A Devil with an Angel's Heart

Chapter 28, Part 1

||Kate

The Antichrist was steadily speeding up as she was caught in the current that brought her closer to the huge, deep black vortex. You barked out orders. Luckily your crew knew exactly what to do. "Gentlemen!", you barked loudly to ensure you'd be heard over the roaring water, "We're going under!" Instantly, the crew got moving. They hushed over the deck like mice. "Oh my god!", exclaimed the old man, "You're going to get us killed!" "And that from the man who crashes every plane he pilots." you retorted dryly. "Kate!", Avdol's voice sounded desperate. You looked him straight in the eye. "Do you trust me?" Avdol opened his mouth, his eyes fleeting to the vortex and back to you. "Avdol! Do. You. Trust me?", you implored. Finally, Avdol nodded. Something in your eyes must have convinced him. "Then hold on tight.", you declared, then fixed your eyes back on the vortex. It was always a mixture of feelings you felt when you saw it. Fear and anticipation but also excitement and a certain longing. Your heart sped up and your breath became short as you adjusted your footing and gripped the wheel tighter and yet, you couldn't stop a small close-lipped smile from forming. This would cost you a lot of strength. Your arms would thank you tomorrow. The weather had gone bad. Thunder and lightning filled the sky. The air still smelled like death. It would get better soon. You could see the black water and grey sky whizz by in the corner of your eye, feel the sprinkles of sea water on your face and taste the salty air in your mouth. And then the time had come. The ship tilted and was caught inside the vortex. Circle by circle it was pulled deeper into the black depth of the sea. The sky became one single, consistently shrinking circle above. "Oh my God! We're gonna die!", screamed the old man as he clung to the railing. You ignored it, focusing on keeping the ship in line, not letting it fall straight into the depths.

||Avdol

"Avdol! Do. You. Trust me?", Kates insistent question snapped him out of his thoughts and once again he was met with her deep, green eyes that bored into him. Avdol saw the huge, black vortex before his inner eyes, then swallowed. "I hope you know what you're doing Kate.", he thought, then nodded. Upon Kate's insistence he held onto the next best thing and Iggy. The dog sensed the imminent danger and had, like everyone else, no way of escaping. Avdol looked at Kate, as they almost reached the vortex and the ship sped up considerably. He watched as Kate adjusted her footing, tightened her grip and fixed her eyes on the impending vortex. She looked tense, yet calm and collected and sort of ....excited? This girl sure loved danger...She must have had nerves of steel....His heartbeat quickened, threated to jump out of his chest and his breath stopped as he saw how immense this vortex actually was. A huge spiral that mercilessly pulled down everything it could reach and left absolutely nothing in its wake. And then, the time had come. The ship tilted to the side, leaving Avdol staring right down into the horrifying black depths that sent a shiver down his spine. The Antichrist leapt forward, caught up in the current. She spiralled down, circle after circle and Avdol chose to look up, up at the sky. But that wasn't much better. The sky had become a grey, consistently shrinking circle, surrounded by wet, silt darkness. And the Egyptian was sure to see a few sea monsters dart through the water around them... undead sea monsters. Avdol made the mistake and took a closer look once one of the shadows appeared near him. It was a half-rotten shark and the man tightly closed his eyes. Kate could have mentioned that the monsters she'd been talking about were also in the possession of death! How could she have not told them that the monsters were undead?! He held on for dear life, his brain had long shut out all the noise. Avdol's eyes veered to Kate. She stood proudly at the helm and didn't flinch while she braced the stormy weather and rough sea. Not even when one of these half-rotten sharks (it was huge) fell out of the vortex and right onto deck, the crew fighting to throw it back into water without being eaten first. Avdol closed his eyes again, his blood rushed through his ears. He heard Kate yell something before everything went quiet.