Finding Green
Chapter Two
The stain wasn't coming out. Akari looked hard at the shirt resting on her lap and glared at the stain as if it would magically remove the abomination. Grabbing the pink shirt in frustration she tossed it behind herself onto the bed and sighed. Running a hand through her hair she looked out the small round window that graced the room she shared with two other girls and wished desperately that they would hurry and arrive at the city. She had been lucky and gotten the bed to herself but the others had a bunk-bed they had to share which they had pulled on board after they left Tucan Island. They were all unlucky though because Kathy snored like she was drowning.
They had been at sea for almost a month and a half now and the days were beginning to run together. A party had been formed, consisting of Kathy, Owen, Gill and Bo, and they had taken off to a small island not to far from the ships current locations. They had spotted it at the beginning of the day and instantly everyone wanted to go, but they only needed people with skills. Kathy had an ability to find food anywhere, Owen was strong so he could get through any obstacles they faced, Gill was the leader and Bo was the Luke of the group now.
Akari hadn't wanted to stay behind, but as a farmer she had nothing to offer them in form of assistance. She might have been able to spot some plants, but that was the end of her skill set.
A loud knock sounded and Akari looked up as Maya slipped in. "Hiya!" She said cheerfully as she grabbed her bag from her bed. Bouncing down onto the bed Maya rummaged through her bag until she found a jar of spices. "Ah-ha!" She said pulling it out and kissing it. "Me and Chase are going to make something special tonight. Even if they don't bring back anything good we still need to celebrate." She placed her bag back on the bed and looked over at Akari. "Are you ok Akari? You've been really quiet the past few days."
"I am Maya, thanks." She smiled at her with her brightest smile. "I am getting seasick or something I think. I really need to get off this boat!"
"Oh no," Maya placed her finger under her chin and looked up. "I think Jin still has some medicine for seasickness, you should ask him! And soon we will get to this City of the Goddess; so you know, chin up! If you need me I'll be in the kitchen all day!" Turning quickly her pink dress swished around her and she fluttered out. Akari looked at it jealously. Maya somehow had kept her clothing so clean and nice. How was it possible? All Akari did was sit around and read some books she found. She was less active then Maya yet she got dirtier. The young woman worked in a kitchen for Goddess' sake!
The door clicked shut and Akari turned her head back towards the window. They group as a whole still had meetings every few days to keep updates on their location and their thoughts on the events. Hamilton and Gill still mostly controlled the meetings but Owen was slowly becoming the new figurehead for them. Most of the villagers just needed to talk about the events and anything they would have witnessed. They wanted to talk about the ones left behind and what the future may hold. This had caused the meetings to break into more and more fighting lately, last nights meeting had ended with Owen punching Gill in the face when they got to the subject of the villagers futures. It had quickly disbanded after that.
Akari always thought that Owen was more gentle and mellow then that, but recent events seemed to have changed him. Akari had gotten nicked in the fight last night, a chair had gotten turned over and it hit her in the face. Jin and Anissa were quick to assist her but it had been a blow to both Owen and Gill that they let a woman get hurt because of their squabble. Owen had apologized that night after the others had fallen asleep. Gill had yet too.
Akari was one of the few left who hadn't seemed to pick a side yet. Most of the villagers still supported Gill and Hamilton and a few were starting to trust Owen more so. Akari thought it was silly. They were stuck on a ship going towards a destination that still was a ways off. They just needed to get through the voyage then they could bicker all they wanted.
Owen explained to her that since they left the village it didn't mean that leadership just carried over like that. They needed someone who could help them at the time and in this situation and he wasn't satisfied with how Gill and Hamilton were handling it. They weren't leaders of their lives, just of the town that they had lost. Gill still tried to organize their days and most didn't take kindly to that. Hamilton was just letting it happen. A few times Hamilton would step up and tell his son no or try to help him but usually he just did nothing.
Hamilton had apologized to Akari a few days into their journey, saying his son was just trying to help but wasn't sure how. Akari understood that, she was sort of the same in that sense. Gill was just doing what he thought was right. But so was Owen.
