Chapter 21: Whispers in the Daylight

…

Link stirred and opened his eyes to the first rays of morning sunlight invading his cabin. His thoughts on the moment were mostly confused. For once, he actually felt perfectly refreshed by a whole night of sleep. At the same time, his body was heavy and aching like someone had spent the night beating the stuffing out of him with a plank of wood. He was ready to attribute it to being lazy until he tried to use his right arm to push himself up. The moment he put his weight on it, his shoulder registered an intense blade of pain, and he collapsed back to the bed. He ground his teeth as he tried not to holler. He could not believe the pain, the fresh feeling of aggravated alertness he had only felt whenever he had had a…

A dislocated shoulder.

Link rolled onto his back and used his opposite hand to prod around the shoulder. Nothing felt out of place. No amount of touching seriously aggravated his shoulder, although he did experience some measure of soreness. He carefully tugged on the collar of his body suit and peered inside, using the sunlight to help see. There was no denying that his shoulder was seriously bruised. But there was no sign of it having actually been dislocated.

By now, as he tugged the collar back into place, memories of the dream he had had started to return. The meeting with Janni, the exploration of the library, the different creatures that seemed to live below the island, all of it with perfect clarity. Just remembering the fights made his body feel heavier as he sat up on the edge of the bed. He looked down by the head of the bed to see the shield staring at his desk chair. Just to be sure it was really there, he placed a hand on it and rocked it to one side. He took a few more minutes to relax and let the physical fatigue run its course. Then he relieved himself and changed to a cleaner body suit before putting on his clothes and his usual gear.

When he stepped outside, he was keenly aware that there was a bit of gloom hovering over the deck crew. The obvious reason was a lack of sleep, as indicated by Biluf standing with her back against the port mizzen-mast and a hand pressed over her eyes.

He approached her and asked, "Biluf, waba hwicikak mah?"

Biluf started and quickly hid both hands behind her back. "A-ay'a, Kyabtin," she answered. "'Inu 'olwu tigi cinilak. Lyayn dhahnwya'ak 'inon."

Link nodded. "'Inu matikak. 'Inu 'atnya'ak." Biluf nodded, so he used a hand to indicate the rest of the deck. "Fizuban taris."

Biluf saluted. "Ay'a, Kyabtin." Link returned the salute, and Biluf started walking toward the bow.

Link turned to watch her and saw Leynne approaching him. "Captain," he said. "Might I have a wohd?"

"Sure, Leynne," Link said.

"Fihst," Leynne said as he stopped in front of Link. "Keeping the crew awake last night was moh wohk than it was wohth. Even I fell asleep last night."

Link heaved a sigh. "I was worried about that. Did anyone manage to sleep through the night?"

"I'm afraid not. Once someone stahted to sleep, the rest would drift off until one of them screamed the room awake. It made the night last much longeh."

"We'll have to get the crew used to staying awake at night. We don't know how long we'll be here."

"I've thought about that. I think we might try changing the time the crew switches. The day crew switches off at noon, and the night crew switches off at night. It should give a little moh incentive to staying awake at night."

Link nodded his agreement. "Spread the word. We don't need a whole shift losing sleep."

"Second," Leynne told him. "We'h out of coffee."

Link shrugged. "I guess you'll just have to sleep like the rest of us then."

Leynne gave him a flat look as he replied, "My insomnia shall not suffeh in vain."

Link finally managed a smile. "Anything else?"

"Uh…" Leynne gave an uncomfortable look and turned to see if anyone else was standing nearby. "Yes, actually," he then told Link in a lower voice. "I… I must confess."

Link blinked for a moment, stupefied. "O-okay…"

Leynne sighed. "I'm sorry, Link, but I do have some ratheh bad news.

"The evening previous to last… when we found youh friend Maroon, we'd discovehed that he had hanged himself. I… I admit that I tuhned it into a false affaih. You had woken up from a nightmah again, and I was concehned that you might have an… unsavory response to the scene. I explained the plight to Misteh Gold, and we agreed to remove Maroon from the noose befoh you ahrived. When you found us, we had just taken the noose down. I untied it afteh you'd left and stashed the rope."

Link stared at him for a moment, overwhelmed by the news. He finally had to take a breath to get his mind working once more. "Okay. Okay… I… I don't know what to say, Leynne."

"I hadn't hoped foh too much," Leynne admitted. "I hadn't planned to infohm you, but… well, I'd hoped you would undehstand."

Link crossed his arms. "Well… I'm a little shocked. I… I just don't know, Leynne. I appreciate the consideration, but… I also kinda wish you'd told me before."

"I know, and… at the time, I'd considehed it. I wouldn't want to keep such a thing from you, but… I was somewhat blinded by the moment."

Link nodded. "Okay. I-I'm glad you decided to tell me. Was there… was there any sort of hint about why he did it?"

Leynne shook his head. "I cannot say, Link."

