Forever Yours [YiZhan FF]

-Forever Yours- Chapter 15

When Lan Zhan and Wei Ying woke up in the morning, they immediately felt that the ship was much slower than usual. They looked out the window and realized the reason. It was very foggy. Moreover, the temperature seemed to have dropped sharply overnight. For ice could even be seen on the ship's sides. "Are we still on course at all? Shouldn't it be getting warmer and warmer, not colder?" Wei Ying asked.

"I'm wondering the same thing right now. Best we go check it out." Replied Lan Zhan. Wei Ying nodded. They quickly washed, dressed, checked on Youn and Ali, but they were still asleep, and then went upstairs to the deck. They hoped to meet someone from the crew to find out where they were.

They quickly found a crew member, but he could not help them because he did not know where they were. They then tried the captain, but he claimed to have no time for a conversation because he had to navigate the ship through the fog. However, he admitted that they "may" have been off course because of the dense fog.

Lan Zhan did not believe they had been off course for only a few hours. He himself had spent a lot of time on ships and the sea. Therefore he knew very well that they could not have gone so far off course within a few hours. Especially not at this slow pace.

Not believing the captain, Lan Zhan challenged him to tell the truth. The captain looked at him annoyed and explained, "We had to change our course a few days ago to get out of the bad weather."

"Bullshit!" Lan Zhan countered.

"It's the truth. Well, besides, just before we left, the ship's owner had decided that we should take a different course after several ships on the same route we usually take were attacked and robbed by pirates."

"And why aren't the passengers being informed of the changed route?"

"Because we are still on schedule."

"Nevertheless, the passengers must be informed about it. It's a completely different route. Besides, that's ice fog out there. Ice is accumulating all over the ship. Plus, the air smells like snow. Why did you choose this route?"

"It wasn't my idea. I didn't want to take this route. But I have to do what the ship's owner wants. He's also on board checking to make sure we're really taking his planned route. Now go. I have to concentrate here." Said the captain. He had Lan Zhan and Wei Ying escorted outside.

Wei Ying pulled Lan Zhan with him to the railing and asked him, "What was wrong with you just now? You had become so angry. I don't know you like that at all."

"I just hate being lied to. Besides, I don't have a good feeling about this route."

"Why not?"

"Many years ago I worked on a ship as a stoker. It was a merchant ship and for some reason the captain had taken a different route than usual. I had no idea, but two of the other stokers had told me that they actually always took a different route. The ship was slowing down and at some point we heard something scraping and banging against the ship's walls. Shortly afterwards, we were told to stop all engines. Nothing worked anymore. We were trapped in the pack ice! For weeks our ship was stuck in the pack ice. After a week, they had no more food. They tried to fish, but it didn't work. Then they hunted seals. But because it was only a small group of seals, the meat only lasted a few days. Because we ran out of coal, we couldn't heat and run the engines. We should have gotten supplies from another ship on the way. But because of the changed route, there were no supplies. Many of the crew became seriously ill within the first two weeks because of the cold, had frostbite and died. At first, they simply took the dead off the ship and left them there. But that attracted wild animals like wolves and polar bears. They ate the bodies. The wolves even came onto the ship and killed several men. No one went up on deck anymore. They no longer took the dead out, but boiled and fried them so they wouldn't starve. As the fourth week approached, everyone slowly went crazy. They argued and fought over and over again. The captain was about to lose control. And then a fire broke out on the ship. We all had to leave the ship. We found an ice cave where we huddled for days. At least the wolves and polar bears didn't follow us there. But if they had, it wouldn't have mattered. Because there were only 8 people left anyway. And they all died, one after the other. When only I was left, I fought my way through snow and ice for weeks until I came to a village of Inuit. They let me stay with them for two months until summer came and some ships, whalers, came along there and took me aboard."