When they had entered the community eating area again, Carissa had been expecting a hostile reaction from the women with short blonde hair called Bonnie but not being defended by the other candidate called Direk.

He appeared more confident than yesterday, stronger and he held himself upright with a brazen look in his eyes. When Carissa had entered, he had finished chewing the pancake and washed it down with liquid inside a metal cup swallowing as he patted his stomach.

At the far end of the room by the kitchen and preparation area Carissa saw Chas and Mike both wearing black aprons, their backs facing towards her as they fixed up meals.

Neither responded when Carissa and Sherry entered the large room. Bonnie was wearing the outfit as yesterday, t-shirt and grey skin suit although Direk sported a Hawaiian shirt similar in appearance to Chas.

Direk spoke aloud flipping both palms up.

‘I think we got two crazy people in this boat lady. All she did was look at you and you start screaming about how you know her and she ruined the planet? I don’t know you or this lady but I know you got some serious issues. How about you get off the boat as well?’ said Direk.

Bonnie responded with a nervous twitch on one of her eyes. A bone plate was in front of her although it was entirely empty, not a scrap of food in sight. An empty metal jug rested alongside it.

‘What did she just say? She knows something about this, is this your hobby you rich bitch? You like to kidnap people and dump them onto your owned part of the ocean for fun? Tell me! You coward, tell me!’ half-shouted Bonnie.

‘No. I don’t think I will. Chas, I’d like some more pancakes. I didn’t know savoury ones tasted so good.’ said Direk as he nodded in Carissa’s direction.

Sherry moved forward, sitting next to Bonnie but giving her a degree of breathing space as she tried to put a hand on her shoulder before it swatted away.

‘Don’t touch me. DON’T TOUCH ME!’ screamed out Bonnie.

Carissa stood by the doorway, reluctant to take a chair before Sherry made a come-here gesture and pointed at the head seat of the long table where Mike had been sitting yesterday.

She took the hint and grabbed a seat and a bone plate, the lack of cutlery or other utensils made a little more sense when a new candidate behaved as Bonnie did. As she had herself only the day before. Irrational and scared.

‘You can blame and hate all you want. But this isn’t our reality. Our home. I’m stuck here the same as you and I’d like to have breakfast.’ Carissa imitated the same calm tone that Direk had used when asking for pancakes.

‘Chas! I’d also like some pancakes please. And don’t forget the lovely Sherry or the handsome Mike. Our fellow candidate needs to eat as well. If she’s going to be training with us today.’ said Carissa, ignoring the look that Sherry was giving her, shaking her own head with a small enough movement to be recognised.

She'd tried to make it clear earlier that she wasn't interested in the name, actions or behaviour of Bonnie. Not that Carissa would be the initiator of violent action. She'd leave that to the woman having her own private breakdown. No point judging another so she simply smiled and waved in the direction of Mike and Chas. Both of them were quiet and clearly not interested in getting involved yet from her perspective.

‘Why does she get to be so quiet? The look she’s giving us scares me. I think we need to ask her to leave first, just leave what you can entered, spare and leave us alone. I’m seen those eyes before when I worked in a psychiatric ward. Trust me, we don’t want someone like her in our group. Mad, she’s mad.’ said Bonnie.

Her temper inside her chest and frustration building, Carissa smoothed out her pink mermaid t-shirt and gave the short-haired blonde woman a blank look. This was the same situation as dealing with an environmental pressure group who had come to her house and demanded answers and an immediate response. Ignore them and it would get worse and then she would need to step up even further.

But this time, she wouldn’t be the instigator, and when they were alone and outside Carissa would like to find out how much damage exactly the grey skin suit could take before it sank in the ocean.

Carissa was in bad need for a comb and considered asking for one for a change of conversation and to redirect the raw aggression upon herself but Sherry interrupted first.

‘Bonnie. I need you to calm down. The training is for everyone and after today…you can make your own choices. Every candidate deserves at least two nights of rest. Gods know that we did.’ said Sherry, this time putting her hand firmly onto Bonnie's hand, pinning it onto the wooden table.

‘I don’t know you! I don’t know any of you! Just let me go home! I want to go home to my kids! My husband! Her crimes…the entire ocean, she can stay here and rot! Let me go home! Please…please let...me…please...,’ cried Bonnie.

