An Inch Of Infinity (Short Version)

CHAPTER 52~Hindsight 20/20

     I awoke to the sound of the ocean, and gulls crying in the distance. I opened my eyes groggily. I'm covered in sand, and the water rose to soak my side while I slept. I wasn't the only one who fell asleep out here on the ground. All around there are passed out people. Some on the beach, some toward the jungle. Some on their side, others face down, and a few lucky enough to land on their back. I think I might have been moved, because the little grassy hill I remember falling asleep in was several yards away, and I was laying on the beach. I stood up. Kiki was where I had fallen asleep, wrapped in multiple jackets. I decided that I'll let the jackets owners sort that out. It's not my business, and I'd rather watch that happen. I might have only known her for a day, but I don't trust her. There is something unsettling about her, something important and big, and I'm not just talking about her ego.

After waking up and shaking the sleep from my eyes, I explored the remains of the beach bash, aka, last night's party. There is garbage everywhere. In the sand, in the water, on the beach. Everywhere I look there are wrappers, or firework launchers, or paper shreds, or plastic bags, or glass, or plastic bottles, or even chunks of food. The tables have all been taken down, and their contents most likely stored in the freezers.

I walked up the ramp. I guess I was still tired, because a boy seemed to fall off the roof onto the deck in front of me. He turned and saw me.

"I, uh, this, its not, I'm not, This is not what it looks like!" he says. I nod and walk by him. Now that I think about it, I've never seen him before, so why is he on this boat? I turn around to ask his name, but he's gone. Vanished, poof, bye-bye. No matter how he did it, he was standing in the middle of a deck, then he was gone. I think back to what I saw.He looked younger than twenty but older than me. He was tall, with very pale skin. So pale, it was like he never had been outside. He had black hair, and dark rings under his eyes. He had on some of the best looking block clothes I've ever seen! They were made completely out of brown silk and had no patches on them. He was cleaner than most who suffered through this journey, with almost no visible stains on his shirt, and none on his pants. I looked around, then I looked up. There was nobody on the roof, and there mustn't have been a boy. I really need some sleep, I'm seeing things.

I head to my cabin and sleep for a few hours. I wake up well rested, and then go out to the deck. Just to make sure, I look up. There is no boy. I'm about to head out to see what I can do for work, when I look up at the captain's cabin. Each boat has two captions. One for at night and one for the day, so everyone gets sleep.

I go up the steps but instead of going into the cabin, I look at the wall next to it. It's smooth. I run my hands over it, and am about to turn and leave, when my hand hooks into a small space.

There was a hinge on the inside. As I keep feeling around, I find that there is a hidden lever. Soon I'm climbing it slowly, using my hands to find hand and foot holds. The wind blows my short brown hair over my face. I climb past the highest window, and I know I'm high up. I'm so terrified of falling, and I don't know how to get down. So I keep climbing. Tucked into the shingles is a well disguised door. I reach the top and stand on a small platform. With some difficulty, I am able to open the door. I finally look down. I'm easily 50 feet up. Breathing hard, I jumped into the room behind the door.