Thia's POV

It was pouring rain. Not the kind where you get soaked and can deal with it, but the kind where it's a torrent of water slamming into you on all sides. Thankfully we'd made progress. A good amount in fact. By Leah's calculation we were somewhere in Florida. Once we reached the coast line we'd have to figure out a way to cross the Atlantic to Algeria and from there to Italy. It was still a very long trip.

"How close are we to the coastline?" Andy yelled over the rattling thunder. His hair was plastered to his face in all sorts of directions.

"A mile or two!" Leah responded, having gotten ahold of a map from a local not long ago but the ink was beginning to run.

"What are we doing when we get their?" I asked, nearly slipping in the mud. Lashing out I gripped the closest thing for support which only reopened the deep wounds on my hands. "Agh! Crap."

"Easy." Leah worriedly examined the blood soaked bandages that were beginning to fall off of my hands. "We can't cross the ocean with weather like this."

"We're going to have to. We don't have a lot of time, look." Andy pointed back the way we had come. In the very far distance it looked like a gigantic cloud of smog had built up. "The darkness is spreading."

"Right." Nodding I pushed aside the growing pain in my palms and began a slow jog towards the coast. Leah followed close behind, mud encasing her boots and halfway up her legs. Andy staggered in front nearly slipping on more than one occasion.

Lightning cracked overhead and struck a tree off to the right. I could taste the iron in the air. Leah yelped bolting in the other direction.

"Kid, your grandpa better not be trying to kill us." Andy glowered, glancing at the smoldering remnants of the tree.

"I don't know what he does. It wouldn't be the first time he's tried to get rid of his family." This didn't seem to comfort them but determination set in and I pushed on. At last we stumbled upon the sandy coastline where the waves roared in anger.

"Are you fucking kidding me? What are we supposed to do with this?" Leah asked, gesturing angrily at the ocean. As if in response a large swell of water crashed onto the nearby rocks.

Andy picked up a stick and hurled it angrily into the water. "This is a bunch of bullshit. How are we supposed to fix this? Can't the Gods at least help us out a little?"

"Both of you shut up!" It wasn't in my nature to snap but they were grating on my nerves. "Complaining isn't going to fix this. You see that over there? Someone's abandoned their boat. They didn't even tie it down. It's just out in the water, we can swim to it."

"This is borderline hurricane weather, Thia." Leah shook her head in disbelief spotting the small sailboat out on the water. "I'm not going out there."

"It's not a choice." Tossing off my back pack I slipped out of my tattered shirt and tore it into strips sitting in the sand and setting to work. In less than a minute I had a long strip of fabric. "We'll use this to stay together and fight the current."

Grabbing Andy by the arm I tied it tightly around his wrist, then Leah's, and attached it to the back of my back pack. Slipping the backpack on I dragged the two of them into the water.

The waves were as unforgiving as they looked. Diving in I was nearly knocked back onto the shore but gritting my teeth I dug my feet into the sand beneath the water.

At every turn or movement water slammed into us. It was almost impossible to breath without inhaling some of the salty liquid. It made your eyes and lungs burn like they were set ablaze.

A particularly horrible wave crashed into us. Fighting to the surface after being turned over I could feel the slack in the tie. Glancing about I spotted Leah a few feet away. "Go! Go to the boat!"

"What? No!" Leah argued. Her eyes darted around frantically. We were missing Andy.

"I'll find him, go." Without waiting for a response I dove beneath the surface and forced my eyes open. It was a horrible experience but I needed to try and see. At first I saw nothing. There was no indication Andy was anywhere nearby.

Heart hammering I swam to the surface, gulped in air, and dove back underneath. This time, I was lucky to spot what looked like a belt buckle from his jeans which had been ripped off somehow.

Swimming towards it I spotted Andy struggling to remove his leg from the reef. A large clump of coral had entangled him. Pushing forward I drew level to him as he jerked at his leg frantically. Blood began to cloud the water as the coarse plant tore open his leg.

Gripping his wrists I pushed his hands away. Grasping a rock half hidden in the sand, I attempted to bash it against the coral. The only problem was acquiring enough force. One hit did nothing. Two sent a small piece floating off. Andy passed out. Three. Four. Five!

It shattered at last freeing Andy's limb. Holding him under the arms I struggled to the surface. It was nearly impossible to keep his head above water. I needed to hurry or there was a good chance he was going to drown. The ship wasn't too far away. Just keep going.

By now my adrenaline had been replaced with exhaustion. Each stroke was a struggle and there was more than one occasion where I lost ground instead of making it up.

Leah was there waiting for when we arrived. She leaned over the railing and tugged Andy onto the deck as I struggled up. Without hesitating I staggered to my feet. The sails shouldn't be open. It would send the ship capsizing if a strong enough wind came.

