Random meeting and blood~Nick~

[Jack Lexington]

Her reaction is more forgiving than I had expected. I had expected her to move away and tell me what a scumbag I am, which I already know by the way. Or she could have simply stared at me and said nothing, which would have come down to the same thing or told me the same words she did with less sincerity bit Nitya spoke them from her heart. She really didn't mind me having a child and was ready to give me a chance, which made my heart skip a beat. It's what I've been hoping to hear but didn't dare to.
"I didn't expect that."
I state with my jaw dropping, then my smile returns. "Oh, I won't tell your brothers anything. It's not your brothers I'm interested in, Nitya." I confirm. "You tell them whatever you like and I'll stay out of it."
Besides, if I really talked to them I made end up ruining my relationship with this beautiful girl.

Gladly I see her close her eyes and for the first time take the initiative to kiss me. It's a wonderful, straight from the heart kiss. Not one of those where the girl wants to be seen with me or proof anything but her true feelings.

"I'm still trying to get back to my little girl one day. I would like to be part of her life even if her mother and I don't work out but she lives pretty far away. So for a while I'll be saving up money and then we'll see."
I squeeze her hand again.

After a moment I get up and start setting turning the boat around and rowing back to where the boys indicate that I've dropped my nets.
"Ready for some work?" I aske before I grip one of the ropes tight and start pulling it in until I can reel it in with my wrench. Slowly the net somes on board containing an overabundance of various fish, from shrimp to black drum, bluefish, cobia, flounder and mullet.
With sparkling eyes I pull the last bit in until the ground of our boat is covered in fish that move in the net on the floor boards. "Wow, incredible. Looks like we found the spot where all those little fishies were hiding. If the other nets are equally full I don't need a second night out here anyway."

[Nitya Demont]

"I didn't either, but then again I didn't expect you either." It's the truth; I never expected to find anybody like Nick. In fact, I had been perfectly willing to accept that I would probably just continue on fishing and working unless I was chosen for the Games. That seemed to me to be the only way, and then Nick shows up and rocks what I think is possible. There seems to be more choices and ideas. My family of course is always supportive and says there is a future, but I can always see the worry when a Reaping comes. It's hard to block that out, but with Nick I am able to.

I smile at him. "Well, I am glad to hear that. I'm not sure what I'd think if you were interested in my brothers." I pause as I consider. "Since they haven't met you or anything, I'm not sure I'll tell them too much. They're already going to bombard me with questions when I get home I'm sure. I do hope you will get along whenever you do meet though." That was a meeting I was not sure about. Still, it would be interesting.

"I think that's great. If I can do anything at all, just let me know." I'm not sure what that will mean for our relationship should he leave and go back to his daughter and her mother, but I think it's important for him to reunite with them, especially with his little girl. That's why I'm willing to help even though I'm not sure of how things will work out; he's worth it. When he squeezes, I squeeze back and smile.

My eyes follow him as he prepares to take in the nets. "Yes, I'm ready." Slowly, I get to my feet and walk over. Since pulling in nets have been different on many of the boats I've worked on, I watch him. The net holds more fish than I would've thought, and it's amazing. "That's so amazing; I haven't seen anything like this recently, especially not out here." All the moving bodies of the fish mesmerize me for a moment. I start thinking of drawing them, but quickly I pull myself back to reality. "May I help with the next one?"

[Jack Lexington]

While I work on the net I breathe a sight of relief because I'm very glad that the secret is out. It was standing between us like an invisible rock. Now she at least knows what she's in for and has a choice whether she wants to be with me or not.

When the first net is on board I grab the paddles again and row over to the next one. The 5 minutes that it takes we spend in silence but it isn't uncomfortable.
When we reach the next boy I motion for it. "Go for it, tiger. I presume you know what your doing being a fisherman's daughter and all." I refrain from warning her of sharp or pointy animals.

Then I grab the line just to be able to help her if she needs it and watch what Nitya is doing.
The wind picks up sending soft ripples across the clear water, which makes seeing what she's bringing up early on hard.
When Nitya pulls I can see a fin behind the boat, which makes me stand up and reach for the spear on the bottom. "Did you see the fin?" I'm not sure what exactly it was.

