Very rarely does someone choose the fire over the frying pan, but if Johnny and gravity are insisting, who is Zagreus to argue. The rabbit-kick to the stomach does come as a surprise, and he will miss that oxygen, probably, given enough time, but he perseveres nonetheless.

Zagreus proves surprisingly capable in the water--the ocean is only perturbing from the other side, from beneath it's not unhomey--and he catches Johnny's leg before he make a full escape, interfering with the boy's desperate attempts at swimming. Johnny's obviously terrified, and Zagreus stings him with further fear, eel-like and predatory.