Flashes passed through my vision as I fell endlessly into a bottomless void. I couldn't open my eyes because I didn't have eyes to open, but that didn't stop the flashes of memories.
I couldn't focus on any single one, but I slowly started to get a feeling of understanding. It was like a gate was opened that blocked knowledge that was stored somewhere deep inside of me.
Water. The ocean. The Creatures. Swimming, I somehow understood it all. Crabs, I still didn't like them or most of the other things, but a gray whale had just hit the ship… I was thrown overboard, and I had hit my head… was I dead?
"Breathe."
I could hear a voice telling me to breathe, but how did I breathe without a body?
Suddenly, I was back on the ship, soaked and on my side choking up water. I gasped for air and drew in a sweat breath, and then let it back out. I coughed a couple more times, but then blue cover breast smothered me, making it hard to breathe again.
"DON'T DO THAT!" Lesha cried out as she smothered me, and only after Gloria pried her off was I able to breathe again.
My head hurt something fierce. When I put my hand to the side where the pain was coming from, there was a large lump.
"I didn't mean to do that? I just could remember what a whale was, but why would it come at us so fast? Oh, I know how to swim, let me try," I said, but I was grappled by the five girls.
"Are your brains scrambled woman?" Gloria growled at me. "You just told us before…"
"That pole over there? A mast. This side of the ship? Port. The sponge-looking plants of different colors? A coral reef. To stay above water, I pretend I am riding a bike and spreading sand, right? The tide is in right now, right Braum?" I could have kept going, but I need some air.
All this water-based knowledge, but nothing else. It was like an injection of knowledge, but it was all my own past experiences. The memories and references were of me doing them, or showing, and teaching the knowledge to others.
"Baby, are you alright? You hit your head pretty hard, maybe you should come to lay down...why is your face getting red? Are you okay?" Lesha asked with panic, but I let out the breath of air.
Barely three minutes, so I would need the air after all, but I would be able to do better in the future. I really needed to hit my head more often. I wonder if the same would happen with a shield…
"Kiada!"
I jumped, there were too many new, but old concepts and ideas that were running through my head. I focused back on Lesha.
"I don't know what happened, but when I hit my head, something unlocked inside of me. Now, I know things about running a ship, the ocean, and the creatures in it. Many things that I am sure that not a single person here knows, but I am not trying to start a debate," I said staring into the depths of Lesha's sparkling blue eyes, and put my hand on her cheek. "I have memories of doing and learning all these things, and almost every one of them is with you."
I leaned forward and kissed her trembling lips softly, feeling a tear rolled down to our lips. I slowly pulled away and smiled at her, taking a hand away to wipe my own eye before it rolled down. She smiled back, and we both turned to the others who were all studiously looking for something else to look at and examine.
"So, Lesha, I would like you to stay here and do the winching if you don't mind, please. I have a better understanding of it all and I understand what needs to be done. The Flexil look very similar to the Man-O-War jellyfish, but the Flexil have no tentacles, and they look a lot denser. So they must be able to move fairly quickly if they have control of their amorphous body, meaning they can jet like a squid. Right Braum?" I asked, turning from Lesha to look at him.
Braum just stared at me open-mouthed, but he wasn't the only one. Both Tim and Gloria had the same expressions. I clapped my hands twice and snapped my fingers twice, holding my hand up for them to see.
"Hey! Wake up! We don't have all day. Can't you feel the slight drop in the temperature? Let's get belted, and bottled up, and get down there!" I shouted, and everyone started moving.
Gloria helped me into the belt that was about six centimetres wide and it should be easy enough to pull us back safely. The position of the rope should be fine without causing too much strain on our bodies having the ropes from the back.
"Are you sure about this K? You hit your head pretty hard," Candi said coming over to me. "I have seen things like this before. The person seems fine and they act better than ever, and go back to what they are doing, and then die."
"I Will argue that that might be the case, but I am okay. You have to remember, because of your Service, Lymphocyte, I can heal. The lump that I had is already healed, and my head doesn't even hurt anymore. I just need you girls to do your jobs up here you two are in charge of Gloria's winch and Corbit will take mine" I told the girls to pacify them.
Lesha came over to me, still looking worried. I wanted to tell her that I was fine, but that would be useless, I could tell she just wanted to fuss. So, when she started, I pulled her in for a kiss to cut her off.
"Okay, time to go, don't let us get eaten by boogers, and I love you!" I said as I pulled away and ran for the railing on the port side.