[Nitya Demont]

He motions for me to take a shot. This is an area where I feel comfortable. "You would presume correctly," I say as I grasp hold of the ropes. Carefully I pull them tight. They feel heavy, and I have a good idea about how full they are going to be when I get the net on board. Then, like he did before once I get it to the wrench and start to reel it in. I listen to the familiar sound of the wrench and the dripping of water as the net gets pulled onto the boat. Soon, I can see what is inside and out of the corner of my eye, I catch a fin.

Just as I'm about to shake it off as just my imagination, Nick asks if I saw it. "Yes, I saw it. I'm not sure what it was either. It might have been a small shark, but it could also be something else." Not getting a good look at it makes it impossible for me to say what exactly it is. If it is a shark though, that could bring in some decent money for Nick. Of course, we could just as easily scare it off and never know.

The fin breaks the surface again, but I am still unable to tell what it is since this time it happened in a flash. "Do you want to try and spear it?" I ask. "I think it's attracted to all the fish in the net, so I can hold the net here while you use the spear." Luckily, my arms are strong enough to stand holding a net for that long. "Of course, if you have any ideas, I will be happy to follow whatever you want to do."

I think it's interesting how quickly and easily we change. One moment we can be serious, the next teasing, the next like a couple, and now we're on the business side of things. It's nice to have something like that, and so far our relationship has never been boring. It makes me smile and laugh inwardly which is good since if I was laughing out loud for no reason, I'm sure he'd think I was crazy.

[Jack Lexington]

I"m glad and a little surprise how well Nitya"s doing with the net and bringing in the fish. She holds the dripping wet net with all the shiny, wriggly fish in place for me to try and spear that reef shark. Usually I don't have the luxury of somebody holding the bait for me, so I go for it.
"Great idea."
My fingers curl around the shiny spear as I stand with my shin against the side of the boat for stability. The spear is quite heavy in my lifted arm and I adjust it's position in my hand while I look for the fin. The first time it pops up it"s gone again too fast for me to even try and throw the spear.
"I"d better get it at frist try." I state more to myself than her because she knows that the spear will be lost if I miss since I'm not going to go diving after it with shark around.
So I patiently wait until it shows itself long enough for me to haul off and toss it righ into its middle. It sticks but the shark also gets caught in the net now that it's struggling for its life.
The only problem will be hauling it on board now.
"Pull hard."
Together we try to get it on board but the spear gets caught under the back of the boat and now the whole net won"t go any further so I have no choice but to go into the water and pull the spear out.
"That"s not how I planned it." I mutter to myself but take my shoes off nonetheless.
"Don"t let go of the net, okay?" I instruct my new partner.

Soon the cold water engulfs my legs, then my hole body. It gives me chills while I keep my eye on the shark, that's still going strong. It"s actually big enough to bite a good chunk out of me, if I'm not careful.
So I lower myself into the water and swim around to the back of the boat. With one hand on the boat I try to get a hold of the spear but instead the tangled biest goes after my hand and I have no choice but pull it back.
Again I try and slip off. This time I can actually feel him against my leg, which makes me swim away quickly just to come back a moment later. After all he"s caught in the net and loosing blood.
My hand is on the spear and I pull as hard as I can when I spot a second fin out of the corner of my eye behind me. "Time to get out of the water." I think to myself while my pulse is shooting up. Next thing I know is the thing throwing its heavy body around in the net against the spear that's now in my hand. I'm not sure what exactly happened but I can feel a sharp pain in my side, instinctively let go of everything including the spear while I yelp and paddle for safety.
I can't tell whether the other shark took a bite out of me or it was the spear or whatever else. All I know is that it stings like hell and I need to get to the side of the boat and out of the water if I don't want to become bait myself.
In between painful strokes I gasp. "Something got me. Help me in!"
A split second later I can feel something brush against my foot and then see the dark outline of an enormous shark below me.

