by Dawn Chapman
He tucked closer to me, and we stayed like that for a good few minutes while he warmed me. I wasn’t sure if he felt uncomfortable or it was just me, maybe because I wanted to look up into his stubbled face, see his amazing eyes, and then kiss him.
My heart pounded in my ears, and I just clung to him. Finally, he rubbed the back of my neck and asked. “Better?”
I did look up at him, but there was no way I was going to try anything else. “Yes, thank you. I don’t think I would have lasted long on the bridge without that.”
Abel turned and pulled my fresh clothes from the bed, handing them to me. I slipped the pants and shirt on over and under the towel, and then he passed me a fleece and jacket.
“We’ve a job to do here, Akillia. I’d like to talk to you some more about many things, but they come first. For now, I don’t matter.”
I saw the pain in his eyes with those words. “Of course you matter!” I almost cried. “You matter just as much as I do, and they do. We’ll do this. I’m never giving up on them or us.”
Oh crap, I said something I really wasn’t sure on. Would there be an us—I mean what about... ugh.
I felt the side of the ship lurch, and we were thrown to the floor. I landed nicely on top of Abel, but I leapt to my feet and ran for the stairs. I thought we’d be okay, I really did, but it seemed like these sea creatures didn’t want to get out.
Chapter 21
Cris and Abel stood looking out at the ocean beds ahead while Taffie and Dovol were going over the computer screen layout before them. I moved in beside them so I could see what they were looking at.
Several swarms of creatures lay ahead, and there was one large mass sitting in the foreground. I pointed at the sheer size of it. “What is that?”
“I think is a Monoli. The smaller creatures we were pushing off the side of the ship were its workers. It’s the queen of the swarm.”
“There are so many.”
I shivered as I remembered the slimy things beneath the water’s surface in the horse’s compartments. They were sucked out with the seas, but I still have stickiness on the sides of my legs.
“What can we do?” My voice wavered,
Dovol looked at me and shrugged. “If we go around,” he pointed to the area they had a highlighted path on, whereas the one we were using was green, “it will add us a few days.”
I watched as the ocean swirled and changed around the large creature, it spanned out so much. “We have to go around,” I said. “We can’t get into a major confrontation. If we do, we could lose everything. Just having the smaller one attached to the ship wasn’t good. How much of that actual squeezing do you think it could take?”
Taffie watched as I spoke, nodding, his whiskers and furry face agreeing with me, but his eyes said something else.
“What is it?” I asked.
“I noticed the magic being used,” he said. “Do you have my father’s book too?”
I glanced away. I wasn’t supposed to tell him or give it to him at all until the mission was over, but he had already known.
“Yes, I do. It is yours on mission completion, and when we’re safe at home.”
I saw his eyes fill with tears, but he sniffed the once and pointed to our new pathway. “Akillia’s got our best interests at heart. We go around them, then head for deeper waters. They’re only inland to breed. It seems it’s just that time of year for every creature.”
Duly noted. I wondered if there was just something in the air then or was it a way the game could keep cycling its monsters?
Abel moved to my side. “If we plot the new course, we’ll be fine. There are two smaller nesting groups, but we can move around them without disturbing their behaviours. I think, as Akillia has said, taking a little longer to get out is best. There should be no major issues when we’re out in the deeper oceans, bar storms, and we’ve the best storm reader around, so we can batten up and ride those out.”
“Get everyone on the sides of the deck with any kinds of sticks you can. We don’t want to antagonise them, but we do need to keep them away. I think we can all manage that.” I reached for the comms system and made a small announcement. Within moments, everyone was on the deck and sporting large sticks and poles. We’d push the creatures away if need be, but we weren’t attacking.
The ship eased over and started to move lanes. I watched carefully. Macie moved to stand beside me. “We can handle this, don’t worry, but be ready in case we need to try to do something.”
I tried not to look worried, forcing myself into action, touching the pendant beneath my shirt.
The journey across lanes itself was painfully slow. Better not to speed than to worry about everything hitting the sides.
The soft thud drifted upwards, and Macie froze. I looked out as far into the water as I could, but I couldn’t see the creature that had hit us. Would it do anything or just drift on by?
I waited, and then I saw it. There was a tentacle slowly creeping up the side of the ship. I moved the stick, but the creature it stopped, probed about a little, and then started to drift back into the ocean waters.
I shivered. The spray was still about, and it would still soak you through to the bone if you let it. The fleeces were good for warmth but not so much for being out on deck.
As time drifted by, so did the monsters. Every now and then, we heard the soft thuds as they collided with the deck.
Nothing.
No reaction.
We were almost clear.
Taffie shouted out. “From below!” and then we all felt it. The ship almost lifted out of the water.
“What!”
I tried to gain my footing but noticed the giant grey thing above my face. It had suckers on like an octopus would, but with each sucker, there was also an eye, and these eyes were all looking at me.
I slunk back as much as I could, trying to get away from it, but it edged in closer. Where there were suckers and eyes, there were also sharp spikes. One caught the edge of the ship and, with a crack, broke the sides, and water, ooze, and more creatures came over the side of it.