A bell rang outside from the deck and Akari stood slowly. The party was returning and everyone was running out to meet them and to see the things the group had found. Moving her eyes away from the window she looked down at the shirt with the stain and sighed deeply. There was nothing she could do to save it.
Owen and Gill seemed to fight for the right to board first, leaving Bo and Kathy to struggle out of the rocking boat. Gill held a few books in his hand and Owen had a bag full of food and another full of wood. Kathy moved over to stand with her father, after struggling out of her before waving her hand for Akari to join her. "Wait till you hear what we found," Kathy whispered. Hayden looked down at Akari and smiled before patting her back. He had taken to acting fatherly to all the younger people in the group. Especially Akari because she had no blood family. A story she had drunkenly told him one night on board.
"How's the eye?" He asked her. The chair had hit her right on the nerve and now she had a blackish brown ring around her swollen eye.
"It hurts," Akari said before turning to the two men who wanted attention and lightly touching her eyebrow above the bruise.
"We found lots of food-"
"We found information-"
They glared at one another before Owen stepped back to let Gill go first.
"Thank you," Gill said lifting his chin. "We found an old abandoned village on the island, it didn't look to be more then a few decades old. Inside I found lots of books, some shrines to the Goddess and some maps. The shrine had been defaced, the Goddess' beautiful face had been cleaved off. I have a theory that these people are from a group much bigger then we thought," he sat the books down at his feet and picked up a smaller one. Opening it up he turned it to the group.
The image was of men with dark skin and red eyes, banners above them and death all around. The background was filled with fire and Akari felt a shiver go up her spine. How long had these people been around?
Craig muttered something and his wife Ruth quickly clung to him.
"We have much to learn from these books. If anyone wishes to assist me you know where to find me."
Owen coughed as he stepped up holding up his bag. "On a happier not I found lots of food!"
The children quickly ran up to him grabbing bananas and some pineapples followed by Yolanda who quickly took the rest, before the children grabbed it all, and carried it off to the kitchen. "Tonight we have a nice dinner planed," Chase said as he wiped his hands on the apron he had grabbed from the ship."It should be done close to sunset, I'll ring the bell when it's ready."
The group slowly began to disperse and Kathy grabbed Akari's arm and yanked her to the rails. Bo ran over when he saw the two and joined their quiet conversation. "While we were there me and Bo found a few things," Kathy said opening up the bag she had been hiding at her side. Inside was a few rocks all with animal faces on them. One was a cat, another a mouse, then there was a cow and a chicken. The bag was full of animal faces. Reaching in deep Kathy pulled out a small statue of the Goddess. It wasn't the same face as the one they knew but it was the Goddess for sure. Akari took it and gently ran her thumb over the face. "We found a basement under one of the huts and found lots of this stuff. Gill didn't find it worthy of keeping but we did." Kathy rummaged around more and pulled out a small bowl and handed it to Bo before looking deeper into the bag.
"Look Akari," Bo said holding up the bowl. All around the edges it depicted a cycle of life. Or at least that is what Akari thought it looked like. Running her hand along it she felt the ridges and an odd sensation filled her.
"Huh," she muttered. Bo nodded and handed the small bowl back to Kathy who had started to pull out all the rocks. The group picked through them before deciding to give most of them to the children. If anything it would cheer them up.
Chloe and Taylor both exclaimed happily when they saw them, quickly gathering up their favorites. Paolo glanced at them and waited for them to leave before he fished around the bag for a few. Even Toby wound up grabbing one or two from the box. Luna of course had to have all the cute ones left and Candace grabbed one as well. Akari and Kathy settled into their cabin a few hours later and both grabbed at their stomachs. One thing about being on a ship all the time was being hungry a lot and then trying to hold it down. The waves had gotten more fierce at night and most of the villagers had problems with it.
Kathy was in the process of setting up a small shrine in the corner of the room when a knock sounded on the door. Owen poked his head in and sheepishly walked in. Akari glanced at Kathy who also looked embarrassed and took it as a signal to leave.