[Nitya Demont]

My hands hold tight to the wrench as I watch Nick move into a position to throw the spear. My own sits nearby, so it can be used if needed. However, I know it is important to get it on the first try even before he says it. The fish in the net are still wriggling and quite tempting targets for any shark. The fin comes up and almost immediately disappears again. The shark is really moving, and I don't envy Nick's position. It's going to be hard if the shark doesn't slow just a little.

It takes a little while, but soon the shark is close enough and slow enough for him to get off a shot. I smile when it hits it, but that immediately changes when I feel a tug on the net. It's stuck. Quickly I pull as hard as I can with Nick's help, but it will not budge after a certain point. This is not good; the spear must be stuck. I'm about to turn to Nick to discuss a plan, but I see him already taking off his shoes. I'm about to yell at him not to go, but he tells me to hold the net. I bite my lip and stay where I am. My knuckles are white as I use all my strength to hold the wrench and to keep my mouth from going off. I don't want him hurt, but he's probably correct that this is the only way.

My eyes follow him as he makes his way through the water. It's hard to say whether or not I'm even breathing as I see him try to get the spear away. When the shark goes for his hand, for the first time I see what it looks like. My heart skips when I see the teeth on it and the size of its head. Judging by that, it could easily do some serious injury. Again I bite my lip but keep my hands on the wrench. I'm fixated on watching what's unfolding, and I'm not really aware of anything else.

When he grabs the spear, I let out a sigh of relief. Oxygen surges into my lungs, and I know I've been holding my breath for some time now. Just as I'm breathing normally again, I see another shark move in slow motion and hear a yelp from Nick. The next thing I know is that I see blood in the water, and I know that Nick is in grave danger. There is no spear, so he has no defense against anything that comes his way. When he yells out, I hold on as tight as I can to the wrench with one hand and just manage to grab my spear with the other. I quickly jam the handle into the wrench and grab the sharpest object I can find off the boat and some rope.

In seconds I'm tying the rope off to the boat and wrapping another end around myself. It's a quick pulley system so in case I can't move Nick easily I can just pull as through the water. Then, without any thought of hesitation, I jump off the boat and into the water. The other shark is still caught in the net, so at least that's a small gift. Luckily the other shark has not attacked yet. It seems like it was just sniffing around. Part of me wishes that it would attack the smaller one caught in the net. That's when another thought comes to mind. The net with the other shark is part way out of the water; maybe I can get Nick on top of it and we can make it to the boat. Then again, that is pretty iffy. As I think, I pull Nick to me as I wiggle out of the rope and secure it around him. If anything I can just pull him up from the water. I have the weapon, so at least I can defend if needed. "Nick, hold on. It might hurt, but we have to get you out of this water."

Quickly I start to pull, and that's when the shark moves.

[Jack Lexington]

The cold water numbs my body but the pain is still so predominant that I can barely lift my arm to swim. The fact that there is a huge shark somewhere under my feet doesn't help my ability to move. For months I've been telling myself never to get in the water when there are sharks around even though other fishermen do because they value the money they get for such fish.
Today I broke my own rule, maybe to impress Nitya and now I'm screwed.

The girl doesn't let me down though. She reacts really fast. Unfortuantely not the way I was hoping. Instead of hauling me in she puts herself in danger and jumps into the water with a spear in her hand. "What are you doing?" I scream but get splashed in the face by a salty wave.

Before I know what she's doing she ties the rope around me causing me to cry out again. Then I look over into her wet face and see her expression freeze, her eyes filled with determination and the spear high above her head.

There's a turbulance in the water and I can only pray that my blood is not as attractive as a net full of fish but to be honest - that's just wishful thinking.
The surface of the water nearby breaks and I can see huge pointy teeth in between the droplets. I'm so terrified that either me or Nitya is going to die any second that I can't do a damn thing, not even paddle.

I press my eyes closed and wait. The seconds pass, the waves hit me but I'm not getting bitten, neither does the brave girl by my side. Instead the large biest has opted for the whole part of the long net filled with fish and one small shark right next to me.

As soon as I realize we're alive for now I swim like crazy, propel through the water with pained screams that get drowned out by the water and eventually reach the lower side of the boat. I grab Nitya's shirt and scream at her. "Get in! Now! I'm not going to loose you here."

