| There was chaos under the decks of the Peophin Lily.
There was a huge gaping hole in the side of the ship, and it was letting water
in! Cards were soaked through. Muffins were washed away. Pirates were scrambling
for the exit. Mass Panic.
Jessica was trying to herd all of her pets together.
"Ari! Oh, there you are. Sammy! Sammy is in the sick bed." She scooped the Koi
up. "Marcus!" Then, she gestured towards me. "There you are. But where's Brenda?"
"Jess! They're loading up the lifeboats! Let's
go now!" I called.
"Where's Brenda? Brenda!"
"Jessica! We have to leave!"
"I'm not leaving without Brenda!"
"Brenda is probably already on a lifeboat. Now
let's go!"
Arielle and I practically dragged a panicking
Jessica to the deck. "Get her and Sammy on a boat," I whispered to my friend.
"I'm going to look for Brenda."
"Let me go!" Arielle yelled fiercely.
"No, I'm going," I said. "It's my fault we're
on this ship in the first place! That contract and me! Besides, I can't keep
track of myself, let alone a seasick Koi and a panicking human. I'll be back,
I promise. Just keep Jessie controlled, lest she start looking for Brenda herself."
Arielle nodded bravely, but I could see the
tears in her eyes. "Be careful out there, Marc."
"I will. No use worrying over me," I said. Then,
I left. I wondered if I would ever see them again.
But no time to fret. I searched the deck for
any sign of my sister. A tuft of fur, a scream in the darkness, a scratch made
by a Usul's claws. I found nothing.
"Brenda?" I called. "Brenda? Come on! Jessie
is getting worried about you!" Only the wind answered.
"What are you doing here, Marcus?" Kara Lee
asked me. "Get aboard a lifeboat where you belong."
"I can't find Brenda," I explained. "Help me
find her, please!"
"Wish I could," Kara Lee responded, "but the
Captain is missing, too. As first mate, I'm in charge when he's gone. I have
to get the pirates onto lifeboats. Good luck with your search, Marcus. I hope
your sister is okay."
"Thanks."
I spent another five minutes looking for Brenda.
But no luck.
All of the boats had departed already. All but
one.
The moment of truth. Do I board that one lifeboat
and hope that Brenda is still alive? Or do I keep looking?
If you think I was going to board that lifeboat,
you obviously don't know me well.
I watched in despair as that last little boat
floated out of sight. Then, I continued to search the deck. No luck here, either.
The Peophin Lily tilted violently to
one side. I was going down with the ship. But that sentence seemed surreal to
me. I almost didn't believe it.
But the ship went down. I floated around for
a while, but then I got tired.
The last thing I saw before my head went under
water was a pale white lily floating in the ocean.
A miracle.
I'll admit it. I cried.
But I wasn't half as upset as Jessica. She panicked,
and insisted on looking for her Neopets. I had to restrain her (a.k.a. sit on
her) to keep her from jumping off the lifeboat and swimming to the wreckage.
Sammy was still too seasick to pay any attention to what was happening.
Kara Lee the Kyrii was in one of the nearby
lifeboats. "I saw Marcus aboard the Peophin Lily before it went under. I didn't
see him come off, but I'm sure he's out there. In one of those little boats.
Somewhere. I don't know; I'm still looking for the Captain."
"You and your Captain! What about my poor little
pets, so young…"
I put my hand over Jessica's mouth to make her
be quiet. "Ignore her. She doesn't know what she's saying. Marcus and Brenda
are on one of those boats. We just don't know which one."
"Mrmff mmf fuf mum uff um mifrf."
"What?" I asked, taking my paw off my human's
mouth.
"I said could you please stop digging your foot
into my ribs. Gee, when I got a Shoyru, I thought they'd be gentler."
"You just want me to stop sitting on you. No,
I'm under orders to keep you controlled."
"Orders?"
"Orders from Marcus."
"You don't know how weird that sounded. You're
taking orders from Marcus? Normally it's the other way around."
"I'm just as shocked as you are."
"I don't think the Captain's coming back. I'll
have to give the command to row." Kara Lee said in despair.
"NO!"
"Jessica, Brenda and Marcus are in one of those
boats. Calm down."
"You don't know if they're in a boat."
"Marcus is the best survivor I know of. And
if Brenda is under his care, she'll be okay. I have all the faith in the world
in my best friend Marcus."
"Hearken to me, mateys! Yer Cap'n NightLupe
is nowhere to be seen. That means I'm in charge," Kara Lee called out in perfect
pirate speech. "We're rowin' for the shores of Mystery Island to the Northwest.
Got it? Now row!"
Then, Whipsail and Wocky and Scorch the Scorchio
stood up in one of the lifeboats. "Face it, Kara Lee. The Cap'n is dead! And
ye killed him!"
A roar of anger swept through the crowd. I had
heard that sort of roar only once before. It was the roar of the peasant militia
in the Darigan-Meridell War. It was the roar of an angry mob.
"I didn't kill him!" Kara denied. "He drowned
in the storm!"
"Ye forced him on deck, Kara Lee! Ye made him
steer the ship in the rain and the lightnin'. I knew ye were trouble the minute
I met ye!"
Another roar.
