The rope was warm and constricting inside of Aldweck’s hands. He felt the weight of his body pulling him down along with Yara’s weight on top of him. It was like an incredible chain had hooked him to the bottom of the ocean as the ship sunk and tilted its nose further into the sea. Seagulls cawed around the ship and people shouted as fire erupted on the top deck. Erick, with Sylvia, and Ronnie were making good progress above Aldweck as he groaned in pain.

His arms were on fire and his heart was beating out of his chest as his muscles convulsed. The ship was quickly sinking. He looked up and felt Yara hold tightly to him.

“Just leave me! It’s not worth it for us to both die. I’m holding you back and I know it!” Her fingers clawed into Aldweck’s chest as she held on for dear life.

“You say that but your body is telling you a different story. Don’t lie to me. You want to live and raise that child damnit!”

“B-But..what about you?”

“What about me?! There’s nowhere else to look but up. Trust in me. Trust that we’ll make it through this.”

Aldweck gripped the rope and gritted his teeth as he heaved. The Mitch inside of Aldweck was scared but he wasn’t ready to have blood on his hands. If Erick could do it, so could he. He wasn’t going to keep making the same mistakes over and over again.

He took one hand and reached forward, grabbing the next length of the rope. He continued pulling himself and Yara up one hand at a time. His muscles were stretched to their absolute limit, his breathing was baited and lost in the cold icy air. Sweat failed to roll down his body as the violent sounds of fire and ash cascaded down on them.

Screaming voices could be distinguished from where Aldweck was.

“Who set the emergency ships on fire?! You fucking bastards! Cut the rope, we have to make sure Lord Warner is given safety before anyone else. Everyone else is on their own!”

General Hickory’s voice resounded in Aldweck’s ears. The sound of his voice brought unbridled anger inside of Mitch that pushed him forward on the rope. Erick and Ronnie had reached the top and were waiting at the edge to pull Aldweck up.

Aldweck was only halfway. His core was burning, his back was spasming and Yara was trembling. The fear of the woman on his back gave him chills as tears ran down his eyes. “I’m sorry for being so worthless in the past. You don’t have to worry anymore.”

Aldweck put one hand in front of another, the burning sensation in his palm became numb and the tension in his back released as he started rapidly climbing the rope. He was in sight. He grabbed hold of the top of the ship in an explosive charge when the ship suddenly rocked. The hands around him slipped and he felt the weight on his back start to disappear.

“No!” His hand fled from the rope as he reached around and grabbed Yara’s hand. She was hanging by a thread in his hand, his other attached to the siding of the top deck. Yara’s grip was slipping through his hand, the sweat was making it impossible for her to hold on to him. One finger fell out of his grip and then a second.

“Bring your other hand up! Jump for my hand!” She nodded her head, believing she couldn’t do it. In her heart, she had already given up.

“I won’t let you die!” Aldweck screamed at the top of his lungs, exploding into action. His feet propped against the siding of the wall as her hand slipped out of his. He swung his other arm around and grabbed her forearm.

“Erick!” He screamed as they started to fall together, Aldweck’s hand reaching for Erick.

Erick cast a spell, a watery hand shooting out of his palm which wrapped around Aldweck’s arm and tied around his shoulder blade. It slowly pulled Aldweck back up. Ronnie grabbed hold of him as the spell dissipated.

Erick dropped to his knees as he held Sylvia, his skin pale as he coughed up blood. “I’m at my limit. I don’t think I can keep going.”

Ronnie was out of breath as he brought the two back up, he laid on his back. The ship was tilting more and more as the water ate it for dinner. “Give me Sylvia. I will carry her and we will find Duke Fourgon and get the hell out of here.”

Erick gave Ronnie the child.

Mitch was spiraling. He still had Yara on his back. She was breathing just as heavily as he was. The fact that they were both still alive was miraculous. He felt so much love and gratitude for Erick and Ronnie right now. They saved him, and this child’s mother. They were the real heroes in this world. He was proud to have met them. Mitch felt grateful, even though only shitty things had happened to him in the short time he had been here. He felt like he had experienced many things that gave him great insight into what it meant to be alive. To fully appreciate those around oneself.

He rose to his feet with Yara on his back, “Thanks, guys. You saved us.” Aldweck looked into their eyes with passion, his complexion was complex but was fully observant of what had just happened.

“Yeah, same here.” Yara sighed.

“It’s no problem. Let’s find the Duke.” Ronnie said before walking over to a crowd of people shouting and crying. All of the boats were burning and the Mariot Cruise was quickly sinking. Everything looked dire for everyone that was left. The few people who made it out were rowing away on boats in the distance. If Aldweck had to guess, the General and Lord Warner got away, along with Zaya and her entourage. They were left to figure things out for themselves. What a disaster this had become.

