Starfall

Chapter 1 - Elyse

One moment we're sailing smoothly in the comfortable steadiness of the Gap. But after an abrupt snap of the middle mast, the ground jerks below us and suddenly we're descending in a chaotic glide.

"The mast, the mast!" I shout, pushing against the sudden gale that blasts into us. Leola scrambles up the planks across from me, trying to reach the helm, but it's already spinning with us as we plummet through the clouds.

Through the intense waves of wind, I faintly hear Kamal shout something that I can't make out. Hoping he's fine, I frantically fling a rope around the mast and wrap the ends around my forearm. Just as I manage to center myself behind the splintered post and anchor my feet at the base, the ship jerks.

"Got it!" Leola yells back to me, and I see out of my side vision that she's got a half-steady hold on the helm.

I'm about to tell her to direct us to any flat land when Kamal shouts from the broken cabin, "Look out! Turn, turn!"

My stomach drops when I see a Doxem pillar dead ahead. Before I can even consider any options, Leola jerks us to the right, sending me spinning around the mast. My grip on the rope slips, and even though I've already managed to wrap my arms securely around the mast, I can feel my head going light with dizziness. Why is the world still spinning?

I'm in the middle of questioning my sanity when Kamal shouts in distress, "She's spinning! We're going down!"

Leola has lost her grip of the wheel, and I don't even know what Kamal is doing by the cabin. My eyes flick back and forth at the blur of pastel blues and greens as we spin out toward an inevitable crash.

Thoughts arrange in my mind and a plan forms.

I'm not losing the Millashu. Not today.

"Kamal! Get over here and help me!" I look around the other side of the mast. "Get ready to grab that helm and steer us to safety, Lee!" When she nods with a red, nauseated expression, I turn back to Kamal. He's on the back edge of the ship, struggling to make the last stretch to me, so I manage to reach my hand out to him.

"Come on," I grunt, extending myself further toward him. In a leap of faith, he jumps and grabs onto my arm. The power of centrifugal force flings him around in the other direction until he slams into the post with me.

I do my best to pass him an end of the rope as I explain my plan. "I need you to jump when I say, okay?" I shout, trying to keep the forceful whistle of the wind from taking my words. He nods, securing the rope in his tight grip.

With the rope wrapped around the broken, splintering mast, where the opened sails are tipped and not doing a single thing for us, we might be able to straighten it out just enough to get us to the ground safely.

"Ready?" I call to both of them as we descend. But it doesn't matter if they're ready, because this is the last rotation we can take until it's too late. So with a quick glance to Kamal, I take a breath. "Now!"

Together, we jump, and the force of our spin pulls us outward just enough that all our weight is on the mast. The wood creaks against the pull, and through my blood-drained vision, I can just barely see it straightening.

"More," I urge under my tightened breath, keeping my grip on the rope steady. "Come on."

The ground draws nearer, and the sky shrinks above us.

And then, just like that, the mast corrects its crooked angle. Within an instant, the wind catches the sails, and the spin slows just enough for Leola to grab the wheel and straighten us out.

Kamal and I thump to the ground once the centrifugal force dissipates, and I feel my head slam into the metal base of the mast. My vision blurs as the ship bumps uneasily below me.