Lycanthropy; The Ascend (#Wattys2018)

Chapter 4: The Voyage #2

She yawned quietly, struggling to stay awake while the ship rocked gently on the calm sea like a crib under a mother's touch. It was calming and so Leslie couldn't help drifting off to sleep for a few seconds, then waking up again; her head jerking up back against the wooden wall. Zy chuckled at her as he watched her from the other side of the dimly lit room below deck. Emily and Chris slept peacefully within the soft pillows and duvet of the only bed on the boat, Chris's arms wrapped around Emily loosely while she snored almost soundlessly under the warm blanket. And then there was Leslie and Zy; sitting on the cold bottom of the ship with their backs against the walls, facing each other. With only a thin blanket on each of them, it was difficult to keep themselves warm.

They had been in the ship for only an hour, and they still had a couple to go, but Leslie was still uncomfortable in the position she was in; bouncing between surface and underwater in a wooden vehicle.  She felt nauseous whenever they toppled over larger waves than usual and always had that little voice in the back of her mind which told her to panic and escape, but luckily she had enough control over herself to not do that and die from drowning.

She held her head while rubbing her eyes softly; she didn't want to fall asleep just yet, she was worried they might need her somewhere, especially when the others are asleep. Even after a long persuasion speech from Zy and the old man, she tried to fight against it. 

"I told you, you should sleep." Zy sighed as he watched her with an amused expression across his handsome face. Leslie rolled her eyes at him in response.

"And I told you why I don't want to." She answered sleepily. It was quiet again for a few minutes until Zy broke it again.

"I'm not from around here.." He began slowly and Leslie opened her eyes to look at him. "I was born in Greenland 24 years ago... I didn't stay there for very long; my parents had to escape when I was 6 years old... So I don't remember it well.  But I do know I have a strong connection to the place and I hope to visit it again later on..." He said broodingly as he looked at something by Leslie. She watched him curiously, confused as to why he decided to begin his life story, right here, right now. "Anyway, after that I lived in Canada until I was a legal adult, it is a beautiful country and full of wildlife but some people there were not very nice... I've improved my skills and abilities there with my parents, but unfortunately, we had a bad turn in our life there... When I turned 18 and ended my education, as a legal adult, I left to explore other countries and meet new... people. Chris was with me since then and he kind of just decided to follow me around. And somehow I ended up in England, travelling through different cities, but one particularly hooked me, because of a few residents there... We saw the news and Chris and I, well, mainly me, decided we'll give Iceland a visit. And so here we are.." Zy ended his story and he looked back at Leslie, waiting for a response.

She listened intently throughout his story and still her mind was full of questions, she couldn't decide what to ask so she thought for a few moments.

"What happened to your parents?" She asked finally, searching his face for any clues. He sighed heavily and averted his gaze onto the floor in front of him.

"I... They were murdered by some hired snipers... They are the best at their job. Well... Were." He looked up to scan Leslie's face who was taken aback by his response. She was expecting something simple, like dying from a disease or age; something normal. Though she wasn't really sure what normal was anymore, being a lycanthrope was the farthest thing from being normal. Thoughts raced through her mind like shooting stars; was he a murderer? Or a psychopath? Or both? She gulped at the thought and briefly regretted having that intimate exchange with him last night.  She put on an indifferent expression, shielding her emotions from his curious eyes.