[Nitya Demont]

When the new shark actually breaks the surface, I feel a dull knot in my stomach as I can see both how big it is and just how lethal those teeth are. One bite, and we would be in huge trouble. I hold my blade tight and am prepared to strike if needed. However, I deem it best not to make any movements as it passes through, so instead I just keep my eye on it as it moves through the water and even stop pulling Nick towards the boat. The last thing needed is for him to look like a huge line of fresh bait. He has stopped moving as well, and I honestly think that is the best choice right now.

Waves hit, and every once in a while I feel a pang from my ankle. Still, I keep my face calm and unmoving while my arm is ready to throw my weapons or stab if things start to happen. My eyes focus on the shark and on Nick. I'm greatly concerned about him, and I know that we need to get on board to take a look at his injuries. Still, the shark makes no move for either of us. At first, I wonder if it is merely trying to decide which of us to go for, but time passes and nothing happens. That's when the shark makes a move. It latches onto the net of fish.

Nick moves like a torpedo through the water. Quickly, I follow him to the boat. I feel his hand grab onto my shirt, and I look up to see him bleeding. "Nick! Don't worry about me!" I yell as I push myself up onto the boat. In one movement, I rip my shirt of revealing the simple swimsuit I have under. Then, I use the shirt to press against his wound. As I say this, I hear a sound. That's when I realize the shark is still on the net.

I dash to the wrench where the handle of my spear is still stuck. The shark is attached to the net still. With as much strength as I have, I jerk the spear from the wrench. Part of it splinters, but I don't care at least that's done. "Nick! Do I cut the net?" I don't want to, but that might be the only option here. Still, it's best if he makes the call. It is his boat.

[Jack Lexington]

My hands curl around the edge of the boat to pull myself up but I soon realize that I simply cannot do it. The pain in my side prevents me from using my muscles on my right side. So I help Nitya into the boat instead and then she pulls me in. All he while my heart is beating like a drum but the adrenalin keeps us going. While I fall onto the deck and curl up into a ball Nitya is on top of things and screams whether she should cut the net.

For a moment I'm too busy trying to calm my breathing and press her shirt against my side but soon my head perks up to see what she means. The shark keeps coming back snapping at the net where the fish and the smaller shark is caught. Each time he attacks it the boat starts rocking. I doubt that he'll be able to knock it over but who knows.

If Nitya cuts my net she'll cut my income and way to bring in fish as well. I crunch up my face into an ugly frown but shout. "Give it one more try. If he doesn't give up, cut it."

As I sit back on mu butt I can feel shivers rock my body. The exhaustion and adrenalin overflow have taken over. My whole body is soaked and cold from the ocean water but my right side feels warm. I'm sure I'm bleeding heavily but for now I have to concentrate on the great white.

Nitya is working away at the net with her serrated blade and is half way through the net when my small sail boat gets thrown to the side by the sharks angry pull again. It immediately perks back up but I get scared...for Nitya who is awefully close to the damn thing with its huge teeth.

So I crawl over and take the knife from her hand. I'm a little stronger so I manage to cut the rest of the net a bit faster. With a large splash the remaining part drops into to water behind the boat and I crumble on the bottom of my one possession but still reach for the girls arm with my blood soaked fingers to pull her away from the back in case the shark comes back up.
"Are you okay?" I gasp breathlessly.

[Nitya Demont]

I try to remain calm as the boat rocks. I've only been on one that flipped, and it seems unlikely in this scenario. However, one can never be too careful. My legs are in a stance that's easy to control, and I hold tight to the blade and to the rope. If the net is lost, I know that I can replace it for him, but this is important to him. The shark continues to snap, and I see blood in the water. While he hasn't been able to snap off the whole net, he is definitely causing some damage to what is in it. It makes me even more thankful that the two of us made it out of the water with not more damage than we had.

When he shouts to give it another try, part of me is relieved. I don't want to have to be the one to cut off his income. We have the haul from earlier, but that still isn't enough. I take a deep breath and pull to try and get the net in. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like it's doing much good. For an instant I consider trying to lure the shark away with something else, but we have nothing besides ourselves and the fish from earlier on boat, and neither of those are viable options. So I keep at the net instead.