Link nodded once more as he recalled some of his conversation with Janni. What had she said? That people started praying for an end, and that they usually found one the next day? That did not sound like the Maroon that he and Irleen had talked to. If anything, Maroon had seemed bored. Lethargic. Not at all desperate like Janni had implied. He did not believe so, but could their interaction with Maroon have caused it?

"Captain!" Both Link and Leynne looked up as Airman Hunter descended from the poop deck. He set foot on the quarterdeck and stepped up to the railing at the front of the deck. "Hey, did someone stay on the island last night? Anyone you sent?"

Link and Leynne shared a confused look. "No, there shouldn't be anyone on the island," Link called back. "Why do you ask?"

"There's smoke coming from the buildings." Hunter pointed toward the island, and Link and Leynne followed with their eyes.

He was right. Against the deep blue of a morning sky yet to be touched by the sun, three lines of black smoke rose from the settlement.

Link felt stunned and could not speak for a moment. Then he asked Leynne while still staring at the island, "Leynne?"

"Conduct a roll call," Leynne replied, "yes, sih." He cupped his hands around his mouth and hollered at the bow, "All hands on deck!"

Link indicated Hunter to join the deck crew already lining up in the middle of the main deck. Then he moved closer to the starboard bulwark to try finding the origin of the smoke.

Gold was the last to emerge from—… Beech was the last to emerge from below, carrying Chief Sello over one shoulder. Link turned around when he realized that Beech was grunting and watched as Beech set down Sello, a tall man sporting long, blond hair standing off his scalp and clad in an orange utility suit topped with a yellow waistcoat. Despite the serious nature of their situation, Link shot a flat look towards the other members of his engine room crew.

Gold handed Leynne a clipboard and stepped into line. Leynne flipped over a couple of pages before he started shouting names. "Ihleen!"

"Here," Irleen answered in a clear voice.

"Gillam!"

"Aye, sir!" Gillam hollered.

"Cale!"

"YAH!" Cale shouted in surprise. "A-aye, saah!"

"Gold!"

"Yessir."

"Geohdie!"

"Aye, sir!" replied a man in his early thirties with short, red hair half covered in grunge.

"Stan!"

"Aye, boss," said an overweight man wearing a dirty apron. He subsequently brushed some odd crumbs out of a voluminous, salt-and-pepper beard.

"Sello!"

"Toofbrush!" Sello replied as he swayed in place next to Beech.

"Dubbl!"

"Ay'a, 'Imbiyt!" Dubbl replied before sticking her tongue out at him.

"Save that foh lateh," Leynne told her, eliciting a giggle from both her and Dholit. "Twali!"

"Ay'a, Lyayn!" Twali replied.

"Dholit!"

"Ready and willing, 'Imbiyt," Dholit said with her sly grin matching her smooth voice.

"Rope it in, Dholit," Leynne said with a flat voice. "Nesteh!"

"Here, sir," answered the scrawny, late-aged doctor scratching at the left breast of his off-white jacket.

"Hahley!"

"'Ere, boss."

"Hunteh!"

"Yo."

"Moh volume, please. Beech!"

"Aye… sir…" Beech wheezed, still doubled-over with exhaustion from having to carry Sello.

"Make da monkey do it," Sello said, laying a solid slap on Beech's back. Beech immediately collapsed to the deck.

"Floweh!" Leynne snapped as Gold stepped out of line to help Beech.

"Aye, sir."

"Brandon!"

"Aye, sir!"

"Biluf!"

"Ay'a, Lyayn!"

"Botu!"

"Aye, sir."

"Lawrence!"

"'Ere, boss."

"Ray!"

"May Kyabtin balw!" Link, Leynne, and the Gelto crew turned to stare at her, including a rather annoyed look from Layna. Ray shrunk between Lilly and Flower and uttered a meek, "N-na'… ay'a, Amda…"

"Layna!"

Layna jumped in surprise. "A-Ay'a, Amda!"

"Line!"

"Are you kidding?" Line asked through a yawn. This earned him a light slap on the back of the head from Flower, standing on the other side from Dholit.

"Randy!"

"Arr, sir!" replied a forty-year-old man with a thick, black beard and a patch slung over his left eye.

"Lilly!"

"Yeah!"

"Lwamm!"

"Ay'a, Lyayn," Lwamm answered, arms crossed and glaring like Leynne had somehow offended her.

Link realized that Leynne had let a few moments of silence go and turned to the crew. Leynne anticipated Link's question and said, "That's the whole rosteh, Captain."

"So then," Hunter asked, one finger indicating the island, "who's out there?"

Link glanced back over his shoulder. Then he addressed his crew, "I'll be going ashore to take a look. Leynne will be in command while I'm gone. Line, Irleen… Cale, and Layna will be with me. I know you guys are tired, but I need you right now. The rest of you, as you were." The crew began to disperse. "Except the engine crew!"

Six bodies froze in place. The seventh of his engine crew finally succumbed to his permanent inebriation and fell forward onto the deck. "Didn' hurt!" Sello declared.

"Guys," Link addressed them as they turned to face him, "I know it's fun for you to haze the new man, but this is getting a little annoying."

