Island of green

1 {unexpectedly here}

I grip the ships rim tightly, the ships about to go. The crew unties the knots. I'm just about to hop on but...

They push off.

I can barley hear myself scream. I claw at the rope that hangs down near me but its too late. The metal of the ship hits me so hard that I feel dizzy. As the rain splashes across my face, making it hard to see, I feel someone grab my hand and pull me up over the side of the boat onto the wet surface.

*****

I open my eyes to a warmly lit room. I reach up to touch my forehead which is wrapped in gauze The sheets that cover me are nice and soft, not like the ones back at the shelter, where I stay.

I stare at the ceiling, and notice little white seashells etched into the dark wood, then hear a noise. My back aches as I turn to look. Standing there is the boy that started this all, the boy I have been following, the boy that sneaks out every night. I notice him sometimes at the shelter taking care of people.

He stares down at his feet. "Why'd you follow me?"

I stare at the shells in the ceiling then say, "every night I see you sneak off, you normally always came back with medical supplies. This time I decided to go after you, to find out where you got-" he interrupts me.

"I decided to leave this place." He frowns. "I suspected somebody was following me but I didn't have time to go back, my uncles ship was leaving in the night so I decided to go along with him."

"Where is it heading?" I ask, finally meeting his dark green eyes.

"Nobody knows. We are heading for land somewhere to the east, we are looking for a place to live and stay forever." He smiles then looks up at me but looks straight down after he sees my eyes.

"Wait a second," we meet each others eyes but this time we don't look away. "Are you saying that we are all, including me, going to live somewhere, and we don't even know where, for the rest of our lives?"

"Yup, pretty much sums it up." There is a plain look on his face that I just can't make out. Normally I can tell what is happening in their life by the facial expressions but with him I can't tell. Maybe it's something about his face. It's distracting, I've never liked a boy in my life and every girl at my school says it's dumb, they all have boyfriends so I guess their set in life but with me it's about exploring and meeting new friends.

He breaks the silence, "my names Luke."

"Katana Nolan," I smile up at him.

"Well anyways I just wanted to see if you were okay. You got hit pretty hard last night. It left a big bump and a little bleeding so I decided to patch it up." Last night!!! Oh my gosh I must have been out for a while because I can see the sun setting out through the windows. The sky is painted beautifully with warm colors and some cold, illuminating through the windows it leaves mark all over the walls.

The feeling of stress overcomes me. My whole life, what I have survived for is gone and left to go away. The shelter. I have so many friends back there but I just left them. If only I didn't hang on to this foolish boat. Then a wave of anger hits me and I realize something.

"Why didn't you stop the boat?" The boy catches my glance and looks confused but I can tell that there is no innocence in that boy.

Then then I hear a mans voice yelling Luke's name. I want to get up but I can't my back still aches.

Luke turns his head then says one last thing, "you can get up, it'll be good for you." Then he runs out of the room leaving me alone.

I decide to get up. A place my hand on the edge of the dresser then hoist myself up. Pain surges all throughout my body but I know I can overcome it. I take a few steps forward then walk around the room a bit to try and catch balance. It helps because after I do this my back is at ease and my legs aren't wobbling so much.

I'm still in my wet clothes but I notice that there are clothes that aren't as nice as these but they'll do. I strip down then slip on the nice warm clothes. As I look in the mirror I admire myself. My first thought is that they're adventuring clothes, simple yet packed with surprises.

Were they expecting me?

The door gets stuck as I slide it open but I manage to yank on it so it opens enough for me to slip through. Once I get out my heart skips a beat. The evening light is so overwhelming my heart feels like it's going to burst. The sunset has turned pink purple and silver. I have never seen something like this in my whole life. I then hear a voice that snaps me right out of my trance.

"I see you've decided to join us! Come sit!" It's a man with a scruffy beard and dark green eyes, I'm guessing it's Luke's uncle.

I plop down right next to him and he gives me a warm welcoming smile. Luke is siting right across from him. The man holds out his hand and I take it, he pulls me into and unexpected hug. "Welcome aboard little missy."

Luke chimes in, "this is my uncle, the captain of the ship."

"Yeah, the big man who runs everyone and everything." I look over to see a women standing in the shadows. She steps out into the light looking out to the sunset. She is the most beautiful women I have ever seen, she is in her 20's and she has black hair, pure black, it's put in a sleek ponytail that rests on her shoulders. She has hazel eyes that reflect everything around, a beautiful warm smile and a confident face. Pointing out to the sunset she steps forward onto the edge of the boat balancing on the soles of her feet.

I look around at everyone else and they are all staring at the sky so I look. The sky flashes a magnificent silver then fades into a dark blue, leaving the sky speckled with stars. The moon shines brightly.

The day flew by so fast I felt overwhelmed.

The boat was calm and it was getting cool outside so people started heading off to bed.

Luke stops me "So what do you think?"

"It's amazing, the people, the boat, the nature, everything." I sigh.

"Yeah I enjoy it a lot." We stand there for a bit.

"Who was she?" I ask.

"Oh that was Raven."

"Raven? Is that her real name?"

"Yup I'm pretty sure. But anyways see you in the morning?" I wave by and we depart going opposite ways.

I run right into Raven while walking. "Hey. Welcome aboard." She smirks.

I smile. "Is Raven your real name?"

She seems surprised. "You should head to bed kid, it's gonna be a long hard day tomorrow." She pushes my head to the side and walks away.

When I get into my room I head right to bed, stripping down to just a shirt. It's warm in the sheets, so I don't need the pajamas that are laid out.

I stare at the shells on the ceiling which helps me drift off to sleep.