"Lower the net Riley!" bellowed a male voice from the ship.
"Lowering sir!" came another spunky-sounding female voice. Mike was still feverishly trying to paddle him and Emily to the raft, and Peter, Davy, Micky, and Raul were working hard to get the raft over to the two. Suddenly, there was a splash, and Mike felt them all, including the raft, being lifted up out of the water.
"We've got you guys!" called the man aboard. "Don't be afraid, you're safe here!" The net reached the deck of the ship, and the gang was released like flopping fish straight from the ocean. The gang from the raft were relatively okay, but Mike was sputtering, coughing, and shivering while Emily still looked limp and lifeless.
"Who are you guys?" asked Davy, standing up.
"Just a couple of sailors looking for an adventure," said the girl. Mike was able to get a look at them and saw that there were indeed only two people, one a man in his twenties and the other a girl around eighteen. Both of them had red hair and green eyes. The man had a scruffy beard and was tall and well-built, and the girl was small and athletic-looking with her face spangled with freckles and a very mischievous gleam in her eyes.
"I'm Robbie, and this is my sister Riley," said the man, Robbie. "We noticed that you were in trouble down there. Tell me—what in God's name did you think you were doing out in that water? You could have gotten yourselves killed."
"Emily…" Mike muttered, stroking her hand. "My hat flew off into the water…and she just had to get it. Stupid girl…"
"And you just had to save her then?" asked Riley.
"What would you expect me to do?" asked Mike.
"Here Mike," said Micky, handing him the flute. "Is she gonna be alright?" he asked the siblings.
"We can take her to one of the bunks and watch her," said Robbie. He kneeled down over Emily and took her wrist. "Yep, she's still alive, but not by much. We can help her though."
"So who are you all, and where are you headed?" asked Riley.
"Well, I'm Mike," said Mike, trying to gain strength again as his role of leader. "That's Micky, Peter, Raul—"
"And I'm Davy," said Davy, slowly standing up and approaching Riley. "Hello, Riley."
"It's nice to meet you Davy," said Riley breathily, looking deep into his eyes.
"Ah geez, not again…" Micky moaned.
"Come on guys, you can do this later, we have no time right now!" said Mike.
"Right, sorry," said Davy, letting go of Riley's hand.
"Where are you all headed?" asked Robbie, keeping a watchful eye on Davy.
"The mountains," Raul spoke up.
"The mountains!" Riley shrieked in shock. "You mean those mountains?" She pointed off in the direction where the mountaintops soared above everything else. "What are you guys thinking? You'll be killed! First you swim in the river, and then you're going to the mountains? What are you going on, a suicide mission?"
"Quite the contrary," said Raul. "We are headed to the other side of the island to help this group."
"So far so good, right?" said Micky.
"Can we just please get Emily somewhere where we can help her?" said Mike urgently.
"Yeah, he's in love with her!" Peter said.
"Shut up Pete," said Mike
"Okay, let's bring her to a room," said Robbie. "Mike, I noticed you weren't doing too well, do you have the strength to walk?"
"I can manage," said Mike. He stood up shakily and attempted to pick Emily up, but she was too heavy for him at the moment.
"Here, let me," said Robbie, taking Emily from Mike. Mike felt a surge of jealousy, but realized that Robbie was there to help. If it weren't for him and Riley, who was currently in a staring-contest with Davy, complete with stars, him and Emily would probably be dead.
"I must stay up here," said Raul. "If you don't mind."
"Not at all," said Robbie, hoisting Emily over his shoulder. "Just don't jump ship."
"Highly unlikely that I will," said Raul.
"Geez, what the hell's his problem?" asked Riley as the rest of them headed below decks. "Something up his ass or something?"
"Riley, please tell me you know who he is?" asked Robbie as they walked into a room. He laid Emily down on the bed gingerly and stepped back.
"Who?" asked Mike. "As far as we know, he's just Raul."
"Oh boy, you folks are in for a wild ride," said Robbie. "Yes, he is Raul…but…wow, how do I explain this? Have either of you ever read those The Lord of the Rings books?"
"I have," Peter piped up, shooting his hand up.
"You would," said Davy.
"You know the character Gollum?" asked Robbie.
"Oh crap…" said Peter, his eyes growing wide and looking nervous. "Guys, that's not good…"
"What does that mean?" asked Micky.
"He's out guide and he'll take us to where we need to go," said Peter, biting his lip. "But he's got some pretty bad motives…"
"Ah…" said Mike. "So…what do we do about that?"
"Stick by us," said Riley. "We'll go as far as you need us to go."
"We just need to get to the mountains," said Mike.
"Crossing the mountains with Raul is suicide," said Robbie.
"No it ain't," said Mike. "As long as we have Emily. It seems that Raul has done everything in his power to make sure she's safe…saving her from the sacrifice, the tiger, and everything. I wonder why?" Then it hit him—he looked down at Emily's enchanted flute that was still in his hand, and then he knew…Raul must want the flute for himself. "The flute…" he muttered.
