Under The Sea

Chapter Three - Who Are You?

Pain coursed through every vein in Samuel's body as he felt himself stir. His skin is tender to the touch as he attempts to move and his body stiff. His eyes struggle to adjust to their surrounding, the minimal light shining though a small hole far above him barely allowing him to see his own hand.

Where am I?

The thought pops into his head, and he glances around the area. He lies at the base of a long stretch of tunnel, spanning upwards for what seems like an eternity. Samuel shifted to sit on the slab, his feet smooth into the sand underneath, further confusing the prince as he glances around.

Aside from the small patch of sand that surrounds the slab, the rest of the space is hidden underwater, leading further into the cavern below.

How did I get here?

The memories of the storm resurface in his mind as the prince relives every second of that evening. All the grueling details up to the moment when he blacked out.

"I was underwater..." Samuel whispers into the empty cave.

How am I alive?

While he didn't understand where he was, the more important question at hand was how he had survived after losing consciousness underwater. He himself believed it to be the end.

Samuel attempts to stand, only for a sharp pain to shoot from his abdomen straight to his back and force him back down. As he looked down to inspect his body for the first time, he finds a large patch of... seaweed?

He peels the green leaves away, a sticky residue spreading between the leaves and his skin until his eyes come upon a large gash down his side.

Someone had definitely been there. This patch didn't just magically appear on him. As he thought of the possibilities, he racked his mind for who it could have been.

Paxton? No, he most likely suffered the same fate he believed himself to have been in.

The crew? To his knowledge, they had all perished in the storm.

His father? Could he be dead and not know?

A small shift to the left and another sharp stabbing pain in his side confirmed he was very much alive.

A light appears bright in the water. Samuel's attention is drawn to the sudden intrusion into the cave's darkness. He focuses on the source, believing it to be the sun's reflection from an object in the water.

That is, until the light grew brighter and larger. It approached, and he could make out a blurred figure behind it.

His eyes dart around the cave, searching for anything he could use as a weapon. Slab, sand, water. His eyes finally land on a stone buried in the sand beside the slab. Samuel lunges down, enduring the burning in his limbs, and grasped the sharp stone, the jagged edges bruising into his palm.

As the light approaches the surface, Samuel finds his nerves getting the better of him, shifting back on the slab until his back is against the wall behind him. Gripping the stone tighter, he observed as the light surfaced from under the water. First the light - a torch, then a hand, then a head.

Before he could even take in the entire sight, Samuel panicked, shutting his eyes, and tossed the stone as hard as he could muster.

"Hey!" a voice called, "Watch it!"

Startled, Samuel's eyes bulged open, and he scanned the room for the other person. His eyes darted to the water first as that is where he had emerged, only to find is still, void of even the smallest ripples.