Driftfall: Complete
"All an illusion, huh."
. . .
Like the sound of someone breaking through the water's surface, miraculously, reality has returned.
Opening his eyes, his first view is of the ethereal amethyst sky.
Thank the stars.
Malik turns his head to the side and is faced with his brothers making a kissy face.
Imitating a girl's voice, Zayne says, "Oh Malik, I missed you so much."
Malik laughs uncontrollably.
Zayne's smile faltered for half a second when he looked into his eyes, as if he saw something deeper.
But he laughed anyway.
Continuing with his gag, he glances at the doorway and spots Kaya with wide eyes, watching.
She keeps an emotionless expressing, arms crossed.
The two glance at her, gulping.
"Hmph," Kaya expresses with disdain as she strolls away.
Rubbing his eyes, Malik still carries a worried look on his face. "Guys, I saw him again."
"Oh god . . ." Zayne mumbles.
Lias and Zayne both scratch their heads until they decide to help him out of bed.
Sitting upright, Malik inspects the mark on his wrist that has its own pulse.
More like a branding than a mark, it appears as if it's from a tribe with strict tradition.
All of a sudden . . .
A shadow buries the lively sky.
A red, throne-like chair from the Victorian era appears, with a familiar man looking down.
Glancing slowly upward, he smiles.
"What the f**k!? WHY ARE YOU HERE?!" Malik exclaimed.
"Malik, you good, bro?" Zayne shakes him as he stares blindly.
"Don't freak out. Just a reminder."
Malik intensely stares at him.
"After all, the gods gamble with you like a dice, Malik."
He cackles maniacally as he and the chair fade back, recovering the lost light it once took.
. . .
Palming his head, Malik growls in contempt.
"God damn it, I saw him. He was right there!" Malik pointed while shouting, possibly straining a vocal cord.
Zayne grabs him and violently shakes his head, staring profusely at him.
"Get a hold of yourself, man. Cap's worried about you . . ."
Instantly, Zayne lifted him out of the bed and laid him gently on the ground.
Patting his head, he remarked, "My little brother from another mother, we got to head to dinner, you know. We'll talk about that later."
Lias barges into the conversation, "Cheer up, Malik, we've got grub to munch!"
"Never say that again, bro . . ." Zayne asserted.
In front of the medical room, Captain Cyrus normally lays out a table fit for a family to eat at sunset.
The three finally reach the table to see the entire crew seated.
Not a sound. Not a word. Not even a cry from a seagull.
They all look down as Samir and Cyrus stare out into the merging of the warm yet dim grape-orange piercing sky.
It blurs gracefully into haze.
"We're eating, right?" Zayne tilts his head in confusion.
Zayne keeps an eye on both of them while quietly pulling out a chair, making a noticeably loud creaking sound.
He cringes as he pulls the chair back further and notices everyone at the long, white, round table staring deeply at him.
"Sorry," he whispers as he covers his mouth, politely sitting down.
Ambience.
A few at the table glance around.
Kaya has her hands together on the table. Amaya slouches in her chair, playing with her hair as she looks up, and Kamil looks down at his cartoon-like frog charm, fidgeting with it playfully with a light grin.
The captain and his lieutenant remain still as statues at the head of the table.
A moment of silence for the fallen. The battles forgotten and washed up in this ocean.
For the battle today, in which three beloved souls would've been lost if fate wasn't on their side.
The soft wind brush their faces.
The ocean exhales as the crew takes it all in.
That low shine of the sun's wave goodbye is truly one to behold.
Lias and Malik both sit down, staring at the colorless table with its silk fabric and cream-like odor.
Plates are laid out for every individual seated.
Empty.
They're all empty.
No meat. No rice. No nothing. What's this about? Malik pondered.
Zayne's stomach rumbled louder than the infinite sea.
Is it infinite? Or just what humanity has reached? Or known of?
How daunting.
Interrupting the silence, "So uh . . . we doin' a fast or something?" Zayne mumbled.
He rubs his stomach like stirring a pot of soup.
Kamil speaks softly, still fidgeting.
"We . . . ran out."
". . . Seriously?" Lias blurted as he waves his hair in the air.
"And you just let that happen?" Malik remarked.
"I mean, yeah, the two over there are the only ones that know how to work a stove."
They all shook their heads.
Finally, turning his head to the six at the table, Cyrus glances up.
He cranes back to the sky.
Speaking without looking, ". . . We almost lost three brave men today . . ."
"Tell me, what is the purpose of rationing if there's none of us left to eat?"
Malik grips the edge of the table, narrowly ripping the soft fabric of the silk cover.
A pause commences, longer than necessary.
The sky begins to darken.
"Fate struck again. That is my fault as Captain, and I dearly apologize." Cyrus forces his voice in a strict manner.
