The watchman up on the crow’s nest was always the first to spot a scavenger’s boat on the horizon. At such a sight, he’d blow a trumpet, its blaring sound a call to celebration. It was a moment of collective joy and relief, signaling the scavengers’ safe return, their success promised by the treasures they carried.

People would flood to the rails, their cheers mingling with the rush of waves as they cheered and waved eagerly at their returning loved ones. But not this time. No horn sounded. We returned to NOAH 1, silent and deeply shaken. Each of us had sworn to Francis that we would breathe no word of what we had seen.

If the truth about the humanoids in the deep sea and their technology were to spread, it would ignite chaos across the ship, then to Floating City. The knowledge was too dangerous to share. Francis made it clear—breaking our silence would not only cause panic but also earn us banishment.

I couldn't help but wonder why those creatures had chosen to spare us. They had the power to kill us without a moment’s hesitation and disappear into the depths. What was it that Louis said to them to earn our freedom?

All eyes on the main deck turned to Louis, his dark hair now hanging in messy waves to his shoulders, his face hidden behind a wild, thick beard. At first, whispers rippled through the crowd—“Who’s that?” “A drifter?” “Or a pirate?”—but as he drew closer, recognition dawned. The whispers fell away, replaced by a stunned silence, broken only by the faint whisper of the sea’s current.

They watched as Louis dropped to his knees when Sam was wheeled onto the deck. The boy stared at him, his brow furrowed in bewilderment. He didn't recognize his own father. How could he? He had been so young—barely six—when his father had left. But when Louis said his name, his voice quivering with emotion, Sam’s eyes widened in realization, and he cried out, “Papa!”

Louis pulled the boy into a fierce embrace, his hands trembling as he asked what had happened, why Sam was in a wheelchair. His voice cracked as guilt poured out, blaming himself for not returning home sooner, for failing to prevent whatever tragedy had changed his son’s life.

His eyes swept the crowd, desperate to find his wife and two other children, his voice breaking as he asked for them. Francis and Dr. Willis exchanged a glance before silently leading him to the chapel. There, lay his answers—two lifeless forms wrapped in kelp sheets, waiting to join their mother in the depths. His screams tore through the ship's corridors.

When the bodies were carried to the main deck on stretchers, Louis draped himself over them, his arms wrapped tightly around each child. Through the kelp shrouds, he placed a tender kiss on each cheek. It took both Francis and Dr. Willis to gently pry him away, coaxing and pulling him back. The stewards stood by, silent and composed, ready to lower the bodies to the waiting boat below. The vessel would carry them to the open water, where they would join their mother in the depths.

Louis disappeared into his old suite, where his screams and the thuds of furniture breaking against the walls thundered like a storm within the ship. Meanwhile, Sam was taken back to the infirmary. I sat on the edge of his bed while Alan sat beside him, telling him the tale of Odysseus. Her voice was a calm, steady rhythm, her words trying to draw his attention away from the faint cries echoing down the hallway.

Though it was a story Sam had heard countless times and never grew tired of, his focus began to slip. He shifted uncomfortably, his mind drifting. Noticing his restlessness, Alan paused, just as she reached the part about Odysseus and his crew entering the Land of the Lotus Eaters, and asked, "Are you okay?"

“I feel bad here,” he said, pressing his hand to his chest. Alan moved to get up, but Sam reached out, grasping her hand. “What I mean is... I feel bad about something.”

Alan's expression softened as she sat back down. “What is it, Sam?” She studied him with a gentle, curious look. “What do you mean?”

“When I saw Papa, I didn’t recognize him. I mean, I did, but it was like meeting a stranger. I can't even remember what he used to look like or sound like. It scares me a little... He feels more like a stranger than my Papa.”

Alan's voice softened with understanding. “That's understandable. You haven't seen him in so long, and you were so young when he left. But you'll get to know him again. He's home now, Sam.”

Sam nodded slowly, as if absorbing her words, though a trace of doubt lingered in his eyes.

Alan tilted her head, a playful glint in her eyes and a soft smile tugging at her lips. “Hey, guess what I just remembered? I never finished telling you my own Odyssey.”

Sam’s face lit up. He leaned forward, his curiosity reignited. “Oh, yeah! You mentioned living inside a whale or something. I still don't see how that's possible.”

“Oh, it’s possible,” Alan replied with a smirk. “But that’s just the beginning. I even fought off a giant octopus—though I had some help.”

“Who helped you?” Sam gasped, his breath caught. “And how did you even end up near an octopus?”

“After my time in the whale, I ended up on this old, abandoned boat drifting aimlessly. No food, no supplies. I had to make do with an old fishing net and a rod. One day, I caught something big. Huge. I could feel the fight in the line as I reeled it in, struggling against its weight. And then I saw it….”

“Saw what?” Sam asked, barely above a whisper.

“A tentacle,” Alan said, drawing the word out.

He shuddered.

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“It surged up from the water,” Alan went on, her hands motioning upward, “a monstrous thing that blocked the sunlight. I froze. Then it came down, tearing the boat in two like it was paper.”

I glanced up at her with a doubtful look. This story couldn’t possibly be true. It sounded absurd. But then again, after everything I’d witnessed in the laboratory and the nightmare we’d just survived, maybe her story wasn’t so outlandish after all.

