King of Stars Volume 1 (An interstellar ATEEZ Hongjoong fanfiction)

Part Twenty: In Which The Crew Learns Just How Savage the Seas Can Be

~Ten's POV~

I held on tightly to whatever I could get my hands on as the leviathan propelled us through the murky sea. The sudden acceleration nearly sent me to the floor which was now covered in ice cold water that swirled around my calves in dark currents. The alarm overhead drowned out the orders the Star King shouted at Mingi and the second was moving quickly between controls in an attempt to gain some kind of leverage.

Water continued to flood into the ship's cavity at an alarming rate as I looked around for something to stop the flow. Most everything was submerged beneath the black seawater so I ripped the hood off of my disguise and bunched it up before cramming it into the bullet hole.

Wooyoung was frantically trying to free himself to get up to help, his hands slipping over the buckle, but San was already treading water towards me. I tried to stay calm but before I realized it the surface had already reached to my knees.

Panic was a new emotion. It overrode my reason and filled my limbs so they felt heavy like lead. My heart was hammering painfully in my chest as my eyes darted around the hull struggling to formulate a plan.

All I knew is that if I didn't act within the next four minutes we were all going to drown.

San finally reached my side and grabbed my arm forcing me to look into his eyes. "Stay calm Ten we can figure this out, just breath—" I found myself shaking my head from side to side clamping my hands over my ears. The blaring of the alarm and the flashing lights were overwhelming and I couldn't keep my train of thought. The water was quickly climbing up to my hips and we were running out of time.

I looked out of the back of the hull as Fang and the guards gained on us. Their ship's lights were blinding in the dark of the ocean and I raised a hand to shield my eyes from it.

The Star King and Mingi struggled to get the panicked leviathan under control as it began weaving erratically. More projectiles whirled past us through the water, leaving streams of bubbles in their wake. The few that landed hit the beast's back with a boom and sent up clouds of bioluminescent blood. The inside of the ship lit up a glowing orange that made it difficult to see what direction we were headed. The leviathan let out a rumbling bellow in pain and lashed out at our pursuers. The guards narrowly missed being struck by it's massive fin but the shockwave sent them careening off course.

The Star King and I locked eyes from across the room. A silent understanding passed between us in that second as he took in my ever growing panicked expression. His eyes darted around the hull before settling on something. He shouted at me over the alarm frantically pointing to the latch above my head. My neck snapped up and I saw a red lever that read Emergency Flooding Valve.

"San, can you lift me up on your shoulders?" I asked. San looked up at the lever and nodded, dropping to his knees while I climbed onto him. He gripped the tops of my thighs to help keep me steady his hair now soaking with seawater. I could feel him shivering against me from the cold.

Mingi raised a clenched fist and smashed it against a metal panel. The cover came off after a few hits and he reached inside, withdrawing a fist full of wires to kill the alarm. Now instead of the siren filling my ears only the sounds of water roaring around us could be heard. Wooyoung managed to get half of his seatbelt off and cried out as the water lapped up over his chest. It was now up to my stomach and I gasped at how frigid it was against my skin.