Corvus (Stars and Sails, Book 1)

Forty-three (Part 3 of 3)

Wood shavings and planks flew across the gundeck. Wood splintered and water rushed in, flooding up to Aiden's knees. Officers pushed past him, circling around the carronades. Three more blasts. Aiden ducked close to the floor, and the hull cracked, sending a spray of wood shavings across his body and into his skin. He clenched his teeth, swallowing a cry of pain.

Officers shouted, some impaled by the hull, others trapped under heavy beams. Sweat and water trickled down Aiden's back. He slipped his naval coat off. Underneath it, he was still wearing the grey one that Harris had given him. He slipped, down, where the fore was already beginning to flood with water.

He had to get back to Amelia Rose. There were thick chains in the floor of the gundeck. Aiden tugged at the cool metal in an attempt to pull himself aft. Water rushed into the gunports, in violent whirlpools now. The cannons were deafening, especially with the ships at such close range. Even in a moment of silence, his ears created their own constant ringing that could not be stopped. He grimaced, finding the ladder. He pulled himself up, his arms straining from hanging back at a steep angle.

"Aiden! Aiden!" Amelia Rose looked down into the deckhouse, and saw him climbing the ladder. Her naval coat was off as well. She was wearing her green coat again and those horrible naval issue pants that were four sizes too big for her. She reached out for Aiden. "There you are! Come on!"

Aiden pulled himself up another rung, his hands in reach of Amelia Rose. There was more shouting below and a great roaring. He looked below him as the water swelled, filling the vessel and dragging the officers under. The sides of the hull shattered from another round of gunfire. The vessel tilted forward.

"Aiden!" Amelia Rose screamed, her eyes huge, she reached out further. Aiden grabbed out for her hand as the vessel roared and wood split all around them. Amelia Rose tugged on him. He scrambled up out of the deckhouse, just as the ladder broke away from under his feet. He landed next to Amelia Rose at the stern before the vessel split amidships. Above them, the mainmast faltered back and forth.

"Watch it!" Aiden grabbed Amelia Rose and spun her back over to the other side of him. He sheltered her with himself. The main mast split, it's dry core fracturing. Aiden braced himself, his heart jumping as the mast crashed into the other, ripping down a yard or two before collapsing onto the deck. There was a sharp sting against Aiden's back. He rolled off of Amelia Rose, looking up. One of the lines had hit him. That was going to leave a red mark. He sat up. The stern was tilted at a steep angle and filling up even faster than the bow had. In the water, bubbles rose to the surface as the fore end sank underneath the surface. Farther out, some of the officers had already abandoned the vessel and were swimming to shore.

"Aiden, I don't think—"

"Come on, they have to have a lifeboat somewhere." Aiden tried to get up, but she grabbed his wrist and pulled him back down. She had a cut on her forehead.

She put her hands on his cheeks. "I don't think we're gonna make it. I don't think—"

He pulled her hands off his face and held them. "That night I walked you back home—"

"Aiden," she shook her head. "They took all the lifeboats."

"You said you wanted to be my friend and I couldn't understand it. But here we are. And it's all turned out the wrong way, but I'm not..." He paused, tugged on her hand, pulling her back across the ship. "I'm not letting go. I ain't got myself another friend like you."

"Haworth," she reminded him.

"Not like you," he shook his head and held her hand tighter. "Now hold your breath," he said. Before she could react, he pulled her off the edge of the vessel. She screamed and Aiden squeezed her hand. They broke the cool surface of the water and fell through until Aiden was dying for breath, and the light of the surface seemed like it was miles away.