by D K Drake
“Yes, sir.” He eased the captain out of the way, grasped two of the wooden spokes, and turned the speeding boat to the left with as much force as he could muster. Only the boat didn’t seem to be moving to the left. It kept getting sucked further and further to the right. “It’s not working, captain!”
“It will. Keep turning and hold it steady. Just don’t turn too much. We need to end up on the northern Clesi River, not the southern Yarmu.”
“How am I supposed to tell which river is which? It’s too dark to see anything!”
“Use the compass on the navigation stand above the wheel. It should be pointed northwest, not southwest.”
“Gotcha.” The needle on the compass pointed more north than west, so Micah kept turning the wheel. His muscles ached from the strain, and he could hear the swirling of the whirlpool get louder and louder. “I can’t do this!”
“Sure you can. I can feel the boat changing course. Stay strong.”
The captain didn’t know what he was talking about. According to the compass, they were still headed north. This was it. This was the end. He was going to die in a watery grave because he couldn’t turn a wooden wheel far enough to the left.
“One more turn, Micah,” the captain said. “Give me one more turn.”
“Okay.” With one final show of strength, Micah forced the wheel one complete turn to the left. At that exact moment, the boat’s speed picked up, the needle on the compass began pointing towards the northwest, and the sound of the whirlpool began to fade.
“Ha! I think that did it! I think we’re in the clear and on the right river.” Micah looked back at the captain only to find that he lay unconscious on the floor.
Chapter 32
Yellow Sea
Three days of darkness. Two torrential storms. One narrowly avoided whirlpool. So far this trip through the Dark Zone had been mostly depressing, intermingled with a touch of adventure.
Javan didn’t know how much more darkness he could handle. He felt irritated all the time, and that crankiness seemed to be an epidemic that affected all thirty people on board. Except the captain. Cyr remained in critical condition thanks to a spider bite, and Taliya had volunteered to help the resident doctor Dreix tend to him. He thus hadn’t seen or spoken to her since their private conversation two days ago.
Andre had taken over the captain’s duties, and in a strange twist, Micah steered the boat when Andre needed breaks. Micah had been behaving like a team player and decent human being since the whirlpool incident. He was even starting to learn people’s names, but that was probably because everyone now considered him a hero.
Javan still didn’t trust Micah and did his best to stay out of Micah’s way. He hated seeing the crew treat Micah with a sense of respect and awe knowing Micah didn’t deserve such treatment. He was the kind of man who beat innocent people with a whip and used his dragon to destroy entire towns. Steering a boat away from a whirlpool to save his own life didn’t make up for any of that.
In an effort to combat his bad attitude, Javan locked himself in the empty cargo room and practiced slicing through the air with his stalker swords for several hours following breakfast on Tuesday morning.
Pushing himself to the point of exhaustion helped restore his sense of self, but his internal alarm bells went off when he felt the boat slow down. That couldn’t be good.
He sheathed his swords, wiped his sweaty hair away from his face, and stepped outside. And into the faint light of day. Where they through the Dark Zone already? How had they turned a week-long trip into only three days?
He didn’t care. He just wanted to bask in the sunshine. He climbed the ladder to the top deck and ran to the front railing. Sure enough, a break in the canopy up ahead allowed the sun to shine through the trees.
“Sun!”
“Beautiful sight, isn’t it?” Phenix, the guard on patrol, came and stood beside Javan. He was almost a foot taller than Javan but as thin as a paper clip.
“Yes, indeed. So why are we slowing down? Shouldn’t we be speeding up to get to the end of this miserable Dark Zone?”
“Oh, that’s not the end of the Dark Zone. That’s just the Yellow Sea. It marks the halfway point.”
“Halfway?” Javan’s shoulders drooped. “You mean to tell me that after we cross this sea, we’re gonna be back in the darkness?”
“You got it. The good news is that we’ll anchor here for a couple of hours to replenish our water and food supply. Then it will take the rest of the day to get across the sea, so we get a whole day of sunshine. And rumor has it that the Yellow Sea is one of the most beautiful places on the Great Rift.”
As if on cue, the boat drifted out from under the canopy and onto a vast body of golden water that sparkled in the gloriously hot sunshine.
“Wow.” Javan could see nothing but water in front of him, but trees with giant drooping leaves and brightly colored flowers towered around the edges of the sea behind him.
The boat anchored to a stop within swimming distance of the shore, and Javan could see schools of tropical fish swimming in the water below. Then Kai, Mazen, and Orlan jumped in the water and scared them away.
“We’re allowed to swim here?” Javan watched as Phida, Grux, Bree, and Kloe from Lydia’s crew dove overboard as well. “Let’s go join them!”
“You go ahead,” Phenix said. “I’m on duty and have to keep an eye out for dangerous animals.”
“Yell if you see any snakes, and I’ll try to create a big enough splash to get you wet from here.”
“I don’t think any water will reach me up here, but you can try.”
Javan quickly made his way down to the main deck and dropped his sword belt on the floor outside of the cargo room. He stripped his shirt, shoes, and socks off, left them by his swords and jumped over the railing into the cool, refreshing water.
