The trio was a mess. Well, Vizim and Red were at least. Vizim was dealing with the aftermath of nearly drowning. While Red didn't feel like he had the right to compare, he was still in a lot of pain. Everything hurt, especially his shoulder, which had been dislocated. Red was certain that what they'd just done was not healthy right after an injury.
Red turned around, taking in the scene around them. Scattered remnants of the sunken vessel bobbed in the teal waves around. He spotted a door nearby and swam over to grab onto it. Vizim was still choking up far too much water and used the door to steady himself. His connection to the Valencian Heart was the only thing that had kept him from drowning. The sea was its body after all.
There was one thing that struck Red the most about their surroundings. No other ships were around. He had assumed that with the amount of explosions there would have been numerous, but…nothing.
His gaze fell on the island in the distance. It was close, and they could easily swim over. Some of the debris was already washing in that direction with the coming tide. The sun had fallen low in the sky, signaling it was past noon. They'd been under the sea far longer than he anticipated.
Red turned to Derrin, "What the hell happened?"
Derrin was eyeing the island worriedly, "I do not know for sure. We could have just been lucky and missed the ship, but that is doubtful."
He paused, and Red followed his gaze to the island. It was covered in hills and jungle. Red hadn't actually seen a proper jungle before. The Fallen Isles had been a jungle once. But that was a prime example of humans taming nature. It was not the case here.
"We should head to shore. That makes the most sense, right?" Vizim asked with a cough.
Red agreed, but he still felt uneasy. Derrin also seemed unsure. There was no evidence of what had destroyed their ship. Whoever had struck the vessel could come after them as well.
It was at this moment that Red's mind finally slowed down to realize what had just happened. He had been stuck full of adrenaline since the first attack. He hadn't taken a moment to stop and properly collect himself. Overall, he was pretty proud of his performance, even though he got thrown around a lot.
However, his adrenaline had also cut out most other thoughts. He had seen the dead body on their way up and had processed that it was there, but he hadn't truly seen it. Now he again saw the shredded remains of the human. There was no way to be sure, but chances were that everyone was dead. Cairen and the sailors, Rato and the other mercenaries…they were all dead.
While he hadn't really known any of them, they were still faces. Faces that he remembered. They were now dead. That simple fact alone made him shudder. Everyone was dead, and they had no idea how they had perished.
Finally, Derrin spoke, "There are cannons on that hill over there."
Red blinked in surprise and looked where Derrin was pointing. He didn't see anything except the jungle. Derrin had multiple layers, and his senses would be vastly enhanced. Red focused his mist into his own eyes. It wasn't something he had ever tried before. Unfortunately, it didn't really work. His vision got more vivid, but his sight range was still not enough to make out smaller details at such a distance.
"That wouldn't be abnormal," Vizim's voice sounded ragged, and he shook slightly, "We've been here a few times. It's an outpost for the Valencian fleet. Having defensive capabilities would be expected."
Derrin turned with a frown, "Then why didn't they assist us?"
That gave everyone pause, leaving them with many unanswered questions. Red didn't like being unable to figure those answers out. But at the end of the day, what happened didn't matter at the moment. They still needed to reach land.
"Does it really matter?" Red asked, "We need to get to land anyway. Floating out here doesn't help us."
Derrin gave him a flat look but nodded, "We do need to make it to shore. But this whole situation is making me uncomfortable. I don't trust that island. Chances are, they have eyes on us right now. If we'd gone up immediately, we would have been targets. We still need to be cautious."
That made enough sense to Red. Without any more fanfare, the three of them used the door for support and set off. Turning it sideways allowed all of them to swim together. It would have likely been faster to simply go for it, but they wanted a place to easily rest. Vizim briefly tried sitting on the door during their journey, and it had held his weight relatively well. It had sunk a bit beneath the surface but still floated.
So that was how they went. Wet, aching, worried, they pushed towards the shore. For Red, his muscles were already burning. The swim up from the ship had been like a sprint, but now it was as if he was participating in a marathon. It only made it worse when his stomach began rumbling over the lack of food. He hadn't eaten since the morning after all.
They took numerous breaks on the way, trying to draw as little attention as possible. It would be better if the door seemed like just another piece of debris in the ocean. There were others floating towards the shore after all.
Throughout it all, they had to assist Vizim. His near drowning had seemed to have instilled a panic in him whenever he grew tired. Multiple times, he began panicking, and they had to drag him to the door. The marathon was wearing them all down little by little, even as the distance to the shore lessened.
They were all weighed down by the previous events. Derrin wished he had been able to save everyone else. Vizim had essentially just lost his family. As for Red, he had learned long ago that dwelling on the terrible circumstances was a bad idea. He could already see it in both the others' faces. Vizim in particular, even if it was expected.
Red didn't blame his friend for it, but he wanted to focus on the future like he always tried to. The island was nearing, and none of them knew what they would find. Perhaps the woman Ayjax had mentioned was still here. Perhaps she was not, either way, he'd have to keep going forward.
Throughout their swim, the sun continued lowering on the horizon. Once it had fallen behind the crest of the island, the three of them swam with renewed vigor. Now in the shadow of the looming island, they didn't need to worry about being seen as much.
The cold had begun to finally show in the sea. Red could feel it seeping into his bones now that the sun was gone. But they pushed onwards, and after what felt like eternity, the beach stretched out before them.