I reached for one of my daggers, managing to slip it out, but cowered in the corner of the deck hoping with every being in my body this creature wasn’t going to try to attack me.
Oh, but it was—the thin end probed deeper into the ship’s deck, and I could see the wood wanting to give way as the pressure built. There was one thing I didn’t know much about and that was wood. How long would it last an assault like this? The creature before wasn’t this big. It was much smaller and only hugged the ship like a mate might. This one had blood in its eyes.
That’s when I felt the pendant start to grow warmer once more. I found it, remembering the words Macie and I had started out with, and I began to chant. This time, I was on my own, and this time, there was nowhere near the amount of magical energy inside me.
Somehow, though, I had to find it. The spark was there—I knew it was.
I saw Sven doing his best to fight off the creatures hitting the side of the boat. Cris was right by his side, as was Anlea and Borroth. They were all fighting for their lives, and I needed to give this my all.
I searched deeper. Then, I found my magic spark, brought it forward with my mind, and tried my best to focus on making it bigger. I needed it to shield not just me from the spike things but the deck around me.
If the chanting I used before was a spell or ward for some kind of prayer and protection, I needed one that could do something else.
I thought with everything I had and changed my words, I knew no other language than my own, so that would have to do. I had to speak English or nothing would work.
I need a shield, come on, I need a shield. Something that will not bend or bleed, I need a shield.
The glow around me started very low, just a hint there was something there, some small amount of energy. It started to grow the more words I spoke. I rambled on and on.
The shield started low and continued to grow. The shield star
ts pained and yet it contained.
I felt like a weirdo, muttering to the thing before me, but its eyes paled, and all its lids closed at once. Then it stopped advancing, and to my horror, it turned its attention to me instead.
I totally hadn’t expected this and almost dropped the shield, its glow dipping as my concentrations did.
Cris and Sven were being beaten back. Cris took a strike as Sven dodged out of the way. I screamed for them both, but spoken words failed me.
I stared at the creature and forced more words into the spell, and then the creature linked onto the shield, its tentacle slopping above me, seemingly to hang there. I sucked in breath after breath and tried to slink in closer to the outer hull. I couldn’t get the shield to grow any larger than it was, but at least it was covering me. As the creature’s weight bore down on the shield, I could feel it. I could actually feel the weight of this thing, now exploring the area it was trying to get through. Its eyes glinted at me. Even though I didn’t want to look at them, I kept trying my best to keep the shield going, but the more of it that piled onto the glowing protection, the harder I had to push back. I suddenly felt I wasn’t strong enough. The sheer size of the creature was going to win out. It started to dull more, and then I could hear Abel and the others shouting from the other side. Were they trying to help get me out?
As the shield faded, I drew it in closer and closer to me. I was flat against the deck now as close to the sides as I could be. There it was stuck in my head, and I didn’t know what else to do. The side started to creak, and as I turned to see it, I could see cracks appearing in the wood. There was a huge one where I could see the remnants of a spike poking through. My shield was one-sided, and from the other side, the creature knew it could get me—it wanted to get me. It had nothing else to lose by breaking through that wood.
The wood gave way, and in rushed cold water and the creature. I was squished against the side, and then suddenly, I was dragged down, down into freezing cold water. The tentacle of the creature around me squeezing and slicing. Pain erupted throughout my body, and I cried out.
I pulled the dagger from my back. Once in my hand, I stabbed and plunged it into the creature’s sides. It stopped squeezing and let me go. I managed to kick free and swim towards the surface. I tried not to look back to see the sheer monstrosity, but I couldn’t help it.
There below me was the largest open mouth I’d ever seen.
That’s when I saw fireballs and other large fiery weapons hit out at it. There was blackness exploding from where its skin ripped and folded in on itself. The blackness threatened to envelop me, but I pushed in further and swam, swam like everything depended on me getting out of that water, and it did. The air around me stood, and the sheer cold flooded my systems. The fleece that had been keeping me warm was now keeping me under. I struggled to pull it off, and in the end, the dagger was the only thing that worked. I cut through it in no time, leaving me in a shirt and slacks. They made swimming terribly awkward, but I still tried. I wasn’t going to drown. That’s when, amongst all the swelling and motion from the creature, I saw the wooden side of the deck—floating. How can it be this piece was here and not shattered into a million pieces? I aimed for it, and within a second, I was hauling myself onto it. Cold, wet, and broken.
Somehow, I didn’t manage to see the rest of the fight, I only saw a dolphin, drifting in, and then taking hold of my pant leg, tugging, tugging me away. The cold was awful. I ached all over. There was no way I could get warm, and then I felt the energy from the pendant too. There was warmth—something somewhere wanted me alive.
I heard it then, a male voice whispering on the winds.
Don’t give in, Akillia. There’s many a plan for you.
I watched the sky as the sun beat down on me, and then my eyes closed.
Chapter 22
Something tapped on the side of my leg. I felt it. Tap. Tap. I opened my eyes, my whole body ached, my mind fuzzy.
I’d no idea the amount of time that had passed. Had I been asleep long?