It's clear that the shark is not going to be dissuaded from going after the net, and though I'm cringing inside as I do it, I begin to cut the net. Once I've got a bit started, it's easier to work the knife through. However, I can't get through as fast as I'd like, and the boat is now swaying. I strengthen my stance just as the boat is thrown a bit. Still I remain on the side and keep sawing through. I see the shark and have to hold my breath when I see it's eyes but still keep going.

It makes me jump when I feel Nick's hand on mine. He makes it through the net in no time. The net falls and so does Nick. He takes hold of me, and I hold onto him. "I'm fine," I say. I'm sure there are a few scratches and bruises, but it's nothing I notice anywhere. "You're not though. Lay down. I'm going to take care of you." Gently I push Nick to the floor and take off the shorts I'm wearing thanking goodness that I wore double layers. I hold the garment on the wound. Then, I take Nick's hands to place them on the shorts. Quickly I go and get some water to help clean up some of the blood. Then I pick up some of the medicine that I brought. "Do you think you could take medicine now?" I ask. I don't want to push him into anything.

[Jack Lexington]

The net is gone and so is the shark as the boat is not rocking back and forth any longer. It's a damn shame that I lost my net since my income will be much less if I can only use one net to cast but right now I have other concerns. Nitya is right. I'm not okay. That is unfortunately much more true than ever before. I'm not sure what exactly is wrong with me but I can feel the energy draining from my body together with a lot of precious blood. Now that I've got time to breath and feel it hits me like a ton of bricks. Whatever the tip of the spear, that the shark smashed into my side with his powerful tail fin, damaged wasn't just skin. It dug right into my flesh and whatever lies beneath it as I can see now that I'm pulling my shirt up for Nitya to run water over it and then press her pants on it. There's a deep, gaping hole that keeps gurgling out blood like a geyser.
"Aaaahh, shit." I curse in pain when I grab her fabric and push it onto the wound as hard as I can.
Under different circumstances I would have loved to see a pretty girl tend to me half naked but right now I'm getting incredibly scared because I know that I'm in big trouble if I don't get help fast. Maybe deadly trouble.

She ask me about taking medicine but I just shake my head. "That's not going to do anything."
My face is contorted in pain because it drowns me like one of those aweful dark storm waves that take you under and don't let go anymore and I cannot wiggle away from it. The only thing i can do is scream and that's exactly what I do. A strange mixture of a groan and scream escapes my lips before I gasp and then grab her hand to pull her close.
"Listen, you have to get us back to shore as fast as you can. NOW!"
I'm not going to add 'or I won't make it' but I sure as hell feel like it.

The girls face is now white as snow and I can see that she understood what's going on. Now it's just a matter of whether she wants to and is able to sail the boat home fast enough.
Desperately I open my eyes to catch a glimpse of the waves that will tell me whether there's even any wind...

OOC: You have a pm

[Nitya Demont]

Water runs over his wound, and I bite my lip. It's obviously deep, and he has to immediately press fabric onto the wound. Seeing how much blood has now swept over the deck, I'm scared for him. This is serious right now, and I wish that I knew exactly what to do to take care of him now. The only thing I can do is fashion something out of rope so that he doesn't have to hold the cloth on himself. Now all he has to do is pull or let out the rope to adjust the pressure on the wound. I get his hair out of his face and offer him some water before he talks about the medicine.

"It's for infection," I say simply. Though I know he doesn't think it will do anything, I still tuck it near him. He's been pressing my shirt and my pants into the wound, so infection is a clear concern. His screaming tears into me; I hate having anybody I care about in pain, and we are in the middle of the sea. It brings back memories, but I stuff those aside because Nick needs me. That's when he shouts that I will have to take control of the boat now and get us back. "I will get us back even if I have to paddle this vessel," I say seriously and with the utmost determination.

