Day 2
I awoke late this morning with a heavy ache in my bones. For a moment I was confused at my surroundings before recalling the previous day. A stale taste in my mouth, the brandy I had taken sat poorly with me. Wandering to the bathroom I found to my displeasure that I had left the mess of my medical care awash over the floor, the motion of the waves scattering my tools. Groaning with frustration and pain I set about cleaning the mess and sterilizing the tools as best I could. The pain in my back wasn’t debilitating so I saved the next dose for later.
Setting the kit aside I found to my gratitude that basic hygienic arrangements were already aboard, I had forgotten to check for them beforehand. I nearly put them to use when a slow frown crossed my face and I set them back. Simple pleasures such as these would be increasingly rare in the future to come, it would be best to save them for now. Scrubbing my teeth with a dry toothbrush and running a comb through my hair I set about to the task of finding some whole clothes to wear. My luck seemed to continue as I found the closet was already stocked. The garments were a touch larger than my size but of sturdy material, a mild adjustment fixed the matter.
I pulled the clothes Hēi láng had packed for me from the bag and stored them away as an odd memento for him. I stood there a moment listless as I tried not to think about the pain. Taking a deep breath I rubbed the back of my neck and dug up old memories. When I lived with my mother the soldiers always organized a camping trip in the summer months. The whole family would go. Mother would always say the same thing to me and my siblings our first day out.
“If it comes down to it, and you are alone, there are three steps you have to take to survive. You need to find shelter. You need to find food.” Those I already had but the last… “And you need to live, if nothing else happens you stay alive, if your breathing then you have a chance.” I repeated the phrase to myself as I went to the galley. Scouring the fridge I found it lacking in breakfast options and instead took a handful of granola from a bag in the cabinet.
I climbed up to the wheelhouse to eat and plan my next move. Considering all that happened I am sure my mother was still alive, likely bunkering at the nearest military outpost. The rest of the family was scattered and worry for them weighed on me. Chiding myself for sitting around aimlessly I determined my next move. I was going to go find them.
I would need an atlas, supplies, even a crew if possible. I was off the coast of Singapore in the south Pasific. When I left the states my mother still lived south of Boston and my brother was still with her. One sister was in California and another had moved to Georgia. I could reach California first, but with the size of the state I would have no idea where to start. Going through the Panama Canal would take me close to Georgia and from there north to the New England coast. Focusing on plans and timelines helped drive the anxiety from my mind as I got to work cleaning up the cabin.
The morning was waning close to noon by the time I finished, the light shimmering on the sea. I stowed the last of the fishing supplies in the bunk room before donning a pair of heavy boots and braiding my hair up. Sure that I looked a deal more prepared than I felt I pulled my vessel around and sailed back within sight of the island. Reading the manual for the H.A.M radio carefully I opened a broadcast.
"This is the Lontra to Tekong Island, Lontra to Tekong Island can you hear me?" For a full minute, there was silence. I tried again, searching for a signal. "This is the Lontra to Tekong Island, Lontra toTekong Island please respond."
"BMTC to Lontra, BMTC to Lontra we hear you." The voice sounded surprised. "Confirm location and intent."
"Off the coast, less than fifteen minutes out. Permission to dock?" BMTC, why did that sound familiar?
"Hold on.” Silence for a moment. “Lontra you have permission. We have a dock on the western side." I was thrilled to hear a friendly voice, so excited to find people who hadn't turned that I forgot my caution from last night and caught the wind, gliding my newly named Lontra around to dock. My approach was a little rough as I nearly slammed into the wooden decking that stretched out from the island. Lashing her loosely I stepped from the Lontra over to the main deck and took a moment to get my bearings.
Looking up I found several large structures near the beach that settled three stories high with pale roofs. Half walls of stone were topped with chain link and barbed wire. I was beginning to get the feeling that strangers weren’t favored here. Two men left a group at the end of the dock and approached carefully, rifles leveled right at me. My blood ran cold as I feared I had made a lethal mistake.
"Hands up." I was motioned forward onto the deck, moving cautiously. “Is there anyone else on board?" I shook my head.
“No, I’m the only one.” At a nod one of them went on the Lontra and did a quick search.
“All clear.” One of the men stepped closer, they were both dressed in dark camo, hair cropped short. Slinging his gun over his shoulder the nearest man searched me, pulling lightly at my collar and sleeves, patting down my back. His hand withdrew when I made a hiss of pain at the pressure, blood staining my shirt. "What the fuck happened to you?"
"I tore up my back escaping to the pier before I got out to sea, I'm thoroughly bruised and my back is torn up in a few places but that's it." Confusion was evident as they looked at eachother, both lowering their weapons.