"Never again." he states, exhaling after the last word.
. . .
Silence emanates.
The ship slowly rocks.
Samir interrupts, "Well . . . we did kill something, did we not?"
Kamil perks up curiously, flaring his ears.
"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Kamil grins.
"Oh, hell yeah," Lias grins.
Zayne and Malik blink rapidly.
"Wait, wait . . . you mean that thing? That one? The one that almost devoured us?" Zayne replied worriedly.
Kamil smirked. "Well, yeah. You kill it, you eat it, no? Mercenary, even pirate law."
Cyrus finally cracks a smile, "It's not any law. It's survival . . . and celebration. Smoke that beast! Let the lads eat what they slayed . . ."
"For life! For all realms! For the Mercenaries of The Messengers!" Cyrus raised his hand.
The men followed with a cheer as well, extending their arms to the skies.
Malik, cheering, thought to himself.
I never really understood what the realms were. Maybe one day I'll see how great they really are.
Cyrus, Kamil, and Samir go to the bow to pick up the meat from the freshly slain beast as Zayne and Malik watch from afar.
Laughter ensues as the men chat.
. . .
Kaya, seated quietly, looks around and turns to Amaya, who is playing with her hair.
"So what are you thinking about this?" she asked with a long smile.
"Honestly, don't care. It was a nice speech, though," she sat upright from her slouched position.
"Say, Kaya dear, is it just me, or do I notice a slight blue tint in your lashes?" Amaya pouts.
"Yeah! Glad you noticed!" Kaya laughed, displaying canines along with faint dimples.
"I think it's cute! Charming smile, too . . . you're trying to impress someone, aren't you?" She asked unexpectedly.
Kaya giggled nervously. "Ha! Who knows. You've got quite a keen eye."
She notices Amaya in a better mood than usual.
Then, in idea.
"Hey . . . is that blush you're wearing?"
Amaya halts her laughter. ". . .What'd you say?"
She spoke in a lower tone than usual.
"Is it Kamil? He's quite nice." She winks.
"You see, normally I'd give you an ass beating, but it's your first day, so I'll pretend I didn't hear that." Amaya shrugs.
Hehe, I made that up. Looks like I hit a jackpot in the process.
Kaya silently giggles.
Later, the men finally pull the giant head of the dead serpent up, holding it like a trophy.
Kamil and Samir struggle to lift the head, which is the size of half a great white shark. Samir slips and tumbles over as he lets go of the head. Kamil then drops it, causing a loud crash.
"Hah! Looks like you ate sh*t, my man!" Kamil laughed.
"Yeah. Looks like I did!" They both continuously chuckled.
"Alright, let's get ya to the station," Kamil easily pulled the serpent by two protruding teeth.
"Woah . . . you some kind of brute, Kamil?" Samir sneered, then fell silent as he looked around.
". . . I guess. Not my style though."
Malik, watching from a distance, ponders once again.
Did Samir say something wrong?
The head, dragging on the floor, still leaks a trail of blood.
"Hey, hey! That's gonna be a nightmare to clean. Take it easy!" Zayne barked, waving his fist.
In the kitchen, it's a fully white room filled to the brim with utensils, cabinets, and cleavers.
"Step back, Kamil." Samir scoffed.
Slash!
Samir swiftly slashed the head with a cleaver, splitting it in half.
Cyrus watches from a distance.
"Need help, boys?" Cyrus intervened.
Together, they cut the beast into multiple parts, only leaving slabs of meat.
It's tradition for sailors to cook what they catch, but to this caliber is unheard of.
Spices of pepper, salt, paprika, and onion fill the outdoors from the kitchen with nostalgia. Collages of flavor collide into a spectacle for every nose.
Warm, the heat of the cooked flesh fills the table with the smell of freshly cooked fish with a hint of medium-rare steak.
The crew erupts back into movement altogether.
A memory.
A soon-to-be dinner for ages. As they eat, they multitask like children who are picky eaters.
Lias pulls out a bottle of something most definitely illegal.
Zayne and Malik play rock-paper-scissors, while Amaya does Kaya's hair.
"Ya know, there's a stash of soup Captain hides. Don't know why he never used them. Wanna make some along with this dish?" Amaya commented.
"Sure!"
"Well . . . thing is, I'm scared of microwaves."
"Oh jeez. Alright, I'll help you," Kaya replied with a slight laugh.
Nighttime. The sun is in slumber.
Violet moon.
Zayne stares at the sky. "Alright, let's light a candle."
A snap can be heard as the incandescent candles brighten the warm night.
Malik endlessly gazes at the little lights above.
What are their names?
I see them. The stars that nobody sees. I don't mention it. But they're there.
My saving grace of night.
. . .