There was a storm coming.
I jumped over the rail and dove into the water with the white nylon-like rope trailing behind me. I pierced the water, but the air made swimming a bit awkward, but I would be okay. I could see the wrecks of ships everywhere, this was really a graveyard for the ones that didn't get away.
I swam back up to the surface and grabbed fresh air and then dropped down to catch up with the other three that were already swimming down. I would be interested to go take a look at them one day, who knows what could have been left behind!
I caught up to Gloria and we swam to the glowing coral reef. The reef itself wasn't glowing, and as we got closer I could see that it was bell-shaped crystals that were glowing different colors.
I had never seen gems so beautiful. The way the gems were shaped like bells made them look like crystallized roses. Time for my plan, hopefully, these would be the same as the crystals that we found in the dungeon.
'Gobby, can you hear me?'
"Yeah, K, I'm here. The saltwater has me all wrinkled like a raisin and I look worse than normal so I have been staying hidden! But hurrah on getting some of the memories back! You can swim! Again! Woo!" Gobby said from my arm as a smaller version of his eye rolled down it.
Gobby and walked back up my arm and then up to my back, but he looked wrinkled like a raisin and he was a light muddy red. His feet were sticking to me and the water current didn't seem to bother him.
'How many of those gems do you think you can fit in you?'
"Nope, they are just crystallized booger spit with phosphorescent bugs trapped inside. They are just like really fancy pearls, so if I eat it, it will just become a snack," Gobby said from behind me. "But, I can eat one of the snot wads, or they might eat me. Either way, I will prove to be some sort of distraction!"
That was something, but we didn't want to kill the Flexil or there would be fewer Gems Hearts created. I had to wonder what the uses there were for them, but we were getting close now so I needed to concentrate on the task at hand.
I unhooked my air bottle and took in a deep breath of air, but it was gross. I would have to figure out something in the future for the others, but this would work for now.
The Flexil Fish above all float on the top of the water above, and I could see that some had Gem Hearts growing slowly inside of them. I looked over at the other three and they all nodded and we all quickly went and found some.
They were spaced out so it wasn't wise to grab more than one, but I had been putting my eyes to work while thinking. I had found a group of three and there was the size of a tropical grapefruit that was one of the ingredients to the flavor of Candi's blood.
I grabbed the three and hugged them in and took another stale breath of air. I shook the line and looked up to see the Flexil was already descending on me and the others, but they were already being pulled back.
I felt the jerk and leaned back to reach my free hand up and grabbed the line. That helped me stay straight and I started to pick up speed. We all were keeping ahead of them and now we were slowly pulling away.
Suddenly, some of the Flexil Fish started to streak at Tim, but he threw two daggers into the closest one. The daggers were more like thrown rock and they only disintegrated, but they did slow the speed and that was what mattered.
I looked up and I could see the boat getting closer, but I could also see that the sky was starting to get very dark and we had to sail straight into it. Tim had thrown a couple more knives to stop the ones that were getting too close, but they had mostly given up.
I could no longer see the ocean floor and the water was getting very dark as we were finally pulled up and out of the water. There was a rope net that was dropped off the side and once the four of us grabbed on, another winch could be heard clicking as we were finally pulled up onto the deck.
Lesha was the first over to me, taking the gem from me and running them over to a large tub. I got up and walked over as I felt the rain only just start, but it was not playing around.
The tub was filled with a thick green jelly-like substance, and I watched Lesha gently drop the crystals in. Then there to the ones the other brought over and came to stand by me, but she was looking on my back.
"K, there is something gross on your back!" Lesha exclaimed poking Gobby's wrinkled body that was stuck to my back.
"No that is just Gobby," I said.
"Yeah, it is!" Gobby shouted out, and I felt him lifting from my back.
*Smack!*
"Sorry!" Lesha said from behind me.
I could no longer feel him on my back and I turned to find Lesha staring at her now bloody hand. I looked around, but Gooby was gone, just what happened?
"I am sorry K, he jumped out as my and I slapped him off the boat!" Lesha said with tears in her eyes, but I smiled at her.
"Probably for the best, I will summon him again when we need him. Cheer up love, if he gets too far from me he will auto unsummon. Then I can just call him back whenever we want, but he can have a break right now or whatever it is he does when he isn't here."
You may also Like
Paragraph comment
Paragraph comment feature is now on the Web! Move mouse over any paragraph and click the icon to add your comment.
Also, you can always turn it off/on in Settings.
GOT IT