Her panic slowed her mind to a crawl, even as she felt the rush of water all around her. Her legs—what had been her legs—ached with the constant, rapid motion, but she dared not stop. She was only just keeping her grip on Vand’s fingers. Around them swam the others; together they cut a path through the sea, easing their own passage as though they were birds in flight.

We must reach them in time! We must! But what would they do when they arrived? They were no match for metal and fire. We can at least try. Perhaps the sailors would see the threat approaching this time and take evasive measures. They might change course, or even abandon the ship altogether. Could she and Vand’s folk cause some sort of distraction to draw the enemy away?

“Nearly there!” Vand called over his shoulder to her.

And then the water ahead of them flashed a bright, unnatural orange. It blossomed out in a wide circle, over their heads but still beneath the surface. The sound came next, a dull boom that throbbed through the water. Sarah let go of Vand’s hand and stopped, staring in horror as a second torpedo made contact with the underside of the ship’s hull.

Memories invaded her mind again… the sky full of smoke, cries of men and women dying, fear and terror everywhere…

“Sarah!” Vand had come back to her. He held her close for a moment, then tipped her face up to his. “If we hurry, we may be able to save them. But we need your help.”

She didn’t respond. She couldn’t. How could she have thought she would be able to stop any of this from happening? Vand was wrong… I pretend to be brave, to dive into danger… but really, I am afraid… afraid...

He was kissing her again, firm and resolute and full of emotion. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. Not thinking, not even remembering… Everything in the water is dangerous. Everything on land is dangerous too. You can either fear it… or fight it.

Sarah pulled away and looked Vand in the eyes. Neither of them spoke, but Vand nodded. He understood. Together they turned and swam toward the burning wreckage of the ship above.

The sky was dark overhead as Sarah broke the surface of the sea. Against its heavy clouds, the smoke and fire of the burning cargo ship were a distress beacon. Sarah looked about, trying to see what had become of the sailors. A splashing movement caught her eye. There! She and Vand dove in different directions, each heading for a separate sailor.

The one Sarah had seen could hardly have been more than nineteen years old. He was bobbing on his back, trying to move with a single arm; the other hung immobile in the water. His eyes were closed, but his face was scrunched up in pain and terror.

Arms under his, kick backward and drag him to land. She looked around and spotted the shore. It was ages away, and she wasn’t as fast as Vand or the others. Gritting her teeth, Sarah wrapped her arms under the sailor’s and held him around his chest. Leaning back in the water, she began to kick her fin up and down. The added weight slowed her further, but at least she wasn’t pulling the lad’s head underwater.

The rhythm of the movement overtook her, kick, glide, kick glide… “You will be alright,” she said in his ear. He seemed to have gone unconscious; some of the tension was gone from his body.

Another kick… but something was wrong. Her kick was losing power, and instead of a single, strong kick, now she was making two weak ones… No! Not now! She was turning back into her normal self again. She looked over her shoulder, trying to gauge how far away they were from the shore. Just a little more…