Phoenix

The Storm

As if on cue, heavy raindrops began to fall, sending shockwaves outwards from their cores and turning the surface of the water into dimply, jelly mash. The wind lifted, picked up the droplets and pelted them so hard each one felt like a flick to the skin. Soon, pale sheaths carved hostile patterns in the air, confusing the moonlight and leaving ghostly impressions like that of spindly hands reaching out to drag them into the rolling blue. While Eli, Miki, Gunner and Shorty fought with the ropes of their masts to keep the boat steady, Ash clutched her sodden safety rope so hard, salt water bled from the fibres and dribbled down her arms.

Shorty shouted at Miki, who shouted back, their words lost to the wind and rain as soon as they left their mouths. Shaking his head, Shorty swiped the air with one hand as though parting a curtain. When he next spoke, his words found their ears so clearly, it was as though he was speaking directly into them. "This storm's about to go heavy metal. Miki, Eli, a little help?"

As soon as his words were through, the wind was back, gusting with an intensity that seemed to be trying to make up for lost time. Miki turned and launched herself onto Ash and Eli's boat, ducking to avoid the boom as it commenced a rogue swing. She grabbed Eli by the collar of his jacket.

"Just like before," she said. Her teeth were bared, her sodden hair like splash of blood on her pale skin. She looked undeniable.

Eli turned away.

"Damn it, Eli." She shook him gently. "It's been three years."

Still, Eli said nothing.

With a growl, Miki shoved him away and jumped back onto her boat. Eli's hands reached to the scars on his face, before dropping back down to his sides.

Meanwhile, Shorty's manic smile was slipping at the corners as he squinted at the sky. Finally, he announced the obvious. "Brace yourselves. She's gonna light us up!" As soon as the words left his mouth, Herald let out another ear-piercing skreeeeeeaaaahhhh. They all looked up, just as a web of lighting split the sky, tentacles reaching down like a trident delivering a blow. In a moment of adrenaline-induced stillness, Ash saw it happening—the bolt threading downwards to connect with their masts.

The air crackled with electrical heat and Miki raised her arms, palms facing upwards in the same way Ash had raised her hands to the burning balls of flames as they flew into he rafters at Sinderella's Palace. For a single, terrifying moment, everything went white and Miki let out an ear-ripping scream. The rain ceased, as though someone had put a kink in the hose and a clap of thunder made Ash's ears ring. But there was no boat-ripping impact, no fire. It was as though the bolt had hit a wall and absorbed back into the trident from which it had been made.

The rain was back full force. Ash opened her eyes and saw Miki sprawled on the deck. Shorty was crouched beside her, cradling her chin in his hands, whispering in her ear. The rain continued to pour. The sea continued to swirl. But the static heat in the air was gone.

Soon, Shorty was bundling Miki in his arms and unlatching something from the side of her boat. Gunner was doing the same on his boat and soon, all three disappeared beneath their own barriers of wood like a caterpillar in a chrysalis. Eli appeared. "Watch your head."

Next thing Ash knew, he was dragging her down, grabbing a brass handle on the starboard rail, heaving it so that a stream of wooden shutters slid into place over their heads, clicking into the opposite side of the boat.

Darkness engulfed them, so absolute she couldn't tell if her eyes were open or closed. Inside their tomb-sized cabin, with only room enough to lie side-by-side arms tucked against their chests, the sound of the wind and waves quietened. All that was left was the uncomfortable rocking and the slosh, slosh, sloshof water seeping into their clothes and wrapping around their bodies.

She felt Eli's arm next to hers, stiff as a board. "Okay?" he huffed out.

She rolled away from his touch, as far as the slick wooden hull would allow. She was stuck in a warped dream from which, no matter how wide she strained her eyes, she couldn't wake. Ash was sure Miki had stopped the rain, in that palm up way, just as the lighting struck. She was sure Shorty had somehow made the wind go still so they could hear him. These 'Wanderers' were more than they appeared, bigger than life, more far fetched than the shooting star, or Herald's mighty wingspan. And she was at their mercy.

So, what did they want with her?

She wasn't okay and the thought sickened her to the core. She'd always had a plan, had always been in control. She'd never done so much ducking, weaving and running away.

She curled into a tight ball, pinched her arms and willed herself to wake up from the nightmare, to feel her lumpy orphanage mattress and hear the symphony of snores from her dorm mates. But the wind kept blowing, the waves kept churning and Eli's presence was like an uncomfortably hot flame on her back.

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