“Didn’t they come here too?” My brow furrowed as I tried to understand what was going on. More confusion.
"Well, regardless. We have instructions to take you into custody. We have medical staff here if you want to have them to look at your injuries." I nodded and was guided along the boardwalk, one of them called out on his radio about having me in hand. The other watched me a moment before speaking up.
"Why did you say you “escaped” from the pier?"
“You mean it didn’t happen here.”
“What?”
“Everyone going mad, rabid. People changing? None of that?” He looked at me like horns just sprouted.
“Let’s just get you to the infirmary first.”
We reached the end of the dock and both men saluted to a petite woman, her dark hair tied up firmly.
“Report, Lance Corporal Tam.”
“Sir, this woman was the only one on the ship. She is unarmed and injured. We found nothing suspicious however she referred to an incident in the city.” Tam, standing to my right, took a moment to sigh. “She says people were “going rabid” Sir.” The woman waved the comment off.
“Possible delusion Lance Corporal. Take her to the infirmary.” The lance corporal saluted again.
“Sir.”
I was guided to the building, still trying to figure out what what happening.
“Is this a military post?” The lance corporal glanced at me.
“Yes. This island is.”
“I was on vacation when everything happened. I had no idea.” He looked to his companion before speaking to me gently.
“Whatever happened let’s make sure you are ok first.” I followed them numbly, trying to ignore the growing pain as I breathed. I had to focus. BMTC, BMTC, why was that familiar. Singapore did have a standing military, maybe the phrase was the name of this place. Considering that I just sailed up to a military outpost I decided to be glad they didn’t just shoot me on the spot. I was a civilian so detaining me was probably the next step. When we reached the infirmary the second soldier hailed over an older gentleman.
“Doctor Goh, we have a patient.”
“Enzo, Aiden. Who did you bring me?” Enzo shrugged and gestured to me.
“Civilian, not sure what happened but she’s pretty beat up.” Setting down a clipboard the man motioned us to a small room and instructed me to sit on the exam table. He left for a moment and I looked at my guards. Enzo who had been at my left was the shorter of the two, mellow eyes and a relaxed stance. The lance corporal who I could assume was Aiden Tam was still standing uneasily. Doctor Goh returned shortly with a nurse and waived the soldiers outside.
“Alright, let me see.” I stripped off my shirt, wincing at the movement. When my bandages were peeled away the cool air burned against my torn flesh, followed by a rush of heat as several lacerations began weeping.
"Well, not a bad job cleaning this, if we left these wounds open though the infection would have killed you before anything else. Lay down and we’ll see about these." I could do nothing but nod. The anesthetic was applied to my wounds as he worked, pulling smaller pieces of gravel that I had missed and stitching the gashes neatly, earning a sharp retort of pain from me as he pulled them closed. "There." He laid a hand on my shoulder lightly.
"Try not to move too much or reopen those. You're like a patchwork doll at the moment." He cleaned the blood away and covered my battered skin with salve and bandages. "Give it about a week and we can pull some stitches on the smaller ones." He then examined my bruises, pressing lightly much to my torment. He shook his head.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
“What did you do?” I took a breath and looked Goh in the eye.
“I was in a subway car crash, thrown into a wall, had to vault a fence and landed wrong, and nearly got torn in half by a monster.” He stared at me for a moment, his nurse chiming in.
“You’re lucky it’s not drastically worse then.” He finished his notes and took blood samples. “I’ll have the report for you right away doctor.”
“Thank you Lim.” After the nurse left there was a knock on the door. Doctor Goh opened it and a greying man with hooded eyes stepped in with the petite woman I had seen before.
“Is she stable?”
“Yes sir. She needs rest and time to recover, nothing else.” With a wave the doctor was dismissed and both soldiers turned to me.
“I am Major Sim, this is Warrant Officer Hayes. I was informed that you sailed up to our dock after hailing us and claim there was an incident where you were attacked.” The man’s voice worked around the english language with a sharp clipped tone, words were never to be wasted with him. Hayes stood just a step behind him, perfectly hands resting behind her back and eyes like a predator. I was still lying face down on the exam bench and had to turn my head to meet their eyes.
“My name is Elaina. I was vacationing in Singapore with a friend. Yesterday around noon we stopped at a park for lunch. Soon people started collapsing, they were seizing and burned with a fever. It seemed to be widespread, emergency services were already swamped with calls. During the incident, I noticed a strange grey vehicle flee the area. It stood out since the people who got in it were all dressed in dark clothes. When people started getting back up they acted strange, lethargic and vacant. They started attacking anything that made a lot of noise. My friend and I escaped onto a subway car, some of the train cars were already overrun.” I slowly eased myself into a sitting position, groaning at the strain.
