Four days went by and every twenty-four hours I took JP's painkillers. I had forgotten that I was ever in pain, in fact, I had forgotten what pain felt like, every time I tried to pinch myself I just felt the skin being lifted, it was an odd and confusing sensation. The hospital had been angry when they had found me gone and so had Dan, but when I explained to him what had happened he calmed down a little but told me that he could have just gone to see JP for me, instead of me making a break from the facility. The doctors were astounded at my progress and healing and Dan convinced them to put it down to the Cerberi blood, although I could tell that they were still a little sceptical.
After four days I felt as if I were going mad, I hadn't left my room, in fact I had hardly moved, despite the fact that I felt fine. I was getting fidgety and bored and had begged Dan each day to find me something to do. Finally, on the fourth day he came into my room and said "I have a job for you, and I've already gotten permission for you to go". I didn't care what it was, I was just so thrilled to finally be leaving my room. "The Cargo ship has just arrived but some items are missing and we need to go back to the mainland port and find out why. Very few Cerberi can, or are willing to, communicate with everyday humans, they think it's beneath them. So we need someone to converse with the humans, aka you".
"Thank you" I smiled, feeling as if I could cry from the joy of being able to move again. I stood up, and despite the fact that I could walk, Dan forced me to hop, using him for support. He waited whilst I had a shower and got dressed. It felt so good to be doing something again, even if it was sitting on a boat and then complaining to poor dock workers.
We made our way to the next floor up to the door that led outside and stepped out onto the island cliffs. The late afternoon weather was unpleasant to say the least. The sky was grey and heavy rainclouds packed themselves densely into the atmosphere. A chill air lay like a winter blanket beneath the cloud cover and the sea made tormented crashing sounds on the cliffs below. The large, heavy, meatal cargo ship stood firmly against the tempestuous waves as they broke upon its side. As we carefully made our way down the cliff path, holding onto the rope at the more vertical spots, the ship's signal mast rose up like Poseidon's trident above the ship, commanding the waves around it. When we got to the dock, Dan held onto me tightly as to prevent me from slipping on the wet metal. We got to the ship and were helped on by two sailors who handed us both thick jackets.
The ship was vast and full of red, green and blue shipping containers, a tall structure rose up in the middle where we were led. Inside we were seated in a communal area and a sailor stayed with us in the room but said very little. After a while the boat began to creak and grind and we could feel it slowly moving forwards. The loud sound of the ocean increased and the water smashing against the deck created a thunderous and strangely satisfying sound, as if the sea was trying to dominate the ship.
Carving through the ocean, the ship sped up a little "What do I even say when we get there?" I asked, and Dan produced a small piece of paper from his boot. He opened it and on it was a checklist of all the things that should have been delivered, over half of the list was unchecked. "This is pretty serious, actually," he said "these supplied include food, medicine, materials, anything that the Island needs to continue running efficiently. Quite often a couple of items aren't delivered, either they weren't ready in time or they got lost on the ship, but this is extreme. Jay reckons it is a deliberate attempt at sabotage," he sighed. Jay was Dan's oldest friend on the Island. Jay worked in supplies and helped manage food orders, he had been initiated when he was only a few years older than Dan and their shared experience had brought them together.
Most of the Cerberi on the island had jobs that contributed to the functioning of the Island as a community. Some worked as teachers, mainly of fighting and fitness, some worked as chefs, others managed sleeping quarters and cargo and then there were the Lords, only one of the current generation lived at the Island and he rarely showed his face. In fact, I had only met him a handful of times myself; but still handful more than can be said for most.