Quickly I rush around the vessel and make sure that everything is ready to set sail. Then, I take a deep breath and take hold of the wheel. "I can do this," I whisper to myself. I look up and pray that the wind is with us, and I see that there does seem to be just enough to get us going which is fine with me. I will take anything. The boat begins to move, and my eyes stay focused on everything around me. It is important that I get Nick to shore and to a doctor; I'd take him to my mother, but this looks like it would be beyond what she would be able to handle right now.

At first the ride is smooth, but then the waters start to get choppier. Clouds are off in the distance, so now we have the added pressure of beating a potential storm. While keeping my eyes on the water and any landmasses that are about, I yell back to Nick. "How are you doing? Have you chanced the medicine?" I know that it isn't much in terms of what it can do, but I don't want infection to set in and his life already hangs in the balance. With a relief, I begin to see things besides just the ocean. We are getting closer; I just hope that nothing gets in our way.

[Jack Lexington]

The boat starts moving beneath me and is soon away from the reef so the waves become higher as I can feel underneath the planks I'm laying on. I'm so glad Nitya is familiar with sailing and seems to get along quite well.

For a moment I allow myself to rest but when I close my eyes the pain seems even stronger so I open them again and stare at the sail above me to concentrate on something else. The wind blows it up to a nice round belly and tugs on it harshly, which tells me it's quite strong, which is a good thing because we'll get home faster. I can only hope it will stay strong and Nitya knows how to handle it because that could spare me a whole lot of pain and maybe even save my life.

I've truly never felt such agony from a cut before and I've cut myself a few times with a spear or been injured during bar fights but this is a whole new level. Unfortunately I have no idea what the tip of the spear could have dug into because I'm not familiar with the human anatomy. Desperate to find out what is wrong I pull the shorts away and get greeted with a b=new flood of red, which prevents me form seeing anything anyway so I press it back on my side and let my head fall back with a groan. "Shit."

I spend the next half an hour just lying, breathing and mulling over whether this could be a fatal wound. Judging by the pain I'm in, that has taken over my whole being, it could very well be.

From the rudder I can hear Nityas voice over the sound of the wind and waves, who is asking whether I've taken any pills. But I just shake my head no because I haven't paid attention to what they are supposed to do.

I can feel the cool breeze on my skin become stronger and wonder why the wind is blowing so hard all of a sudden. The clouds over head are travelling pretty fast and are getting darker. There might be a storm coming and I'm not sure whether she can handle it. To get a better picture is push myself up to a sitting position, which send flashes of pain through my abdomen but now I can see what we're in for. Above the coastline a huge, dark front of clouds is cemented and not going anywhere because of the coastal mountain range. The closer we get the harder the wind blows and I can already see the grey curtain of rain pouring down and the occasional lightning strike.

"Damn." I gasp. Then louder. "Have you ever sailed in a strom?"
Before I get an answer the sail catches so much wind from the other side that it suddenly flies towards me and tears the rope that's attached to the boom, loose.
I can only duck to avoid getting hit. Now the sail isn't tied up anymore and swinging back and forth with every gust of wind. "Stay at the rudder." I command because if she doesn't we'll completely loose control.

With my hand still pressed onto the ribs on my right side I crawl forward and try to catch the rope but I'm limp and have no power. So when I finally have it I can barely tie it up because it keeps slipping from my hands while the boat jumps on the waves.

It's only a matter of a few moments until we're close enough to the coats to get the full force of the storm and I almost tell her to turn around to at least save her. But if we do that I'm a goner so I'm to selfish and yell. "Hold on tight."

My whole body starts shivering and shaking, maybe because of the temperature or fear, as I stare ahead. ...We're doomed.

[Nitya Demont]

My eyes are fixed on the sky. The area we are sailing in is pretty clear for now, but I know that we are racing a storm. It seems like it's moving fast, so I have a bad feeling that we are going to get caught in it. However, I make myself push that out of my mind. It's important that I stay calm; Nick is counting on me, and both of us need to get home safe. Carefully I steer us around an island of sand and keep going.

When I hear some movement for Nick, I take a quick moment to look back at him and see a fresh wave of blood. Of course I want to go to him, but I know that it is life and death now. There is no time for that. "I'm starting to see a bit of land, Nick," I call back to him. It's true; we've passed some of the small islands that we passed on the way in, and I can just make out the beginning of what I know is the coast line of District 4. Seriously, I had never thought that I would be as happy as I am to see that line. It feels like we are so close to being out of the woods.

