The two rode the waves together for a few moments looking for other survivors, but they could not see any. The rain continued to pour down on them, limiting their visibility, so they could not be sure whether or not any other sailors were struggling to survive.
“Take off your clothes,” Karl yelled, knowing that the heavy wool would drag them down eventually. Gwaynn nodded and did what he was told, though he was reluctant to give up the garments he had just so recently acquired. His head bobbed below the surface several times while he was trying to slip out of his pants, but soon enough he managed to shed himself of everything and once again he was completely naked. Karl had drifted a few yards away and Gwaynn could tell that he was still struggling with his clothes. Gwaynn swam toward his friend, but the sea was teasing them, keeping them apart; playing with them as a boy might play with ants. Gwaynn eventually came close enough for Karl to reach out and grab, but naked now, Gwaynn’s arm slipped from his grip, so he had to try once again. They finally got close enough to clutch at each other, both impeding the other’s ability to swim, but each happy to be close never the less.
Gwaynn fought to keep is head above water, amazed at the size of the waves that lifted them up and then let them down. On and on went the endless cycle of rising and falling. It was on the crest that Gwaynn spotted debris floating near the base of the wave and pointed it out silently to Karl. The big man nodded and smiled.
“Grab a hold,” Karl yelled and turned his back on Gwaynn, who put his arms around the man’s neck and held on tightly, but still used his legs to help keep them both above water. Karl waited until they crested once more, spotted the debris field again and immediately began to swim strongly in that direction. It took them nearly a half an hour to get close enough to actually see what was floating on the water. There were several oars and other bits of wood that would do them no good, but there was also a large section of planking and Karl slowly made his way closer until they reached it.
Karl, breathing hard from his exertions, half climbed onto the planking, which measured nearly six feet square, and immediately dropped his head down and closed his eyes. Gwaynn climbed from Karl’s back and scrambled onto the makeshift raft next to him. It felt good not to have to tread water for a bit, though both did have to fight to stay on the planking as the sea continued to try to dump them off every few minutes. Silently they rode the waves, up and down, up and down, and the rain continued and the lightning crashed until the afternoon turned to night.
They fought to survive together and the storm waned so slowly that neither noticed when it finally stopped nor sometime later when the seas finally grew calm once more. They both slept, though very fitfully, each amazed when the sun moved above the horizon announcing the fact that morning had come and they were still both alive.
Karl woke first, thirsty and looked about the calm seas. He held out the hope of spotting other survivors, but deep inside he knew he would find none, and he didn’t. He turned to check on Gwaynn and found the boy awake and looking across the sea.
“Se…” Karl tried to say and then swallowed. Gwaynn looked toward him. “See…see anyone?” He finally managed knowing the boy’s eyes were far better than his own.
Gwaynn shook his head, also very thirsty. He wished he had thought to drink more of the rain that was coming down so plentifully last night. He felt like crying, but didn’t, and in fact, he knew he never would again, not that he was going to survive very long out here. Even if they didn’t drowned they would surely die of thirst before they reached land, if they ever reached land.
“I have to survive,” Gwaynn said softly.
“You will lad,” Karl said, mistaking the boy’s statement for fear. “You will. Come,” he added checking the sun. “We need to start moving if we can..moving north. Hopefully we’ll stumble across the Islands.” Together they worked themselves around to the other side of the makeshift raft, and without a word began to swim.
They both kicked for nearly an hour before Gwaynn began to seriously tire. Karl grabbed him and hoisted him up higher on the planks.
“Rest a bit lad. We’ve all day to swim,” he said, a smile in his voice, though he did not have enough strength to put one on his face. Gwaynn said nothing, just closed his eyes and concentrated on the movement of the raft in the water. Karl continued to kick, but he could not be sure of his exact direction, and being low in the water as they were their line of sight was very limited. Swimming, however, gave him something to do other than thinking of their impending deaths. At the moment Karl had strength to spare.
Gwaynn sprawled on the raft for several hours before Karl noticed how red his back was becoming, and cursed softly to himself. After spending most of the previous afternoon naked in the sun tied to that damn scaffold, Karl had now let him lay exposed in and out of the water.
“Gwaynn, get back in the water,” Karl croaked. “You’re burning to a crisp, and starting to smell good.” The boy didn’t react, and Karl nudged him, and then again before Gwaynn groaned and looked about. He didn’t say anything, and showed no sign that he had even heard Karl, so the big man reached up, and as gently as he could, pulled the boy back into the water.
“You’re burning,” he explained, but Gwaynn remained quiet, and they both just held on and floated with the current for several more hours before suddenly Gwaynn began to kick again. Karl, who was half sleeping, woke and looked over at the boy, who was smiling at him.
“I’m sure this is the right way,” he said so softly Karl almost didn’t hear him though he was less than a foot away. Karl smiled at him and began to kick also, though both kicked very lazily and rested often before starting up once again. They found a rhythm and kept it up most of the afternoon before each stopped to rest again. Dehydration was now setting in for both of them, and thinking clearly was becoming difficult even when they had thoughts. For the most part, they just hung on, mostly out of habit and instinct, and floated. Night came without either noticing, but when Karl finally did he used nearly all of his strength to haul Gwaynn back up onto the planks. Karl pulled himself half out of the water, knowing that he was likely to tip the boy if he was to try and haul himself all the way on top. He was not even sure the raft would hold his full weight, so he continued to hang on, his legs dangling in the water, kicking off and on the entire night.
Morning found Karl neither refreshed, nor rested, and he did not bother to even pull the boy into the water when the sun drew higher in the sky. He just continued to float and kick. The morning passed just as the night had, but with Karl resting more and more, and Gwaynn draped face down on the wet planking. Karl was not even sure the boy was alive anymore, but did not have the strength or inclination to check. Long stretches of time passed without a coherent thought, neither was holding out any hope of surviving, but living on just the same. How long he had been in the water, Karl could not say and it was nearly an hour before sunset when he first noticed the call of birds. He could hear them plainly and vaguely realized that he had been hearing the sounds for quite a while. He raised his head and looked about. The gulls circled over his head and flew up and down just above the wave tops.