Madness of Regret

It didn't hurt but it did harm my focus and made me gasp for air underwater.

Rookie mistake to do when fighting in a life or death under water.

So my body did the most instinctual thing in the situation. I tried to swim towards the surface. Towards the raft.

I reached the raft. And held the wood for dear life as I gasped for breath. I did whatever attempts I could to climb the raft. 

And succeeded somehow. I lay there gasping for breath. 

Then I remembered the one bastard that caused this. He was swimming towards me looking for a feast after making me a cripple. He is gonna be my feast or I die in this ocean as food in his belly. The law of strong, my first live experience in this accursed world.

He is coming close. I can see it. With that speed he can only launch himself like a torpedo at me. So I calculated his trajectory. I readied my body. Hyped up my heart beat.

This was the do or die moment. Then the bastard jumped straight towards my chest. I side stepped and did my best to kick as fast as I can. I missed. That bastard was more slippery and agile than I thought.

Now would you look at that, the bastard is slow at turning and only fast in a straight line. I can see him turn around after his failed attempt. Bastard looked so slow that I could choke him if he were near.

Then he turned looked straight into my eyes. His tail moved. He was coming. But this time he was slower maybe because he didn't have enough distance to speed up. 

I side stepped again and this time with all the power in my body. My kick or more accurately stomp landed. Fuck my legs hurt. It was like hitting a metal pole. Might have pulled some muscle strings not like I had time to give a damn.

That bastard lay there near the end of my raft trying to reach the ocean. Not on my watch. I jumped at him. 

Then I began cursing my luck. My raft started to move because of some impact from under the ocean. The bastard got enough of a push to jump back in the water. 

Damn it. Those two sinking dinosaur fish came for help. 

The two bastards helped that bastard run away.

Don't you dare run away. I have a dinner plan to pick up from your corpse.

Even if I don't have anymore bait to attract. I still got me. Was it instinct? or my pride?

I don't know. I stopped caring for the moment.

I dipped my bloodied hand in the ocean. My eyes never leaving the trio bastards. 

They didn't approach. Looks like I have to up the ante. I jumped myself in the ocean. 

Sure enough. Three of them started coming.

Underwater wasn't my strength. So I climbed the raft again and kept my bloody hand in the water. I was losing blood and a lot of it but did it matter. I am gonna die after a belly full of that bastard's flesh.

The three of them were coming at me. Accelerating at me. Come bastards. Only one will have a fully belly tonight. 

Two helping bastard were at the front side by side while that bastard was behind a little slower than the usual. 

Looks like my stomp did some damage there.

The two launched at me. They were side by side and the raft didn't have enough space for me to dodge them both. 

So I jumped in the ocean. 

The two bastards will take time to turn around and I needed some sweet alone time with a bastard. 

For that I took a deep breath and kept my bleeding hand upwards to decrease blood loss. I needed time and strength to kill the bastard. Bleeding out before delivering the final blow, I don't want that.

The bastard was coming. I can see him. He slowed down. Was it the kick from before? Or was it because there was a turn and he had to slow down? 

Did it matter? No. 

He was coming. I could see him swimming straight towards me even with the water being ripply and obstructing the view. 

I took a deep breath and then I dived deep in. Eyes open. Hand bleeding. Heart full of blood lust. 

There he was the bastard I would remember for my whole life. 

He swam towards me. He was fast and fierce and I was on a hunt. His mouth open, teeth sparkling under the water. He came and he bit my left arm.

Excellent choice, bastard. Now I had a still target. I jumped him with my crippled hand in his underbelly. One punch. Two punch. 

I don't know how many. I didn't think of that when punching. That bastard tried doing a death roll even with the beating he received. Like hell I will let him. 

I stabbed my right hand deep inside the bastards gill slits. Pulling anything I could find. Gills. Muscles. Bones. Brain. Anything. 

Looks like I win bastard. 

My hand was still in him and my body screamed for oxygen. I could feel the adrenaline getting lesser by the minute. 

I had to swim to the surface. But no way in hell am I leaving this bastard to sink in the ocean floor. Even if I die. 

So with all the energy I had. I tried to pull the bastard up to the raft. I wasn't successfully. I didn't have enough strength. 

Fuck. I didn't want to give up. But my body told me otherwise as I rushed towards the surface gasping for breath after breath.

I found my way to the raft. Disappointed. Losing the first battle trophy you ever got. What a fucking disappointment.

Fuck!. I punched the air. Only when the blood and the salty water fell on my face did I remember my hand. My pinky was completely gone while my ring finger had around 10% of a finger remaining. 

