The Ring Of Fire || L.S ✔

14. The Heart of the ocean

She raised up to firmly seize,
countless souls who died at sea.
She took them down to the ocean bed.
To the deafening silence of the halls of dead.
To eternally live in darkness and peace.

TW: Blood, violence and Gore

23 December, 2022

Off the coast of Papua New Guinea

Solomon Sea, South Pacific

2:00 am

Dazed.

That was Harry's new state of being.

It was as if his body had gone into automatic mode from the moment they stepped out of the broom cupboards.

Shapes and sounds floating out of focus. His world shrunk down to a peanut. It was just following Louis cues, holding onto Anastasia and not getting shot. The last one was actually not under his control, but the words kept repeating like a fractured tape inside his skull.

He supposed he was in shock. Louis' honesty had punched the reality out of him. It all felt strange and disconnected, as if he was running through a hellish dream as bullets flew past him, but not touching him. His hands and feet moved on their own accord. Harry was not at the controls.

The gunshots were deafening. Armed men were running towards them and Louis was firing. Shot after shot finding its mark as men dropped like flies. The carpet becoming darker at spots. With what Harry didn't even want to guess. Nothing was making sense. The Louis before him was not the Louis he knew. This world, it was not his.

They were running again. Corridor after corridor. Passing dark shapes on the floor. Unmoving shapes. And the air, it stank. The familiar floral replaced by a metallic odor. Harry swallowed hard and crushed Anastasia to his chest, grounding himself. She too was holding onto him fiercely, a strangling grip. She was here. And for her, he needed to keep it together and fall apart. He needed to survive.

They were now outside. The fresh open breeze placed a soothing kiss to his sweat covered skin. His curls danced in front of his eyes as he stumbled after Louis towards the rear deck. He felt numb, yet his heart was racing like a wild horse. Pure adrenaline flowing in his veins.

Louis stopped in front of one of the life rafts. "Quick, unlock the harness. I'll provide cover!"

Harry placed Anastasia down and got to work with the ropes. His fingers were shaking like mad, but his mind was in overdrive. He deftly started working on the first rope, tuning out the curses Louis was throwing as he fired into the darkness.

But he did not miss the way Louis was shielding him completely with his body. Protecting him. Just like he was protecting Anastasia who was glued to his legs, face hidden in his waist. Under normal circumstances, Harry would have been scared out of his mind about the psychological impact all this would have on the girl. But right then, survival took a precedence. Everything else was secondary.

"There are too many!" Louis said with desperation and Harry looked up. And he could see the fear. But he could also see the love. "It's useless."

Harry didn't know what to do. He way out of his depth. They were rapidly getting surrounded. Outnumbered and out matched. Shadows moved in the darkness where even the moonlight didn't dare to penetrate.

With a shuddering breath, he carded his fingers through Anna's hair and picked her up again. The girl curling up into a tight ball in his arms as he pressed kisses to her temple. "It's going to be okay love." He lied.