“Please, this is the last boat! Let us on!” A woman cried. Her dress was soaked and her makeup smeared.

A man in yellow and black clothes with sharp blonde hair looked at her with bugged eyes, “I can’t let anyone else on. This is Knight Zaya’s personal vessel. Taking on any more weight would be detrimental to her Lordship. I will not condone anyone to board this vessel.”

He started to cut the rope down, the water quickly consuming the cruise liner.

People started shouting and swarming the man. Blood flew into the air as he shot off a magic arrow, but he was still tackled and people all crowded on the boat. The half-cut rope couldn’t handle the weight and they all plunged deep into the sea. Aldweck ran over to check it out and found that the ship had been destroyed. Many people were swimming away from the huge ship that was creating an impregnable whirlpool if they were too close.

“We can’t stay on the ship until it sinks, we will get sucked in by the ship if we do,” Aldweck said.

“There you are!” A familiar voice resounded behind the group. It was Duke Fourgon in his signature white attire. Two attendants with weapons stayed close by his side as they looked anxiously around for their means of escape.

“Duke, it’s so good to see you,” Aldweck said.

“Likewise. I’ve prepared a ship for us. It just so happens that one of my vassals was crossing through this sea around the same time. After doing some magic comms, I was able to get us out of here.” He smiled, pointing at a ship approaching from a distance with Duke Fourgon’s insignia on it.

“You are one hell of a man, Duke,” Aldweck said, breathlessly.

“Leave that title for yourself. I’m just a lucky guy in an unlucky situation.”

They waited as the ship approached. It didn’t take long before it arrived. By the time the smaller ship arrived, the Mariot had sunk low enough to be level with the smaller ship. People were crawling back onto the sinking Mariot to try and get on the Duke’s boat.

“Please, let us on!” A married couple exclaimed.

“Only on the Duke’s orders.” A strong and muscular man guarded the plank that had been laid down on the sinking Mariot.

Aldweck and the rest of the group boarded the ship and looked at all of the people who were seeking refuge on the ship.

Duke Fourgon sighed, “Let them on. I can’t be seen as a monster in front of Knight Aldweck and his entourage. There’s no reason to let these people die. Bring them on board.”

“Yes, Lord.”

They all boarded one by one. Aldweck counted each face and didn’t see Zaya’s men or Zaya herself. For some reason, this bothered Aldweck.

“I’m going to go check for Zaya. I feel like she’s still out there.”

“Wait! We can’t stay here, if you go now you’ll get left behind!” Duke Fourgon reached for Aldweck, but he wasn’t able to catch him before he dove into the water and started swimming back to the burning wreckage.

Yara shrieked and Erick started yelling for Aldweck to come back.

Mitch knew Erick worried about Aldweck a lot, but he was going to have to learn to rely on Aldweck more. He always tried to tackle the world on his two shoulders, it was time to give him a break for once. He had been working hard recently and pulling Mitch’s slack. Mitch would redeem himself for all the mistakes he had made and the weakness in his mind.

The anxiety was there but it wasn’t nearly as bad.

He swam for what seemed like an eternity as the two boats were drifting apart. His eyes darted between all the bodies of the drowned and those who were struggling to find a way to survive. A few unlucky souls were still at the top of the wreckage, some praying, and some crying. Others had nothing to show on their faces, as they silently accepted death.

That was when Aldweck saw Zaya floating on the water, still unconscious.

He rose up and caught his breath before bringing her head to his chest to check her pulse. She was still breathing, she was alive. Mitch wrapped his arm around her neck and started swimming back to the ship. It was a painful process, swimming through bodies and carrying someone while swimming.

Aldweck had been carrying a lot of people on his back in the past hour or so. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to have back pain if he got to live to see another day. That’s what he thought to himself as he swam mindlessly to the ship. The ship turned around and fought against the wind, they managed to slow it down so Aldweck could catch back up. Duke Fourgon’s personal guard pulled him and Zaya up as he flopped down on the wooden floorboard like a fish. He was exhausted, his eyes were heavy but he still looked at Zaya to make sure she was okay.

Was Mitch partial to beautiful women? He didn’t understand why he had saved her and not someone else. After all, she was a threat to his position in this world, but something about leaving behind someone Aldweck knew felt impersonal and wrong to do. Mitch was following his own moral compass based on what Aldweck had felt. In a sense, he had become Aldweck just as much as Aldweck had become Mitch.

With the night in full swing, the Mariot cruise sank deep below the surface and no one was left but a few struggling swimmers. No one was coming for them. Their lives were over and that made Aldweck’s skin crawl.

He laid up against the siding of the ship and drifted off into much-needed sleep. This night had been as shitty as they come, and the sun would be soon rising.