"I think I'm going to take a look at those books Gill brought...unless you needed something Owen?"
"Oh, uh, it's ok I'll just chat with Kathy," he said turning red around his ears. Akari nodded and left the two alone with a small smile on her face. Heading around the corner she rushed up the stairs and onto the deck. Even in all this madness everyone seemed to still be hooking up.
Anissa and Jin obviously had begun before the incident. Kathy and Owen were very subtle but Akari shared a room with the woman. Renee and Toby, like before, spent a lot of time fishing but for the two of them that was intimate. Luna and Gill were back and forth. Gill was so stressed right now that anytime Luna put anything out there he redirected her, only to have her scream at him and the rest of the world. Julius and Candace were still awkward as ever. Any move he made sent her ten steps away but it was the way of their relationship. Maya and Chase of course had an odd relationship. He always acted like he hated her, couldn't stand her. Yet in all the mess her bubbly attitude seemed to be just what he needed to keep him from spiraling into depression.
Who was left? Akari was.
Sure there were older men on board but none that took her fancy. Hayden had made passes a few nights while she sat with them down below drinking before he decided she was like a daughter to him. Even Simon had made a move a time or two but he was married.
Akari inhaled deeply and let the sea breeze cover her. Gill was in the captains cabin with his father more then likely and Akari did want to look at the books. Eying the empty horizon she approached the door. As she lifted her hand to knock she heard a loud crash inside. Opening the door quickly she found Gill standing in the middle of the room with a broken vase on the floor. Why Pascal had vases on his ship she could never guess.
"Oh," she said as Gill stared angrily at the wall, the broken vase littered around the base. Growing pale at seeing her he quickly adjusted his stance from angry to stick straight. He ran a hand through his long hair, that he had stopped trimming, and sighed.
"I'm sorry you saw that, I'm just very tired," he mumbled taking a slight bow. "And I'm sorry for the last night; I should have said something earlier then now," he finally said. Looking up at her he saw the sad smile on her face and his eyebrows furrowed. "Did you come for the books?" He gestured behind him on the mat they used as a bed and Akari nodded. "Ok."
"Last night wasn't your fault," Akari said as she sat down on the other side of him. He had picked up a book and his finger stilled over a few words. As far as Akari could see it was gibberish to her. "Everyone has high tension right now and we just want to get where we are going. Pascal keeps saying he will stop for gas at the nearest stop but who knows when that will be, or if we will make it. We have been living off of rice and fish for so long..." Akari heard her belly rumble and placed her hand on it. "We are all just so tired."
Gill reached around the mat and pulled his rucksack closer. Pulling out two bananas he handed her one. "I think there is more to it," he said as he handed her a book as well.
"Owen?" She speculated as she opened the book and bit into the banana.
"Others too. I just want people to know I want to help," he said with a heavy sigh. "It's hard to control people like this."
"Control?"
"I mean help," he replied. The two sat in silence for a while flipping through the books. "Do you know this language?" He asked her.
"No, but the pictures are sort of self-explanatory."
"I remember seeing a little of this as a child, my mother was obsessed with the Goddess and always had me and father at church and at the pond and shrine. Once before it shut down she took us to the mountain top to see the Kings Throne." Akari looked up. Gill had never mentioned his mother before, let alone his life before her death.
"Did you see this language at some point?"
"I think so, or at least it isn't unfamiliar to me. I don't know what it says though." Tossing his hair around his shoulder he rubbed the bridge to his nose trying to fight off his headache. "Being at sea has been rough," he admitted. "I've been sick more then I want to admit."
Akari tilted her head trying to think of any time while on board that he had been sick. She couldn't. This entire time he had looked healthy and strong. He was hiding it from the others.
"I bet Owen just wants to help you, you just act like you can do everything on your own," she said after he sat up straight again.
"I don't agree." Gill told her, his harsh eyes glancing at her.
"Oh, ok," Akari turned back to the book and heard him shift.
"I didn't mean to offend, but I really don't think he wants to help me. I think he thinks he knows better."