◊◊◊
Micah floated on his back with his eyes closed and let the sun beat down on his bare chest. He hadn’t been thankful for much in his life, but he sure was thankful for this simple thing called sunshine.
He could hear Javan, Kai, and Orlan splashing around him. Until they suddenly entered silent mode. Which made him nervous. So he opened his eyes. Just in time to see them throw a fat, red, oversized fish right on his stomach.
The weight of the fish sent his whole body underwater. The terrified creature flipped and flapped and finally swam away, and it took Micah a minute or two to regain his composure after the brief battle with the fish.
“I wish I had a video of that!” Javan was treading water three feet away from Micah and couldn’t stop laughing. His buddies on either side of him looked confused, though.
“What’s a video?” Orlan asked.
“Um…well.” Javan coughed and calmed himself down. “It’s a recording that you can watch over and over again. I just think it would be neat to have, you know, so you could show it to people who weren’t around to see it for themselves.”
“That’s stupid,” Micah said. “Even if you could ‘record’ things, no one would want to watch three guys throwing a fish on top of another guy floating in the water.”
Javan scrunched his nose. “I could probably get a video like that to go viral.”
“Go what?”
“Nothing.” Javan scooped water up in his left hand and poured it back into the sea. “Hey, did you notice that this water is actually clear? It’s the yellow coral on the bottom of the sea that makes the water appear yellow.”
“Of course I knew that.” Now that Javan had pointed it out. Which made him mad. He didn’t like that the Collector was more observant than him. He needed to come up with something to make himself once again feel superior. “I bet I could beat you to the bottom, tear off a piece of it, and return to the surface faster than you.”
“That’s not a great idea,” Kai said. “In this clear water, the bottom is further down than it appears.”
“I wasn’t challenging you,” Micah said. “But if Javan wants to use
that as an excuse to not lose to me in yet another competition, so be it.”
“There is no way you can beat me,” Javan said. “I am an excellent swimmer.”
“As am I.”
“Then test your skills by swimming to the shore and back,” Orlan said. “Going down is a good way to drown.”
“I won’t drown.” Micah resumed floating on his back. “Javan might, but I won’t.”
“Only one way to find out.” Javan pushed Micah’s ankles into the water, forcing him to an upright position. “Let’s do this.”
Micah smiled and took a series of deep breaths to fill his lungs with air. “Kai, you tell us when to go.”
“Do I have to participate in this?”
“Yes!” Micah and Javan said in unison.
“All right. But I refuse to come rescue either one of you.”
“I won’t need you to,” Micah said.
“Enough talk.” Javan took a few deep breaths of his own. “Just say go.”
“Go.”
Micah drank in as much air as he could and dove into the water. Down he went, gliding through the water with the sleek speed of an arrow. He picked a prickly piece of coral as his target and was halfway to it when Javan pulled ahead of him.
Micah increased his kicking power, but Javan remained in the lead. He was running out of breath, his ears were starting to pop, and the coral was still way out of reach. Javan’s leg wasn’t, though. One tug at this depth, and the Collector would be done.
Without a second thought, he wrapped his hands around Javan’s right ankle and yanked. Bubbles exploded around Javan’s head, indicating that he opened his mouth and tried to breathe. His eyes widened in fear as he looked back at Micah, and he shot up toward the surface.
Micah continued his descent, now certain of victory. He willed himself to the bottom and reached for the piece of coral he had originally targeted. But the second he snatched it, the long tentacles of a snake-like creature snatched him.
Chapter 33
Attack of the Sea Monster
Air. Boat. Hide. If Javan could reach the surface, breathe in air, and make it to the boat, then he could hide from that hideous monster tracking him and Micah.
What was that thing? How fast could it swim? Would he and Micah be able to get away from it?
Javan assumed Micah was right behind him, but he didn’t dare look down to verify his assumption. He held on to the little breath he had left and kept his burning eyes on the surface.
Kick. Stroke. Kick. Stroke. Kick. Stroke. Faster and faster he went, praying he could get to the surface before that yellow creature could attack. He kept expecting those long tentacles to wrap around his legs and drag him down, but he broke through the top of the water before that happened.
He gulped in as much air as his lungs could handle and focused on the boat ahead rather than the monster below. His friends were yelling at him to swim, so he swam, the adrenaline to propelling him forward. As soon as he made it to the rope that dangled over the side, Kai and Orlan pulled him up. He collapsed on the deck by his swords, laid on his back, and took a moment to enjoy being alive.
He enjoyed it even more when Taliya smothered him with a hug. “I’m glad you made it.”
Between breaths and with his eyes closed, he asked, “Where’s Micah? Did he get away?”
When she didn’t answer him, he sat up. Everyone else was lined along the railing staring out at the water. Not saying anything. “It’s not good, is it?”
“No. And they won’t help him. No one will help him.”
“Maybe I can.” Taliya helped him stand and walked with him to the railing.
He saw what he feared he would see. Thirty feet away, the dark yellow animal that had the head of a crocodile, the body of an anaconda, and the tentacles of an octopus engulfed Micah. Micah appeared to be fighting, but considering the strangling power of the snake-like body, he wouldn’t be alive much longer.