"Like The One Ring!" Peter exclaimed. "And that means Emily is Frodo…what does that make us, Mike? Oh, oh, can I be Legolas?"
"Peter, stop that, will you?" asked Mike. "Now, we don't know if this is right or not. Right now we have to concentrate on getting passed this safely and making sure Emily can recover."
"Well, whatever we have to do now, I'm sure we can all say Davy's a hobbit!" Peter chortled. Davy gave him a dirty look and stomped on his foot.
"So what can we do for Emily?" asked Mike has Peter screamed silently in pain and hopped up and down on his un-stomped foot.
"Keep watching her, warm water so she doesn't catch a cold," said Riley. "That's about it, actually. But she's alive, and that's what matters."
"Who wants to be the first shift?" asked Robbie.
"I'll take it," said Mike without a second thought.
"You…uh…really care about this girl, don't you?" asked Robbie as he pulled up a chair for Mike to sit bedside. "Known her for long?"
"Not long," said Mike, sitting down. "Just…she's…special."
"Yeah, I'd say," said Micky.
"I can't wait to meet her when she wakes up then," said Riley. "Cause she will ya know, stake my life on it!"
"Good to know," said Mike, looking down at Emily. He wished she'd open those eyes of hers so he could see how beautiful they were once more. It was strange not having her awake to hear her comments from the peanut gallery off to the side. They infuriated Mike as much as they cheered him up.
"So…I think I'm gonna go on back to the deck Mike," said Micky. "Guys?"
"I'll go with you," said Peter.
"I've got some other things to do," said Davy, putting an arm around Riley.
"What things?" asked Robbie, approaching Davy. "Cause if you let go of my sister, I could help."
"Oh…uh…never mind sir, I think I can do it by myself," said Davy, snapping his arm away from Riley.
Robbie gave Davy a stern nod and walked away, but as soon as he was gone Davy slung his arm around Riley again and the two slinked off giggling to another room. "That's Davy for you," said Peter as he and Micky walked up to deck. Soon, Mike was alone with Emily in that quiet room.
"Say Em, I wonder what Robbie would do if he caught Davy and his sister together, huh?" Mike asked Emily, knowing very well that she wouldn't answer, but hoping there was some miracle that she would hear him. She didn't even stir. Mike sighed and sat the flute down next to her. He knew she always had it by her side; she would probably freak out if she woke up and it wasn't there.
"Y'know Emily," said Mike, his heart pounding. "I'm sorry I was so grumpy earlier…I guess it was that kiss. I know, stupid, right?" No. This was stupid. Talking to an unconscious person, he may as well be talking to a corpse! No! He couldn't think that either! Thinking of Emily as a corpse was worse than her being unconscious. He saw her breast rising and falling very slightly. Instead of it being highly erotic like it had been in the tent before, it was a sign of hope that she would pull through; it was also sad and pathetic. Mike reached down and took her hand. It was cold and still wet, but that could have been him as well. He stroked it with his thumb and it was odd not to feel her grip back.
"God Emily, you have to pull through," Mike whispered. Figures, on the day he was planning to tell all of his thoughts and feelings to her…this happens. Well, at least this could be good practice time for that moment. But not now; the most Mike could do now was sit in silence, staring down at the seemingly-sleeping face of Emily.
On Deck:
Raul had noticed that Peter and Micky had entered the deck, so he snuck off to the other side for his privacy. He needed to speak to Gary, keep him on top if things that were happening. Looking around to make sure that no one was around, he snapped his fingers like usual, and the figure of Gary stood in front of him. "Hello Raul," said Gary. "Have you crossed the river yet?"
"Not quite," said Raul. "We got picked up by a ship. Mike lost his hat in the water when we were on our raft and Emily dove after it. Mike managed to save her, but she is unconscious. Right now the ship is taking us to the mountains."
"Is Emily alive?" asked Gary. "And the flute, is that safe?"
"Yes," said Raul. "We are working on reviving your niece as we speak, and the flute is safe."
"You need not call that silly little girl a member of my family," said Gary. "She is not fit to the Rowe name."
"Sorry sir," said Raul. "Sometimes I forget that you are her father's brother."
"And I wish I could forget as well as you can," said Gary. "But I don't care who's family and who isn't—she will die as soon as I learn the power of the flute, no matter how long it takes."
"And her friends?" asked Raul.
"Did you ever think I would spare them?" asked Gary with a smile. "They will be disposed of as well."
"As I thought," said Raul. "Is Al proving helpful?"
"He won't talk yet," said Gary. "But I have no doubt that Emily will be proper leverage for him to start talking."
"I should think so," said Raul. "I must go now if I am to be sure that no one will wander around deck and see this."
