The Search For Peace 2

Chapter 15

It was a calm morning at sea, the waves carrying their yacht gentle as the kids continued their travel, their destination The Cancer Clan that was located on a remote island close to Mexico. Alyssa stretched her arms out as she walked out of the berth, breathing in the salty air with a smile, the ends of her checkered shirt billowing in the wind.

"Alyssa, did you eat yet?" Harmony followed her from behind, and she turned around to answer her. 

"You mean breakfast?" She eyed the black coat hung over the girl's arm as she nodded. "Yup. Did you? And what's that?"

Alyssa quirked a brow as Harmony's face flushed. "O-oh this? Just something I have to return..." With a sheepish laugh, the girl ran off, her long hair riding the wind as she did.

"What's her problem?" She muttered, pulling out her phone.

Sanjay stared out at the vast ocean, just like he had the night before, only this time without his coat. He couldn't believe himself. Why did he have to go and do something like that? It was so crazy he felt like jumping off the ship. And to make matters worse, he lost his cool when she asked him if he...liked her. With a groan, he hit his head on the steel bar in front of him, gripping it tightly. Why did he have to get so embarrassed?

"Um, Sanjay?" He jolted straight up at the sound of the soft voice, recognizing it immediately. He failed to meet Harmony's gaze as she handed him his folded coat. "Sorry for uh....taking this yesterday."

He accepted it silently, his gaze still low. "It's okay."

Harmony searched the boy's face, but he had his head so low she could barely see it. "Did you...um...sleep well?" She somehow felt relieved when he lifted his head, but slumped when he still refused to look at her, shifting his attention to the view beside them instead.

"Yeah, it wasn't that bad. Did you?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I did! Your coat smells really good, you know!" It was only after the words came out of her mouth that the girl realized her mistake. Sanjay froze, his brown eyes wide, the skin on his neck shifting to a feverish pink.

"Wh-what?!" He squeaked.

Harmony waved her hands in front of her, her own face blazing. "Uh no, that's not what I-I mean, it is what I meant but like, it's not what you think!" She tried desperately to form the right words in her head to convince him, but she had a feeling nothing she said would change his sorry impression of her now. Defeated, she sighed. "I'm really sorry."

With nowhere else to hide her shame, she joined Ralph on the front of the yacht as he stared intently at something in the distance. "Why am I so stupid, Ralph?"

"Do you see that?" She gazed down at him as he totally ignored her, taking in the fact that he needed to stand on the foot of the boat to actually look over the railing because he was so short. It kind of cheered her up. "There's another boat close by."

"So? We didn't rent out the whole ocean, you know."

"Yeah, but, something isn't right." Curious, she squinted at the shadow he was talking about, when suddenly, a spark of lightning stretched upwards from it, bolting through the sky.

With gaping mouths, they exchanged worried glances. What was that? As if to confirm their suspicions, the wind suddenly picked up, howling in their ears, the sky above roaring with thunder as the clouds clustered together above them. "What's going on?!" Harmony took hesitant steps back, her gaze fixated upwards.  The once clear blue sky was now a darkening grey, pulsing with yellow lightning. A storm?

"You guys, look at the water!" They all headed for Carter's frantic cry as he stared down at the twisting waves underneath them. "It's a....a..." He staggered into Ralph's arms, completely limp. "Hurricane..." That was the last word he uttered, before fainting completely.

"Hey, dude, what the hell?!" Ralph sat down with his limp body, while the rest of them gawked at their surroundings. The rain was pouring down, the sky rumbling angrily. And, up ahead, the water....was taking shape. It formed into a huge fish, it's jaws jagged like that of a shark, it's eyes glistening golden as it glared at them. Without further warning, the strange creature of water leaped towards the yacht, splashing onto it as it dispersed.

Everyone screamed as the boat all but flipped, soaring in the air from the pressure. When it landed back down on the raging sea, they were all scattered about on its wet surface. Gasping, Harmony lifted her head, her dress and jeans soaked and heavy. Through her blurry vision, she made out the body lying a few spaces ahead of her.

"Alyssa..." She croaked, inching her way. But before their hands even touched, Harmony heard the hum of a siren from her right. Grudgingly, she got to her feet with the help of the railing and felt her heart race at the sight. Because, to her horror, there was not one, but two of those enormous finned creatures. And they were both coming their way.