Chapter 31
Naia
Dylan was pretty banged up. He had bruises all over his body, a bloody nose and he was holding his ribs like they were broken. Which they surely were. I held out one hand and helped him to his feet, while with the other I held the torch. I had managed to use the sunstone to make a fire with a moonbeam. I was still surprised that it worked!
Then, when I was sure that the young man was not going to fall to the ground, I turned. And what I saw filled me with dread. Before us stood a horde of monsters, each uglier than the next. They had claws at the end of their hands, huge bulging eyes, and above all, their flesh was decomposing before our eyes. It was terrible! They looked like...
“Zombies," I cried.
“Yes, unfortunately," said Dylan beside me.
“They are really horrible, and far too many.”
“But there's nowhere to run," remarked the young man.
Damn it! Forgive my language, but we were in a bad position. I knew that to kill a zombie you had to decapitate it, but there were only two of us with one sword each. They were going to eat us all before we could take out more than ten. All we had left was our sacred fire. However, were the zombies afraid of fire? After all, it was night when they appeared. And magically, the volcano's flames were no longer there to help us.
“On the count of three, we head for the water," I told Dylan.
“Uh... last time, I sank.”
“And I saved you!”
“A point for you," said the latter.
“Watch out, I'm beating you to the punch.”
“For that alone, you lose a point.”
“You can't," I replied.
“Who says I can't get my points back?”
“Me," I said, slightly annoyed.
“Exactly, so you're one point down.”
Grrr, he was so pissing me off. As much as I loved his kisses, sometimes I hated him.
“Three!" I cried suddenly.
I threw my flashlight at the zombies and ran for my life.
“What? What happened to one and two?" he asked me as we rushed towards the water.
“I decided to skip them and go straight to the point.”
“Oh yeah, you're not getting a little personal revenge there?”
“Not at all.”
Well, okay, clearly I was lying. But understand, he was getting on my nerves. So I decided to shut him up by saying three directly, but it didn't have the desired effect.
Once in the water, I turned to see if my idea had indeed worked. The fire had grown to a huge size, as the zombies struggled in the flames. Some had fallen and were not getting up. Others managed to survive even with sparks all over their bodies. The survivors were heading towards us. Shit, if they reached the shore, they could drown the fire. So I got out of the water and went to meet them, sword in hand. Dylan understood my intention and followed close behind. But he was in bad shape, so I preferred to take care of them myself.
I let my rage overtake me and I only made a mouthful of the remaining zombies. I had put all the hatred I felt for my tormentor, for my situation, for the life I had led in hiding, into my actions. And my blade was in perfect harmony with me, cutting throat after throat until there was nothing left. Except two exhausted and tired souls.
Chapter 32
Naia
Even though I was exhausted, I let Dylan sleep while I looked around, as he had done for me. We'd stayed on the beach, enjoying the fresh air and the sounds of the waves. It was soothing, especially with my stunt with the zombies.
My body burned to touch the young man, as it did when we embraced in the water. But I held back and watched his beautiful face in the moonlight. I had to face the facts. I was attracted to Dylan, and had been since I first laid eyes on him. But the problem was the vision I had of the two of us. I'd learned to take care of myself, I didn't know what it was like to live with someone. I was doing fine on my own, I didn't think I needed anyone else. Because for me, being in a relationship meant taking care of each other, and I didn't know how I was going to react to that. Having spent my whole life alone, well until I met the pirates, I valued my independence.
A glow drew me from my thoughts. It looked like a shell reflecting the moon's rays. I stood up and walked to the edge of the waves. On the ground was a perfectly round, transparent stone, glistening with a white light. It was beautiful. I picked it up and returned to where I was sitting. We had finally accomplished our mission. All that remained was to return to the ship.
