Seabound

Nyad

"Is anyone there?"

Jay's voiced crackled faintly over the radio. The signal was so weak, for a moment I wondered if I had really heard him at all.

"Someone help!" Jay's scratchy cry whispered through the radio again, and this time I was confident I heard him.

"Jay? Jay!" I called through the transmitter, but there was no response.

"Cole! Something's wrong with Jay. His distress signal is super weak and he's not responding over the coms."

"What?" Cole paused after launching another missile at the Merlopians that still swarmed around us and tried in his own turn to contact Jay, but to no avail.

Scrambling with the controls, I managed to access the trackers on everyone's communicators.

"He's on the other side of town!" I reported. "No wonder his signal was weak."

"What are we waiting for?" Cole asked as he whipped his mech around, launching a handful of Merlopians off and away from us. "Let's go save Jay!"

The three of us raced across the flooded city, searching frantically for Jay.

"Over there!" Cole pointed towards Jay's sunken mech. The glass enclosing his cockpit was shattered, as if he had tried and failed to escape.

"Let's get him out of there."

Benthomaar wrenched the top free from the cockpit with his staff and thrust Jay towards the surface, with Cole and I on his heels.

We reached the roof of the NGTV building after receiving an encrypted message from Master Wu instructing us to convene there.

I hopped out of my sub mech on the roof of the NGTV building at the same time as Kai, Zane, Lloyd, and Cole. Bethomar had arrived moments before carrying Jay. Nya, Wu, and Misako burst out of the building.

"What happened?" Nya gasped, running to and kneeling by Jay's side.

"He's hurt. He inhaled a bunch of water," Cole explained.

Almost in reply, Jay coughed up water, sucking in a ragged, shaky breath.

Her eyes brimming with tears, Nya clutched Jay close to her.

A door hinge squeaked, and Pixal and Gayle Gossip poked their heads from the doorway.

"Get him inside, quickly!" Wu instructed before turning to the rest of us. "And hide those vehicles."

Inside the NGTV building, Nya hovered by Jay, not willing to leave his side. The rest of us fidgeted close by while Zane scanned his body.

"How is he?" Kai inquired.

"Jay has a significant amount of sea water in his lungs. Unless the water is removed, his condition will worsen," Zane explained.

"What about Nya?" Kai pressed. "Maybe she can draw out the water."

"She has tried," Master Wu admitted. "The water in his lungs does not respond to her."

"We need to get him to a hospital!" Lloyd insisted.

"How are we gonna move him with that thing out there hunting us?" Kai protested.

"Maybe we could call for help?" Cole suggested. "Like from Shintaro or something?"

Upon that comment, I silently stood and walked to the other side of the room and away from Cole.

Pressing my back against the doorframe, I sank to the floor. I felt completely numb, and it scared me. I should be sad or upset or anything, but instead I was just empty. I watched from a distance as the rest of the ninja huddled around Jay. I sat alone, trying to puzzle through whatever turmoil was boiling inside me. Without warning it all clicked. I was angry. I was angry I hadn't been able to help Nya when she lost control of her water tornado. Angry that I hadn't been allowed to go with the team under the sea. Angry that some squid-looking guy thought he could attack my city. And above all, angry that Cole had returned to her. A stabbing pain shot through my chest as I was reminded again of how I had been so easily and foolishly led on.