The two sat silently for a few minutes before a loud knock sounded on the door. Before Gill could voice anything Luna barged in slamming the door behind her. She wore a dark red dress with far to much lace for Akari's taste and her hair was in a high ponytail. Of all the people Luna was the only one to mostly pack clothing.
"Gill we-" She grew silent as she eyed Akari. The two weren't too close together but that didn't mean Luna didn't think so. Gill was maybe a good foot away.
"Luna can I help you? Akari came in to offer to help me go through books," he said dismissively before flipping to another page and ignoring her. Luna huffed and stood by the door awkwardly before stomping over and sitting right next to Gill. He shot her a look and moved over closer to Akari, more then likely doing the opposite of what Luna wanted, and handed her a book. Luna eyed the tome distastefully before rubbing her fingers along the binding.
"What have you discovered so far Gilly?"
He rolled his eyes at her nickname but a small smile tugged on his lips. "Not much, mostly that we don't speak the language. It would have been very beneficial to have Perry with us."
"We all had to make choices," Luna whispered before opening the book. "Are you looking for something specific?"
"Nope," Gill said with a sigh. "Just looking for now."
"Oh," Luna said before turning her sharp eyes to the book.
The trio sat in awkward silence for hours before the dinner bell rang.
Dinner was again mostly fish and rice but tonight they had plenty of fruit to go around too. Akari sat next to Irene and Jin. The large tables had been pulled out and two long rows both crowded with benches sat out. Akari's table consisted of Jin, Irene, Anissa, Ruth, Craig, Taylor, Bo, Dale, Owen and Kathy. The rest sat at the table across from them. Maya and Chase both were doing the serving and Yolanda sat at the head of the other table like a queen. She had done well after all. Hayden had begun to drink along with Owen and Ramsey and the mood was very festive.
Akari ate most of her fish but pushed the rest away as her stomach began to protest. She just couldn't keep anything down on the sea. Irene tilted her head in Akari's direction and chided her for not eating it all. "In this time especially, at least give it to the children." Bo quickly took the food she offered and ate it far to quickly. Akari sat quietly listening to the people around her gossip and talk. The talk of the night was of the trip to the island. They had sailed on since then but it was still exciting to know they were moving. Pascal told them it may take another month at the speed they were going but the group seemed fine with that. An actually idea of how long it would take was much better then none at all.
This night the ship rocked more than usual and Akari kept gripping the side of the table roughly with her fingers. Pacal and Paolo both looked up at the sky with worried glances and after ten minutes they excused themselves to correct the ships turn. A few people glanced after them worried but turned back to their meals before to long. Akari followed the two with her eyes and she could catch the distinct smell of rain in the air. They all sat under the deck but she could almost feel the wind. One part of being a farmer was knowing when rain was coming. Excusing herself and wished Irene a good night Akari quickly rushed to the deck. The waves looked harsh and the wind was causing the sail to snap around. Holding her hair in her hand to keep it out of her face she turned towards Pascal who was snapping orders to Paolo. The little boy rushed past Akari, a scared look in his eye, and ran down the stairs.
They were about to go through a storm. Pascal rushed over to Akari and yelled at her to return below deck. Nodding she quickly turned around and went below, the wind pushing at her heels as she went. Right as she took a few steps some rain splattered her hair. Paolo was standing on a chair yelling at everyone to tie things down. The food was left on their plates forgotten as many people stood and searched for their children and loved ones before rushing to their rooms. Akari felt a sharp pain in her head and clutched at her forehead as she leaned against the wall. Kathy caught sight of her and rushed over. "Akari?" She looked around for Jin but found him to already have run to his room to try and preserve the supplies. "Damn," she muttered before pulling Akari to her. "Lets get to the room okay?" The two stumbled along the corridor and nearly fell into the room as a rough wave hit the ship. Maya was already inside going through her bag.
