"Jane, how about we switch?" Millard says, worried. They're taking shifts while rowing, and Jane has been rowing for quite a while.

"Nah, I've got it." she grunts, as she rows with reinforced vigor.

"Jane, I'm afraid it is Millard's shift." Emma replied.

"I've got it, don't you worry!" Jane uses her hand to gesture, as if bombarded by a pesky fly. Millard cringes as blood splotches onto him.

"Jane." Millard sighs. It's been about an hour or so; or feels like it since he's started trying to get her off the oars.

"I've told all you nut jobs, I've got it!" Jane assures. In truth, it was hurting. But it was distracting her from her thoughts, so that was useful.

"Jane." Millard yanks the oars out of her hands, and she (unwillingly,) turned to Victor, who patched her up with his healing powers.

"Allllll done!" he exclaims proudly, and Jane nods in appreciation.

"Thanks, Victor! Now, is anyone tired from their shift?" she says, eagerly.

"No." They all say, politely. 

Jane knows she probably should think. But, she doesn't want to, because, she's supposed to be in charge... of the safety of her friends. Or wards? Friends, she decides. Who knows? I might have a ward of my own by the end of this damn thing. She sighs deeply, lost. How on earth could she?

"Horace, you look exhausted. How about I row a bit for you?" 

"N-no, Jane. I've got it." He smiled weakly, and kept on with his pathetic rowing. She humphed, but then proceeded to delve into poor, unsuspecting Horace's mind. She closed her eyes, and searched.

"Horace, your hands are numb by now. Give me the oars." Jane commanded. Horace gulped, and turned them over to Jane while he sat next to Victor for awhile and chatted quietly.

"How much farther?" Jane asked, as she took up the oars and rowed quickly.

"Seven kilometers." Emma replied, but then Millard whispered something to her.

"Oh, I mean eight and a half kilometers." Everyone but Jane wilted a little. Jane sat, unfazed. Millard couldn't help but notice that her hair had a slight sheen of red to it. Jane could feel his eyes watching her, but she chose to ignore the feeling. 

Right now, she had more pressing matters to worry about.

How would she look after her friends? Row, row, row. How had she been the unlucky one selected? Millard, Millard, Millard, Millard. How was she going to find food for her wards/friends? Row, Millard, row, row, row.

She sighed.

She never knew her teenager-dom would be this confusing.

--------------------

Soon, Jane had been forced to give up her oars again. She recounted the contents of everyone's baggage. Enoch had his jars of vital organs sloshing in his now unsinkable duffel. Hugh had brought the front doorknob, even though Jane had set the loop back enough to obtain any needed items. Horace had stuffed in his lucky pillow, insisting he had less nightmares while using it, although Jane had whispered something to him, slipping an item of questionable wondering into his pocket. However, some items were too valuable to put in their packs. Fiona had a jar of wormy dirt held between her knees. Millard (and Jane...) had striped their faces with brick dust, in a some sort of mourning ritual.

Jane wiped her hands on her cargo pants, giving into her dangerous and uneasy thoughts.

She couldn't handle it.

She couldn't take care of her friends.

She wasn't prepared.

Who was she kidding?

She couldn't even take care of her own self.

She would be the cause of their deaths.

Jacob would despise her. 

Evelyn and Victor, too.

As would Millard.

No one would stand by her.

It would be just her,

standing in the ashes of her former life.

"Millard, I need-" Jane's cheeks bulged, and didn't finish her sentence. She got sick over the side, coughing. Her eyes blurred, and she collapsed into the boat.

"Jane!" Millard yelled, and the visions began.

-----------------------------

There's a tiny girl, looking as though made of porcelain with her doll eyes and dress, sitting on a stool, watching an old woman make cookies.

"Grandma?" asked the little girl.

"May I have some cookie dough?"

"Of course, dearie." the old woman replies, sweeter than the cookies she's making. She separates a small bit from the larger of cookie dough. The girl squeals, and gleefully shoves it into her mouth, chomping down into it. The two laugh.

"One day, my love," says the old woman, a twinkle in her eyes, "you'll do marvelous things. And don't let anyone tell you differently."

The happy memory puts a smile on Jane's face. She'd been quite close to her grandmother.

But, as always, the scene changes.

An older girl bursts in, crying. She wracks with sobs, her weeping continuous.

"What's wrong, baby girl?" the old woman asks.

"Jace said... Jace said... Jace said she doesn't wanna be my friend anymore!"

"Why ever not?"

"'Cause I believed Grandpa's st-stories!" she wails.

"Oh, sweetheart. It's alright. Do you want to know a secret?"

The girl brightens immediately. 

"What's that?"

"I believe in them."

"What? Nuh-uh."

"Yes, I do, silly!" 

There's laughter, and it fades away.

A girl.

She has bright red hair, and mysterious green eyes.

Sixteen at most.

Jane has never seen her, but she is awfully familiar.

The girl charges.

------------------------------------

"Blimey, Jane! Wake-" Millard is shaking her like a mariachi a maraca. Jane coughs, and blinks.

