Something new breaks the surface in front of me.
It’s grey and spotted, so for one brief moment, I worry it’s one of the leopard seals and our death is about to be more gruesome than even I thought. Until I get a good look at the large horn sticking from its snout. As it breaks the surface, it blows air out of its top just like the orcas, and then slowly comes toward me. The horn is in front of it, moving fluidly, and I close my eyes, thinking I’m about to be impaled by it.
“Hello,” a deep, booming voice calls. “Are you in need of assistance?”
My eyes pop open in surprise. The new creature is floating right in front of me, its intelligent eye focused on my face. “You can, can talk?”
“Of course, I can talk,” he answers, rolling his eye. “Do you need assistance or not?”
“I . . .” I look over at Locke who is struggling to keep his head above water. We’re surrounded by orcas, in the water, and we’re very close to death. “C-C-Could you?”
“I can do whatever you need,” the horned creature says.
“Can you take . . . take us to the . . . the safehouse?” I grit out around my chattering teeth. “Please?” My voice is weak, barely audible above a whisper.
“Right away, Beast Bound,” he answers. “Each of you will?—”
“W-Watch out!” I cry, pointing to the orca rushing the new creature from the side.
The horned creature turns faster than he looks capable of and points his horn toward the orca. The orca dives, just barely missing being impaled.
“As I was saying,” he says as he turns back. “Each of you will grab my fins and I can pull you toward the safehouse.”
I put away my Fang and reach for the fin. My fingers are weak and numb, but I manage to get a good hold before he travels over to Locke and encourages him to do the same. Both of us latch onto the horned creature and then around each other over its back.
“Hold on tight,” the horned whale orders and starts to swim.
The water bunches up around my face, but I don’t have the strength to lift myself any further out of the water. I’m barely hanging on with limbs I can no longer feel.
“S-S-Svetlana,” I say, but she doesn’t answer. I can still feel her on my head, still tangled in my hair, but she isn’t talking. My arm burns, but it fades fast from the cold and I can’t focus on it anymore.
My teeth chatter so hard against each other, I worry they’re going to break as the large shape rises in front of us.
“Welcome to the Titanic Safehouse,” the horned creature declares. “Enjoy your stay.”
He shakes us both off at the base of a ladder and dives back beneath the water. We float there, both of us too cold and weak to move. I start to sink, but just barely manage to reach up and tuck my elbow over the bottom rung of the ladder. Locke latches onto me and we hang there.
“W-We need to . . . to . . . to climb,” I grit out.
“C-C-Can’t,” Locke answers, his body wracked with shivers just as bad as mine is.
“Oui!What are you two doin’ down in the water? Don’t ya know it’s too cold for that?” someone shouts above us. I can’t bring myself to tip my head back to see who. “Hold tight, players!”
After a few seconds, the whir of something mechanical comes on overhead and then a large wooden door is lowered into the water front of us. Chains are wrapped around it, serving as a sort of platform that they can pull back up.
“Get on, players! We’ll pull yas up!”
I’m not certain if I let go of the ladder, I’ll be able to swim. I push Locke toward the door and watch as he floats into it. He reaches one shaking hand toward me.
“It can’t, can’t h-h-hold us both,” I say, watching the treacherous tip of the wood beneath the water. “Send it back for me.”
“It c-c-can,” he grits. “T-Take my . . . h-h-hand.”
Carefully, I unfold from the metal rung and immediately start to sink, but Locke’s fingers curl into my jacket and heave me onto the wooden door.
“D-Don’t w-worry,” he says. “I’ll n-n-never let-t-t g-go.”
As soon as I’m on the platform, it begins to rise out of the water.
