Chapter 3

Leon was terrified. He'd found Morgana floating unconscious in the water nearby to the men's toilets. With nothing better to do, he was holding onto her desperately, gasping for breath himself and willing his wife to breathe too. The bathroom was not yet flooded completely which was a relief but Leon knew the ferry was sinking. The longer he stayed in there, the harder it would be to get out to actual safety.

Soon enough, the hole which all the passengers had been using to get out the ferry would be submerged too. Leon had to get there with Morgana before that happened. If there was water coming through that hole, it would be physically impossible to get through it.

It was the most difficult situation he'd ever been in. There was the strongest chance that he could die. He'd seen hundreds of other injured, dying, terrified people in the past hour. How many of those weren't going to survive? It was now his responsibility to get Morgana out. He couldn't stop to help anyone else, as much as he wanted to. Because it was impossible to save everyone and the more he tried, the harder it would be when he failed.

"Come on then, Morgs," he took a deep breath, "Time to get out."

Arthur had just managed to wrap his arms around Gwaine as securely as possible when he heard someone shouting his name. At first, he looked to Percival, but he was staring at something else. Arthur heard his name shouted again and frowned. The voice was muffled, terrified and broken, impossible to recognise. Arthur swam with Gwaine over to Percival, spitting out seawater every two seconds and repetitively being dunked under with the dozens of other people unfortunate enough to be in the water.

"Take him," Arthur finally managed to splutter to Percival, "Someone else is shouting."

"Arthur," Percival nodded his head across the water while taking Gwaine, looking him over properly.

Arthur followed Percival's gaze and immediately threw himself back in the water. "Get Gwaine up to Gwen!" he shouted to Percival and then, "I'm coming, Merlin!"

He dove underneath the water where it was slightly calmer and easier to swim, making his way to where Merlin was desperately struggling to keep himself from downing. He was holding onto some sort of piece of broken ship which was keeping him afloat. Arthur fought his way towards him frantically, pushing the water away from him as if it wasn't going to be immediately replaced.

"Arthur!" Merlin was bobbing up and down uncontrollably in amongst hundreds of bits of rubble which were scratching and bruising him.

"It's alright!" Arthur gurgled, ignoring the wave which splashed him right in the face and knocked him most of the way back to the ferry, "I'm coming, Merlin! I promise!"

He dove back under the water and made his way as best he could towards Merlin. But he was making no progress and resurfaced for air in the same place he'd gone down.

"Go back, Arthur!" Merlin's voice barely carried despite him yelling, "You'll drown!"

"I won't leave you!"

"I have something to hold onto! You don't! Don't make me watch you get hurt!"

"Merlin!" Arthur yelled as a particularly strong wave pushed him straight into the side of the ferry.

"It's fine!"

Arthur couldn't hear Merlin anymore. He was being pulled further and further away from the boat. Away from Arthur.

"Hey!"

Arthur looked up to see a man, strapped onto a rope which was coming from a helicopter. There was barely anyone left on the boat. In the time Arthur had been trying to get to Merlin, most other people had been either loaded into helicopters or guided onto lifeboats which had seemingly come from nowhere.

"Can you make your way up to me?"

"Merlin," was all Arthur said.

"Can you hear me? Are you hurt?"

"I don't know," Arthur was mildly aware of pain throughout his body but was too numb from cold and fear to be able to figure out where.

"Can you climb up?"

"I don't want to leave him!"

"Is that your friend?" the rescuer shouted down whilst looking at Merlin in the distance.

"My husband."

"Ok. Look, don't worry. You can see all the lifeboats, can't you? They'll pick him up."

"There's too much debris. The boats can't get through that."

"They've got a better chance than you, alright? Make your way up here so I can get you to safety too."

"The boats can't get to him!"

"He can swim towards them. If the waters are calm enough for boats, they're calm enough for swimming."

"No, he's an amputee. He can't make that."

"He looks strong enough to me. Have more faith in him."

"He's always said that too."

"Right, well maybe listen to him. Trust him and trust my colleagues. And let me help you."

Arthur nodded. He forced his eyes away from where he'd last seen Merlin. The waves, the sinking ferry and the debris had seemingly teamed up to force Merlin out of Arthur's sight. So he reluctantly forced himself to clamber up towards the man from the rescue team.

"Good job. Pop this on for me?" he handed Arthur a helmet, identical to the one he was wearing. "And I'll help you get into this." He held up a harness which was attached to his own.

"Ok. We are good to go. Hold on tight and soon enough you'll be having the ride of your life."

Morgana had been taken off Leon pretty much the second he'd hauled them both out into the open. There were people from the emergency services everywhere, whisking people away on boats and helicopters. It looked like some sort of intense scene from a movie. Those who were injured or vulnerable were being rescued first. Those in the water were being picked up by lifeboat. An unnerving amount of people had found themselves in the sea drowning and struggling.

Leon couldn't see any of his friends. He knew Elyan was injured so presumably had been taken somewhere safely as a priority. So at least Leon could be sure two of his loved ones were safe. That was something.

