Deep Water

The captain, hurried a crew together who were promised double pay, some woken up from barracks, some gathered from a nearby pub, some who could barely remain on their feet, some who had never been on a ship before.

“Urgent cargo my ass.” the quartermaster complained, leading said cargo to the ship. “This here is the Judean glory, the last of it’s kind from the Western Isles” he said. In front of them was a medium sized ship with a dark red painted hull. It had two masts with white sails waiting to be deployed, three men already hard at work loosening ties and hauling lines.

“Sally.” Ember held her from boarding just yet. Sally turned, facing a woman overcome by guilt, who could keep her happy demeanor no longer. “I can’t go with you, I need to prepare for your return.”

“I don’t understand, I don’t even know where we’re going…”

Ember grabbed Sally’s hand, put a small object in it, and closed it with her other hand. “You will find a path I’m sure.—And, I’m sorry.” She took Sally’s hand. “I hope you can forgive me, forgive Mara, and the gods of your world too.” Her hands were warm, she tried to fake a smile, before she left Sally with the ring that brought her here.

“This is the captain’s cabin, he said you have exclusive access.” the quartermaster handed the keys to Sally. The man stood and stared at the maiden with the odd hand, the knight without sword and the undead before realizing he was paid not to ask questions. “The trip shouldn’t take more that half a day. Until then, do as you please.”

It was a moderately fancy room. Dark polished wood made up most of the furniture, closets with iron locks and compartments filled with scrolls, likely maps. And a cot for sleeping at port-side and a hammock on the other, likely swiftly fashioned together.

“Oh right, we’re short staffed.” The quartermaster grabbed Niklas’ armor by the collar, “I hope you polished your armor well , It’s going to rain.” Niklas only managed to produce a squeak, before he got dragged out of the cozy room on his heels.

After lying the zombified god on the cot, the plant around Mara’s legs and spine retracted itself and turned into a pod. Sally put the pod together with her bag on the table, hoping she won’t have to do a ‘Weekend at Bernie’s’ to someone again soon. Ember mentioned the poison should have worn off by now, Mara was still fast asleep though. Should she be concerned? Should she be concerned about a god? Mara was able to be hurt for sure, the hand she used to punch the carriage door was swollen and red. Even Ember didn’t bother bandaging it, maybe the gods didn’t feel pain?

Do gods require empathy? What am I talking about… sally thought..

Maybe I crashed the car, come to think of it, I can’t remember getting out of the car… maybe I’m drowning right and my mind is going through the motions of a dying person. There was a snake, snakes are sometimes considered symbols of death and rebirth… That guy, with the creepy robe, maybe he drugged me! But I should have seen him coming, unless he was in the car the whole time. Nope, definitely drowning. Is it too late to snap out of it?

She walked up to the curtains, the red fabric was rough but thick, giving it a bit of weight. She pushed it aside to reveal the port, slowly inching drifting away.

Momo’s message! Maybe she’s trying to reach me somehow.

Sally took out her phone and opened the message: “Hey, I'm sorry if I upset you, I know you’re having a though time… can we talk?”

There was still no signal.

Momo and Sally hadn’t talked a lot in the last year, mainly because of added pressure from ambitious parents. Ambitious of their children getting good grades and going to college. After not seeing each other first for a week, then a month, the pressure to reach out became ever increasing. But it always felt like Sally was lagging behind. Momo always looked to solve problems and look to the the future.

When she was young, she would feel safest hiding under her bed, when the space eventually became to small for her, Momo made blanket forts with her, and as teenagers they would explore the forest and had different forts around the town. After an especially rainy season, the forts were destroyed and never rebuilt. Sally would often revisit them in her head, where they buried treasure, the way no roof actually protected them from rain. Momo wasn’t there, she was busy growing up while Sally couldn’t bring herself to do it.

Creaking of the moving room around her brought Sally back from her daydream. Still on the ship that only just left the port, looking out on a city shrouded in darkness. Clouds of smoke from the smoldering city center covered part of the starry sky. Sally tried to come up with symbolism for it, but she could barely keep her eyes open.

I wonder if I’ll wake up again, either way, maybe I don’t have to go to college after all…

The room quickly heated up as sunlight slipped through the cracks of the curtains, making it impossible for Sally to remain in the hammock, though she desperately wanted to.

The ship’s lumber cracked and knocked every so often. Making a soft knock at the door almost indistinguishable from it. After his third attempt, Sally unlocked the door to Niklas, who was sweating heavily in his metal suit.

Sally let him in, “Are you okay?” she asked.

“…me? Ah, yes, I always have trouble sleeping…” Niklas said, “The captain wanted me to ask if you’d like breakfast.”

“I think I’ll wait for Mara to wake up. Where were you all night?”

“oh, After helping out with prepping the ship, I didn’t want to wake either of you, so I slept with the cargo, I think they have a rat problem… or they’re transporting critters of some sort…”

“Why did you sleep there?”

“…I don’t think the crew likes me very much… they all seemed agitated… I don’t know how to tie knots and I’m not really strong, so I improvised on securing loose gear by bolting it to the ship’s deck.”

“Using your…?”

Niklas twiddled his thumbs and spoke even softer than before, barely speaking over the hustle and bustle going on right outside, “…Miss Ember tells me not to use my powers in public… but I didn’t know what else to do, they seemed mad enough at departing so suddenly, I’m sorry…”

“No it’s fine, I think, don’t apologize.”

Again, Niklas stared at Sally’s hand, which she was already covering with her sleeve. “…Um, could I—”

“Where is she?” Mara sat up on the bed, 

“Where is Ember.” she asked again.