Feeling refreshed and ready to tackle the world, Kain stepped on the deck. The water he had dragged up had been cleaned. The sickly green faces they had when he came aboard were now replaced with indecision.

"What happened?" he asked.

Amelia stepped forward. "We’re trying to decide what direction to take."

"We’ll go through," Kain said plainly.

They looked at him like he was crazy.

"Boss, did the water scramble your brain? How are we supposed to go through that?" Jake gestured to the wall of rubbish.

Kain shot him a glare. "If I say we go through, it means we go through." He scanned them, one by one. "If you don’t want to go through, we can go around," he smirked. "I’m sure the piranhas are looking for a snack."

"Pirhanas?!" Jake yelled. "Boss, where...?"

Another glare forced Jake to close his mouth. "If you prefer not to believe me, I won’t stop any of you. I’ll give you a life raft, and you can go around."

Rolling his eyes inwardly, Kain couldn’t help wondering if he really wanted to build his own power. Jake was already annoying him. All he needed to do was take orders.

Then he caught sight of the children.

He sighed. ’Yup, still need to do this. I need to make sure they have a safe place to live.’

The sudden wave of paternal feelings made Kain shiver internally.

He had no patience for anyone questioning him. He suggested they eat first, then find the place with the least garbage and clear it.

He kept saying ’we’ when he spoke, but when it was really time to clear things, they were the ones who went. Kain became a hands-off director. He did nothing more than show them where to go.

The three children also had a blast telling the adults what to do.

By the time a section of the floating debris was cleared, it was already close to seven o’clock. The surroundings have gone dark, the water is cold, and everyone wants the work to be done.

Kain helped them onto the yacht. The stench on them blew through the air.

They scrambled to the bathroom, hoping to wash the smell off.

Amelia glared at Kain as she passed him. Yes, even Amelia had to go into the stinky waters.

They had a great time laughing when it was him; now it was their turn. Kain laughed heartily. He was completely oblivious to the possibility of becoming a celibate man if he didn’t appease Amelia.

Sadly, the danger didn’t register.

While they got cleaned up, Kain navigated through the path. He hummed to himself.

The night was calm. It was almost time for Jake to take over Kain’s shift.

They couldn’t stop in the middle of the journey, so everyone needed to take shifts. Kain was unsure of how long it would take them to arrive at Paradise Gates. He only knew he was going in the right direction.

One by one, the others made their way back up. He had Amelia put the children to bed. Others milled around until they were tired and went to sleep.

Kain closed his eyes while Jake navigated.

An hour had not passed when Kain was jolted awake. His head whipped around sourcing for the source, before realizing it was the yacht itself that was being jostled.

A sudden gust of wind almost tipped them on their side. Jake held firm, trying to keep everything steady. The sudden jolting woke the others.

They came running on deck, questioning what was happening.

Kain turned to see Amelia and the children. "Get back into the room," he shouted. He waved his hand, ushering them back to the cabin.

A terrible groaning sound came from the yacht. He could feel the yacht being pulled. His mind scrambled for an answer.

His heart thudded in his ears. He grabbed the wheel from Jake. He pushed the lever. His mind told him they needed to go faster.

They were being pulled in one direction; he had to get them out of danger.

"Whirlpool!" he heard Matthew shout.

He gasped. He couldn’t help cursing. ’So, it was either piranhas or whirlpools? Fuck! Should have taken my chance with the pirhana.’

The winds picked up, almost sweeping everyone off their feet. The deck was wet. A dense spray of water would crash onto the deck every few seconds as he tried to push through.

The darkness made the journey treacherous. His breathing stalled as he maneuvered away from the whirlpool. His face flushed red, cheeks puffed, but he pushed the boat as hard as it could go.

He felt it, the moment the pull stopped. But the winds wouldn’t give them the advantage of time or comfort.

He continued to press forward until he heard Verdana’s small voice through the cutting wind.

"Whirlpool on this side!" she yelled.

Kain’s eyes darted to his left. He looked at the instrument panel. Useless. They may have pulled out of the first whirlpool, but their speed now might make it hard for them to avoid the second.

He could only hope to hold the yacht steady enough to pass through.

His knuckles turned white as he used his strength to keep them steady. He could feel himself becoming anxious. He took deep breaths.

This wasn’t his first time facing the threat of death. He didn’t die like this in his last life. There was no way in hell he would die like this in this one. Not in those murky waters.

The people on deck could do nothing but hold on to the railings for dear life and shout to let Kain know what was happening. One wrong move and someone would end up overboard.

He pushed the lever forward, wanting to gain more momentum. He felt his feet slip, but he kept them steady. One wrong move and everyone would plunge into the waters.

The sound of scraping metal forced Kain to veer.

The yacht pushed forward, passing the whirlpool. He could feel the drag from the back. If not for the extra throttle, they might have been dragged in by the second whirlpool.

They passed the whirlpool, but the wind still threatened to pick them up and spit them out. There was nothing Kain could do but power through it.

The wind whipped waves towards them, almost causing Kain to lose his direction. They jumped and skipped along the water. No one spoke.

Time felt like it stood still. They weren’t sure how much time had passed before they jetted out of the gale storm.

Finally pushing through, the sound of heavy breathing and vomiting was evident.

Kain stopped the yacht only when he felt it was safe.

When he looked back, he could see the difference. There was a clear divide between the storm-torn section of water and where the boat was currently.

Kain breathed a sigh of relief. Staring into the vast night, he knew such incidents were far from over.