Rising Tides | 2doc | Gorillaz siren!AU

3: Missing Man

The sand crunched between my toes as I tiredly dragged my feet step by step. How long have I been out here? I had been wandering for quite a while now, and honestly I missed the cave. Even as dinky and unpleasant as it was, at least I could have rested my weary limbs, but now I was somewhat lost with only my previous surroundings and my compass to clue me in to where the hell I was. Maybe trying to track this unknown islander was a mistake.

I had just passed a triangle shaped rock formation in what I presumed was the middle of the bay. Come to think of it, have I seen this scene before? Multiple times? There was the lopsided patch of trees I could have sworn I've seen (many times), and further away I could hear the thunder of a small waterfall overhead.
It was all too familiar.
I must have been walking in circles for miles. Hours and hours, just cycling between the same geography.
I had already gotten lost, and I hoped I would be able to find the cave once again.

If only there was some sort of path that would lead me to the unidentified figure, but there seemed to be no trace. Strangely, there weren't even footprints, save for my own that circled around the bay. Not a trace of life could be found, unless I wasn't looking in the right place, but there was nowhere left to look. Whoever this was must have been quite elusive, and they were clearly good at covering their tracks behind them. Nonetheless, I continued forward. There were many times I believed I found a lead, only to be either drawn to absolute vacancy or drug back to the point I started at. It weakened my optimism a bit, but not nearly enough for me to grasp that perhaps I was chasing a ghost of even my most modest wishes for company and human interaction. The thought of the mysterious pile of fresh fish stuck to my mind, however, reminding me of the purpose of my ridiculous trek. It gave me just enough motivation to keep trying, ridiculous as it was, despite the feral nagging that knawed desperately on my vulnerable mind.

And so onwards I continued. Despite my tired limbs, despite the balls of my feet begging me to take a break, I dragged the aching shell I called a body through the sand again and hoped to find any signs of human life. It was clear that I could handle only so much of this tedious activity, and I was quickly giving out. At this point I wanted to give up and head back, except, I didn't know where I was. I would have easily succumbed to my doubts and forfeited if I knew where I was, and wether this was a motivator to carry on or a complete setback was unknown to me. I clutched the valuable compass, yet had no sense of direction. How ironic- a pirate who can't use a proper compass, eh?
I pathetically sulked to myself, as I poorly slouched and continued in a poor temper after hours of absolutely nothing getting resolved. I should have known not to have high hopes when they'd only be blown off. I should have been more than alert that my expectations would always crumble to my feet.
At this point, I was close to collapsing and debated wether to make hospitality out of the warm, vacant sand. At least for a bit, until I had some energy to carry myself on my own newfound land legs.
I rested my eyes, the warmth swaddling me like a mother's tender touch. It almost seemed apologetic, comforting me for my pain and efforts.
It strangely felt nice to be in touch with land after so long of being one with the sea itself, but I had let my guard down on her and I didn't want to do the same for the cursed land that I had for the sea I thought I had loved so dearly. I shook myself out of my momentary sleepy bliss, pressing the sand out of my sweat dampened clothes. Anything and everything was my enemy at this point, and I couldn't let my guard down. I still had a bloody mission, and I needed some sort of goal to occupy my mind. Besides, the curiosity would nag at me endlessly if I never found out about the mysterious gifts that were graced to me fresh from the sea, so at the very least I needed to crack down the case just to silence my thoughts.
I pinched the sand, rolling the grains between my fingers and letting it fall from my hand, sighing deeply to myself, if only to regain myself from my slump of hopelessness.