Page 24 of When Eden Falls

The waves slapped against the thick fabric of my jumpsuit, labouring my movements. The cold sensation bit at my skin sending shudders down my already stiff body. Ten metres out, with the water now up to my waist, we passed the area where the waves began to break, and instantly the boat resisted the urge to retreat towards the beach.

With Rooke’s help, I jumped into the floating piece of inflated rubber. I clambered to one side and sat down next to Cora. She wrapped a blanket around my water sodden legs keeping me warm. Rooke landed at the back of the boat near Oz’s feet. Repositioning himself, he grabbed one of the oars from the rim, ready for use if needed. His expression was remarkably calm. He appeared focused, competently in control. In comparison, I felt as if I was going to vomit.

The raft began to drift southwards, and Troy’s voice confirmed we were moving towards our destination. The thought of where we were going still harrowed at my nerves. I scanned the clifftop in the distance, eager to catch a glimpse of the figure I spotted that morning. Who were they and were they still watching us?

We were unprotected, floating out on the vast ocean. Even with the hordes of weapons each of us carried, we were sitting ducks. Although our blue-grey uniform blended in with the surrounding water and skyline, the raft was a conflicting comparison, displaying illuminous yellow and orange. Any life, intelligent or not, would see us coming for miles, but I got the impression from Rooke that was all part of the plan.

Drifting past the cove where the scouting ship sat crumblingagainst the rockface, my eyes swept over to Rooke again. He was conversing with Troy and Kobe, his eyes continually scanning the whole area with commanding obligation. Kobe sat at the very front of the vessel, Zamya to his right. She was intermittently closing her eyes and clenching her stomach. It baffled me how she could endure space travel with no ill effect yet suffered profusely on the open sea.

Cora tapped my arm. I found her glancing behind us towards the never-ending horizon of ocean.

“Look,” she said pointing outwards, “can you see?”

I turned towards the waves, following her line of sight. At first, I only saw the outline of white tipped waves, but after several seconds of scouring the distance, I saw what she was excited about. Well over a mile away, a large form skimmed the surface of the water. It sprayed water upwards, creating a prominent mist. Then another even larger form jumped out of the water, exposing its dark grey skin and white underbelly. It twisted mid-air before crashing into the waves. The penetrating clap alerted the rest of the crew.

A wide grin of excitement spread across Cora’s mouth. “Whales,” she said in awe. “They still exist.”

My concerned frown turned into a smile. There were few ocean-faring mammals on Allura, and none that originated on Earth. Only golden hoffs, which were long beaked sea otters, lived in the Alluran oceans, along with multitudes of small fish. But they were miniscule compared to these large, hopefully gentle beasts, and nowhere near as majestic.

“What the Nux is that?” Zamya groaned, a hint of trepidation in her tone.

Cora turned, rolling her eyes. “It’s a whale, dummy.”

“No, not that…that.”

We all caught a glimpse of what Zamya was fretting about. A glint of turquoise light flashed sporadically from the top of a lone standing, eroded stack, which stood separately from a rock-faced peninsula. The flashing sequence was not constant, nor was itrepetitive. I heard Rooke’s heavy breathing through my earpiece. His posture had stiffened, his eyes seemed even more alert than before.

“It could be some form of communication,” Kobe said, watching the light intently. “Similar to a lighthouse or Morse Code.”

The current took the raft out wide, around the tall slab of rock protruding out of the sea. As we drifted past, I peered up at the top, assuming we’d be given some identification of the intelligent life form we were seeking. But the area was barren. The light continued to flash unaided.

It was only when the life raft juddered, surfing the change in the current, we saw what we’d been anticipating. The mountainous mound of rock stood between us and the next headland several miles along. Two small, narrow, low laying boats, each with one turquoise scalene shaped sail, were moving swiftly towards us.

I took a deep breath. It was a poor attempt to stabilise my racing heart.

“Remember what I said,” Rooke’s voice called to us all. “Stay calm. No challenging movements, no weapons. We don’t want to rile them.”

“I’m guessing they’ve spotted you?” Troy asked through the comms.

“Yeah. We’re likely to go dark for a while.”

“Copy that.”

We sat in silence, watching the boats grow nearer. Figures stood along the open front and sides, looking in our direction. As the distance closed, the haze fell from around them. The boats wooden hulls were decorated with swirls of blue and coral. Their sails were embroidered with blue and golden thread, again in large, intricate swirls.

The sound of low voices drew my attention back to those occupying the boats. They were still too far out to identify, although their general stature signified they were human. Taller perhaps, and broader. But I became alarmed when a glint of light reflected off them. Several long spears were aimed directly at us,ready to engage. I heard Zamya muttering curses under her breath, while Cora inched closer to me. Remarkably, Rooke and Kobe remained calm and sangfroid.

A voice hollered over to us, using a strange unknown language. We all stared as one boat headed towards the port side of our small raft, the other to the bow. A hooked line flew towards us from the ship to the left. It landed barely inches from Oz’s semiconscious body, puncturing the rubber of our life raft. Rooke stood up raising his hands in surrender. Remaining seated, the rest of us followed suit.

The line lurched back, dragging us closer to the boat. Unusual faces came into view, peering down on us as our vessel began to deflate. I couldn’t help but gawk as one stepped to the edge of the boat deck, squatting down to grab the line when it stopped retracting. His pale limbs were long and lean, with an exposed, muscular, upper torso. A blue spiral, like those displayed on the hull and sails, covered most of his right pectoral. He wore a baggy pair of grey trousers, rolled halfway up his calves. His feet were bare.

I watched his long white-blonde hair swirl about in the breeze as he barked a series of harsh words at us, none that any of us could decipher. We remained silent, passing glances between each other. He barked again, this time pointing his spear at Rooke, who had remarkably continued to stand on the destabilising rubber floor.

“We wish you no harm,” Rooke replied. “We need your help.” He gestured towards Oz. With one hand still raised in the air, Zamya removed Oz’s blankets, exposing the yellow stained bandages wrapped across his shoulder. The boatman sneered his disgust and began conversing with one of the other boatmen. After a couple of minutes of anticipating their resolution, the boatman looked back, eyeing each one of us warily. He pointed at me, Cora, and Kobe, then pointed to the boat at our bow, which steadily drew closer. Then pointing at Rooke, Zamya, and Oz, he grunted towards the deck he was standing on.

Rooke glanced over his shoulder at me, and I nodded inunderstanding. We were to be separated. I was in command of Cora and Kobe.

Within seconds, the three of us were abruptly loaded onto the second boat. Our backpacks, radios, and weapons were removed immediately, and our hands were bound in front of us. After being forced into a sitting position in the middle of the wooden deck, I grimaced at the sight. The floor was cluttered with rope, nets, and what looked like fish guts. Shuffling to avoid a patch of blood and entrails, I peered down at the itchy restraint around my wrists. It had the same appearance as seaweed but was clearly reinforced. My hands could barely move under the restriction.