The short-haired woman clutched onto her t-shirt and pulled it into her face as she began to weep and rested her hair on the table with Sherry gently rubbing her back with one hand while shaking her head at Carissa and Direk.

‘Both of you should…I give up. Breakfast is good and aside from waking up in a new world and experiencing crazy things and people life is good. Much better than my old life. Chas, may I please have some pancakes? The first batch was most delicious.’ said Direk.

The smell of freshly cooked food wafted over to Carissa’s nose causing her stomach to cramp in hunger pains and her mouth to involuntary open to salivate. Her sharpened teeth were shown but as long as she wasn’t acting in a threatening or violent manner, she doubted any action would be taken. There seemed to be various unspoken rules on this floating community and Carissa was beginning to understand several of them.

She opened her mouth to add in her opinion.

‘Life is what we make of it. The food smells delicious and I was told that our training today will be fun! I do hope that it’ll be a lot more fun than yesterday. Does anyone mind if I take a drink or does this jug already belong to someone?’

Bonnie still sobbing ignored her with both of her hands on her face as she continued to cry but Carissa no longer cared if she was upset. She had tried to provoke and created her own mess. She’d let Sherry deal with it.

Chas and Mike arrived at the table with both hands holding hot pans and spatulas equally, they both wore black cooking plain cooking aprons on top of their suits and Chas had swapped his bright Hawaiian shirt for a plainer charcoal one. A bulge on his side indicated to Carissa that Mike had his wooden club with him wrapped into his belt, as least she would prefer if it that was the case.

Chas flourished the food and raised the hot pan into the air giving his spatula a little wave as though providing a blessing to the people sitting on the table.

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The gesture reminded Carissa a little of the image of a priest she remembered who had been trying to convert her parents to the rule of the four gods. They’d politely asked him to leave and he had but not before winking at their daughter.

‘Food fills the soul, the mind and stops the body feeling pain. Eat and be blessed by the gods of the ocean friends. Brothers and sisters, we are here to eat and learn to live again, renewed and fresh for another day of learning.’ said Chas with a subdued smile on his face.

Mike had piled the pancakes from his own hot pan upon several larger metal plates in the centre of the community dining table without a single word or even a glance in the direction of the three candidates. Once he had returned back to the kitchen area, he raised his voice without turning his back, busying himself preparing more food to be served.

‘Please eat and then we train. Today should be a better day. Tomorrow can wait.’ he murmured.

His voice clearly audible despite the distance made Carissa pause for a brief second before her appetite compelled her to take a handful of the hot, freshly cooked pancakes and take a swift bite. The sensation burning into her throat and stomach as she digested it.

The taste was different, a degree of spice and sweetness but with a hint of seaweed as an aftertaste. The only consideration she had was that her body wanted more so she took another handful and devoured them, giving herself the chance to replenish her energy.

Carissa hadn’t noticed that Chas stood there, not moving, his hot pan and spatula both out of his hands as he clasped his hands together and closed his eyes with his head bowed.

The gesture was odd to Carissa, familiar yet not, she had seen priests before but they had always used their words and expressive gestures but she was sure that he was praying.

‘As long as the pancakes keep coming, you got a happy worker right her-’ started Direk as he stopped.

The physical reaction on his face and response were certain signs that Carissa knew after her practice in her bedroom shower the night before, it had been hard to change from the physical to the mental but she was clear on it. He was receiving a message from the Ocean Gateway System, either that or he was choking or had suffered a heart failure.

‘Yes. I agree with you. The gods of the water, the rain and the depths are…. amazing. I appreciate the bounty they have provided and I understand the opportunity that they offer us to play their game. We are blessed. All of us are blessed.’ said Direk.

The sudden change in his behaviour gave Carissa pause during her mid-bite of another pancake. There were the signs already displayed and she had failed to pay attention.

Everything in this world revolved around this game of the gods for which she and the others with her were candidates, classless players. Chas was a priest; Sherry was the support worker and Mike was the trainer. All for a makeshift tutorial which was apparently non-existent.

‘I agree with you.’ Copying the behaviour of Chas, she swallowed the last remains of her own pancake, her throat needed liquid to wash it down but ignoring the discomfort she clasped her own hands together and made her own prayer to the gods.

