BA3 - Chapter 6

[TK_add at least 300 more words to this scene]

The captain spun his arms overhead, launching a powerful burst of en munje at the surfacing submarine. The water around it swelled, then pushed us away—but too slow. I reinforced my feet and legs with zo munje to bolster my muscles.

We lifted sharply to the right and the boat trembled. I kept my footing, then the boat rocked down hard, throwing many students to the deck. Seawater splashed up over the edges and the rowing students below shouted in fear.

Woong-ji and Sung-ki scrambled up to the top deck, their hands already glowing with ghostly blue light. They mimicked the captain’s gesture, pushing another big swell of water between us, and our attacker.

“Keep rowing, do not lose momentum!” I heard a section leader shout below.

I looked to Hana—her eyes wide with fear—then to the captain. “Tell us what to do!”

“First rowing shift, prepare to step in,” the captain boomed with ry. “Second shift to the top deck, assist the instructors. Third shift, get out of the way and conserve your energy!”

Hana and I rushed down the stairs. The terrified students of third shift scrambled away from their posts, looking for anywhere safe to hide out of the way. I took up the same position at the front of the row and calmed by hammering heart. Steady breathing was how we got through this.

Mae announced herself clearly in my head. “Jiyong, I’ve analyzed the submarine. It’s definitely the same build as the smugglers who delivered the drugs to the Wongs last year. I’m not able to penetrate the shell, they’re running some kind of munje repellant shield, but the silhouette matches.”

How could I alert the others without telling the whole exchange class that something was afoot? It didn’t matter for now. We needed to focus on escape, and survival. The details of the attack could come later.

The boat rocked again and the scrape of metal on metal set my teeth on edge. The deck trembled and shook erratically, and the wood of the bow splintered. Then we jostled hard, like something had grabbed ahold of us.

“Move astern!” The section leader said, taking two steps back.

“We’re taking on water,” Mae reported to me in a hurry. We couldn’t lose our calm.

“Woong-ji! Hull breech!” I yelled, grunting as I pulled at the water with all my might.

The boat trembled like a tectonic shift was right below us. Cho lost his footing, falling into the student ahead of him. Clear blue water rushed up over the bow and swept across the deck in a meter-tall wall.

I twisted, slicing the surprise attack with a burst of blue munje. The some of the wave splashed out over the sides, but a half-meter wall of water followed it. The icy wave smacked against my shins, sending a mind numbing through my spine. Cho was swept away with the water and heading for the stern.

I shook my head and leaned forward, putting my arm out for Cho. He caught my hand and I jerked him up to standing. Cho ran back to his rowing position, shocked and shivering. Another wave of blue rose in front of us. A flicker of orange clothes caught my eye amid the massive attack, and I focused on the figure it adorned.

Hiro Kumiho.

Rage unquenchable burned in me like an inferno. I gritted my teeth and summoned all my energy into one, massive strike. I pushed my arms overhead, then down in front of me to repel the wave. It was like holding back an army with a tiny shield.

My body strained under the force of the attack. Blood pressed to the back of my skull and my vision blackened at the edges. I couldn’t let him on board!

The power of the wave launched me from my feet and I gasped. I landed on the deck with a whoof of air from my lungs. I sucked down one quick breath, then freezing water ripped me from the ground.

I clawed at the floor as the water pulled me to the stern of the ship. Two fingers caught the stairs to the upper deck and I clung to it with all my might. Zo flowed to my hand and I pulled. Saltwater stung my eyes as it hammered the skin of my face but I ignored the pain, feeling only my two fingers.

Just as my grip failed, the wave relented. I sputtered as I dropped to the deck. I shook my head like an animal, whipping my frigid hair from my eyes.

“Back in positions!”

My muscles burned as I climbed to my feet and ran back to the spot behind Cho. I bared my teeth and grunted into the work made harder by my shivering, icy muscles. How could Hiro be this powerful? Unless he wasn’t alone. There was no way we could stand against this kind of power for much longer.

I screamed for the only person who came to mind. “Shin-soo!”

The ship trembled harder and the cracks in the bow lengthened. Shin-soo stumbled up to me, holding tight to the mast for support.

“Get my bag!” I ordered. Shin-soo would know what was in there, and why it was so important we rescue it.

He nodded acknowledgement and was off for the lower decks. Who knew if Woong-ji had heard me say there was a leak, and if she’d been doing anything to stop it below. Had I just sent Shin-soo to a watery nightmare?

A massive wave domed the Swift Sola and there was no time to think of anything else. The icy water collapsed the deck with a crack, splitting the boat in two. We dipped forward, and I slid toward the break point. Water splashed up from the crack, enveloping me in icy agony.

I grabbed at a length of dangling rope from the mast and heaved myself from the sinking vacuum. My head breached the surface and I breathed in a gasp.

Shin-soo!

The ship was staying afloat, perhaps held aloft by the captain and his crew, but the lower deck was still submerged. I circled a halo over my head, weaving a quick spell bubble around my head. I dove, throwing a bright ry glimmer into the bubbly darkness.

A looming black silhouette circled the wreck like a predator. Urgency constricted my lungs, but I gulped down a shallow breath from the diving pocket I’d created around my head. I infused my legs with zo, then kicked with all my might toward the stairs to the lower deck.

There was another ry glimmer on the other side beaming back at me. It was Woong-ji. She had Shin-soo by the collar in one hand, and my bag in the other as she paddled her feet. I grabbed Shin-soo and helped drag him to the surface.

“One more!” Woong-ji yelled when we reached the air. I didn’t hesitate, turning back in a heartbeat. I swooped my arms through the water and kicked my legs with all my might. I climbed through the opening and cast another glimmer light. There she was.

Yuri!

My heart slammed against my ribs as I paddled with all my strength. She was pinned to the cubby wall by a wedged shelf. Her eyes were closed, and her hands floated lifelessly at her sides.

‘Mae, prepare to overclock.’ The thought was fast and fearful. I pressed my feet on either side of the wall and grabbed the obstruction, then heaved. ‘Do it!’

Fire seared down my arms and legs as my nanites went into overdrive. My muscles bulged, then contracted even tighter. The board shifted and Yuri floated toward the broken bottom of the ship. I turned, pulling her close before she could fall into the abyss of the sea.

I kicked for the upper deck, my body screaming for relief.

“I have to shut it down!” Mae yelled.

‘Not yet!’

“You’re going to burn up!”

‘Keep going!’

The water around me warmed as I transferred my heat through it. There was no time to reabsorb anything, I had to let it go.

My leg kicked something solid, then I was jerked back. I released Yuri, shoving her toward the opening with everything I had. I looked down to see the orange mask I dreaded. I kicked his hand, trying to loose his grasp.

He yanked me down into his bubble of atmosphere and held me tight. “Stop. I’m saving you!”

I bashed my face against his mask and twisted away from him. My halo of air evaporated as I left his bubble, and cool seawater closed in around me. I had to survive. I had to escape him. The team needed us.

Hiro grabbed my dobok, wrenching me back toward him. Music filled my ears as I struggled against the burning in my eyes and lungs. I thrashed, not willing to give in to him. The song intensified, filling me with gut jiggling vibrations.

A shockwave of sound rocked my body, and Hiro’s grip loosened. I kicked off from his chest, propelling myself toward the light of the surface. Another sound wave blasted my body, and a blurry image of a woman came into view. She reached out for me, and I reached back. A darkened vignette crept in around my vision as her haunting voice drifted farther away.

My fingertips touched hers, and the world faded to black.