The sun was still high in the sky, so maybe not. Looking over to my left, I noticed large rocks about me. I was still in the water, my legs floating. My mind tried to move them, but they were so numb. Forcing inside me a deep breath, I pulled myself up further onto the tiny raft that had saved my life. There I managed to sit up and look around. The ocean before me spanned for miles.
Oh no.
Where the hell was I?
How long have I been passed out!?
What happened to the ship? To the others?
All the thoughts inside my mind were swirling around me just as much as the sea still was. I saw a tear in my thigh, and wincing, I managed to rip my shirt to tie it around my leg. I still had one dagger, but I’d no idea where the other had gone, and my shirt and slacks were meagre at best. The red splotch in the corner of my vision read 24. I wondered just how high it would go. I pushed upwards and managed to get from the wooden craft to the large rock. Around me were many more rocks and then land. I had to get across to the larger part. I had to try to find out where I was.
Each step hurt, and I could see blood oozing from my cut. I needed something, anything to sterilise it and to clean the wound out properly. Who knows what horrid things those creatures had attached to the spikes.
The land did seem so far away though, and the more I tried to quicken my pace, the more I suffered.
I collapsed on some smaller rock out before the sandy dunes. I wanted water, food, anything.
By the time I came around, once more, the pain had eased off, but the dry stickiness to my throat and leg were still there.
The red splotch, however, was still at 24.
It was darker now, and the sun dipped behind the treeline ahead of me. If I didn’t get away from the water’s edge and up some nice tree, I had no idea what kind of creature would still be hunting for their dinner.
Picking myself up and noting my leg had a dull throb, but no bleeding, I made it off the rock to the next and then onto the beach. My feet sank in the dunes, and I headed for the trees. I noticed with great joy that the trees carried some kind of fruit. I almost ran towards them. Hope filled my heart that there was enough fluid inside to quench my terrible thirst.
I found the nearest stick and knocked one of the large round things from the tree. When I picked it up, I felt the weight and leathery skin. I think my dagger would be able to get in there and puncture it. I pulled it out and stabbed it quick, the fluid dripping straight out, and I slurped against the side of it. It was sweet, and I hoped with everything inside me that it wasn’t poisonous.
It didn’t have a bad flavour, and I tipped it up so I could drink better. My debilitation went down a little, so that was something, at least. 20.
Then I decided I needed to climb that tree and secure myself in for the night. It wasn’t easy, as it got darker and darker
I caught my leg on the side of a branch and cursed. There was a slap in my face from a branch, too. But I clung on and managed to settle somewhere I thought might be safe.
I hoped the night here wasn’t going to be too long. I needed to get down, sort out my leg, and find out where I really was.
Sometime later, the darkness had almost swallowed me, I reached for a couple more fruit and drank from their delicious centres. Then I cut in deep to hopefully find flesh. Inside was a load of seeds and fruity goodness, but the seeds tasted bitter, so I sucked off the flesh and spat out the seeds.
The night air wasn’t too bad, cooling off, but I felt okay enough to tuck in and hug the tree, hoping more sleep would come.
It did, there was nothing else to do, and I was still so very tired and drained.
I woke because something was pushing the side of my face. The tree branches were swaying in the wind, having picked up quite a lot. And now I shivered a little. I had managed to sleep quite a good way into the night. The sun was again peeking its head above the sea’s horizon this time. That was when I heard something creeping about
under me. I glanced down to see one of those horrid Creviok. It hadn’t seen or smelled me—at least I didn’t think so.
I tucked in closer to the tree and hoped it would just go away. Eventually, it might. My debilitation was slightly better, and I wanted to keep it that way.
Pushing up, I climbed another branch and this time had to perch precariously where I really didn’t want to.
It finally looked up at me, and I wanted to scream, its bright yellow eyes haunted, worried. I sucked in a breath and looked away. Its breathing was shallow, and its flesh putrid.
I clung on, and eventually, as the sun started to get higher in the sky, it moved away, finally concentrating on something else—like not eating me.
When I could see where I was, and where I wanted to be from the top of the tree, I tugged some fruit off their stems and dropped them to the side of the beach I wanted to get down on. I managed to climb down as best I could without ripping my leg wound open again.
This time, I pulled the fruit up and into a bundle of leaves, tying them so I had a sort of bag to keep them together. If I were going wandering about without food or water, at least these would do okay for a while. Not great in nutrients but better than nothing.
My leg throbbed, and I really needed water and somewhere to site while I looked it over. I’d seen the rivers ebbing to the edge of the sea, and that was where I was heading.
I pushed on. It didn’t seem as far when I looking at it from the treetops, but it certainly was when I was on foot.
The land was soft and soggy, the sand getting through and into my shoes, my socks—everything. I tried not to let it get to me, but it was. By the time the river was in sight, I was annoyed as all hell. Pulling off my shoes, socks, and trousers to sit at its edge, I dipped my socks in to rinse them. I hoped to be able to clean my leg with them.
The wound was deep and bloody, and already red and infected. I pulled my dagger from its hilt. With a wince, I slit into the wound and leaned over to vomit. How it could be so bad and infected already, I had no clue, but if I didn’t stop this now. I would lose my leg I was sure of it.