In a while, strong arms hauled him aboard, dripping and gasping. Salt stung his eyes as he ripped free the regulator, coughing seawater and disbelief. For a moment, no one moved. They simply stared at him, alive against all reason, a man returned from the belly of a living myth.
Relief shattered into cheers. Hands pounded his back, voices choked with tears. Nathaniel slumped against the deck, exhaustion flooding him. His body trembled, yet his mind blazed with clarity. He had not been eaten. He had been protected by something vast that had chosen mercy over indifference.