The next hour was even more chaotic than the previous. Part of that was because no one felt like they were with anyone else. Arthur was alone with no idea what was happening to anyone else. Merlin was alone with no idea what was happening to anyone else. Leon, Morgana and Lancelot were all alone with no idea what was happening to anyone else. Gwen and Elyan had managed to stay together while they were flown to the nearest hospital. But they'd heard rumours that there were rescue teams from both England and Ireland at the scene helping. Apparently the victims of the accidents were now split between at least five different hospitals in two different countries. Probably more. It had been a huge accident to take control of and, devastatingly, over two dozen people had died.

Percival and Gwaine knew that they were in the same hospital. But Gwaine, being a lot more seriously injured than Percival who had only suffered a few bumps, cuts and bruises, had been taken elsewhere in the building. Percival was still trying to find him but the entire department was in complete chaos. People being signed in, signed out, redirected. It was hard enough for the staff to keep track of everyone. For Percival, technically a patient, to go around looking for Gwaine, another patient? He had no chance.

Getting word from anyone else was impossible. None of them had phones any more that weren't completely soaked through with seawater. It felt so wrong to not only be separated but not even know where anyone else was. Their morals told them not to stop anyone to ask if there was a way to find out. The paramedics and hospital staff were run off their feet. There's wouldn't be the only family split up in the accident. There would be mothers looking for their kids. Young children terrified because they didn't know where their parents were. Surely that should they should take priority over a group of healthy adults.

They were lucky that not all of them had been too seriously injured and even luckier that no one had died. Morgana, Lancelot, Gwaine and Merlin were probably the worst off, closely followed by Arthur, Elyan and Percival. Gwen and Leon had definitely got off lightly. They'd been wrapped up in blankets, given a hot drink and sent on their way quickly. Gwen had gone straight to Elyan who was having his leg cleaned and stitched.

"Have you heard from anyone?" he asked.

Gwen shook her head.

"Not even Lancelot?"

"There's no way of contacting me, Elyan. We're all stuck in different places without phones."

"The hospitals can contact each other though, can't they?"

Gwen nodded, "But there are people more seriously injured than us. Their families will need contacting first. The hospitals are too busy right now."

"Do you think it's true that there are five different hospitals involved?"

"I wouldn't be surprised. There were hundreds of people on that ferry that will all need medical attention. They can't all go to the same place."

"I suppose. I just hope everyone's alright."

"If something awful had happened, we would have been contacted," Gwen reassured.

"Only if we were the next of kin," Elyan said, "Which neither of us are for anyone except each other and Lance. So anyone else could have died and we wouldn't-"

"Elyan! Stop that. We just need to be patient. Once things have calmed down here, we can ask one of the doctors if they know anything. For now, we focus on ourselves. How's your leg?"

"The cut was really deep," Elyan said, "They recommend I keep walking to a minimal for a few days and I've got some antibiotics because of the bacteria in the seawater. But I'll be fine. Were you hurt?"

"I'm fine."

"Good. That was terrifying, wasn't it?"

"I've not been so scared since the fire at Camelot."

"It was worse," Elyan said, "Lasted longer, more people were involved. With Camelot, the explosion happened and it was over. We weren't in there. But the ship sinking, with everyone still there and no way of knowing help was coming. And we weren't together."

"We still aren't. So many people died, Elyan. How do we know our friends weren't amongst them?"

"Because we have to have faith in them. That's what we do. Support, help and believe in each other. We supported each other in a terrifying incident. We helped each other out of dangerous situations. So now, all that's left is to believe that we'll be alright."

Gwen nodded. "Alright."

"Look, I'm sorry but I've told you. All the boats returned to Ireland because it was closer. Your husband isn't in this country, let alone this hospital."

"Can you get in contact with them?"

"Their life guard service weren't connected to our emergency rescue service. We can't find out where he was taken, I'm sorry."

"But surely some of your helicopters went to Ireland too."

"You're right but that has no relevance. We cannot find out where he is."

Arthur sighed and lay back onto his hospital bed. He'd been asking for any possible news of Merlin since he'd arrived there nearly five hours ago. As it turned out, he'd actually managed to break two ribs and swallow about three pints worth of sea water in his attempts both to get out the ferry and then help his friends who were stranded in the sea. A stray bit of sharp debris had also severed off most of his ear lobe which, had he not been so distracted with his concern over everyone else, Arthur definitely would have been devastated about.

But, as it was, he didn't feel any pain from his ear, arm or anywhere else. And not because of any painkillers. No matter what accident any of their friends- usually Arthur or Merlin- suffered, they dealt with it as a group. Always. This time, they were alone, or in pairs at most. Not the usual supportive atmosphere they were used to. Each and every person had something unique to give that helped the rest. Gwen's pure innocence and kindness. Morgana's harsh but genuine way of telling the truth. Merlin's constant optimism. Arthur's deep understanding of everyone. Lancelot's friendliness and approachability. Elyan's ability to understand every situation in a way that put it into a better perspective. Percival's listening skills and the way he made sure he understood someone's thoughts properly before giving his advice. Gwaine's life experiences and comfort in anyone's company. And Leon's open-mindedness alongside his deep loyalty. Alone, each was useless. But merged together, they had an unstoppable way of comforting and encouraging anyone.