◊◊◊
At first, Micah thought cutting the tentacle of the creature with the coral was a grand idea. After all, it had let go of him and allowed him to swim away. Almost to the surface. Almost.
It knew Micah needed air. It let him think he could get it. Then it attacked.
This time Micah had no way of defending himself. Dozens of its tentacles covered Micah’s body, sending electric shocks through his system. Following the brief, paralyzing shock, it released its tentacles and coiled its body around Micah from his shoulders to his toes.
Then it slowly began squeezing him.
He tried to break free. He pushed and kicked and shoved. But he had no air to breathe and no way of defending himself. Even if he did have a weapon at hand, he had been deprived of oxygen too long to keep fighting.
This was how he was going to die, crushed underwater by a monster he couldn’t even name.
He closed his eyes, bowed his head, and accepted his fate.
◊◊◊
“Raise the anchor,” Andre said, backing away from the railing beside Taliya and under the covered area beside Javan’s swords. “Cristiano, start the rumble rocks.”
“We can’t leave!” Taliya dashed across the deck and moved to block the crank room. “He might not be dead yet. We have to save him!”
“We don’t even know what that thing is out there,” Andre said. “It’s getting closer and closer to this boat, and we can’t risk it attacking anyone else on this crew. Now step aside and let Cristiano’s men get to the crank room.”
Javan glanced at his swords at Andre’s feet and back at the water. If Micah hadn’t warned him about the monster by tugging on his leg, that could be Javan out there. Now God was tugging on his heart to save Micah. If he didn’t take action immediately, he would think too much and be too scared to take any action at all.
“You’re the one who needs to step aside.” Javan nudged Andre to the side, picked up his swords and dove into the water.
He utilized the breaststroke to cover the short distance to creature, careful to not cut himself with his swords as he swam. By the time he got close enough to do something, the monster had Micah in some sort of death spin parallel to the surface of the water. Javan wasn’t quite sure how to stop the yellow blur, so he did the only thing he could think of. He stabbed it with both swords.
The monster stopped spinning as the water turned red. An instant later, it poked its head above the water and roared like a lion. Uncoiling itself from Micah, it searched for the new threat. And set its eyes on Javan. “Uh oh.”
Its snakelike tail wrapped around Javan’s waist, and its crocodile head lurched up and over Javan. He stared into the back of its throat as it opened its jaws and covered Javan’s head. So it didn’t see Javan lift his arms or hear him scream as he crossed his swords across one another straight through the creature’s neck.
Blood spurted everywhere, and he felt the monster’s teeth scrape his back before he could throw the severed, smelly head off of him and into the water. Without pausing to freak out, he pried the tail away from his waist and dove into the blood-stained water to retrieve Micah’s lifeless body.
Chapter 34
Recovery
Flashes. Micah could only stay alert long enough to experience flashes of life. Javan pushing on his chest. Kai and Orlan carrying him. Taliya applying cold cream to his tender ribs. Cyr force feeding him soup. Lydia demanding he recover so he could return to Zandador.
None of the flashes made sense. He should be dead. Why didn’t he die?
Thinking hurt. Breathing hurt. Existing hurt.
Sleeping. He liked sleeping. The pain went away when he slept. He wanted to keep sleeping. To sleep and never wake up.
Until the nightmares began. Nightmares of black dragons. Yellow monsters. Burning fire. Red water.
But it was the screams that truly tormented him. The screeches of children running from their homes to escape the dragon. The shrieks of women being beaten for breaking Omri’s law. The cries of the men caught in Fury’s Pass.
“Stop!” He covered his ears and sat straight up. “Stop the yelling!”
“Micah.” Taliya’s soft voice broke through the madness. She sat on the end of the bed and eased his hands away from his head. “It’s okay. Nobody’s yelling here. All is quiet. You’re safe.”
As he struggled to turn his shallow breaths into deeper, more controlled breathing despite the fear and pain, Micah took in his surroundings. He sat on a soft bed twice as wide as his bunk in the sleeping quarters. It stretched from wall to wall in the small room that had two exits: a ladder on the left end of the bed leading up and a door on the right end of the bed leading out.
A lantern dangled from the ceiling, and no light poured in from the round window in the wall above the chair across from the bed. He wasn’t sure if that meant it was the middle of the night or if it meant they had progressed further into the Dark Zone.
“Where am I?”
“Captain’s quarters. He said he beat his spider bite in here, so this was the best place for you to recover from your battle with that monster.”
He rubbed his eyes and tried to scoot back. But he couldn’t move without pain.
“Careful,” Taliya said. “You bruised or broke just about every rib in your body.”
“That explains the pain.” He grimaced and leaned against the wall. “How long have I been in here?”
“A day and a half.”
“So that’s day darkness outside.”
“Yup. After your little adventure, we cranked the boat up and continued on our way.”
“I don’t remember much about my ‘adventure.’ You’ll have to fill me in on the details. How did I fight that monster off and then get back on the boat?”
“You think you fought the monster off on your own?”
“Of course. That’s what I do. I battle big monsters and win.”