Dark Water

Chapter Fifteen

They descend into the darkness, diving towards the caves as fast as possible.

The automatic torches built into their helmets engage and illuminate the way as they venture into the mouth of the largest cave.

He spots the boy easily, sensing the more practiced and careful movements among the less tactful ones of the angels and demons.

They don't even see him as he peers down at them from the large crevasse above the entrance, they're too busy staring forward and swimming in a formation that would make it oh so easy to pick them off one by one.

Unfortunately he must suppress such an urge. He wouldn't be so stupid as to risk his life in such a way.

The knowledge that he could is enough, for the moment at least.

They've fully entered the cave by the time he zones back into reality and has the chance to emerge from his hiding spot and begin stalking them as they enter his territory.

He sees Flynn turn around ever so slightly, spots an eye widen as he glimpses movement in his peripheral vision but Flynn says nothing. He keeps on swimming and doesn't show any fear at all.

He ducks into another crevasse and waits.

The male angel at the front of the group makes a mistake.

He hasn't tucked his wings in enough and the delicate feathers dip slightly into a gap and the large predatory fish hiding within takes a bite, latching onto the wing.

The angel screams into the helmet and begins to lash out and panic, his team begin to desperately swat at the fish and try to pull its jaws open.

He emerges from his hiding spot, ignores the flash of silver blood that invades his sensors and sends a wave of primitive hunger through his bones.

A sudden tingling sensation races across his skin and he dives down just as a small bolt zips past.

He twists around to find the female angel staring at him, clutching a blessed crossbow.

The rest of her team have turned around and float there, staring at him in a way that sends a ripple of anger through his chest.

He holds up a hand, waving slightly and flashing his teeth and then kicks off as hard as he can in a dive that takes him out of the cave and down over the ledge towards the deepest section of water - the trench.

He senses them pursuing him, turns his head to observe and that's when he spots him, feels a sudden wave of shock roll down his body as he remembers something he would rather forget.

The pressure alarms in his pursuers suit go off and he's left alone in the dark water once more, the sound of his own pounding heart overwhelms his senses and he allows himself to sink further into the trench until he lands among the rocks.

He scrambles through the rocks and into a cave right at the bottom of the trench, surfacing in a deep water cavern that has a breathable air pocket.

"FUCKING ANGELS!"

He snarls and lashes out, clawing at the rocks and himself in a fit of anger which quickly dies down and forms an empty feeling in his chest.

He hauls himself onto the ledge, takes a shuddering breath and rolls onto his back with nothing urging him to move any further.

He lies like that for several hours, barely moving as he slowly recovers from the shock of seeing the angel leader swimming after him armed with what looked like a harpoon gun.

His stomach growls and suddenly he recalls that in order to survive he needs to eat and that he can't just lie there forever.

Crawling across the ledge to a small stockpile he picks away at some of the food he stole from the team originally, packaged meat and some sort of dried fruit. The sort of food he wishes he could enjoy more often.

He sits there silently until a horrible thought leaps into his mind.

"Flynn...shit."

The poor boy, a Hollow like he had been before his murder, is in danger as long as he remains in the company of angels.

He sits down in his usual spot, tucked between two rocks and curled as small as his huge form will allow.

Staring up at the dark rock above him, he begins to plan.