Defying Fate

Chapter 16-p1

The Coast Guard towed Odysseus' ship south, along the eastern shore to the larger bay of Ithaca or— Ithaki, as Louiza said it. Odysseus stood on the deck of the coast guard's ship under the watchful gaze of Louiza, while one of her men steered the boat. Odysseus still couldn't figure out how it moved, but something propelled it from the back faster than sails or oars.

The familiarity of the landscape did not help his unease. He kept hoping to see familiar buildings poking out among the trees, or even the familiar fishing boats he was used to, but he saw none of that. It was all new, painted boats with pure white, triangle sails, or larger ships Louiza referred to as "yachts" filled with "tourists," laughing and making a lot of noise.

Louiza kindly answered his questions about the boats, and about the different pieces of equipment on deck, but got the feeling she was only humoring him. She refused to clarify about what a radio was, and claimed the talk of frequencies made her head spin. She also did not discuss the way the boat moved, only calling it a "motor."

"It's all much too complicated for me to explain it," she said. "We'll get you sorted out, see what kind of damage has been done, and we'll find your family."

She did explain to him what an ID was, how it was short for Identification and meant some kind of card, and even showed him her own, a tiny rectangle of an odd hard substance, not metal, glass or ceramic, printed with images and writing, including her name, and even a perfect depiction of her face.

"This is my official badge," she said. "It gives me authority over everything up to ten miles out. Funny that we didn't detect your ship until it was much closer. We didn't even see it until we were practically on top of it. It's not like its small." She glanced over her shoulder at the ship being towed behind them. Odysseus could see Eurylochus, Polites and Cassandra standing at the prow, talking amongst themselves. Every now and then, they'd glance his way, and he broke eye contact.

Odysseus shrugged at Louiza, he couldn't even begin to explain what had happened. Not with her thinking that he was mad or hallucinating already.

"I guess now I know how Cassandra feels," he said wryly.

"The young woman on your ship?" Louiza clarified. Her tone was the same that you'd use on a small child. Patient and slightly singsong.

"Yes," Odysseus said. "She— nobody believed anything she had to say, for a long time." He said, cutting out all the details about prophecies and curses. "That's why I had to bring her. I wanted to give her a better life. She's smart, and headstrong, and brave... I can't wait for her to meet—" he stopped again, and the world spun around him. He leaned on the railing to try to steady himself, but its cold, unfamiliar feel did not help. "I promised that I would always believe her," he finished instead.

"Captain?" Eurylochus called, his voice barely audible over the rumbling of the HCG. He was pointing at something ahead of them, and Odysseus turned to see a crowd forming on the docks where they were approaching, several men in uniforms identical to Louiza's held the crowd back with arms outstretched, as men and women in colorful clothing held up tiny slates, pointing them in Odysseus' direction.

"Is it some kind of reenactment?" he heard as the gangplank was lowered, and one of Louiza's henchmen took him by the shoulder and pushed him forward. "Is it for some kind of festival?" Someone else asked, but Louiza ignored them and and toward a large rectangular building with a simple pillared facade. A sign high above the door read "Ithaki Port Authority."

"Louiza, what is this?" A large man in the same uniform came out the front doors. He wore a large hat that sported a shiny metal emblem on its front, that matched the one prominently displayed on his chest. His hair was dark, and he seemed young to Odysseus, proud of his authority, he seemed to outrank Louiza in uniform, if not in attitude. "We don't have the room to hold all these men, we're going to have to send them to the mainland."

"We'll stick them in the drunk tank for a while," Louiza said. "Just until we can get a doctor and a psychiatrist out here."

"Psychiatrist?!" The man was practically spitting. "You can't be serious."

"I am serious," Louiza continued leading Odysseus through the doors and down a narrow hallway lined with even more doors, and lit with flat panels of light set into the ceiling. "Something happened to these guys out there, and I want to get to the bottom of it."

Cyclops attacks, Lotus eaters, angry gods... Odysseus listed the dangers off in his head, but said nothing out loud. He looked around, trying to take in everything, the clothing the people were wearing, the cold air blowing from a vent near the ceiling, the craftsmanship of the furniture as they passed through a room filled with desks surrounded by thin walls. Everything was so foreign to to him, but, they spoke his language, and greeted Louiza cheerfully as she passed.

The large man left in a huff, and Louiza pressed onward, signaling several men and women as she passed, who ran outside. Odysseus guessed they were retrieving his men. Asterion was passed off to a young woman who took him gently. Odysseus hated to see him disappear down another hallway, but the boy waved his clumsy wave as he went, and Odysseus couldn't stop a tiny smile lifting the corners of his mouth.