“We fought them off, however a woman was bitten badly and….” I tried to slow my breathing, my neck going cold, a ringing in my ears. “I’m not sure how to explain it, her body started changing, breaking, stretching. She tore her own face apart and was screaming.” I didn’t see the look of anxiety passed between them.
“The train was coming up on the last stop but it didn’t slow down and we ended up wrecking. We survived somehow and got to the surface. We escaped to the pier but my friend was shot and…” I clenched my hands together, feeling dizzy, sick. “There was a horde, they chased us to the boat. Hēi láng was bitten but he ran away to protect me. I got out on my ship and spent the night off shore. He said he would find me.” The major seemed to notice me sweating and stepped over to kneel in front of me. Up close I could see the soft sorrel color in his eyes, he took my hands and spoke slowly.
“It’s alright, you are safe right now. Can you tell me anything else?” I nodded, gripping his hands to anchor myself.
“When I got out to sea I found another ship. There were documents in the cabin. Maps marked, distribution details, something called Project Promethean. It looks like someone planned the outbreak.”
“Do you still have the documents?”
“Yes, in the main cabin.” Major Sim nodded to the warrant officer and Hayes marched out of the room.
“I am going to look over the files. I want you to rest. The Lance Corporal and Specialist Lee will take you to the barracks. Let them know if you need anything.” He patted my hand softly and left. The world felt like it stopped for a moment, the sickening feeling faded as I counted my breaths. I hadn’t told him how I still heard the shriek of that monster. Aiden and Enzo came into the room, they said something I couldn’t hear. Specialist Lee draped his coat around my shoulders and guided me away.
They took me up a few floors to a long room with countless bunks in rows. Sunlight poured in through narrow windows, the spartan fixtures and clean space felt comforting. I went to the nearest bunk and sat down, slowly relaxing as I could hear a company running drill outside. Enzo and Aiden sat beside me, saying nothing. A few minutes passed before a low rumbling sound reached my ears, we all looked at each other before Enzo started laughing. The specialist leaned back with a grin.
“The cookhouse should have lunch soon. Do you feel up to getting some with us? I know Aidens a bit of a stick in the mud but you’ve got me to balance it out!” the look he got from lance corporal Tam was nothing short of withering. I chuckled and shook my head. May as well enjoy the peace while I had it. I looked up with an empty smile.
“Sure, that sounds great.”
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The evening hours began to draw near when I managed to break away from my escort for a moment. I was alone on the parade ground, walking slowly around the perimeter. The area was fenced in and surrounded by buildings so Aiden and Enzo had agreed to wait inside, sure that I would not be able to leave their sight. The sound of a slow wind and movement of grass was soothing as I began to speak aloud, arranging plans and debating circumstance.
I had become so lost in thought that I did not notice Major Sim or Warrant Officer Hayes approaching until they were already within a meter of me. Spooked and rather unprepared I took a few paces back and eyed them.
“Did you need something Major?” Hayes narrowed her eyes at my casual tone and looked defensive. Sim motioned her down and smiled.
“Just seeing how you are getting along Ms. Elaina.” My anxiety brought out the sarcasm that often made my father proud.
“Fantastic, who knew being followed all day was so entertaining.” I tilted my head slightly. “So are you going to tell me what you want or do we play twenty questions?” the major let his smile go and folded his hands.
“We received reports that corroborated what you told me earlier. Several survivors evacuated here with active military personnel. We are having them processed as we speak.” I felt the blood drain from me as he spoke. “As you are a civilian I intend to keep you here until the matter in the city is ascertained and dealt with. We will be placing you with the other refugees and commandeering your vessel, along with any weapons and supplies on board. Consideri……”
“No.” The word felt like steel in my throat. Major Sim eyed me slowly. I took another two steps back. The fence was behind me, I should be able to climb it. “Unless you are sure that none of the survivors you took in were infected they need to be quarantined. Civilian or not right now the only thing you have on me is a whole lot of guns. I am going back to my ship, and I am going home.” Hayes shook her head.
“You intend to run off after we treated your wounds?”
“Can’t use that to guilt me. You made the decision, I don’t owe you anything.”
“We can’t let you leave Ms. Elaina. Right now you have the most information regarding this outbreak and that makes you an asset.” Sim moved closer to me, I felt my skin flex as my heart beat faster. A wave of pressure ran over my back and along my throat, a familiar scent, clean, cool. I glanced up to confirm as the low clouds that started a few hours ago bloomed into soft grey blankets over the sky.
