I Feel Like I'm Drowning

The night was approaching, cold and silent. The horizon was a dark expanse interrupted by distant, faint lights that reflected on the water. Muràn wasn't visible yet, but its presence was already felt.

Beatrice was sitting next to me, her gaze lost out of the window. She didn't speak, but she seemed to be enduring the pain.

Punch, on the other hand, seemed impatient. His eyes sparkled in the darkness and he hadn't stopped talking throughout the journey.

«How much longer?» Beatrice asked, her voice devoid of emotion.

I checked the navigator on the central panel. «An hour.»

«Have you thought about how we'll proceed?» she asks impassively.

«Yes. We'll pass under a residential section, they should be less guarded, at least according to Punch's report. But we don't know what we'll really find.»

Punch nods vigorously. «Yes, yes! Muràn's defenses are known to be impenetrable. If anything goes wrong, we won't have any escape routes.»

«I know.» I reply, trying to keep calm. «But if Zanni is the key to fighting the Republic, we have to free him.»

Beatrice turned to me, looking slightly worried. «What if they're ready for our intrusion?»

The possibility crossed my mind several times. «... Then we'll do what we can to survive. As Dango would have wanted.»

Her lips curled slightly. «Dango... Did he really believe we could change anything?»

I didn't answer immediately. After all, I wasn't sure myself. «He believed in us. And that's all that matters.»

Muràn rose above the water like a black, steel monster lit by neon lights. The skyscrapers sparkled like blades under the moonlight, and the noise of the city was a distant hum. Three giant industrial platforms and four smaller inhabited ones extended over the sea. Searchlights scanned the darkness around them.

«There it is.» I muttered, feeling the weight of its presence crushing my chest.

Punch leans forward, staring at the skyline. «Magnificent, isn't it? Even if what it hides isn't.»

Beatrice said nothing, her gaze fixed on the city. Her hand trembled slightly, but she held it with the other.

«Let's get ready.» I said, turning off all the lights in the 0 Liwan. «From now on, every mistake could be fatal.»

The 0 Liwan slipped into the water with a slight jolt when I activated the submersible mode. The interior lights dimmed, and darkness enveloped us. The only sounds were the water rushing over us and the radar on the central panel.

Beatrice kept her gaze fixed ahead, her hands clenched on the seat. Punch was unusually silent.

Suddenly, the radar picked up something, it approached quickly, I swerved, we felt a jolt.

«What was that?!» Beatrice asked, clutching the seat more tightly.

«I can't see anything, just two lights!» Punch exclaimed, worried.

«It looks small on the radar. It must be a drone.»

But my reassuring tone didn't seem to convince them as the drone accelerated. I braked sharply, the drone hit the 0 Liwan, the explosion made us spin, I brought the vehicle back on course.

«We did it.»

Beatrice, buried in the seat, looked at me with wide eyes. «Don't do those Dangos' manoeuvres again.»

«I can't promise you that.» I replied with a playful tone.

Punch leaned forward, pointing straight ahead. «Look!»

In the distance, a pair of lights approached.

«Don't worry, we can handle this too.»

But the radar started picking up a multitude of approaching objects, other lights turned on, dotting the lagoon like the night sky.

Punch started panicking, patting me on the shoulder. «Drive! Drive! Drive! Drive! Drive!»

Making a quick U-turn, we sped away, a whole swarm chasing us, firing harpoons at us in rapid succession, I tried to avoid as many as possible, the explosions created shock waves, the vehicle kept shaking, I tried to keep the steering as straight as possible, Punch and Beatrice held on to whatever they could, the drones were gaining ground, more and more harpoons hit us, the 0 Liwan started to take on damage...

Suddenly, the attacks stopped.

«Did they give up?» Punch asked, raising his gaze slightly towards me.

I didn't have time to answer when a violent shock threw us off balance, followed by another and another, «Watch out!» Beatrice exclaimed, looking at a drone approaching quickly, I tried to start, «The vehicle won't respond!» they both looked at me panicked, «How?!», the drone crashed into the side, the 0 Liwan was out of control, the windows on Beatrice's side cracked, water was coming in, they tried to plug the holes with whatever they could find in vain. I tried to fix the damage from the central panel, time was running out, the swarm was about to fall on us, if the 0 Liwan didn't move, we would die and Dango's sacrifice would have been in vain!

Beatrice took my hand and looked at me with a sad smile. I squeezed her hand. Even if we were about to die, I was happy to be with her. There was nowhere else I'd rather be...

Could it be... Love?

...

The entire swarm launched itself at us in a kamikaze attack...