"I'm fine! Now, don't shake me anymore, or else I'm gonna get sick again." She sits down in her seat.

"Now. Isn't it my turn for the oar-"

"Absolutely not." Emma cuts her off.

"You are not in any shape to stand, much less row." Victor reminds. Jane gave him a look that clearly read, Watch me.

"Guys! I'm good! Honestly! I didn't even watch myself die this time! I swear!"

Everyone stared.

"What?"

"Ummmm..." Hugh murmurs. Jane bursts out laughing.

"Okay. Something's up. Just hand me the flipping oars, would you?"

Everyone blinked, then kept on staring.

"How often do you watch yourself die?" Horace intones, squeamish.

"Pretty much every time," Jane confesses, then shrugs.

"Always the same way, too. With a bullet. But what matters is that we get to shore."

"What matters is these visions, Jane!" Millard practically shouts.

"Later. Mill. We've got to get to shore. Are you listening? And I need the oars. Now."

She yanks them from his hands, and determined, keeps on rowing.

--------------------------

Hey Guys! So...

Do you mind if I skip a little more?

Okay, thanks! But here's whats happening;

The storm starts. Bronwyn's boat flips over. They save Olive. But, their troubles have only just began...

------------------------

"Wait." Jane says, looking at all the bobbing luggage, that she had (thankfully!) made unsinkable.

"We need all of this." she dives in, and grabs each suitcase and hands it to each owner.

"Throw out anything you don't need or want." she instructs.

"We've got to be roughing it. But, keep a change of clothes. Please." Jane went through her own trunk.

"I need this. Need that. Miss P'll need that." Suddenly, she gasped.

"The ymbre handbook! I forgot about this! It has all the lessons I'm s'posed to learn." Then, she reached the photo albums, and hastily shoved them back in.

"I will regret this, but I have to." says Jane, as she chucks several books into the waves.

"Good-bye, Hunger Games! I guess I can get a new copy one day, perhaps. If not, then I enjoyed it." she sighs as she tosses even more books into the sea.

Soon, she finds her trunk is quite light, and she smiles.

"Don't you dare make a pun." Jacob says, without batting an eye or looking up.

The whole groups laughs, though not with joy.

They laugh because it may as well be the only reason they laugh for the next few days.

-------------------------

"All right, Jane. What now?" Jane looks up. Emma has asked the million-dollar question, it seems. Everyone is looking up to her.

Jane only hears one word inside her mind.

Crap.

Luckily, an idea seeps through the crevices of her mind, and she grabs a rope from inside her trunk.

---------------------------

Minutes later, the boats both have trunks bobbing in the water after them, like ducks in a row.

"Brilliant, Jane!" Evelyn chirps, like an overly excited cheerleader. She has been glancing at Enoch every other minute now, while Horace has been side-eyeing Evelyn, his expression unclear. Jane can feel Millard smiling at her like an idiot. Emma seems happy.

"We should rest."

"No. We can't now. Olive? Did you see anything while you were up there?" Jane says.

"Yes! I saw land!" Olive smiles.

---------------------------------------

They reeled her up, and Olive shouted directions.

"Left! Not that far!" she called down.

They finally reached shore.

---------------------------------------

As they climbed out of the boats, Jane toppled over.
"Jane!" Millard yelled.
"I'm all right! Don't worry!" she replied, rushed. Like a drunk party-goer, she stumbled up to see everyone looking at her, concerned.
"What? Just 'cause I fell doesn't mean I'm going to have a vision!"

-------------------------------------------

As the rest of the group reeled and tended to Olive, Jane reeled in the trunks. She grunted as the trunks drifted towards her. Darn it, they were heavy. She saw a something flash under the boat, and bent down to get a better look at it.

Unbeknownst to Jane, from the back she was in a... strange, (to say the least,) pose. She was unaware until she felt eyes boring into her back. She located the shiny object -a coin- and sat up. She turned to find Jacob staring at her, confusion on his face. In answer, she held up the coin and shrugged. She then realized that there was another pair of eyes, belonging to Millard. She could feel him go crimson and turn away as she located the empty space. She dragged a pair of trunks over, one belonging to Olive , the other, to Bronwyn, and handed them to latter, who took the former to change due to them being sopping wet.
Jane suddenly gasped.
"Did we bring Tales of the Peculiar?! If we didn't, we're screwed! Oh, no..." she hyperventilated. Jane's mood swings were becoming ridiculously crazy at times.
"Don't worry, Miss Jane! I have them in my trunk!" Bronwyn assured, appearing suddenly. Boy, that girl could change quickly!
"Good," Jane sighed. A weight had been visibly lifted off her shoulders.
"We can't get around without them."
"What on Earth do you mean?" asked Millard, but Jane waved it away.

-----------------------------

Oh my goodness.

Oh my hecking goodness.

135 views on the entire book.

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I LOVE ALL OF YOU!!!!!

I'm really sorry for how long this part took to come out...

But, here we are now! Right?

Right!

Have a nice day! Stay tuned!