"Can you believe it?" Maya whispered as she turned to them. Her face was red and her eyes wide. Akari had never seen her look so fearful before. The window they all shared showed a very scary sea that looked like an old painting in the lighthouse. Kathy sat Akari on the bed and squatted down at her feet. "Oh no!" Maya exclaimed seeing Akari's pained face. "Was it my cooking?" She whispered rubbing her bottom lip with her fingers.
"My head really hurts," Akari said as she placed her forehead on her knees as she scooted back on her bed. The other two exchanged a glance before leaving her. Kathy grabbed things from the small desk they shared and her and Maya began to talk quickly.
"I have to go help Owen, I'm sure he will try and help Pascal somehow."
"I'll save the food!" Maya exclaimed in response. The two girls nodded with smiles.
"Try to relax," Kathy told Akari as the two rushed out. Akari watched them go and shuddered as another shot of pain went through the back of her head.
"How?" Akari asked the empty cabin. The small light in the ceiling swung back and forth with the waves and Akari had to shut her eyes.
She quickly realized it was the wrong thing to do as her dinner crept up and she vomited down the side of her bed. After a few dry heaves she shakily got off her bed and stumbled over to her rucksack. It was as if her mind was being taken over because she quickly dug around her bag and made room for the Goddess statue in the corner. Grabbing it she placed it between some clothes and covered it with her stain shirt, giving it a purpose. Looking into the room she grabbed her blanket and some candles from the desk and left the room.
It wasn't until she was on the deck that she became self aware. Bo was at her left tugging her arm and yelling through the wind. Akari blinked and turned to him her head suddenly clear. The wind was too violent. The waves were too strong. They were not going to make it.
Kathy was yelling and Owen who sat on the mast pulling on some ropes ignored her. Kathy's hair was flying quickly beside her and her body was now drenched. Kathy quickly grabbed a rope that had fallen and began to climb up to him, continuing to try to yell over the wind. Pascal had opened the window to his cabin and was yelling to Toby who was at the helm. Toby caught sight of Bo and Akari and briefly his eyes grew wide. Yelling something back at Pascal the two watched as Pascal looked at them and obviously swore.
"Bo!" Akari yelled through the wind. "Warn the others, the ship is going to get hit hard! We need to get to them to the lifeboats!" Bo quickly understood and ran back, his limp suddenly returning. Akari took one last glance at Owen and Kathy before running into the cabin she knew Gill to be in. Inside he was already packing his bag, the books being shoved in violently. He caught sight of her rucksack and nodded in understanding.
"We have to hurry! The island we went to this morning is still close enough to get to!" He yelled as a huge wave struck the side sending the two falling into the far wall. Akari shook from the strain on her body but picked herself up before Gill could. He shook his head, blond hair sticking to his face, and reached for his bag. "I pray to the Goddess we live through this!" He yelled as they left the cabin. He grabbed the edge of Akari's blanket and the two made their way to Kathy and Owen.
"Kathy!" Akari yelled. "KATHY!" It was no use though, the girl couldn't hear her over the wind. Removing her bag and handing it to Gill Akari turned to the post and began to climb. Every few feet her hands slipped and she clung to the metal spikes used to climb before continuing up. Eventually she got close enough to get the attention of both Owen and Kathy. They turned to each other before Owen shook his head. Kathy seemed to yell at him something Akari couldn't hear and soon Kathy moved to be closer to Akari. The two made there way to the base and at the bottom Kathy looked up at Owen with puffy eyes.
"He is staying! I can't leave him here!" She yelled as her hands rubbed her freezing arms. She looked almost frozen. "I'll talk to Pascal and Toby for you, see what they say!" Akari nodded and moved back to Gill and took her bag back.
Bo had gathered a group on the deck now consisting of Dale, Hayden, Simon, Colleen, Ramsey, Chloe, Barbara, Shelly, Julius and Candace. Ozzie ran up the deck shortly after the group appeared and rushed to help Toby. Toby and Kathy were both yelling but it looked like he would be staying. The group she brought with her was mostly people considered to be invalids of the ship. Skilled in ways that weren't currently needed.
