"So what's the plan? How are we going to sneak off?" said Edmonson. Errol shook his head. "We'll meet up at two different locations. A group of four breaking off from the unit is noticeable. Two people coordinating together isn't so noticeable."
"If you say so," said Edmonson.
Aflana cleared her throat. She said, "Barlto and I will be on one team and you and Errol will be on the other. At some point, we'll merge the two teams. Some of the caves conjoin, so we'll set off on different tracks."
Errol yawned. "We can discuss this more in detail later. We still have a few weeks before we arrive at the Solitary Island. We just wanted to get your attention now. It's better to prepare while we still have time."
Edmonson stood up and stretched his arms over his head. He yawned. "I need to hit the hay… don't get me wrong though… I still haven't exactly agreed to all this."
Barlto rolled his eyes. "Yes, you have. You don't have a choice. You won't want to work in the brutal mining conditions anyway."
Errol nodded his head in agreement. "Goodnight you two. Aflana and I have a few things to discuss."
Barlto and Edmonson went into the hidden passageway with the circular green lights. They headed toward their room, which they shared with ten other soldiers. Edmonson admired how the hall was soundproofed.
"What time is it?" asked Edmonson.
"No idea. I think after 1:00, maybe 2:00," said Barlto.
"Why do you think this passageway exists in the first place?" asked Edmonson. He slid his hand along the wall—it was solid oak.
Barlto took a few steps ahead of his comrade. "I think they used to bring food down this way, and all the rooms are more like suites. Maybe it was for high ranking officers or celebrities, if they wanted to ride the Parian Red," said Barlto.
Edmonson said, "Interesting, I wonder how many people know—"
Both Barlto and Edmonson stopped. The ship was rumbling. One of the light fixtures fell to the floor. Edmonson held onto the wall as the rumbling continued.
"Are we under attack?" Barlto felt a surge of anxiety.
"It's something like that," said Edmonson.
The rumbling stopped. The two men looked at each other then bolted down the hall to a ladder. They climbed up fast to a hatch door inside a closet near their room. As they went up, they could hear more of what was happening. Soldiers were running everywhere; their boots clanging on metal and wood. People shouted commands, which often got lost among the screams of terror. Thump whomp splat, thump whomp splat. (What in the world was that?)
Barlto and Edmonson made it up into the closet and shut the hatch door behind them. "What do you think; should we just stay in here until this all blows over?" asked Edmonson.
Barlto peeked out the closet door: shattered glass, fruit rolling around on the ground, and soldiers running with swords and spears. He quietly closed the door.
The rumbling happened again. This time followed by the unusual sounds of thump whomp splat, thump whomp splat, and a woman screaming as if her life depended on it.
Barlto whispered, "I don't think we want to be caught in here by whatever it is."
Edmonson moaned. "I was worried you'd say that. All I have on me is a dagger."
"Same," responded Barlto. "But I think we have higher odds of survival if we don't get cornered in here." He opened the door again. Soldiers dashed down the hall. A sergeant yelled, "Grab spears! Grab the spears! Put on your armor! Move, move, move!"
Barlto and Edmonson ran with the company. Barlto grabbed a spear. They made it to the upper deck.
Thunder boomed and lightning lit up the sky. Soldiers were in a semicircle with spears in their hands. They were surrounding something very large and purple and with fast moving tentacles. The thump whomp splat was the sound of the tentacles hitting the deck and dragging itself back into the water.
The monster was so heavy that as it was trying to board the ship, it was causing the Parian Red to rumble and become unstable. Waves crashed powerfully against the ship. It was leaning. The soldiers with the spears stepped back as a tentacle came flying their way. Thump whomp splat.
A sergeant yelled, "Attack! Stab it! Stab it now"
The soldiers charged after the tentacle. A few spears made contact with the monster. The sea creature shrieked, and then, to everyone's horror, multiple tentacles came flying, pulling some of the soldiers into the black water. The Parian Red went sideways under the weight of the heavy tentacles.
"No," said Edmonson. "We're all going to get pulled in."
As the ship was capsizing, another round of tentacles hit it, and the ship split in two. Barlto was swept into the ocean. His blond head went under the water. The monster got him in its grip.
Edmonson held onto a loose board. The freezing rain made everything slippery. Thunder boomed and lightning blasted. The rain intensified into hail. Edmonson couldn't see what was happening, but he went underwater.
With blasts of lightning, Edmonson could make out in spurts what was happening. Soldiers were getting pulled into the monster. It was huge in size: several large octopi and squid had gotten tangled together, like a rat king. It was this angry intelligent mess, and the biggest squid of all, seemed to be its leader. It was predominately purple with occasional splotches of orange. Bodies and tentacles tightly wrapped together, it was a ghastly mess.
Just as Edmonson was about to pass out and drown, he felt two hands grab him around the shoulders. He was lifted up. And then the person adjusted, leaving one arm around Edmonson's chest. The person pulling him up used their other hand to wield a small blade to cut tentacles out of the way. They kicked away the tentacles and pulled Edmonson up to the surface.
Waves crashed all around them. Edmonson's head bobbed back and forth into the water, and sea salt overwhelmed his mouth. It was Aflana. He caught a glimpse of her. She had brought him up away from the Tentacle King. The cold waters continued to slap them. It was a violent storm that would have been deadly even without the hellish monster.
Aflana held onto Edmonson as best she could. High waves threw them into the air and further away from the shipwreck. Aflana lifted him onto a broken board. The pair swirled around in the raging waters. Thunder clapped. Soldiers screamed. Thump whomp splat. Thump whomp SPLAT!
———————-
Edmonson woke up curled to his side. He coughed up a pint of salt water. He pressed his hands into warm white sand. The hot sun burned his skin. He was no longer wearing his heavy fur coat from the army. The scarf and boots were gone too.
He looked around at his surroundings: tropical trees, bright colorful birds, and seashells. A clear blue sky, not a single cloud.
Aflana lay in the sand. She was drenched, just like Edmonson. She had on a tank top and leather pants. A large scratch mark went across her neck and clavicle area. Her hair was a wild, tangled mess. Somewhat similar to the Tentacle King. Edmonson cowered at the thought.
As Edmonson was looking at Aflana, one of his boots floated in on a wave. "Aflana?" he called out to her.
"Hey, Aflana!" Edmonson got up and moved closer to her. "Hey, you there?" She was breathing. He nudged her with a stick. "Wake up, we need to get to some shade," he continued.
In the distance, Edmonson saw a girl in a white dress with a bright blue pendant. She spotted them and ran away.
"It can't be," said Edmonson. "Are we in Clockhaven or is this some sea induced illusion?" He rubbed his eyes. The girl was gone.
In Aflana's front pant pocket, there was something sizable. Edmonson tapped the outside of her pocket and then pulled out a large blue pendant. It had a familiar glow.
"What the—how can this be?" Edmonson inspected the jewelry. He pulled out a chain from around his neck, it was usually hidden under all the heavy winter gear. Around the chain was a ring with a glowing blue gem. "We are in Clockhaven," he said. "But how is that possible? And who is Aflana? Why does she have one?"
Aflana started coughing. Edmonson shoved the pendant back in her pocket. He hid his chain under his shirt. She rolled over to her side and coughed up water. Edmonson tapped her back gently, thinking it would be helpful.
Aflana then opened her eyes and was stunned to see coconut trees, footprints in the sand, seagulls, and Edmonson.
"How did we get in a tropical place?" said Aflana. "How is this possible?"
"We need to get moving. We've been in the sun for too long," said Edmonson. Just then another boot got swept up in the waves and made its way to the pair.