Sliding across the deck I managed to make it to the mast. The ropes were slick and my bandages didn't hold up against the friction. The ropes were soon soaked with blood and it required my entire body weight to tug on them.

At last, the sails were down keeping the boat's rock in a somewhat steady rhythm. After struggling to secure the sails I clambered over to the wheel. Judging from the coast line if I kept us on a straight shot we'd be okay.

Grunting, I twisted it against the wind. The ship didn't seem to cooperate at first before a break in the waves allowed us to transition directions. Oars rested strapped to the deck. I just needed something to lock the wheel in place.

Ripping open my backpack I searched through the contents. Spear. I'd borrowed Mom's spear too. "I know this isn't your purpose but it's gonna have to work."

It transformed smoothly into its weapon form and with a well timed thrust I wedged it into place. I expected the  ship to be careening out of control. It didn't. Leah gave a sigh of relief as Andy came too after coughing up a good amount of water.

"Fix his leg," I ordered, tossing her my bag which held the last bit of medical supplies. Leah nodded setting to work. Scrambling over to the oars I tore the brackets from the wooden deck. It was a small boat I could manage to move it.

A small passage lead below decks where the slots for the oars rested. Carrying the large wooden tools I slipped underneath finding a good foot of water already there.

It was nearly impossible to get traction against the raging water. If I could just get us out of the storm things would be okay. There was another spot for a separate person to row but I was on my own.

After a bit of fumbling I managed to situate everything appropriately. Slamming my weight into the forward movement the ship lurched at most an inch forward. Tugging backwards I threw my weight into the oars again.

I wasn't quite sure what happened but soon we were moving painstakingly slow but moving none the less. My vision grew hazy and it seemed like a trance had clouded my head. At some point Leah stumbled down the steps and sat next to me taking up the other oar.

After what felt like years the waters began to calm.  Still, I continued the process, slamming my small frame into the oar and drawing it back with a pained breath.

"Thia. Thia stop." Leah pushed my hands away from the oar shattering my focus. It was almost like waking up from a nightmare. The world was different from how I'd left it. She must have seen the confusion on my face. Her hands gently rested on my cheeks forcing my gaze to settle on her. "We're out of the storm."

"Right," I nodded, shivering as a breeze wafted through.

"Your hands," Leah whispered. Her eyes settled on the oars which were painted in a deep red. I hadn't noticed that the bandages which had protected my wounds were gone. My palms were bloodied and raw, practically skinless. "Thia."

"I'll be fine. Is Andy alright? His leg-"Leah held up a hand cutting off my sentence.

"He's fine. You're fucking insane do you know that?" Leah's expression was one I hadn't seen before. Admiration? Endearment? I didn't know. "Come on."

She tugged me to my feet but my legs turned to jello. Her arm wrapped around my waist as she dragged me to the upper deck. Andy was awake and leaning against the thin mast, his leg heavily bandaged. His eyes settled on me and widened in surprise.

"Good lord." The sun was bright and the upper deck was surprisingly dry. I guess the water had evaporated for the most part. How long had I been rowing? Andy slipped out of his jacket and passed it over.

I'd forgotten I'd destroyed my shirt, I forgot I was literally wearing only a bra underneath. I was cold. Really cold. I would have argued under normal circumstances. I didn't want his stupid jacket, but it was that or probable hypothermia. Slipping it on it was unmistakably warm.

"Incredible improvising." Leah noted gesturing to the spear still wedged in the wheel.

"Th-thanks." The pain from everything that happened was finally starting to set in.

"I'll take over for now," Leah promised, heading towards the ropes and raising the sails after retrieving the oars. She headed to the ship's wheel next and took her position to direct the ship. Slumping against the mast I tucked my injured hands inside the sleeves of the jacket.

I had thankfully stopped shivering but I knew when the numbness wore off I was in for a world of hurt. My eyelids drooped lazily until they closed on their own. I didn't even have the strength to adjust my posture as my body slumped over at an odd angle and my brain shifted towards sleep.

A firm arm wrapped around my shoulders and tugged me into a sitting position. Salt had dried against my skin and my feet ached from the cold water that was only now draining from below decks.

"Are we there yet?" I asked, peeling my eyelids open to try and see the new coastline. All I saw was the blinding sun.

"Nah. We got a long ways." I didn't recognize who was talking. It sounded somewhat familiar. Only a more gentle version. "Go ahead and rest. We have time."

"Right." I didn't have it in me to argue with whoever had tucked me under their arm.

"Thanks for saving my life..." My brain was shrouded in darkness as sleep took over. "Kid."

Andy.