"I knew it was disaster when poor old NightLupe
let ye aboard. It's not that ye're a girl. Ye just weren't born into a pirating
family! Ye're naught but a rich liddle brat!"
Kara Lee was losing control of the crowd. I
had to do something. "Kara Lee knows what she's doing! She's been trained by
the best, Captain NightLupe. He taught her everything he knows about how to
take command."
"If she's so good at takin' command, why's she
have a foreigner givin' speeches for her? Hearken to me, boys! The minute we
get to Mystery Island, we build another ship. We'll name her the NightLupe after
the best Cap'n on the six seas."
"There are seven seas," Kara shouted. "Not six."
"Rich, educated lass," Scorch muttered.
"An education is what you pirates need," Kara
Lee said. "And some manners. I should take over the crew. It was Cap'n NightLupe's
last wish. Ain't that right, Ari?"
"Yes Cap'n Kara Lee," I replied dutifully.
Some of the pirates seemed torn. Who were they
supposed to listen to? Kara Lee, who supposedly murdered the Captain? Or Scorch
and Whipsail, who had no idea what they were doing?
In the end, many of them sided with Kara Lee.
But some went with Whipsail and Scorch. Thus, the crew of the Peophin Lily was
split.
I looked up. The clouds cleared, to reveal a
sky dotted with a million stars. A pale, full moon shone upon the waters where
the wreckage of the Peophin Lily would rest forever. These waters would be her
grave.
Forever.
***
Thunder, lightning, pouring rain! All seemed swirled as one to me. I shivered
and shook beneath my bed, hoping the storm would go away. Demons cackle in the
darkest corners of my mind. They close in on me, and I weep. I cannot escape
them. They're everywhere. They have me. THEY HAVE ME!
Then, Jessica walks into the room carrying a
lantern. The glowing flame calms me. I know I'm safe. I hug my friend tightly,
looking to her for strength, warmth, and protection. The demons take one look
at her and flee. My valiant champion.
Yet, I'm not lying on the soft, fuzzy carpet
beneath my bed. There is no lantern; there is no Jessica. But something seems
warm…
I opened my eyes. The Mystery Island sun shone
bright upon my back. It heats the lonely shores even in the wintertime. I saw
nothing but sand and sea for miles. There were no signs of civilized life anywhere.
It was if this beach were frozen in time, away from noise, and tourists, and
candy wrappers. Cautiously, I tried to stand.
A searing pain shot up my leg! White-hot fire
blinded me. I was injured. I collapsed back onto the shore, exhausted and despairing.
Who would find me on this deserted shore? What would happen to me?
I lay there, for goodness knows how many hours,
crying out in pain and loneliness. None heard my cries but the seabirds and
palm trees. Finally, I decided to chance it alone. I grasped the ground and
started dragging myself along the tide line.
I kept dragging myself, searching for something.
I lost all track of time. Ten hours could have been ten minutes. But I kept
moving, I kept the hope inside of me. There had to be some sign of life. Behind
this rock, perhaps. Or over this hill.
The sun sank slowly into the waves. Darkness
fell and the stars came out. The soft light of the moon showed a lonesome Usul,
hungry, weary, and in pain. Finally, I let the spell of sleep surround me and
I closed my eyes.
* * *
A tingling sensation in my injured leg forced me to wake up. I was in a round
hut made of dried grass. Several of the natives were peering at me cautiously,
as if I were a lion in a zoo. As if they expected me to pounce at any moment.
I didn't know if they spoke my language, but I decided to chance it.
"Hi. I'm famished, what do you have to eat?"
Silence. Obviously, they didn't understand.
I'd have to communicate with them using simpler means.
"Yum, yum," I said, putting a paw on my belly.
Then, I pointed to my mouth, then again to my belly.
The natives seemed to get the message. A few
of them left and came back with some salted fish. I gobbled the fish down in
an instant. Then, I took a nice, long drink of water.
In case you've never seen the natives of Mystery
Island, they're shaped like coconuts. The warriors of the tribe carry long spears
and wear face paint. This only makes them seem ferocious. In reality, they're
peace loving, and the family is an important element in Mystery Island Native
society. I saw parents playing with children, and basic family fun time.
The native I was staying with was named Kohuna
Maki. She's the village healer. She didn't seem to understand my verbal communication,
but she understood my emotions. She's a lot like me. You can't hide feelings
from her. When I showed signs of loneliness, I couldn't tell her what was wrong.
But she comforted me, hugging me tight and bringing me some sort of berry juice.
She was the sweetest, kindest person in that village.
But despite all of this attention and company,
I was lonely. I longed to see Arielle or Sammy or Jessica or Marcus. My friends.
The ones you just can't replace. They were the first things I thought of in
the mornings. They were that last things I imagined before I went to sleep in
the evening. And they haunted my dreams at night. Throughout the daytime, one
question rang through my mind.
Had they survived the storm?
I knew I needed answers. But I couldn't find
them lying helpless in bed. That's when I made a vow to myself. The instant
I was well enough to travel, I would seek my friends. I couldn't stay at this
safe haven forever, not while they might possibly be in danger.
I figured the only way to keep them out of danger
would be to find the one named Carolea and return her to her owner.
But who was Carolea?
To be continued...
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