On the way

Disguised as a fishing vessel, the ship with a crew led by Kelis was heading to an artificial island where the tihirax were located.

The trip was supposed to take several days, so Nix decided not to waste time and taught Lien how to use the exoskeleton. Lien, dressed in an exoskeleton, stood with a basketball in his hands and aimed at a hastily made basket. Lien threw the ball towards the basket, but it hit the edge of the basket and missed it.

Nix's people, who were standing around and watching Lien, exhaled in frustration.

- "Do I have to do this?" - Lien asked.

- "We need to be ready for anything. Besides, extra hands that can use the exoskeleton will not hurt us," - Nix answered.

Nix picked up a basketball and threw it to Lien.

- "Okay, go ahead!"

Lien caught the ball.

Not far away, Kelis was watching what was happening. Axel approached him.

- "Are you sure everything is under control?" - Axel asked.

- "They're trying to distract themselves from what awaits them. And it seems they're succeeding."

Axel watched Lien and Nix's men.

- "Not everyone succeeded..."

Kelis looked at Axel. She was talking about Eno, who hadn't spoken to anyone for several days and had slept very little. He had withdrawn into himself and walked around the ship like a ghost.

- "Eno is having the hardest time right now," - Kelis answered.

- "I'll talk to him again. Maybe a heart-to-heart talk will calm him down."

Eno was spending time in his cabin with papers. He was doing mathematical calculations. Axel came into the cabin.

- "Can I?" - Axel asked.

- "Yes, of course, come in," - Eno replied.

Axel went into the cabin. And although Eno invited Axel inside, he was in no hurry to start a conversation with her and continued to spend time with papers and do some calculations.

- "Kelis said that you have a big burden. However, she won't reveal any more details..."

- "I think Kelis also said that you won't learn more from me either..."

Axel smiled.

- "It seems so."

- "Everyone puts what they can into this project. And in the end, they play their part in its implementation. What is happening now is my role. These are my problems, and the challenges I face. So don't try to help me. I don't need it."

Axel looked sadly at Eno, whom she could not help and who continued to count something.

After training on the exoskeleton, Lien tried to catch the frequency of some station on the radio he found on the ship. Finally, among all the noise, he found a signal coming from one of the stations. On this frequency, a preacher was speaking, talking about the Rebirth.

- "All these people who hope to get on the arks... they don't know what they are doing. They are running away from God's will. Rebirth is our logical end, which has come for us. Running away from it is like running away from paradise. And is it possible to run away from paradise? Is there anything better than paradise? Is there anything that can be exchanged for paradise? Of course not! However, it is not too late for everyone to change their minds and accept the Rebirth...," the preacher continued.

Lien listened in surprise to what was being said on the radio.

- “Turn it off…,” said Tera.

- “What is this?” - Lien clarified in surprise.

- “They call themselves the Order of the Awaiting Rebirth. Many people have joined this order. If only they could calm those who have joined the order in the face of the approaching end… But it seems that they are not so simple.”

- “It seems that they are maliciously disposed against those who want to go to the ark.”

- “There is talk that they force those who have joined their order to participate in a lottery for a place in the ark. And those who win must destroy their tickets.”

- “They want as few people as possible to get into the ark.”

- “People’s actions are often incomprehensible… Especially at critical moments.”

The ship's bell rang. It was the captain of the ship, drawing the attention of all the passengers.

- "Island!" - the captain shouted loudly.

Everyone on the ship came out of their cabins and abandoned their occupations. Everyone became curious about what lay ahead.

The crew came closer to see the island. Everyone silently and intently looked into the distance.

- "Get ready! We are approaching the shore."

Kelis climbed to the captain's bridge. He approached the captain of the ship.

- "We need to be careful," - Kelis warned.

- "I know!" - the captain exclaimed confidently.

The captain came out of the captain's bridge and turned to the crew.

- "Everyone on the sides!" - the captain shouted.

The crew of the ship went to the sides and began to look into the water.

- "What are they doing?" - Lien asked Nix, who was standing nearby.

- "They're checking for mines."

The captain smiled confidently at Kelis.

- "While we're at sea, trust my crew," - the captain said.

The ship's crew peered intently into the water.

- "To the right!" - one of the crew members shouted.

The ship turns sharply to the right.

- "Complete stop" - shouts another crew member.

The ship is stopped. The captain runs out to the side of the ship.

- "What happened?" - the captain asked in surprise.

- "There are reefs further on! They are barely visible, but they will ram our ship if we sail further," - said one of the crew members.

The captain looked closely at the place the crew member was pointing to. The captain turned to Kelis. - "It seems that this is where we will land you. I would like to swim closer..."

- "Everything is fine. Next we will go ourselves," - Kelis answered.

Kelis turned to his team members. - "Let's get together, it's time for us to land!".

Kelis' team began to gather. All the necessary things, all the weapons, maps, and documents began to be folded and put into suitcases.

Special attention was paid to the weapons that Nix's men had brought with them in reserve.

The boat began to be lowered into the water. All the equipment and exoskeletons began to be loaded onto the boat. Behind them, Nix's men and Kelis's team boarded the boat.

- "We will wait for you here!" - said the captain.

Kelis nodded gratefully to the captain.

Nix started the boat and headed towards the island.

- "From now on, we must be careful. We must be prepared for the fact that the island is not ready to receive uninvited guests," - Kelis said.