I decided to leave Dylan alone and tell him about the stone when he was awake. He didn't need to cut his night short just to know we'd managed to find the magic item. So I began to examine it carefully, to see how the stone reacted to the moon, or to being deprived of its rays. I could feel it buzzing on my skin, its magic reacting with mine. It was as if it wanted to communicate with me, except that I couldn't understand what it wanted to tell me.
I was so deep in thought, I didn't notice that Dylan had woken up.
“Did you find the stone?" he said as he straightened up and bent over to get a better look at the object I was holding in my hands.
“Yes, it appeared at the edge of the waves, deposited by the sea like a shell,” I answered.
“And of course, I missed it.”
“Yes," I laughed.
He joined me and we began to laugh heartily. Sometimes I forgot how simple it was to laugh, especially when I was with the young pirate.
“Well, shall we go home? I'd like to get off this island as soon as possible.”
“I can only agree with you.”
“Can you say that again? You said you agreed with me? That's so rare," he teased.
“Ahah," I replied, nudging him in the arm with my elbow, where it didn't hurt too much.
I helped him up and we tried to find a way out of the creek. We couldn't find one. There was no way out. What were we going to do?
“Naia, look," Dylan told me.
I turned in the direction he was pointing to see the ship in the distance. A longboat was sailing in our direction. Our friends had found us. We could finally leave this island. At last!
Chapter 33
Dylan
I have never been so happy to return to my ship. Survivor Island had tested us harder than our other destinations. As soon as I stepped onto the deck, Kevin grabbed me and took me to sickbay. I was so happy to see my family alive, I didn't say a word. Morgan was with him, watching me out of the corner of his eye, probably because he thought I was going to go back to the helm. However, I was in far too much pain for that. That was how much pain I was in.
“What happened to you?" asked Morgan, helping Kevin to cauterize my wounds.
“We ran to a cliff to escape the flames, but we ran into zombies,” I told him.
“Zombies?" said Kevin, shocked by what I had just said.
“It's not as bad as what I had to face," said Ondine, who had just arrived.
The young blonde woman had her arm in a blindfold and scars on her face and legs. I realized that she had broken her arm and had faced a very different danger than we had. I questioned her with my frown.
“I came across some giant spiders.”
“Oh my god," the healer cried, fear on his face.
“It was after the flames. I ran to the sea where we had landed. Spiders were waiting for me and I had to run into a cave so that they could not follow me. Only a few of them managed to get through. One of them ate a piece of my arm.”
“Yeah, it wasn't very nice," added Kevin.
“And you, Morgan?" I asked my best friend.
When he heard my question, he blushed. It was very strange. I had never seen him get flushed before. I've never seen him blush before.
“Uh, I stayed with Kevin. We ran out of the volcano and came upon a beautiful beach. Young women were there, singing. They had beautiful voices.”
“Mermaids?" cut in Ondine.
“Yes, but we soon realized that they had no effect on us," Morgan continued.
“What do you mean?" I asked.
“Uh... because I'm not attracted to women," my best friend said in a small voice. “To tell you the truth, I'm attracted to Kevin.”
“And I, by him," blushed the latter.
Wow, I didn't expect that. But I was happy for them. If they had found love together, I could only be excited. I smiled at my best friend, to tell him that I didn't care who he loved, I was there for him. He blushed, again! I had a feeling that he was going to blush a lot in the future.
After this happy news, Ondine and Morgan went out and let Kevin do his work. I had a broken rib and some small cuts. After disinfecting them, he applied bandages and let me go, so that I could rest. And indeed I needed it. For once I touched my pillow, I fell asleep immediately.
Chapter 34
Naia
After a good night's rest, I was refreshed and ready to finish this quest. I still didn't know what the end goal was, but I didn't care. I had never been on as many adventures as I had since I came aboard this ship and I was loving this new and exciting life. It was as if I had just woken up and discovered the world around me. And I had made some great friends. Who would have thought I'd become super friendly with pirates? I didn't. Just goes to show that life is full of surprises.