And the 10% that was remaining was all bones while the flesh seemed to be pushed down to the palm. Might be cause of all the punches I gave. The bone must have helped me in stabbing the inside of the gills.

I took of my shirt and wrapped it around my used to be fingers. I made sure it was tight, tight enough to not let blood come out.

I looked at the ocean. And jumped right into it. Hell I don't know how to swim but I got a job to complete. 

I kept my eyes wide open looking for my trophy, my meal. And would you look at that few tens of second later. The two bastards feasting on the carcass of my dead trophy.

The carcass didn't seem to have sank more than 10 meters. Maybe the other bastards supporting it from the bottom is the answer. 

I made a plan, a resolution and swam or paddled my way up to the surface as gracefully as an ugly duckling.

I took a large breath and dove right again. This time I acted like a mermaid swimming deeper and deeper till I reached the carcass. The pressure of the ocean was unbearable. I was losing my breath quicker and quicker the more I reached the depth. When I reached the carcass, the two bastards were rightfully angry but they didn't attack. Why? Not the time to ponder. 

I pulled the carcass as near as the surface I could get. A few meters maybe then I let go of it and went to the surface for a quick breath. Then I dived down as fast as I can to get the trophy back. 

Would you look at that. The carcass didn't sink but was floating again due to the help from his two cannibal friend. A friendship I hope my betrayers get. 

I swam to the surface again and took a bloody huge breath and went to the trophy pulled it few meters above ground. I did it a few more times till I got it to the surface. The cannibal bastards did nothing to stop me. 

So, I came to the surface but there was a issue the raft drifted few hundred meters away from me due to tides and whatnot. Fuck me dead. I can act like a mermaid to dive, paddle like a duck to reach the surface. But swim to the raft few hundreds meter away from me while towing a giant carcass.

Ooh the misery. 

New things to do everyday. So I swam while towing the big ass carcass as graceful as ungraceful can be. And it was not easy. Towing half a hundred kilo of fish while trying to swim with one hand with your legs acting like duck feet with your face getting kissed by the waves. 

Yea not the best beginning course to learn about swimming. 

So I towed the fish which was 100% being nibbled by the other two cannibal bastards. I changed hands when my hands got tired. Do you know how hard it is to tow half of a hundred kilogram with a crippled hand? Fucking hard. I stopped for a minute or two when I was out of breath and energy. Then I swam and swam again. 

After taking so many rest break and towing the fish, I reached my sweet lovely little raft. 

I did my best to climb the raft with a crippled hand and a hand towing the fish. The fish felt lighter than before. The bastard cannibals must have eaten most of the head. 

Hip! hip! hurray! Got the bloody fish in the raft.

So let's look at the damage. Most of the head is gone. The underbelly is eaten. So most of the organs are gone. So the flesh should be left hidden by the scales. The legs stayed on. What a tough skin. All four legs are still attached to the skin.

In a way I am thankful to the cannibals, had they not eaten the head and organ I would have no use but make them as bait or just throw them away. Letting the organs sit would just attract more and more predators to me. And the stench would just kill me.

Beside they are more harmful to me if I eat them. The flesh on the other hand should be edible and not possess many harmful germs in comparison to the organs.

Now. Now. Would you look at that, 5 musketeers gathered to avenge their fallen brother? Or are they gonna be like the two cannibal brother and leave me alone? 

The group of musketeers approached slowly. Seeing them approach slowly, I had a feeling they weren't here to attack. They circled the raft a few times from a few meter away and then they left not before hunting all the fishes they shepherded. 

It was a bloody sight watching all the fish be killed. But what about them circling my raft a few times? A sign of respect? Or just asking for the carcass of their fallen brothers for a feast?

I don't know and I don't wanna know. I am gonna take a nice relaxing rest after I clean the dinosaur bastard and eat my fill of it.

Now one more question sprang in my head. How do you clean a semi eaten half a meter fish carcass that has four legs attached to it?

And did I mention the underbelly has soiled the meat touching it from all the waste and organs. Yea not gonna eat it even after cleaning. 

Now how do I clean the underbelly? 

Youtube shorts. I need you. 

Fuck whatever fish they cook or make they do it with modern tools. I don't have it. But they clean the insides by removing the organ and cleaning with fresh water. 

The organs are eaten, found plastered all over the flesh and fresh water like hell I would waste it cleaning some fish and not drinking it.

Let's do it the old fashioned way.

Take out the organs and all the artery or pipes you can find. And how do you take them out? by pulling it of course.

And dear lord would you look at that the pipe connected to the stomach has my bloody fingers. 

My first victory trophy.