The Moving Island, Kulon

I followed after Bondi, glancing over my shoulder and to the ship as I wondered just how I was one of the six picked to go. The ash crunched under our feet, the ground sinking in slightly with each step. It felt unreal to walk on the soil, like we were walking on what I imagined clouds to be like.

Goran had been the only one to volunteer to come along with us. His height reminded me of George. Tall and muscular. Different from anyone that had been born in Carlisle. His eyes were pale green, showing that he was recovering from illness.

Hahn was pushed to come like me. She was doing better than most of the others, including Captain Velwyn who had nearly collapsed before we left. Masque told her to search for any strange water plants that might be growing on the island.

A tattered cloak was tossed over her broad shoulders, while a hood covered her white hair. I figured she did her hair the same way that Sakura did, dying it with something that came from the capital.

Kurt walked next to Bondi, using a piece of broken wood to help him walk. His foot had gotten crushed during the fight and storm, though how that happened, he didn't say. I just know it hadn't been from a cannon. He wasn't near any of them from what I had seen that day.

Rambrect was the last to be pushed into the boat before it was dropped into the water. We almost ended up going under and losing it because of the person who did that. I had a feeling it was Masque, but he was one of the ones also leaning over the railing, calling out to us.

Rambrect hadn't taken it so well and cursed them out. From the few words that I caught, it wasn't some pleasant cursing and he also couldn't swim. It was a good thing the boat hadn't fallen apart.

He was one of the shorter crew members. Coming to just my shoulder, with spiky hair. A scar traced down the only arm that wasn't hidden under a cloak I always saw him wearing.

His appearance was as broken as our ship.

"Let's rest here." Bondi came to a stop, one of his arms going out as if no one would dare walk past it. "We're getting nowhere anyways."

A few of the others sat down but I wanted to continue. The island seemed so bare. So empty.

"I'm going on," I said.

He shot me a funny look before shrugging. "Go for it. We'll catch up eventually." He shooed me on as he lowered himself to the ground.

"I go with," Rambrect stated.

I glanced at him, wondering if he would make it. In the group it had only been me and Bondi who hadn't ended up sick and below the deck. The other four were still in the process of recovering.

His blank look had me shrugging.

"Okay."

We continued on, our steps imprinting in the ash enough that the others would be able to follow. The silence was long and almost peaceful compared to the darkness that surrounded us. It had been agreed that we would wait until daybreak but the Captain wanted us to go as soon as we could. Saul, who no doubt should be the captain, reminded Velwyn that he didn't have a vote in it and needed to go rest.

What Saul meant about him noting having a vote caught my attention. It seemed like something that I should know or at least get my hands on.

The silence was broken just as the sun started to peak.

"You remind me of daughter."

I couldn't help but look at him. "You have a daughter?" I asked, making sure I heard that right.

He nodded but continued to stare ahead of us. There were plenty of things I had learned about those I was sailing with. Some that I wish I was never told and some that led me to get to know them more than I wanted.

These pirates acted like a family. It was odd and unsettling.

"What was she like?"

He grunted. "The moon." In the distance, disappearing behind a cloud, was the pale moon. "Smart. Tall like me." My lips shifted at the thought of him considering himself tall. "Kind."

"She sounds lovely, but how do I sound like your daughter?"

In those moments, before tragedy strikes, I've always had this sense. I could feel the air shift in moods. No one could explain it. How I could tell what was about to happen. How I could judge a mood or if someone was out to hurt me.

It had never failed me before.

"You are kind."

I laughed at that, my stomach twisting painfully. "You think so?" I asked, feeling my mood lighter than it had been in a while.

"You help boys."

I was about to nod but remembered that they thought we were family. Wasn't family supposed to help each other?

"We're family."

"You not."

I wore a half-amused grin. It was bound to come out eventually. I didn't think they would have bought it for so long, but it had never been pushed.

My sense had never failed me before until that moment. As I was about to ask him more about his daughter. As I was about to deny his claim with little resistance.

I didn't have the energy to come up with a good story and even if I did, by that point I doubted it would matter. Jacob was the only one out of the two boys who talked to me. William hasn't once opened his mouth since we stepped onto the pirate ship and joined them.

It was like my life was filled with tragedy. The sun was peeking over the horizon, showing the glint in the air. Glint. There shouldn't have been anything in the air for the light to reflect off.

But in those few seconds, there was.

It pierced him before we could continue. One, then two. Three, then four. Five.

Five arrows.

The others rained around us. One glazing my cheek as it shot past. The sun glinting off of it in different colors.

I didn't move, my eyes locked onto the arrows that were sticking out of him. For a second I had forgotten we were walking on an island that was said to move. A place that many couldn't find because it would disappear so quickly.

As his knees buckled, my body jerked forward, my hands grabbed him. His name was on the tip of my tongue but it didn't escape me. Dread replaced my amusement.

"Run."

My heart beat ferociously.

"Run, Rombract."

It would be later when I would learn that was his daughter's name. It would be then I would learn more about Rambrect and the type of clan he came from. But at that moment, it just felt he said his own name but only slightly differently.

"Warn others."

Blood stained my hands as I stared at him. "I can't. I won't." I knew I could.

I knew leaving would be smart. If I did run I would be able to reach the others. I could get help. But he would die.

Arrows rained around us and hit the ground. It felt almost like they weren't allowed to ruin this moment. Like the arrows just knew they couldn't interpret us just yet.

"Run." The color looked as if it was draining from his eyes. "Quickly."

His hands grabbed mine, the scar on his arm, a glaring reflection of what he had faced and survived. Was it possible for arrows to kill a man with so many scars and tales to tell?

"Please, Prietenă."

My chest felt heavy, my hands shaking. I nodded, watching as a smile of relief filled his face before the last of the light went out. Could he have died so quickly?

Was there something on those arrows?

With a pang of regret that I knew I shouldn't feel, I unstrapped his gun. I wouldn't survive running with my back to whoever was shooting at me. I would only end up like Rambrect and that would do no one any good.

It was already loaded with what looked like small pebbles. It looked like a newer model that didn't need powder or a fuse. This was my first time getting a close-up look of one, but the long muzzle seemed like it was from an older type.

Standing up, I felt as the arrows hit around me, the air hissing as it came close enough to hit me but missed. My eyes searched for something, shapes or hills. They weren't shooting from the open, which meant there had to be another way.

At that moment, I could do nothing for him, but that didn't mean I couldn't return. There were fewer arrows as the time passed. I knew that meant one of many things. My hope was that they were running out.

The sound of crunching alerted me of the danger. The air hadn't changed in the slightest. There had been no blood lust. No detention that someone had been approaching.

And if there hadn't been ash, I knew I wouldn't have heard them.

The noise vibrated like the cannons that were blasted in the ship. My eyes set on the three-men approaching me. They were different from anyone I had seen before. Covered in strange skin that looked like scales, and had pain covering their faces.

Smoke raised from the muzzle as I continued to point it at them. The three froze with what I hoped was fear. A scream from my left seemed to echo and was soon to be joined by others.

I knew what it meant. I was surrounded.

Words I didn't understand escaped from the middle one. I didn't lower the gun and my thumping heart didn't slow down.

Taking a steady breath, I cocked it, feeling the hammer pull back with ease. It echoed once again as I fired, the air shattering as the screams around me rang out again, louder. I watched as the one standing on the left stumbled but didn't fall.

If it hadn't been for the blood dripping down his arm, I would have thought I missed.

"Let me go and I'll let you live." I moved the gun to point at the middle one. "And if you refuse, I'll shoot him next and this time, it'll be fatal."