Breaking the Ice

Chapter 20: Land-ho!

The past few days were tiring, Parker was over everything since he kept getting sea sick, Crew members and the two guards were tired, and Renee felt icky since she hadn't been able to properly clean herself. They were hoping tonight was the last night until they got to Tapitor, George was sure of it.

Renee leaned against the railing of the boat, looking out at the sea. She wanted this to be over so she could just bathe and relax. Clouds in the sky began getting dark and grey, earning a shiver down her spine. Soon rain drops fell, the night sky growing darker.

George was standing at the wheel of the ship, looking up as thunder boomed through the sky, lightning striking. The waves of the sea began to get bigger and more erratic, Renee stumbling from the rocky ship.

"Get down to the rooms! Now!" He screamed to her, causing her to hurry down. Elias was down there, doing some work as he noticed the boat rumble and shake. He then began hearing George command his ship mates, knowing something was wrong.

His head turned when Renee ran down the stairs, rain drops on her body. "How bad is it up there?" He asked, right before the ship leaned to the left. Both of them stumbled, hitting the wall as things on his desk fell off.

"It's getting worse."

"Elias!" Parker yelled, opening the trap door. Water poured in, Parker standing there. "We need help!"

Elias turned to Renee. "Stay here, please." "I should be helping, I can't just stay here-!"

"Renee stay here!" He yelled, not wanting her hurt. She did as she was told, staying there as he climbed up the stairs.

Elias ran up, his eyes wandering around. All the ship mates had their hands full, pulling on ropes for the sails and trying to keep it all steady. Parker was helping his father and Damien, the three all holding onto the main rope of the main sail.

George was still at the wheel, using all his strength to gear the ship a different direction. Elias grabbed spare rope, whipping it around and throwing it up. There was a sail not moving, the rope of it now broken. He climbed the ladder up it, almost slipping a few times. He had to tie it back on.

Renee kept tumbling down in the room, trying to keep herself steady. She couldn't stay down there, going against his word and running up. Lightning struck, the thunder booming more and more. She noticed one of the mates struggling, going over and grabbing the rope. She helped pull the direction he was pulling, knowing the extra strength was dearly needed.

Elias was still up, struggling a bit before he was able to finally tie the rope down. The water was making everything difficult for them, water splashing on the ship floor as it flooded it. Elias went to back up, before his foot slipped and he began falling 15 feet from the deck.

Everything was in slow motion for him, and when Renee spotted him it was like that for her too. She screamed, her hand shooting out as a large pile of snow shot onto the deck, Elias falling onto it. He was uninjured, opening his eyes to see he was ok.

The snow below him was disappearing from the water splashing around. He looked over, seeing Renee looking at him as She pulled onto the rope. He couldn't argue about her safety now, grabbing the rope he had and tying it back.

George yelled, causing all their attention to go to him. He was looking at the largest wave he had ever seen, coming right over and above.

Renee bolted to the middle of the ship, soaked in water as she tried to steady herself. Her head turned up, her arms pushing up as she used all the strength she had to push an ice like wall against the huge wave, pushing forward to move the water out of their way. More waves followed, her doing the same.

Some of the smaller waves made it to the boat, she had too much on her hands. Water hit all of them, men holding on as she did as well. "Parker!" She heard Leonardo yell, looking over to see Parker falling and sliding away from the boat tilting. He was heading to the edge of the boat, everything slippery and wet.

She used the wet deck as her advantage, pushing herself back to where he was. Right then his body fell over the edge, his scream louder than ever. She grabbed his hand, holding onto it for dear life. His weight for her heavy body made her struggle to keep ahold, Renee's arm wrapped around the railing. "Hold on!" She yelled, Parker reaching up with his other hand as she pulled herself back.

Parker grabbed the wooden railing, pulling himself up with her help. He was shocked by her strength and bravery, but he couldn't just stand there.

Their fight against the waves lasted for almost an hour, tiring the hell out of all of them. When the rain began to clear up, most fell to their knees from the exhaustion, Elias gripping a wooden crate. Parker couldn't help himself as he ran over to the edge and vomited into the sea, other ship members dizzy.

George was used to all of this, though he was tired. Renee shook as she held onto the barrier, never having to use her powers so much in less than an hour.

The food down in the cellar was destroyed, most of their items and maps as well. Elias carefully went down to his room, finding it destroyed. His bag and Renee's had still been hanging up, lucky they weren't ruined.

Leonardo went to his son, patting his bag for comfort as his son was still sick. Damien was trying to fix the crates, his body slumped over a bit.

The sun began to rise from the sea, George noticing something in the distance.

"Land-ho!"

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