THRIVE: Book One

Chapter 87- The She-Pirate Josephine Rivera

We wait for over half an hour for Alice to wake up, but she is still out cold on the floor. Justin paces nervously as we sit around her limp, seemingly lifeless body. Chloe had tried to focus and look into her mind, but she couldn't push through. Suddenly, she jolts up in frustration and beat her fists on the wall, breaking the withering wooden boards.

"Chloe, you did your best, it's okay." Carmen tries to say, but Chloe isn't listening. Chloe suddenly sharply bites her fingertip, causing it to bleed. I immediately jump up, trying to stop her, but she pushes me away.

"Don't." She states defensively as she begins to draw on her hands with her own blood "I should have gotten these tattooed on my hands ages ago." she sighs.

"You want to do a full dive, are you crazy?" Carmen asks worriedly.

"Tina, I don't think we have a choice." Victoria sighs "Justin, come here, take my place." She says as she starts to slide herself out from under Alice's body. Justin rushes over and pulls her up into his lap.

"Get comfortable, we're going to be gone for a while." I sigh as I bite my own finger, beginning to draw runes on the back of my hands.

"Wait, you're going too?" Cameron asks worriedly as he takes my arm.

"I have to." I sigh, "She doesn't look so good."

"What exactly are you going to be doing?" he asks nervously.

"We don't have time to explain, we need to do this now." Victoria says as she begins tracing on her palms "Carmen will explain everything after we dive in."

"Excuse me?" Carmen interjects, "You think I'm going to let you all go in and just leave me behind?"

"Sweetie, yes. If something goes wrong on this side, you'll be there to help. Viki, Val, and I have done this before." She explains as she hugs Carmen "We'll be back soon, I promise."

"Are you sure about this?" Cameron asks as I sit down beside Alice. I reach out and squeeze his hand reassuringly as I give him a faint smile.

"Yes, I am." I say as I let go "I love you, hopefully, this won't take too long." Victoria and Chloe come around and sit beside me, then Chloe rests her hands on the sides of Alice's head. Victoria and I place our hands on Chloe's shoulders as we begin to meditate.

"Let me in," Chloe mutters quietly as we all begin to take deep breaths. Suddenly, everything goes dark.

We once again wake up in the void of the gate. This time, it appeared violet and is draped in a thick black fog. I see that we're in our original forms, the same as we had been last time. As the three of us stand up and look around, we can see dark cracks in the sky.

"That's about what I was expecting." Mahina sighs as she gazes upward.

"We don't have a particular memory to search for this time, I don't even know where to start." Scara sighs as she looks around.

"I'm guessing it would be one from Josephine's time at sea since the ship is what triggered it, but I didn't know much about that life until she reached the island." I state, trying to think back "I guess we should start with what we know and work our way backward." I suggest. Mahina thinks for a moment before suddenly clapping her hands together, forming a portal before us.

"Let's start with how we met her," she says as she steps inside. Scara and I follow behind as we are suddenly back in the captain's quarters of the S.S. Lobelia, but now they appear new and polished. Josephine is pulling back her long black hair as she slips into her boots. We watch quietly as we see her neatly fold her coat and place it under the bed, then move to the dresser and grab a bottle of what I can only assume is rum. She shudders as she takes a swig, then returns it where she found it.