It was too much to hope for. Even though I can see the outline, I know we are still at least half an hour to and hour away from the coast, and that is when the storm catches us. At first, the only change around us is that the sky above us turns dark and clouds move fast. Then, the wind begins to blow hard and against us. A few sprinkles of water start to hit, but at first it seems as though it isn't going to be bad. Then comes the lightning, and I can see we are headed straight for a curtain of rain and lightning and hail for all I know.

Nick's voice barely makes it to my ears and just as my mouth is about to form words, I feel something go terribly wrong. I whirl my head around, and I see the sail fly loose and towards Nick. Thankfully he manages to duck, but there is nothing I can do. Even before he says it, I know that I have to stay at the wheel. Otherwise we could end up in the water with little hope of rescue in this storm. I keep my hand on the wheel and feel the strain as the wind tries to push us in the opposite the direction, and the sail is definitely not helping. How could such a nice trip turn so wrong?

Every once in a while, I glance back, and I see Nick moving for the rope. My heart aches knowing how much pain he must be going through. It kills me that I can't go to him, but I know where my duty is supposed to be right now. When I look again, he has made it and tied up the rope, I feel relief go through me. The boat is back on course, but the waves are definitely rougher, and the rain has started to come.

The wind is so strong that it is getting hard to see since the wind blows the rain back into my face and eyes. My knuckles are beginning to turn white as I hold tight to the wheel. A particularly large wave hits the boat, and I end up smacking my chin into the wheel, but I don't even wince. Adrenaline is what is fueling me now; I have to get Nick out of this weather.

Coast is getting closer and closer, but it feels like though we are making progress it is coming in one step forward and two steps back kind of way. The wind is just messing with us, and I feel like the whole storm is treating us like a toy boat. Lightning streaks across the sky and lights us up. It seems so close to us, and I feel dread go into my stomach as I look up at the mast. This feels all too familiar, and I have to wonder if we are going to make it.

[Jack Lexington]

Nitya is doing an outstanding job at sailing in this storm. Her nerves seem strong and calm while I'm a nervous wreck. If she wasn't there I would have screamed and yelled and pulled and done and probably caused the boat to roll. It's incredible what her presence does to me though. She calms me down a little despite our aweful situation.

Rain showers start pouring down on us and limit visibilty to maybe half a mile. It's hard to make out the coast line but a few lights and the light house guide us home.
Nitya is trying to hard to sail against the wind which slows us down more than I can afford. She'd have to cut the waves at an angle to the coastline to make use of the wind but she seems too worried that my ship might roll. So I make sure that the knot I tied holds and then slowly crawl forward towards her using my left knee and elbow as support. It's agonizing to say the least and I have to stop three times before I reach her but I'm afraid we're loosing precious time.

Suddenly lightning lights up the sky awefully close to us, which makes my eyes dart up to the mast. If it strikes the wood it'll probably split the boat in half and sink us to the bottom of the ocean before we know what's happening. I gasp but there's nothing i can do about it.

So I wipe the water from my eyes and shout. "Starboard. You have to turn further over there and use the wind. When you're closer cut across."
I slump down next to her with a groan when a wave hits the boat and knocks me of my feet. It splashed us so hard I'm not sure that Nitya can withstand it much longer but when I gaze over the side of my vessel I can see the coast coming within our reach. Maybe I have a fighting chance after all.

By now I'm just hanging on by a thread. My whole body is shaking and I'm pretty sure it's not caused by the cold waves but by blood loss. With my strength quickly fading the pain seems to become unbearable and all teeth clenching and groaning doesn't help anymore. I want to wiggle away from it but I'm not ready to give up.

Another thought crosses my mind. "How am I going to get to a doctor when we reach the coast?" There's no way Nitya can carry me since I must weight twice as much as she does. There is such a thing as coast guards but who knows where they will be at that moment?

Above our heads thunder and lightning are now chasing each other second after second.