The boy’s eyes widened. “How did you survive that?”

Alan’s lips curled into a wry smile. “By sheer luck. A scavenger ship happened to be nearby. Jimmy and Louis were on board.”

“Papa?”

“Yeah. Your Papa. But back then, he wasn’t much more than a kid. An apprentice, still figuring things out.”

“I had no idea Jimmy was a scavenger.”

“He was, for a time, until Louis took charge. That day, Jimmy and Louis hauled me out of the water and onto their ship. If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t be here.”

“What happened to the octopus?”

“Jimmy and the others couldn’t kill it–that was impossible. But they fought back as best they could, hurling harpoons and firing muskets. It wasn’t about defeating it, just buying enough time for us to get away.”

At that moment, there was a soft knock at the door, and I stood up on all fours, my tail up and swaying side to side as my whiskers tingled and my nose twitched. I smelled something good wafting in the air. The door swung open, and in walked the steward, carrying a tray with food. "Tonight's supper is fried squid!" he announced with a smile.

A gentle knock at the door caught my attention, and I rose to all fours, my tail swaying in anticipation. The air carried a smell that made my whiskers quiver and my nose twitch. “I hope you're hungry,” he said with a bright smile, setting the table tray down carefully in front of Sam. “Fried octopus tentacles for supper tonight!”

*****

With my belly full and satisfied, I padded softly down the corridor, my paws carrying me toward the Kelping family’s suite. The door stood slightly open, allowing a warm glow of a candlelight to seep into the dim passageway.

I slipped my head through the gap in the door and found Louis slumped on the floor, staring vacantly at the wall ahead. Around him lay the wreckage of the room—chairs with splintered legs, an overturned table, shattered fragments of vases scattered across the floor, and curtains torn from their rails.

Bloodshot and brimming with tears, his eyes met mine, and for a moment, a faint smile ghosted across his face before fading as quickly as it had appeared. He stretched out a hand, a quiet invitation.

“Hey, Page,” he said softly. “I could really use a friend right now.”

I hesitated, my gaze drifting to the destruction around us, but the gentleness in his voice pulled me in. Slowly, I crept closer. When his hand found that perfect spot behind my ear, my resistance melted away. A deep purr welled up within me as I leaned against his leg. His arms lifted me gently, and I felt his scruffy chin press against the top of my head as he held me tightly, his muffled sobs trembling through his embrace.

Time blurred as we stayed there, too long for me to track. Finally, he got up on his feet, but his grip on me remained firm. His eyes scanned the room until they landed on something on the floor. He walked over to it, and I stiffened when I saw what he was picking up— a black stone. Just like the one Alan had found. Why did he have that? Without a word, he slipped it into his pocket and we left the room.

Louis made his way toward the infirmary, where Sam lay sleeping. Gently, he placed me on the bed before pulling up a chair beside Sam, watching the steady rise and fall of his chest. I settled onto Sam’s lap, careful not to disturb his sleep, but Sam stirred, blinking as he awoke. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand, and when they landed on his father, his brow furrowed in confusion.

“Papa?” he whispered.

Louis swallowed hard, taking Sam’s hand in his. “Sam, my boy... my only boy now.”

“Are you going to take me back to my room?”

“Not yet. I need to speak with the head steward about finding a more suitable suite for us.”

“Alright... I don’t want to stay there anymore. I think it would be too hard without…” His voice cracked, the tears threatening to fall but he wiped at his eyes. “…without Mom, Joe, and Anne.”

“I know.”

“Papa…”

“Yeah, Sam?”

“I’m just glad you’re home now,” Sam said, full of emotion. “I thought I’d lost everyone, and I’d be all alone. I mean, there’s Alan and the captain, but it’s just not the same…”

“I’m here now, and I won’t be going away anymore,” Louis reassured him.

A small smile tugged at the corners of Sam’s lips. “Really? You promise?”

Louis nodded. “I think someone else could take over as the commanding scavenger. The captain would understand. I’ll find other duties on the ship, so I don’t have to leave again.”

“Or we could live in Floating City!”

“You’d like that? To live in a city on the water?”

“Yeah! We could live in Sea Green. I hear that’s where the animals like to live, or maybe live in Little Eden, and we could garden and eat all the food we grow there.”

My ears perked up at the mention of Little Eden. I’d often imagined spending my twilight years there, happily roaming the garden paths with my brother, Ziggy. The thought warmed me as I padded closer to Sam, who pulled me into a gentle hug and nuzzled the top of my head with his chin.

“And Page can come live with us,” he added with a hopeful smile.

Louis’s hand moved slowly through my fur as he shook his head. “He could, but I think he’d rather stay here, looking after Alan and the others.” His voice softened, trailing off as his hand stilled. His eyes grew distant, as though his thoughts had drifted somewhere far away.

“Sam…”

Sam tilted his head, curious. “Yes, Papa?”

“I can make you walk again.”

Sam blinked, stunned. His lips parted in surprise. “But Dr. Willis said—”

“I know what he said,” Louis interrupted gently. He said the poison left your legs paralyzed, that you’d never walk again. But there’s something he doesn’t know—something I’ve seen out there.”

“Out there? What’s out there?”

“A different world. A world where we could have a better life.”