There's barely any time for Johnny to get his bearings, much less try to make an escape; the hands grasping at him make him panic all the more, and he struggles back wildly. Zagreus is trying to drag him up and out, to do god knows what to him, no, fuck that. Johnny has no recourse, no good options here, so instead he lashes out with violence and aggression. Nothing's going to happen without a fight. He breaks the surface, gasping for air, and reaches up to grab whatever he can. One hand wraps around Zagreus' arm, the other seizes him by the cravat, then he thrusts his weight back down, dragging Zagreus into the water on top of him. Drawing on instincts he didn't know he had, he curls inward and kicks Zagreus as hard as he can in the gut, attempting to propel himself backward with the same motion.