After completing my daily chores, I went to visit Dylan. I owed him after saving me from the zombies. Kevin had told me that aside from a few cuts and his broken rib, he wasn't hurt badly. But I still wanted to see for myself. So I knocked on his cabin door. I heard a grunt and entered the room. The young man was still in bed, looking at his precious map.
“How are you?" I said as I sat down on a chair next to him.
“Good. I was able to rest for a few hours but my back is bothering me. I can't do anything but read this map. It's so frustrating. Kevin told me to stay in bed, but I hate it.”
“You'll heal quickly, don't worry. And then you'll be able to be pampered," I said with a smile.
“I'd rather move on my ship.”
“Yes, but you have to learn to take care of yourself, Dylan, otherwise your recovery will take longer and you'll be even more frustrated.”
“I know that. That's why I'm in bed instead of on deck," said the young man.
“That's one point for you!”
There was silence. I understood the young man's frustration, for in his place I would feel the same helplessness. His back and rib were blocking him completely, and he had to avoid moving so that he could heal without risk.
I held out my hand in a gesture of comfort and compassion. I wanted to show him my support and tell him that I understood him perfectly. He saw it in my eyes and put his palm on mine. It warmed me instantly. My heart began to race and my breath became erratic. I took a deep breath and calmed my pulse.
“I have a favor to ask of you," Dylan said suddenly, in a serious voice.
“I'm listening.”
“I need you to take all the stones and find out where we're going next. I would, but I can't move and we need sun and water for the first two stones. Can you do that for me?”
I shook his hand and smiled.
“Of course,” I replied.
“Take as much time as you want, anyway, we can't go until I get better.”
“Thank you," I said.
“You don't need to thank me. In fact, I should be thanking you," said the young man.
“Nonsense. You're the one who saved my life while I was sleeping. It's only fair that I help you.”
“Need I remind you that you saved me first?”
“Another point for you," I conceded.
“Oh look out, I'm catching up to you," he laughed.
“Not for much longer,” I warned him.
I stood up. Dylan handed me his map and sunstone. I already had the other two gems, which I had hidden in my cabin. You can never be too careful! Then I left with a new goal in mind: to find our next destination.
Chapter 35
Naia
I had been trying to solve this puzzle for a few days. Dylan had told me that the first two stones needed water and sunlight to work, but the last one was a moonstone. Can't you see my dilemma? I needed both the sun and the moon to make the magic items work at the same time. And other than an eclipse, I didn't really see how I could achieve my goal. Grrr! It was so annoying.
At least there was more good news to ease my mind. Dylan was recovering faster than expected, and Kevin and Morgan had finally gotten their act together and were dating. They were the cutest couple I'd ever seen. I was so happy for them because they so deserved it. As for Ondine, the spider bite hadn't healed but at least it hadn't gotten infected. It didn't seem to bother the girl more than that. She was doing her second duties perfectly, even with her arm in a sling. I admired her courage. She was more persistent than I, who instead of continuing my research, took a break to admire the sunset.
Don't get me wrong, it was beautiful! And I never got tired of it. Whenever the sky was clear, I would go to the bow and watch the sun change color, all reflected on the sea. And this evening we could even see the moon. It was already high in the atmosphere and was particularly bright tonight.
Oh my god but yes! Why hadn't I thought of that before? Sometimes, at dusk, you could find the moon AND the sun.
I ran to get the map and the stones, and set to work. I laid the scroll on the ground, while I put water on the first object and placed the other two beside it. Then I waited. It did not take long. But I was amazed. All three stones glowed at once, illuminated by their essence. I could see blue, white, and yellow light blending together. It was so intense that I had to close my eyes to avoid being dazzled. A second later I opened my eyes and there was nothing. Correction, there was no more glow, but the map had indeed changed. A new island had appeared to the right. I could even see our ship, sailing on a sea towards... the end of the world. And at the tip was our destination: the island of the gods!
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