Hideout

Katya

The explosion ceased after what felt like two hours.

Then I was freezing, and may have died already, if not for Ferrara's arms and body heating me up, and his mouth blowing hot steam on my ear.

Well, being turned on kept my mind away from the harsh reality we were thrown into, but it could only do so much after being under the water for hours.

And having to lie low for an added period of time to ensure that our attackers were gone.

When we finally swarm out of the cold waters, I felt as though I had been frozen for years.

We coughed incessantly for minutes, releasing water and cold air which had been trapped in our organs.

The ship was in wreck, scattered in different parts of the sea, and my lips trembled as I gritted my teeth, trying to form a sentence.

I could only imagine how Ferrara felt when he had just lost a ship and couldn't account for the safety of his crew.

And he'd had to face all these without a shirt to keep the biting cold away.

I hugged myself to stay warm, even