SKRAAATH—Lightning roars, tearing the sky apart. Rain pours down, the sea rises and slams against the hull, rocking the ship lightly.
"EVERYONE, GET INSIDE!" the captain shouts to all the passengers.
They rush below in panic and fear, their screams filling the air.
"HEY, YOU—DROP THE ANCHOR. NOW!" the captain yells at the crew still near him.
"Aye!" they answer in unison, hurrying down to the winch and releasing the chains.
From among our supplies, Rose has stubbornly kept Oliver's sword. It finally proves useful. I take it, and I know what I am about to do.
"Rose," I call. She turns. "Do you know what you're doing?" I ask, though I do not need her answer.
SKRAAATH—Lightning tears the sky again, and for a brief instant its light reveals the creature's face, impossibly close to the ship.
WRAAAAATHH—The Leviathan's roar explodes, shaking the air, the sea, and the ship itself.
There is no time to freeze. I sprint toward the ship's railing, ignoring the roar, leap, and hurl myself toward the Leviathan as it begins to sink back into the sea.
"Huh?!" the captain mutters in disbelief as he sees me jump from the ship toward the Leviathan. "BOY!" one of the men shouts after escorting his wife and child inside. "What is he doing?" The crew freezes, watching me race away from the ship toward the sea dragon.
Their view of the Leviathan is blurred.
Mine is not.
Rose, not witnessing my recklessness for the first time, immediately grabs her bow and prepares to help me.
I drive the sword toward its body.
"AAAAAARGHT!" I force myself closer. "Huh?!" The blade does not pierce its flesh—it strikes its scales.
SKRAAATH—Lightning splits the sky again.
"AARGH!" I try to drive the sword in, but the scales refuse to yield.
SWITCH—An arrow pierces a scale beneath me.
I begin to slip, but the embedded arrow gives me something to hold onto.
A weak point. I find it—its gills.
I look back at Rose on the ship, bow in hand.
"ROSE, ITS GILLS!" I shout with all my strength.
"Damn it!" The Leviathan's movements and rhythm are too fast. I cannot match them from here.
Worse—it is about to slam back into the sea.
"DAMN IT!"
"HIROO!" Rose's cry reaches me, faint.
The arrow will not hold if I keep using it as a grip.
I swing the sword.
"AAAARG!" I drive it in, forcing it through the scales.
WRAAAAATHH—The Leviathan roars again, deafening.
"Hurts, doesn't it?" I shout back after its roar.
Rose has a clear line on its gills now—but she closes her eyes as she aims.
As the Leviathan drops back toward the sea—
SKLASH—SWISH—BLASH!
Three arrows fly toward the gills Rose targets. Her shots waver, thrown off by the Leviathan's violent rhythm.
But—
Now I am about to crash into the sea, unable to break free—
BLAAAM—The Leviathan slams into the water, and I am dragged along its scales near its tail.
Rose grabs another arrow, draws her bow again, preparing for the Leviathan's next rise.
But—