How they were going to be alright before they were reunited, no one knew. But, without even speaking to each other, they all knew that, as soon as they were cleared medically, the first thing they'd do is find everyone else. Then, probably contact everyone back at home. They had children, parents and friends who would all be worried. But none of them had been involved in the accident and they were definitely safe. So they weren't the priority.

"Do you know when I'll be able to leave?" Arthur asked the doctor he'd been speaking to.

"You'll need another x-ray to make sure everything's in place with your arm. Then someone will dress your ear and you'll be good to go."

"How long will that take?"

"It could be another few hours. You know how crazy it is here right now."

"Of course. Thank you for all your hard work."

The doctor smiled and nodded, "I'll get that x-ray sorted."

Morgana woke up in a hospital accident and emergency department in a room so filled with other beds that there was barely space for the doctors to move. Her heart broke to see just how many people there had been hurt in the accident.

"Morgana?"

She looked to the side and smiled in relief, "Lancelot. Thank goodness."

"Are you ok?"

"I'm fine, I think. Are you?"

Lancelot nodded.

"Where are the others?"

"I don't know. No one's really had the time to speak to me unless it was about my health. But I heard someone a few beds away from me on the phone to someone else who had been in the accident. From what I could tell, they'd been taken back to Ireland."

"No."

Lancelot pursed his lips, "Our friends could be anywhere."

"Do you know what happened? Last thing I remember I was still in the ferry."

"Same. I don't know what happened."

"Was anyone else hurt?"

"I really don't know," Lancelot said sadly, "I don't suppose you still have your phone?"

Morgana checked her pockets and shook her head, "No. Sorry."

He sighed "I just want to know how everyone is."

"So do I. How long ago was the accident?"

Lancelot hesitated and bit his lip, "Yesterday," he said quietly.

"No. What time is it?"

"Around eight in the evening."

"And it's still this busy? Oh my god. Did anyone die?"

"Someone told me that nearly three dozen people d- erm, they- didn't survive."

"Three dozen," Morgana repeated dumbly, "Wow."

"Isn't it awful?"

Morgana nodded, completely overwhelmed. "And the others, they could be-"

"Don't think about it," Lancelot said, "We'll stick together for now."

Honestly, Morgana and Lancelot didn't know each other too well. They weren't the closest in the group and were barely ever alone without other people there. Obviously, they were very good friends; everyone in their group was. But there was never any reason for them to only talk to the other exclusively. So they didn't. Until now, when they were stranded in a hospital, hurt and ill without knowing what had happened at all.

"Sorry, you're not meant to be in here right now. We're not ready for any visitors."

"Oh, I'm not a visitor," Percival said, "I was in the accident."

"You're not being treated in here," the nurse said.

"No, I was just looking for my husband."

"Your-" the nurse looked primarily surprised and a little bit disgusted.

Percival tensed and said, "Yes." He looked down at Gwaine lovingly, "I've spent ages trying to find him and I just needed to make sure he's ok."

"We're still treating him," the nurse said coldly, "Come back later and get yourself seen to."

"I've already been seen to and asked to move elsewhere so they can treat others."

"Well you can't move here. Besides, you look awful and you're bleeding so… maybe go back and get sorted. Wait until your," she pulled a face, "Husband has been moved to a ward and then you can visit him. Alright?"

Percival sighed and nodded. He bent over and kissed Gwaine on the forehead, "I'll be back soon. Hold on," he whispered.

The nurse looked at him like he was some sort of alien, then pointed to the door. Percival couldn't deny that he didn't feel too great and that he had a gash bleeding heavily on his upper arm. He'd been reassured that he'd seen Gwaine recovering although, not yet awake. Once he had got his arm stitched up, he could focus on finding everyone else.

Merlin did not wake up in a hospital. He woke up, still draped over a piece of broken ferry in the middle of the sea feeling bruised, cold and very, very wet. The storm had stopped completely and the waters were calm, making him wonder just how long he'd been floating there. In the distance, he could just about see the outline of some land. He had no idea what island or country that land belonged to but in every other direction, there was only water.

Merlin propelled himself as best he could with his one, already weak leg. There was no way for him to tell how far away the land was. The chances of him getting there were tiny. He doubted any boats would be along after a storm like there had been before. Merlin felt like he'd never moved so slowly. He didn't think he was too badly hurt anywhere but his muscles were still aching, he was numb from cold and he was really scared. How many other people had been stranded in the ocean like him? Should he be going back to find the wreckage and help anyone who was still stuck there?

He'd been separated from his friends since the very start of the storm. For all he knew, every single one of them could be dead. If they hadn't found a way out the ferry, they all would have drowned. And Gwaine could have been crushed on impact between the surface of the water and the pressure of a falling, heavy boat. Merlin would never find out anything if he didn't get himself somewhere safe first. So, until he got to that place, he could only hope that everyone else was alright.