“It would be unwise for you to sail out in a storm regardless. Come back inside and we can settle this matter decently.” I locked eyes with the major, those eyes had gone flat and stern. If I went with them there would be no opportunity to leave. It had to be now. I felt the charge seconds before lightning tore across the sky, thunder bellowing in its wake. The major and Hayes looked up instinctively as the heavens broke free and rain pattered down. Now.
Skidding around I darted for the iron fence, getting halfway up before Hayes called an alarm. I managed to clear it as she ran came after me. I turned and ran, not waiting to see if she climbed the fence. The rain came harder, urged on by the sea. I passed several buildings, soldiers ran out after me, calling for me to stop. The stitching on my back strained as I greedily took in air and my feet pounded the pavement.
The shower grew into a torrent, my clothes already soaking and clinging to me. I stumbled around a corner, falling on my hip hard before scrambling up again. I could see the dock, my lovely Lontra riding the waves eagerly with several smaller ships clustered nearby. Soldiers guarded access and they were coming behind me. I couldn’t beat them in physicality so I opted for sheer insanity. Near the dock stones formed a low seawall, I turned towards it and voices called for me to stop. Ignorant of their appeals I picked up speed and hurled myself into the steadily heaving ocean.
Catching a breath as I hit the water I kept beneath the waves. My body screamed at the cold as I fought the weaker currents beneath the surface. Already starved from running my lungs cried painfully for breath and forced me to surface after a few strokes. Breaching a wave I found myself under the docks, nearly colliding with it as the tide was coming in. I couldn’t see past the sheets of rain and swelling waves but knowing the shore was behind me the Lontra should be ahead to my right. Taking in as much as I could I dived again, fighting through the cold . I could barely make out the posts supporting the docks and kept them close. Finally they vanished and I turned right, my air running out as I saw a rudder come into view. I clung to it and surfaced, looking up to see the familiar cream hue of my vessel.
I kept to the side of my craft, praying for the rain to hide me a little longer as I sought a way to climb on board. Finally I managed to catch the rim around one of the small porthole windows, a swelling wave pushing me up to take hold of the railing. Like a sodden cat I clambered on deck. I wanted to lay there until I stopped aching. I would have if the sound of soldiers hadn’t reached me over the storm.
I rushed to the wheelhouse and below deck, snatching my hatchet from my cabin. Racing back up the stairs I hurried to the starboard side, finding the rope that fixed my ship to the dock and hacking through it. The rope snapped angrily, whipping back to lash my leg. I pushed the pain down as I went to start the engine. My heart nearly froze. The keys, they took the goddamn keys! Roaring in frustration I shook out the sails until I felt them go taunt against the wind. I looked over to see men on the docks, guns raising.
The wind pulled hard, throwing the Lontra to port. The sails buckled, sliding me along the deck as I clung to the ropes desperately. I turned the sail to a broad reach running to port, she took to the waves fiercely, pulling us in a tight turn. The bay was open enough that I managed the turn and changed the sail to a close hauled rigging as she raced for the open sea. I just had to get far enough that they couldn’t give chase until the storm was over.
The waves were riding higher, thunder and lighting cavorting overhead in wild zeal. The storm was invigorating, the raw power and enthusiasm as it raged unheading of the small vessel caught in its path. I found myself helplessly tied to its rampant energy, cheering to the skies as the Lontra crested waves head on. The water rushed over the deck, rain flowed down uninhibited, I tasted salt on my lips and my hands burned from fighting the sails.
The Lontra was lost in a world of vivid grey and looming black waves, I was unable to find the shore anywhere. If I didn’t find shelter soon my endurance would wane and the sea would swallow me. I left the sails and darted into the wheelhouse, by the compass I was still heading south and out to endless ocean. I stumble back out into the storm as we hit a wave and furiously turned the sail to starboard, aiming west as best I could without capsizing in the tumult. I lost count of how long I struggled against the wind and waves to keep my vessel upright and heading hopefully for land. Each impacting wave threatened to heave me into the waters, only a lifeline hastily tied to the mast saved me.
When the rain began to ease I could only just see land on the horizon. The waves took longer to quiet and the night grew dark before they stilled. I was left aching and spent on the deck, fumbling with my lifeline. Freeing myself I could only manage a crawl to the anchor and dropped it into the water. The air was blistering cold through my sodden clothes, salt seeped into my wounds. Without the storm to focus on the pain hit me hard. I bit my lip, whimpering as I got to my feet and limping to the wheelhouse. I left my clothes in a trail to the bathroom, rinsing off hurriedly. Another does of painkillers, I would need to get more at this rate. The rest of the night was a blur. How I got into bed, if I locked the door, where I had even dropped anchor didn’t matter. I fell into a fitful and pained sleep and knew nothing more.