Chapter 29: Zek
It had been a quiet day, guarding the ferry. No contact. The Earth Kingdom patrol had completely skipped by the beach, totally unaware of our subversive activity on this contested coast. The sun had not yet begun to set, but it was mid-descent when Luke and Boss returned. However, they had nothing in tow. No convoy, no supplies, no survivors. Just themselves. Whatever news awaited doubtfully leaned on the positive end of things.
The two of them walked right past us as Zek announced "They took Zehehe."
None of us could have been too taken aback, too broken, we had just arrived here yesterday, but I think what it was that made it all the more serious was what it meant for us. The Earth Kingdom was on the coast, less than a mile's ride from Jianghe, where we were returning. With any luck, the Earth Kingdom would consolidate itself, but, if they truly were in as much of a rush to reclaim lost territory as it seemed, we'd be in for a fight.
"We should get back to the island as quickly as we can," he continued. "The ferry ready to go?"
"Yep!" exclaimed the helmsman, whose name we now learned to be Jungi. "Tide came in and took us back out to sea, as I knew she would."
"Good. Then let's not waste time here."
We boarded the ferry once more not with the same vigor with which we had departed, by a solemn desperation, not slow, but not fast either, yet there was haste inherent in our movements. Once we were aboard and had set out, I made it my effort to catch him amidst his antic movements and pull him aside. "Boss," I was forced to say with urgency to catch his attention amidst the anxiety in his movements. "What happened? What did you see?"
There was no hesitation in his answer. He told me what he observed as though he were a soldier once more, making a detailed report to a superior, yet now, it wasn't an act of subordination, but information, care, to keep us aware of just how things were around us. "Zehehe is in Earth Kingdom hands. It must have fallen just this morning or last night. The fires are still burning, and their drums are beating. I doubt they're done for the day. We had to get back to Jianghe and tell the overseer. If we get back in time, we can-"
Then suddenly I was on the floor, a ring playing through my ears on a single static note as I looked up at the sky, a plume of smoke billowing into the air, disappearing beyond the still heavy fog that shrouded the light of day. I rolled onto my side, to the debris that scattered the upper deck, lying still, refusing to move until a familiar hand gripped me under my arm, pulling me up unto my feet. Boss ran ahead to check on the rest as I worked on my own to secure my balance, shifting my weight from foot to foot. Right. Left. Right. Left. The rhythm broken by a second blast that rocked us once more but lacking the same ferocity as the first. Are we, being shot at?
I looked over the port side of the vessel, staring into a gray wall ahead of us. No. They can't be shooting at us. We're as invisible as they are.
I now decided it was the time to assess myself for any damage. I looked at my hands. Clear. My legs. Clear. I was. Fine. Am I fine? I was fine. I relearned how to walk then, taking a few steps towards the bow of the ship. I passed by Luke on the way, who was walking as though we were sailing smooth and steady. Were we? Is it just me? No. No. Jadoh was on the ground, crawling up the stairs that led to the upper decks from below. It's not just me. It's not just me.
I found where Boss was now, at the helm of the ship, questioning, no, I could hear him, he was loud, yelling at the helmsman, yelling at Jungi. I could finally make out the words. "Do you have any lifeboats?" And I could hear the old man too, who was yelling not out of anger nor frustration, but seemingly to hear himself over the ringing in his ears that was all too similar to the sensation I felt myself.
"We don't need lifeboats! I can get us back!"
As though in rebuttal of his assertion, a third explosion rocked off the starboard side, sending a wave of water underneath us, carrying us about 10 feet into the air before dropping us back to sea level as we still rode the ripples from the explosive after current. "Your ship won't make it back! The entire channel is mined!"
"I can get us through!" I could feel the engines spur to life beneath me, until dying with a loud racket just prior to the detonation of a 4th explosion only a few yards off of our bow.
"This ferry is too big, too slow, and made of metal. These mines will tear you to shreds. I'll ask again. Do you have any lifeboats?"
Jungi looked around at his vessel now, or rather, what was left of it, as small fires now began to burn across the wooden deck, the deck in shatters, the metalworking torn, the mast already cracking, ready to fall. The ruin of his livelihood was apparent around him, and he realized as such. "If it's not destroyed," he started. "It's in the stern."
Upon hearing, Boss signaled for Luke to head to the stern, which he did, seeking to check for its status, and prepare it to get us out of here and back to Jianghe. Then, the moment came to me in full. My sight returned to normal, the ringing ceased, and I was awake. I saw where Jadoh was, still crawling up the stairs. As Boss urged Jungi to follow him to the stern, damning all sentiment of a captain's fate and while Luke struggled to offload the lifeboat, I helped Jadoh onto his feet, practically dragging him to the stern.
With our efforts combined, we thankfully managed to get the lifeboat on the water, somehow undamaged and still intact. It just barely held the 5 of us, yet, at that point in time, we took whatever we could. And so, in the midst of the ticking time bomb around us, we set away, abandoning the ferry in the distance, the fog enveloping in this distance, yet one final burst of light from its direction told me, that if we had overstayed our welcome any longer than we had, our lives would have come to quick and sudden ends. And I couldn't have that. There was somebody waiting for me back in Jianghe.
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