Thomas and Russell had been tying down the sails up on the mast when the weather had taken a turn for the worse. The wind howled around them, and the rain stung their eyes as they fought with the ropes and rustling fabric. It had been agreed earlier that they would tie down everything they could, and would then return down below to ride the storm out. It was much worse than Thomas had predicted, and he feared that the ship would take a heavy beating. Russell had come up to help him with the lines, but the two of them struggled to hold onto the mast. The ship rocked violently as the waters began to churn around them.

"Shit! I didn't think it would be this bad!" Russell shouted over at him. The only way that either of them could hear one another was by shouting, as the wind and the thunder combined proved to be quite loud.

"I didn't either!"

"Is this a hurricane?"

"Don't know, might be. The wind's picked up quite a bit so I wouldn't doubt it. The last storm we hit wasn't quite this bad, but it was enough to damage the lines, so be sure to secure them! And make sure you hold on, the wind alone will send you flying!"

"Let's hurry up at get these lines down so we can get back inside then!"

Thomas grunted as he yanked at one of the lines to secure it. "Working on it!"

"How many more do we have left?"

"Probably about three or four more."

Russell laughed. "Piece of cake!"

Thomas shielded his eyes from the stinging rain. "Where are the girls?"

"As far as I know, they were trying to tie down some of the cargo."

"You mean they're still down on the deck?"

Russell shrugged, squinting as he looked down below. "I suppose, I can't really see them from up here! It's raining too hard for me to see them, but I'm sure they've probably finished by now and have gone down below."

Thomas was reaching for one of the sails when Russell suddenly shouted a warning to him, and Thomas held onto the mast tightly as a large wave threw the ship to the side. Thomas's entire body lashed to one side as he held onto the mast. He looked up to see Russell had done the same, grabbing at one of the lines to secure himself. Thunder cracked violently in the air over them, its sound threatening and angry. This storm was definitely going to be a bad one, and Thomas merely hoped that it wouldn't last too terribly long. The crew wouldn't be able to handle the violent waves if it lasted more than a few days. Much less the ship. He wasn't sure how long the ship would hold out in such horrendous weather conditions.

Russell glanced over at Thomas shook his head. "Screw this, there's only two left anyway. I'll buy Captain some brand new damned sails next time we hit port, we need to get out of here."

Thomas nodded. "I agree!"

As the two grabbed onto the mast to begin their descent, another wave crashed into the ship, sending it violently to one side once again. Thomas grabbed the mast with both hands, and held on, squeezing his eyes shut as he concentrated on keeping his hands firmly wrapped around the mast. The rain tried to pry his hands away, but he managed to hold on long enough to balance himself. He heard an answering wave of water as it crashed onto the deck below roughly.

A scream rang out from the deck, and it reverberated in Thomas's ears as panic hit him. Both he and Russell looked at one another, quickly exchanging worried looks and looked down at the deck. Thomas watched as the water crashed into both Fuzzy and Bella, who had apparently still been on deck, dragging Fuzzy away towards the edge of the ship. Bella had managed to grab a hold of her, and slammed into the side of the ship from the force of it. Water swirled around them as Bella held onto Fuzzy for dear life, trying desperately to pull her back on board. Thomas began to scramble down the mast, alongside Russell, as they rushed as quickly as they could to the girls. The ship rocked violently underneath them, causing them to take more time than they usually would in climbing down to the deck.

Then Russell shouted at the girls as another wave came crashing down to the ship. Thomas called out to Bella, watching helplessly as the water slammed into her. Thomas felt his heart just about stop when he saw that she was no longer on the ship. Continuing to call out her name, he jumped down the rest of the way to the deck, stumbling on the slippery deck surface as he ran over to the edge of the ship. He hoped, as he stumbled about, that they had somehow managed to hold onto the ship, and were just waiting for them to grab them and hoist them back over onto the ship. He threw his body into the side of the ship and looked over the side, but didn't see either of the girls. Russell ran up next to him, both scanning the water frantically.

Only hours ago he'd been telling Bella that he would protect her no matter what, and that he would always been there for her when she needed him. But he hadn't been there for her when she needed him just then. The moment when her life literally depended on him, and he couldn't get to her in time. His stomach bubbled dangerously in his belly as he and Russell both frantically called out both of their names, searching the dark ocean waters. Thomas looked out slightly in the distance and saw a small head bobbing up and down in the waves, and without thinking, he threw himself into the stormy waters below.