[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

He frowned as a dark shape passed underneath him, and despite immediately turning his torch on, he could not find it in the murk below. It had been a large shape, not quite as big as the Whallos they had seen earlier, but certainly big enough to do damage to him if it wanted to.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

He shivered, and turned as the dark shape loomed again, plunging below the boat and sending a ripple through the water that pushed Iilanthys over, causing him to let out a stream of bubbles in alarm. Whatever it was, it was churning the water so the murk and sand below would rise and disorient the divers.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

A sudden cold thought that he was being treated like prey gripped Iilanthys, and although he couldn't see the other divers any more he knew they were in danger. He began to swim up to where the light still filtered down through the surface, intending to haul on the guidelines once he was out of the water himself.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

He felt something long, hard and flexible wrap around his left leg, and for a moment he panicked, sure that he was going to be pulled down into the darkness. He felt the pressure increase and saw, with despair, the light getting further away from him as he desperately tried to swim towards the surface.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

All of a sudden, he felt another ripple as something moving very fast swam underneath him, and a sudden surge pushed him upwards, as whatever was holding his leg released him and let out a screech which echoed even underwater, and left his teeth and skull aching. Dizzy and disoriented, he swam for his life, straight up until his head breached the surface.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

He struggled as he felt his tank be grabbed from behind, lashing out as something tipped him so he was floating on his back, until he felt three hard taps on his shoulder. Recognising the signal for what it was, he took in a deep breath from his respirator and reached out, closing his eyes against the stinging tears as a fellow diver found his hand and squeezed it reassuringly.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Righting himself, he held his hand up in a 'thumbs-up' gesture to signal he was ok, and together they began swimming towards the boat. He could see other divers surfacing all around them, and as he climbed up the ladder he was pulled over the side by the crewmen that had stayed aboard.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

He collapsed to the deck and lay on his side, vision blurry with a combination of dizziness and relief. Whatever was going on below the water, he could feel it making the boat rock and for the first time in his life he thought he would be sea-sick. Shame coloured his cheeks, invisible to the crew thanks to the mask and respirator he still wore.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Strong hands lifted him into a sitting position, and he felt the side of the boat at his back as he leaned onto it, grateful for the support it provided. A startled yelp left his mouth as he felt a knife slice the wetsuit away from his left leg, causing him to shiver as the cold air hit his exposed skin.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

He hissed in pain as the cook poured neat alcohol onto the wounds that had been left by something with suckers, and pulled off his mask and respirator, tossing them aside as he turned to retch onto the deck. The pain made him more dizzy than he had been, and the look of worry on the cook's face scared him more than the wounds did.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

As the Captain came running over to the Cook's yell, Iilanthys saw blackness at the edge of his vision, and he grasped the cook's wrist in a shaking hand as he felt himself lose consciousness, falling to meet the deck as urgent hands grasped him and lifted him, carrying him to an unknown destination.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

When Iilanthys awoke, he didn't dare to open his eyes. A searing pain wrapped around his ankle and leg where the sucker marks had been, and he felt sick to his stomach at the though of what might lie beneath the covers he could feel on top of him. The boat rocked under him, and the slight shift caused him to moan in pain.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

The cook came into the room, led by Iilanthys' moaning, and he could already tell from the cook's pale face that it wasn't good news.

"It's gone, isn't it?" Iilanthys asked, sweat dripping from his brow and teeth clenched in pain. He squinted at the cook, and sighed with relief when he shook his head.

"Not yet, but just about - whatever got hold of you did damage, my friend." The cook's voice was choked, but all Iilanthys could feel was relief.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

"Not yet - ok, there's a chance I'll keep it then. Is there a medic on board?" He watched the cook avert his eyes, and opened his own wide, turning his head towards the younger male.

"What happened to the medic?" he croaked, mouth suddenly dry.

The cook swallowed, and sat down on the chair beside his bed, hands clasped.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

"We pulled you out, and your ankle was pretty much shredded" he began, and Iilanthys nodded; he could still feel the tentacle wrapped around his leg, the dread as he watched the surface getting further away.

"There were others in the water, you remember - divers like you." Again, Iilanthys nodded, remembering how he had seen them surfacing around him.