't advance as fast as he liked. There were more blood trailing from Maga's body by then but he couldn't help his friend at this moment. He was mad at his powerlessness.

Ling wished he could use his 'mist' like that time in the market again, giving him strength to fight. However, it was different here underwater. Even maintaining his shield was already hard due to the current.

To his surprise, another wave was incoming, pushing from in front of him. It was the largest one compared to the previous waves and Ling couldn't move fast enough to avoid it. Since the dragon's body was also in front of Ling, it was also hurtled to his direction.

Now, the body was only inches away from him because of that wave. Of course he wanted to get to Maga faster but not like this. Ling let out a grumble as his friend's body finally hit him in the face. The two unconscious children were then toppled by the waves.

Meanwhile, not far from the two children's position, another figure came hurtling through. Surprisingly, its figure was glowing in the dark, the 'mist' in its body shining full of life, especially the lower part.

The figure would have been familiar. It has long dark hair, flowing unbound in the water. The pale, naked skin was specially glowing under the light of the 'mist'. Extending to the two figures, the two hands were human-like with five fingers, albeit connected together like a web. It grabbed the boy on his waist and the dragon on its arm, then swam up the still churning surface.

When one's view shifted to the figure's lower part, one would realize it was also familiar. But not attached to a human-like upper body.

It had dark blue scales on a tail, flipping as it pushed the heavy bodies up. Attached on the tail was a pair of fins on its side, swaying along the water.

When the figure finally reached the surface, it turned its head left and right. There was a piece of land nearby. Before it swam there, it let out a piercing cry in the direction of the storm. A roar like an answer soon followed, coming from the storm. Then, the figure swam away with its two load. During all these happenings, the boy and the dragon still hadn't woken up.

It was already night time by the time the storm had run its course. The ship was now drifting in peaceful waters but it was still lacking its two other passengers. As usual, the captain and most of the crew never cared. They were busy repairing a broken sail, broken railings, a broken rudder. By then, it seemed like they wouldn't be sailing as previously planned.

As for Ling and Maga, they had already vacated the previous island. It was a small one with no life around, hence, their savior sent them to another, farther away land. Then, the two would wake up the following morning with nothing to themselves again.