They only had three life boats. Holding four to five people each there was still no way everyone could make it. Feeling the pain in her head again Akari turned to Gill. He was their leader, he needed to lead.
The fact that Luna wasn't there must have frazzled him because Akari found herself yelling at them. "Get on the boats and we will head out. Gill says there is land not to far from here and at most we can stay the night so the people that know what they are doing wont worry about us! Go now!" She yelled motioning towards the small boats. As they all gathered on board Luna came running and nearly jumped off ship to get on board, Gill finally looked aware again.
As the three boats hit water Akari had to fight to control the motor. Ramsey yelled towards her to cut the motor and to use the oars, the motor would only hurt their survival chances here. Akari and Gill both took oars and began to row as quickly and with as much strength as they could.
It was morning before they finally found land.
The sea had refused to rest until late into the night and by then Gill was worried they had strayed to far off course, which they had. The three parties landed and emptied out of the boats onto the shore. The beach was mostly rocks and broken branches showing that the island had been hit with a storm too. The girls mostly stayed on the boats but Akari joined the men who had started to look around. She found herself with Julius, Dale and Ramsey who were looking into the trees. "We want to find a tree tall enough to look for the ship," Dale told her as they walked. "So far these are all too short or they were damaged during the storm,"
Julius sighed dramatically and began to fan himself before falling in step with Akari. "How are you holding up?" He asked her in his sweet voice. Akari always blushed around him, not knowing how to interact with such an interesting man. In their time at sea he had pulled his hair back into a band and the color had started to fade in his bright highlights. After the first few windy days he had tossed his earrings too. Slowly he was starting to look like a manly man. Other than the purple hair and lipstick that is.
"I'm ok, I've been getting really sick lately but maybe some time on land will help that," she replied hopefully. Julius nodded with that smile of his and turned his attention upwards. He was another one that had brought more clothing then the rest. How he and Luna didn't get along better Akari couldn't understand.
"Ah!" Dale yelled as he rushed forward. Ramsey ran after him but Akari and Julius took their time. "This will do!" He quickly pulled some gloves from his pocket and pulled out a rod similar to Akari's. He pushed the small button on the side and the Axe flipped open. He swung it and attached himself to the tree before he began to climb up.
The group waited at the base taking in the surrounding area as he climbed. The woods were very thin and most trees didn't seem to grow more then ten feet. Ramsey was studying the rocks at their feet and made a 'Hmmm' sound as he shuffled through them. "Interesting," he mumbled to himself. Julius took that moment to join him at their feet looking at the rocks. Whatever it was they both found it interesting. Akari, feeling useless, shifted her rucksack on her back and walked around the trees.
"Don't get lost," Ramsey yelled to her.
"Ok!" She yelled back having no intention of doing anything of the sort.
The woods thinned out more as she kept walking and soon she found more grass and plant life poking up. She noticed a few herbs she knew, which she made a point of gathering, and she then started to notice something extraordinary.
Fugue Mushrooms literally covered the area. Picking up a few and inspecting them she inhaled the sharp scent and felt more at home now then she had all month. The forest near her farm had a few of these and on many occasions the witch and wizard had been caught fighting over them. The memory of them caused her chest to tighten. No one knew where they were or if they were ok. She had asked all the villagers and not one had seen either of them that day. More then likely, they had said, the wizard was asleep and the witch was a frog lost in the swamp.
Akari clutched the mushroom to herself tightly before putting it in her bag. Being sure to not let it touch her herbs she stood and made her way through the woods. As she went she noticed the mushrooms grew bigger and bigger until finally, at the entrance to the woods stood one as big as her farmhouse. She stood before it humbled by the size and horrified that it existed. Pulling out her camera she quickly took a shot of it wanting to prove this existed. Looking around the mushroom she noticed woods grew dark and thick, unlike what she had just walked through, but she felt a strange tug on her body to go into it. Taking one last glance behind her she walked into the woods, her hands clutched together, and her mind going blank.
Chapter two end! R and R please! Input makes me so so happy. :) Also props to my first reviewer Ulyss!
