Chapter 21

I woke up, feeling like I’d run headfirst into a brick wall. I sat up, supporting my poor noggin, wincing at the light streaming through the window.

Where was I, and why did it feel like I shouldn’t have woken up at all?

I shot upright in my bed as scattered memories of the wreck of the Sipadan fell into place. “Oh, no.”

I slumped back down, gripping the edge of the bed. I was in a small, metallic room that reminded me of a shipping container that somebody had carved a crude, glassless window into. If my bed at the hotel had seemed sparse and salvaged, this blanket was more patch than original material, and the bed itself was a worn mattress that sat right on the ground.

My brain filed that away for later, when I wasn’t having an emotional crisis. The walls creaked in protest as a powerful whirlwind swirled around me.

I didn’t try to stop it. What was the point?

I’d killed them. All of those men, O’Connor, Zack, even Captain Zhang, all gone because I’d just had to test my dumb theory that Albert had sent the storm as a signal. Because I couldn’t let go, because I couldn’t wait to file a report and have the Corps decide what to do, I’d…

I’d…

Hot tears ran down my cheeks.

Zack. He’d been there for me, kept me from being washed overboard the first time around, and I’d completely failed him.

I stood, my bruised shin aching in protest. The sharp pain brought me out of my pity party, and the self-contained storm stopped as suddenly as it had begun.

More memories of the wreck trickled in, including the moment I’d lost my Blessed Bathysphere when it slammed into my defensive spell.

“I should have drowned right then,” I murmured to myself. “If I survived without my air, I might have saved Zack, O’Connor, and the rest with my Blessed Bathyspheres!” Unless they hit something hard too.

“You aren’t going to find out anything by moping in here, Rose,” I said. “Somebody put me here; they’re bound to know something.”

I approached the door, finding that it was two woven mats of leafy fiber hanging from the ceiling. They were a bit askew, probably because of good old Hurricane Rose. I shoved them aside and found myself facing a dozen similar modified shipping containers and some makeshift huts. The hodgepodge village sat about halfway between the beach and the tree line. They weren’t arranged with any sort of plan, ad-hoc buildings pointing every which way. At their center, I could just make out a large circle marked out by rocks and full of ash, looking like an enormous campfire. The main action seemed to be at the water, where I could make out a few people hauling in small boats. I couldn’t see further inland through a dense forest.

“I thought I heard something over there,” came a chipper voice. A woman who didn’t look much older than me rounded the corner. Her black hair ran past her shoulders in waves, and she was dressed in an ill-fitting green jumpsuit. “Do you speak English? I thought you might, but I wouldn’t want to assume. We get all types here.”

“Y-yes,” I said, nodding slowly. “Hey, I—”

“You must have so many questions,” she said, cutting me off before I could ask them. “Come along, Ozzie will want to meet you.”

“Ozzie?” The girl didn’t reply, making her way towards the beach. Not seeing a better option, I followed.

Something didn’t feel right as I made my way, and I realized my clothes felt all wrong. I wore the same shapeless green jumpsuit as the mystery girl. It was too far too tight around the hips, but strangely loose around my waist. It must have been made for a man.

The haphazard layout of the village had hidden more people from sight. I spotted a dozen women and a few very young children milling about, doing the daily tasks of a simpler way of life. Some were cooking in large pots, others hoed small vegetable gardens, while others sewed patches into clothes.

It seemed there was more variety in the clothing than I’d thought, as some wore sarongs or sundresses, though there were a few of the drab jumpsuits mixed in. Everything was a strange mix of modern and primitive; one woman wore a tattered designer t-shirt, paired with a grass skirt, all while she tended to a pot that looked like a repurposed piece of scrap. There were no two people with the same outfit, or the same shade of skin for that matter. She was right, there are all types here.

“What’s your name, or can Ozzie answer that better too?”

“Oh, you’re going to be a fun one,” she said, winking back at me. Was that sarcasm? If it was, there wasn’t any hint of it in her smile. “You can call me Sunny. What’s yours?”

“I’m Rose,” I replied, wondering if I should be honest. Oh, well; it was too late to think up a pseudonym. “What’s your family name?”

“We don’t care for those,” she replied, frowning deeply. “They tie us to the old life. There aren’t enough of us that it matters, anyway.”

The boats were as much a hodgepodge as everything else I’d seen. Some looked like the lifeboats from the Sipadan, while a couple looked homemade, kept together with rope and pitch. The men were as diverse as the women, looking like they hailed from every corner of the earth. It was a whirl of activities as the bounties of their fishing nets were dumped into a flopping, squirming pile.

One of the men, a sunburnt man wearing a straw hat, looked up. “Sunny, hello! I see our new visitor is awake.” He strode over, smiling broadly. “You had us worried there! You were knocked out all of yesterday.”

The other fishermen glanced our way, but they went back to their work. I sensed some curiosity, but they were too occupied.

“Not too surprising, Ozzie,” said Sunny. “She must have swallowed half the ocean, and she had a knot the size of my fist on her head.”

I reached up reflexively, finding a slightly raised lump. “All day?” I glanced around, feeling my panic come back at what I saw or, more accurately, what I didn’t see. “Where’s everyone else from the Sipadan?”

“Was that the name of your ship?” He reached out, taking my hand in a way that was meant to be comforting, but confirmed my worst fears. “I’m sorry, but you’re the only one we’ve found.”

“Ozzie!” chided Sunny. Ozzie glared at her, bringing her up short. “I mean, maybe you should ease her into it?”

“Why? She’s going to figure it out sooner or later.” He turned back towards me, his eyes full of sympathy. “We spent all day searching once the storm broke, but you’re the only one we found, slung over a piece of driftwood out in the bay.”

“No, that can’t… I didn’t even have any air, and they did, and I…” Stormbringer roiled within me, ready to write my grief in the clouds. I let out a cleansing breath, forcing myself to stay calm. No, this isn’t the time. You need to find out more first. It was a near thing, and I only beat my affinity because I was bone tired. “Where am I, Ozzie?”

He spread his arms out, indicating the whole island. “Welcome to Haven, Rose. We’re glad to have you here.”

“I’m afraid I don’t feel the same,” I blurted out. “Haven? Are we still in the Spratlys?”

Ozzie nodded. “That’s what they call these islands on the outside, yes.”

“I’m confused,” I said. “I didn’t think anyone lived out here. The Horde and the League abandoned it years ago. This is no man’s land.”

“Who told you that?” asked Ozzie.

“Anti-Demonic League intelligence,” I said.

Ozzie laughed heartily, like I’d told an amazing joke. “Well, there’s your problem right here! They don’t know anything worth knowing.”

“It does seem that way sometimes,” I said, fidgeting. “Ozzie, I need to—”

“Ozzie,” said another man, jogging forward. He was shirtless, and I admit, I was impressed by what I saw. Whatever primitive life they were living out here in Haven, it agreed with them. “Good news on the catch.”

Ozzie turned to face the newcomer. “What’s the count, Yu?”

“The sea’s been generous today. They should last us for a few days with some salt.” He seemed to finally notice me, flashing me a smile. “Which is good, since we’ve got a new mouth to feed.”

My stomach growled involuntarily. “I guess it really has been a day. Don’t worry, I won’t be imposing on you for too long.”

Ozzie’s smile faded. “You’ve had a rough time. Sunny, why don’t you show Rose around? She will be here for a while, after all.”

“Can do! Come along,” she said, grabbing me by the wrist and hauling me away before I could protest.

Staying for a while? Ozzie was bound to be disappointed.