Chapter 60 Gunner and the Sharks pt 2

Chapter 60 Gunner and the Sharks pt 2
Cue screamed, flying forward and landing on her stomach, face over the water. She watched the great two-finned creature swim by, its body split in half and connected in the middle. It had two heads and two tails, and was bigger than the raft in all ways. Cue shrieked in terror and scrambled back as two more sharks started to swim around the raft. 

“I’ve never been so thankful that you’re a cyborg,” Trigger said, swallowing hard and pulling Cue back to her.

“It definitely helps,” Shepherd said, keeping pace with them as they moved through the water and brownstones. “They don’t like the taste of metal.”

“Are you making a joke right now?” Trigger asked, annoyed.

Shepherd didn't answer, only baring his teeth at the water as a shark got dangerously close to him as he perched on a street light.

“Do they like the taste of people?” Cue whispered, clinging to Trigger and Rat and trembling. 

“If it bleeds, they will eat it,” Gunner said, swimming faster. 

The edge of the city was in view now, and the wind picked up to a gale force. Trigger’s hair flung around her face wildly, but the wind swept away her tears of fear so no one saw them. She tucked Cue under her arm, resting her face on her belly. It was tight, so hard it felt like a rock, and Trigger was holding her breath. When she finally breathed, she exhaled through her nose, and her stomach softened again.

“Are you alright?” Cue whispered, the sound barely heard over the whipping wind. 

Trigger shook her head, biting her lip as she looked desperately for the statue. 

“You’re bleeding!” Cue screamed, her hand coming off the bottom of the raft bloody. She watched as the blood trailed as if in slow motion towards the edge of the raft and dripped into the water. “Trigger!” she cried. “Why are you bleeding?!”

“I’m… I’m in labor…” she admitted, looking at Gunner with sorrowful eyes.

“We have to get them off that raft!” Shepherd roared

The sharks swarmed, turning the water white into white froth with all their movement. They crashed into the raft one way and then another, making Cue and Trigger go flying in all directions.

“Gunner!” Trigger cried, moments before the large two-headed shark swam underneath them and lunged upwards. 

The raft came apart, flinging Cue and Trigger in opposite directions. 

The moment Cue hit the water, she went down. Rat swam away from her, panicked.

Trigger hit the water and immediately popped back up, clinging to one of the blue barrels and coughing up seawater. “Where is Cue?” she screamed.

Gunner let himself sink, looking in the water for some sign of her.

Above, Shepherd dove into the water headfirst near where Cue disappeared.

Cue thrashed in the water, trying to figure out how to swim, trying to hold her breath. She looked around the water, her eyes stinging from the salt, and saw the two-headed shark heading her way. 

She thrashed the other way, trying to get away, but it was no use. The Shark was on her before anyone could find her, its jaws opening wide and sinking into the flesh of her right leg and her right shoulder. 

It swam up with Cue screaming, blood flooding the ocean, and jumped. Cue managed to take one breath before the beast dove back into the water.

“Cue! No!” Trigger screamed, trying to swim for her.

“Stop! You must stop!” Shepherd said, popping up beside her. He flipped her and yanked her, pushing her on top of a floating car before diving back into the water.

Beams of light flashed through the water, blood making everything murky and hard to see. Both Cue’s blood and sharks' blood mixed as Shepherd swam through, looking for Cue.

Using his heat-sensing vision, Guner found her, thrashing and punching the sharks that had her, as another swam towards her. He blasted the other shark out of the water, sending chunks of flesh flying. More sharks were swimming in, but he knew he had to get to her first. 

Gunner marched through the water, body moving as if it were not even hindered by the water at all. He ran for Cue, grabbing her as the shark swam by and yanking her down. The moment her body was out of the way, he shot his lasers straight into the middle of the sharks and split them apart.  The sharks died instantly, and with all his strength, he shoved Cue towards the surface. 

Her body broke water, and Shepherd was on her instantly, looping his arm around her waist and dragging her limp body to Trigger. He shoved her into the car before climbing up himself. 

She had bite marks in her shoulder and hip that were bleeding profusely, and her lips were blue; her eyes were closed.

“Is she dead? Trigger cried, tears streaming down her face as she sat on her knees with Cue’s head in her lap.

“Not if I can help it!” Shepherd said, lying her down flat and starting to push on her chest. “Breathe into her mouth when I say so!” He ordered.

He pressed her chest more times, then ordered, “BREATHE!” and Trigger did. 

Time inched by, stretching out longer and longer as Trigger cried and breathed for her lover. “Please come back, please, please…” she begged.

“She’s a Cretin, this cannot kill her!” Shepherd said, but his face said otherwise.

Trigger had never seen a Cretin scared until this day. She put her hands over his and smiled sadly at him. “You saved me, you can save her.”

His lips rolled into a tight line and he pressed harder, kissing her and breathing for her instead of Trigger, once, twice.

Cue’s chest rose and fell, her body cold to the touch.

“Please come back to me!” Trigger screamed, holding her face in her hands. “Come back now!”

Finally, Cue sputtered and rolled over on her left side, coughing up water. When she could breathe, she screamed, clutching her right arm with madness in her eyes.

“It’s okay! You’re going to be okay!” Trigger said, gathering her in her arms and holding her. 

Cue screamed again, her head flying around looking for more danger.

It was Shepherd who calmed her. He grabbed hr face with both hands and kissed her hard on the mouth. “I thought I lost you,” he said, big hot tears rolling down her face.

“It hurts,” she said, her voice wavering.

“I know, baby, I know.” Trigger said, rubbing her arms and trying to warm her up.

“It will heal fast,” Shepherd told her. “Look,” he said, pointing. 

Trigger and Cue looked, seeing the Statue of Liberty just across the ocean from them,

“It’s so close,” Trigger said, sorrow in her voice. “How are we going to get there?”

“Where’s Gunner?” Cue asked. “He saved me.”

They all looked down into the water as it cleared from the blood. Gunner was standing just beneath them, trapped under the water. He had two choices: walk back to where they entered the water or walk to the island. There was no way he could float up now.