Wonderer's Wish World 2: Evolutionary Rebirth

The White Death

Day 12

Time: 3:23 PM

Location: Outskirts of Rime 12

The gentle rocking of the boat was smoothly to Darius and soon, he found himself drifting off to what wasn't quite sleep, but not quite consciousness later. As he did, he let his mind wander.

He remembered those strange dreams he'd been having recently, about his friends. He hoped they were okay... he really had no way to check, as he was. He couldn't call them, he couldn't really ask around for them... the most he could do was pray that'd he'd happen upon them on the way to Nightlight.

Since he'd been finding similar people to him in every single other place he'd come from, it makes sense that sooner or later he'd find them, but he'd have to be on lookout. They might even be at... wherever they were going.

He had to check. He'd hate to find that he missed his friends while looking for them.

Darius' thought grinded to a halt when something nudged his leg. Blinking tiredly, he looked down, seeing a hand on him. There was something strange about that hand, but Darius didn't register those oddities, the coldness, the clammy feeling, the limp way it was draped, at least until he followed the arm up to the body, and then he felt all his breath leave him. After a moment of horror struck through him, Darius reared back, shoving away the corpse's hand. He started at it with quicken, terrified breaths as it rattled around on the floor due to the ship's jerky movements. It almost looked like a fish out of water, dying, even though it was already dead.

Darius hated it, but he couldn't stop watching it.

Suddenly, the ship slowed and then stopped, and Darius looked up in confusion. Had they arrived? He lifted his hands, rubbing at his arms. If anything, it felt colder here. Darius didn't want to get out.

But then it started moving again, and Darius relaxed, his eyes returning to the corpse as it danced around the cabin as he leaned against the wall...

And then came the sound of horrible, high screeching all around them, making everyone inside the ship jump and hurry to cover their ears. It didn't really help, as Darius' ears already felt painful to the touch, and a pounding headache was starting to make it's way through his head.

Thankfully, the sound didn't last long, tampering off as the shuttle came to a stop. However, the damage was sone, as there was a horrible ringing in Darius' ears, and his teeth felt horrible inside his mouth.

None of them noticed the person from before knock on the door above them, at least not until it was wrenched up, and the person shouted down at them.

"Apologies, I forgot to warn you!" they shouted down. Now, their voice seemed too loud, and for a minute, Darius wondered why, until he realized that the horrible wind was gone.

The person waved them up. "Come on," they said, quieter now. "Let's get out of this so the kids can start working at it."

The kids in the ship blinked at them, and then at each other. Apparently, that sound had jarred all of the, because none of them even started to do what the person said.

Eventually becoming impatient, the person banged on the side of the ship to get there attention.

"Come on!" they barked. "No need to waste daylight? What are you waiting for?!"

The shouting startled all of them out of their reprieve. Luca was first, scrambling out of the ship as quick as he could, with the rest following as fast as they could. Darius climbed the rungs behind Ai, feeling his skin stick slightly to the cold metal every time he toughed one. And every time, he held his breath, terrified that his hand wouldn't come off. It did, though, and Darius didn't stop, not until the person had grabbed the back of his coat, hauling his up like a newborn kitten and onto the top of the ship. Darius saw his friends in front of him already down at the base of the ship, and he quickly slid down to meet them, landing on shaky knees.