The pain was unbearable and the constant stinging caused by the salinity of the water made the wound feel like it was being burned by millions of scorching hot pinpricks all at the same time, while each drop of blood lost to the water made it even harder to remain conscious despite the unrelenting pain and fear of what lurked beneath the waves.
Instincts screamed and said stillness means death and razor-sharp teeth were already tasting the blood in the water and more jaws would want a bite of what they were drawn to from even miles away. Swim or die, lost, alone, and forgotten. Something the mind refused to process attacked out of nowhere ripping out a chunk of flesh before escaping from its jaws was even possible.
All sense of direction other than up and down was lost during the desperate attempt to escape whatever it was. Land could be just the other side of the next wave or in the opposite direction, if not miles away.
