Eris slipped away from the rest of the crew once everyone was settled, shutting and locking the door to her cabin. The young woman leaned against the wooden door to collect her thoughts for a moment. She considered herself fortunate that no lives were lost in this skirmish. But now was the time to plan her next move. With having lost three days of their journey, she needed to get back on target at once.
The captain moved from the locked door in light footed strides to the chest in the far corner of the room. She pulled out a key from around her neck and inserted inside the keyhole, unlocking the chest. Eris rummaged through the many parchment papers and books until she came across a pitch black leather-bound book. Eris lifted the book from its dormant place and brought it to her desk, opening to the fourth page.
The waves of the ocean cradled the Tiger Lily as the crew went about their daily activities. Navigating, watching for enemies, preparing supplies and performing health inspections. Life at sea seemed to have a steady rhythm, Logan noticed, just like his home did. But sailing could be quite unpredictable and dangerous. One moment, all could be calm an in perfect harmony. Whereas in the next moment, a wild storm would throw everything off balance. Much like the current storm that quickly began to brew on the open ocean out of the blue.
"All hands! All hands on deck now!" "Secure the sails! Grab a lifeline! Everyone, lifelines!" "Hurry! It's getting closer!" The entire crew worked together as one body to brace the ship and themselves for the incoming hurricane. They worked to pull the delicate sails in the tie them down. Both Aileen and Eris frantically passed ends of rope to each and every crewmember to tie around themselves. Charlie hurried around to test everyone's knots to ensure their security.
"Dammit, it won't tighten up!" The ships began to rock violently as the waves began to rise, causing Martin to struggle with securing himself. "Hold on!" Logan moved to sprint to the older man to help only to be knocked down by a large wave swiping the deck. He hit the wood hard, the powerful force pushing him all the way to the other side of the deck. " Martin!" Charlie cried out in horror as his senior was hanging on to the side railing of the ship. Logan scrambled to his feet, lunging to the other side of the deck. As luck would have it, he made it to Martin's side just as the next wave hit them again. Logan held Martin's arms with the tightest grip he could muster while they were both swept back into the center of the deck the rest of the crew members catching the both of them. "Tie Martin down now! Everyone hold on!" The rain pelted down mercilessly as both the ocean and the wind grew in strength.
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Logan had heard terrible stories about boats never returning home after a wicked storm like this one. But actually experiencing the sheer wrath of nature at sea first hand was a completely different matter. Other than what they'd already done, there was nothing else any of them could do except to hold on to something.
The sky had turned black with the heavy rain clouds. Most of the crew were clinging onto different parts of the ship in the hopes of staying alive. However, Charlie was a brave boy. Despite the assault of mother nature, he continued the struggle of trying to steer the Tiger Lily through the chaos. It was no secret that Charlie possessed a gentle spirit at heart. It was this same disposition that made him so determined to try to keep the vessel going. He couldn't possibly stand the thought of losing any of his companions. So Charlie held onto the wheel that would steer the ship, prepared to ride out the storm for the sake of his friends.
Once again, Logan was floating in cold water. The world around him was complete darkness. There was nothing but the water and himself. The sea almost felt like a gentle embrace. His mind was calm and his soul at peace in this state. To stay in this place of tranquility was not something Logan would mind at all. But then someone called to him. A man's voice. Not one that he recognized, but felt almost familiar. Then joined by a woman's voice in unison. Joined by two more until it felt as though an entire nation was calling out to him out of what appeared to be desperation. Logan thrashed about in the water, trying to follow the sea of voices until he was pulled under the surface by an unseen force. He struggled and kicked to escape and return to the surface. But his resistance was futile. The invisible entity tightened its hold on his body and pulled him further into the depths of the dark water. He screamed in terror and frustration, but the water muffled all sound. 'I'm going to die here!' Those thoughts were the last to cross his mind before he was shaken awake in the real world.