Carissa would find one of these gods and kill them. Strip of them of all of their power and teach them their own lesson. Failing that, one of their transformed human demi-gods. She would become her own goddess, that of the most beautiful mermaid this world or any other had seen.

‘Ocean Gods. Hear my prayer.’ she whispered under her breath.

The Ocean Gateway System gave her a message in her minds eyes, not a notification but a personal one directed to her. The contents made her blink her own eyes in confusion.

[Player-Candidate Number 5428119402.

-An unknown Ocean God has answered your prayer with the following message.

Dry them out Carissa. Dry them all out.]

A god knew her. It knew of her implants and what they had been designed to do. Perhaps even responsible for her coming to this world and ruining her life beyond her own personal plans.

She attempted to send a message in return but only received a mild headache and decided not to push it further. Under her breath she murmured her own half-nonsense prayers towards the gods of her own world Terrus. They had no gods on her own planet, not after the legends that a stager has scared them away with a magic bag and power beyond them but people still worshipped out of belief and fear of the unknown.

‘Ocean, water, depths, gods be gone or discovered. Deepness, fear of

the darkness banished within.’ whispered Carissa under her breath.

When she opened her eyes, she saw that the room had become silent. The woman Bonnie had stopped crying and was watching Carissa with red eyes as were the others who had held their breath.

Then a half perfectly preserved fish head fell from the air above her head when it had been floating and fell onto the table directly in front of her.

Chas clasped his hands and began to pray harder; his eyes open wide and wild.

‘Blessed. We have a blessed already. But the god had hidden their identity.’ he nearly shouted before two strong hands rested on his own and pulled them apart.

‘No Chas, we have three candidates who need to be able to survive a little bit more training and choose their own classes as players as we once did. Granted, it was a long, long, long time ago. If everyone had finished eating then we’re done here. Direk and Carissa, finish your own food and collect up the dishes. A little bit of team-work washing and drying up won’t hurt anyone. We’re going to have a busy day ahead of us.’ said Mike.

The preserved fish head was lying on its side on the table one eye facing up to the ceiling. Carissa was certain that it had just winked when she touched it but before she could examine it further or raise any questions, she was cut off by Mike again.

‘Sherry, give Bonnie a tincture. Not as strong as the one you gave Direk but enough to take the edge off. Questions can wait. That…thing can be stored if you want or I’m sure Chas will be willing to trade it with you later. Throw it in your bag for now Carissa, a gift from a god always has some value. Even if it is a mockery.’ said Mike.

Not wanting to come across as any further source of conflict, Carissa unclipped the bag from her back and threw the large preserved fish head inside once she had focused on it opening and dropped a few more pancakes along with it leaving the bone plate on the table.

She took a deep drink from the jug in front of her before pushing her chair back and beginning to tidy up the empty plates, the ones with any pancakes remaining she poured into her bag.

Direk followed her actions almost exactly although he was slower than her finishing his own jug and wiping his mouth clean with his hand as he took a larger plate of the pancakes and poured them into her own opening of the bag.

He had reached for another large plate covered in them to find a hand blocking his path and Sherry shaking her head at him.

‘I need to save some for Bonnie, she left her own bag in her room but I’ll pass them onto her.’ she said.

Waving her hand over the plate, the pancakes simply disappeared into thin air. Gone as though they had already been devoured.

‘Just a trick. Nothing special, when you three become players, you’ll be capable of so much more than this.’ she said.

Flicking her wrist a small glass bottle appeared in her empty hand and she held it out towards Bonnie who was still gazing at Carissa with reddened eyes and a strange type of half-crooked smile.

‘Mad, we’re all mad.’ said Bonnie.

‘No sweetie you’re not. We just have to learn to live a little differently to survive, you need to drink this or I’ll have to make you like I did with Direk. He didn’t like it and neither did I. I promise you’ll feel better and we will try something fun today. The first part anyway.’ said Sherry.

Her eyes not leaving the sight of Carissa tidying up the dishes, Bonnie lethargically took the bottle and drank the entire contents in a single gulp. Blinking her eyes she looked down at her t-shirt before following Carissa and Direk in tidying up the food and stacking the plates neatly.