Duty Calls

Chapter 12

D’Artagnan’s POV

I am still lying in the cell, in my own sticky blood. I am leaning against the wall of the ship. My eyes are half closed, but I struggle to stay awake. If I did drift into a deep sleep, I don’t know whether I would wake up again anytime soon and we still have to get out of here. Despite struggling I feel myself dozing off.

“Hey, D’Artagnan! Come on buddy, stay awake! You can’t give up!”

Athos is squeezing my right shoulder again and carefully trying to keep me awake. I know that I would be long gone without him. I force my eyes open again.

“Still here…” I mumble.

Then he turns to my left shoulder and examines it. It is still very painful, but bearable. But still I can’t keep myself from wincing as the touches it.

“We have some luck at last. Your injury has stopped bleeding and doesn’t seem to be infected, which is a little miracle considering we’re in some dirty cell.”

I laugh dryly. “It stopped bleeding? Well, I don’t believe that there’s much blood left in me…”

Athos is about to reply something, when we hear a loud, crashing sound and the whole ship shakes and tilts.

“What the hell?” I exclaim.

Pictures of the church crashing down on us and I realize: “The ship is being attacked!”

Suddenly, water starts pouring in from some hole.

“The ship is sinking, D’Artagnan, we HAVE to get out of here!”

Then another bullet of a cannon hits the ship and creates a hole in the wall. Water pours in rapidly. Athos is at my side immediately and helps me up. Well actually, we both have to hold out breaths now, since our part of the ship is under water now. Athos motions me to try and dive through the newly created hole in the wall. I understand and go ahead, noticing that it’s hard and exhausting to dive with only one arm to use properly.
However, I manage to dive out, but my lungs ate screaming for air. I just think ‘not again’. Then I fall into the familiar darkness of drowning.

Athos’ POV

D’Artagnan finally manages to dive out, but he’s had a hard task in doing so. Besides, I need to get some air in my lungs and I bet it’s even harder for him. I doubt that he’s been able to take a deep breath, since he’s been on the ground and struggling to get up, when the ship has been flooded.
I hurry after him. Finally, we’re out of the ship. Then I search for D’Artagnan. There he is, a few meters ahead, but he isn’t moving. Instead, he is slowly sinking to the ground. Damn, he must have fallen unconscious.

I start diving towards him as fast as I can. I have to save him. He can’t just die! Not now, not after he’s fought so hard. We have nearly made it and now it might all be over? I manage to reach him and grab his right arm once again. We have to get to the surface. We have to get some air. I struggle to bring us upwards and as we finally break through the water surface, I gasp for air immediately. Beside me, D’Artagnan is also coughing out water. We made it. Exhaustion is deep in our bones and I want nothing more than just stop struggling to stay at the surface, but I know that I won’t. I’m a fighter. Then I hear my friend’s trembling voice.

“Athos… the whole ship… it’s gone!”

I turn around to see what he means and my young friend is right. There are only some pieces of wood left. The ship sank. But I don’t get why D’Artagnan seems to be this upset about it, I mean we made it out…

“I know, but let’s just get out of here before we think of anything else.”

With that I swim in a random direction, where I suppose the coast might be. Actually I can’t see it due to the high waves that also often press me under water.

D’Artagnan’s POV

Suddenly there is air in my lungs again and I start coughing out water. Then I’m hit by what has happened. The sinking ship. Diving out. Darkness… the ship! I quickly try to find it, but it’s gone. There are only some pieces of wood. I try to see if anybody made it out of it, but I can’t see anyone.

“Athos… the whole ship… it’s gone!”

My friend just tells me that we gotta get out of here. I don’t think he actually got what it means that the ship is destroyed. I follow him, swimming in some direction. My strength is not just fading, but nearly gone. But I have to get through this. I have to succeed for my King. I have to bring peace to my country. And I simply can’t die because I can’t do this to Constance!
I feel relieved beyond imagination when land finally comes in sight. I know that I wouldn’t have been able to swim on for any longer. The salty water burns terribly in the wound in my shoulder and I try to only use my right arm in order to protect the injured left shoulder. But I have quite a difficult job in doing so due to the waves. Suddenly my heart sinks and my hope fades: we have reached the land, but there are only cliffs, no beach and with that no way to get out of the ocean.