"Very well," said Gary. "I shall be seeing you soon." Gary faded away, and Raul took that to go back over to the main deck as to avoid any suspicion. He had been rather good at avoiding that so far.
Back below:
Mike didn't want to leave Emily, he really didn't, but the more he looked at her, the worse he felt. He leaned down, kissed her softly on the forehead, and went up to the deck. It was sunset already and the sky was full of color. There he saw Raul doing that weird staring thing again, Micky and Peter hanging out and talking, and Robbie at the ship's wheel. He walked over to him and stood by him.
"Hey there man," said Mike.
"Hey," said Robbie, concentrating on the river. "Any luck with the girl?"
"No," said Mike. "Listen Robbie, we were all so worried about what was going to happen and everything, I really didn't stop to thank you or your sister about saving us. Emily and I would probably be dead if it weren't for you."
"Hey, don't mention it," said Robbie. "We understand. You all got a lucky break, us coming up on you."
"We sure did," said Mike. "But I just wanted to let you know that we are grateful."
"Don't' sweat it," said Robbie. "You wouldn't have happened to see Riley anywhere, did you?"
"She's probably wherever Davy is," said Mike. "He's a freaking Casanova, there's no stopping him. Completely harmless though, I'll tell you that."
"That's good to know," said Robbie, looking a little put off. "Guess I can't hold onto her forever. I ain't our dad after all!"
"So where do you two come from?" asked Mike. "How'd ya end up here?"
"My family always liked to travel," said Robbie. "That's why I started sailing. On one of our trips, something went wrong and our parents died when their ropes broke on a mountain we were climbing. Riley and I decided to go off on our own after that, so we bought the ship with the money our parents left us in their will, and we came across the island. We've been here ever since."
"So…there's a way off?" asked Mike.
"Yeah," said Robbie. "We just haven't bothered to leave yet, that's all. Weren't you all looking for a way home?"
"Yep," said Mike.
"How in the hell did you all end up here anyway?" asked Robbie.
"Well, we're from Los Angeles, California," said Mike. "We were all walking down the road when some strange man approached Emily, gave her some music to play on her flute…her enchanted flute…and now we're here."
"That Emily's quite the trouble magnet, isn't she?" asked Robbie.
"You said it man," said Mike. "But I love her." Mike laughed. "Damn, I actually said it. What a breakthrough."
"I thought I saw something like that," said Robbie. "I mean, everyone seemed worried, but you were the one who jumped in to save her."
"It was kind of my fault too," said Mike. "It was my hat that flew into the water…she just felt like she had to bring it back to me."
"Well, that was very noble of you to go in there," said Robbie. "The river can be dangerous. Not nearly as much as the mountains though, you gotta be nuts to go there."
Mike laughed. "We're all a bunch of nuts here," he said. "So we should be fine."
"Let Riley and me come with you," said Robbie. "When you get to the mountains."
"But what about your ship?" asked Mike.
"We'll go back for it," said Robbie. "But please."
"Are you sure?" asked Mike. "I mean, your parents died on a mountain…not to pry or anything. You can come if you really want."
"That would mean a lot," said Robbie. "It's mostly Raul I'm worried about…you seem like a smart group, but I don't wanna chance it. I've heard a lot about that guy."
"Thanks for the concern," said Mike. "Hey, Micky, Peter!"
The two turned around. "What's up Mike?" asked Peter.
"We have some new members in our little Fellowship of the Flute here," said Mike.
Peter beamed at another The Lord of the Rings reference. "Oh, really?" he said. "That's fantastic!"
"Sure is," said Mike.
"Say, Mike, would you mind if I went down and saw Emily?" asked Peter.
"Go ahead, knock yourself out shotgun," said Mike. Peter rushed down below to Emily's room. Mike broke off from Robbie and Micky and went to the side of the ship to look out. The sun was still setting and it was beautiful. He always connected the setting sun with a sense of melancholy. The pinks, oranges, and purples blended like some of Peter's tie-dye shirts in the sky so nicely. He only wished he had Emily there to watch it with. He was sure that she would have some pretty oddball things to say about it. He wasn't sure what, but he just knew. That was the great thing about Emily—you never knew.
Across the deck, he noticed Davy and Riley sneaking to another place where Robbie wouldn't see. Micky walked up next to Mike when he looked back out to the water again. "Moving along okay?" asked Micky.
"As much as I can," said Mike.
"It wasn't your fault you know," said Micky. "Just want you to know that."
"Thanks man," said Mike.
"Keep it together," said Micky. "If those two say she'll get better, she will. I think we really can trust them."
"You're right Mick," said Mike. Robbie and Riley seemed like two of the most trustworthy people he had ever met. Part of that made him hope that whatever they were saying about Raul was true. If it was, he was sure that having the siblings in the mountains with him would be crucial. But where was Raul leading them if not to safety? For now, Mike chose not to think about it. The only thing on his mind was Emily below the decks.