Defying Fate

Chapter 7 p1

Odysseus woke, choking and coughing and throwing up over the ship's railing. A hand on the back of his head had been repeatedly dunking him into the seawater.

What felt like gallons of sickly sweet juice spilled from his mouth and nose and he groaned in pain and misery.

"He's coming to!" A voice called, as strong hands pulled him back aboard and turned him over. Odysseus slid down the rail, until he slumped on the deck, unable to support his weight. He trembled, and gasped for air, reaching out blindly, his eyes unable to focus.

"Telemachus? Penelope?" He rasped, his voice harsh like a man who had been drowning. The words were barely intelligible.

"No captain," another voice said softly. "It's Polites."

"Polites?" Odysseus blinked, but he still could barely make out the faces swimming before him. "They said you were dead?"

"No, captain," Polites said again. "They were very kind to me." Odysseus's eyes found Polites, picking out his red headband as a slash of color against the bright blue sky. He remembered where he was, on his ship... the unknown island.

"Asterion?" The boy had been with them.

"He's here, safe and sound."

Odysseus's eyes finally began to clear, and he looked around at the concerned faces of his crew. They looked scared and worried, and some looked at him with pity.

He needed a show of strength. Gripping the rail, Odysseus pulled himself to his feet, and everyone cheered, though he felt further nausea and wanted to retch over the side again, he forced himself to smile.

Eurylochus caught the moment though, and ordered everyone back to their posts, leaving Odysseus to lean over the railing in peace.

Polites put a hand on his back. "Get it out of your system. You ate a lot more than I did,"

"How did you escape?" Odysseus came up for air, closing his eyes in misery, but in his mind, he heard Penelope scream, and opened them again, unwilling to relive the memory.

Polites' lips compressed into a line, and he looked off toward the receding island.
"I wished I could stay..." he began, but trailed off, somehow unable to get the words out. Odysseus had no strength to push, so instead, he turned the other way, looking out to sea.
"Where is the rest of the fleet?"

"The fishing around the island was alright, but most of the fish were contaminated with the same plant from the island. It's a flowering fruit, that looks a little bit like a Lotus, but it grows on trees on the central peak. Everyone fell under the influence, and... well... Cassandra was right. We lost a lot of time. But, once they realized that the fish were the cause, all the other captains and Eurylochus decided to dock the fleet on a sandbar a few miles east of here. They're waiting for us."

"But I told them to continue on without us?"

"They would never abandon you, Captain."

"Where is Cassandra?" Odysseus' stomach was finally settling, and he turned to look around the ship, but all he saw were crew members going about their general duties.

"I think she's below deck," Polites said. "She didn't want you to see Asterion yet."

"Why not?"

"Cassandra is the one who came to our rescue," Polites said. "She found me and woke me up, and together we got you and the child back to the ship. Asterion recovered quickly, I think he was well-cared for by the lotus-eaters, and I don't think they gave him any pure lotus to eat."

Odysseus sighed, and his knees nearly buckled again in relief.

"I think I need to go below," he said. "I'm no good to the crew like this."
Polites put Odysseus' arm around his shoulders and supported him to the steps, but halfway across the deck, everything went dim.