"It's all meant in the spirit of companionship, Captain," Geordie said with a grin on his face.

"That's what you said last month when you shaved his legs and made him report to roll call wearing shorts," Link reminded him.

Geordie's grin became cheesier. "Spirit of companionship, sir," he repeated.

Link used two fingers to point as he said, "Botu and Beech have experience just like you and Randy do. The situation on this ship is going to get a little tense in the next few days, so I'd appreciate it if you guys wouldn't make it worse by pranking each other into another fistfight."

"Aye, sir," Beech and Geordie said while Randy answered with, "Arr."

"And Beech?" Link continued. "Use the bell; we paid for it."

"Sir?" Beech asked.

"We trained 'im t' come t' roll call when 'e 'ears the bell," Lawrence explained, sporting a large grin while Harley used a hand to suppress his sniggering.

"Good times…" Sello told the deck his face was still pressed against.

Beech turned to Botu. "You didn't tell me about a bell," he accused.

"I thought they already told you," Botu defended.

"I've been hauling his ass up here for a whole month!"

"Well, you can stop," Link told him. "No more jokes." Then Link twitched his neck after realizing that such a simple order would inspire them to keep their pranks secret. So he added, "Until we get back home."

"Aye, sir," Beech, Botu, and Geordie replied while Randy gave another "Arr" and Sello said, "Tickle me."

"Dismissed."

"C'mon, Chief Din'-Don'," Harley said as he hauled Sello to his feet. "Le's go find another way t' ge' in trouble."

"I mean it!" Link hollered at their backs.

"Think it's gonna stick?" Irleen said as she came to a hover near Link's head to watch the engine crew file down the starboard stairs.

"No, those idiots are gonna kill each other," Link told her with a defeated voice. He turned to her. "I think something might've happened last night, and I want your opinion."

"Sure."

"I know that dreams can be manipulated, but would it be possible to use dreams to affect reality?"

Irleen was silent for a moment. "Uuh… that's… where's this coming from?"

"My dreams last night. I didn't have a nightmare (relatively speaking), but I dreamed that I woke back up on the Symphony and explored the island. I even went past that black mass in the library."

"Hmmm. I don't know, Link. This is getting into an area that I've never actually heard about. Can you prove what you saw?"

"Yeah, where's Leynne?" Link asked, spinning to look toward the bow. He spotted Leynne talking to Dubbl and called out, "Hey, Leynne! Could you come here a moment?"

Leynne traded a kiss with Dubbl and jogged back to Link. At the same time, Layna approached from behind Link, her stealth relaxed so that Link knew she was there. "Yes?" Leynne asked.

"You woke up the crew last night?" Link asked.

"Yes, sih, just as we'd discussed," Leynne said.

"And you took them down to the galley?"

Leynne nodded. "It seemed the logical place."

"Doesn't really mean much," Irleen told Link.

"And Layna suddenly stopped after coming out of the berthing deck? Because she knew someone was watching her?"

Both Leynne and Layna blinked in surprise at Link while Irleen turned to stare at him. Leynne's mouth opened and closed as he tried to compose some words. The best he could get out was, "H-how…?"

"Because it was me," Link told him. "I was standing in front of the port stairs. I came down to the cargo hold because I wanted to see if Layna would respond to me staring at her." Link then glanced at Layna over his shoulder. Layna's cheeks had reddened, and she gave Link an uncomfortable look. "Sorry, Layna. I didn't mean to upset you like that."

"'I-'inu mithaysafak," Layna said, looking down at the deck. "'Inu nayx mimidhjak sazamtoyk My Kyabtin dha' rujun."

"What do you think?" Link asked Irleen, completely missing Layna's horrified look and Leynne shooting her a humored eyebrow raise.

"I think we might be dealing with some potent magic," Irleen said. "But how did you do it?"

"The shield."

Irleen gave a pause before telling him, "I want another look at that shield."

…

Irleen spent a few minutes staring at the shield until she finally concluded that there was nothing special about it. Despite Link claiming that the shield had allowed him to wander the island while he had been asleep, the only thing Irleen could tell him was that she could not see anything to indicate the presence of magic. Link decided to leave the shield in his cabin, giving Leynne instructions to make sure no one bothered it.

On the way to the settlement, Cale and Line talked about trying to stay awake in the galley last night. They explained what had happened to the coffee: Stan had fixed three pots of coffee to cover the day shift, and most of the older crew had partaken except for Dholit (under Leynne's strict observation). Cale talked about hearing the wind whistle against the ship's hull and through the cargo hold. Link noted the discussion due to the unusual occurrence of hearing the wind. He knew from being down in the galley plenty of times at night that, even when the wind was strong enough to make an audible sound through the hold, he had never heard the wind even at the foot of the stairs in the galley. He would have asked them more about what had happened last night if they had not started competing for who had had the strangest dream, which Irleen dove into moments later. Afterwards, Line descended into his usual griping about being part of the shore party, causing Link to forget asking.

They followed the closest line of smoke to a single-story building not far from the outskirts of the settlement. Link recalled the colorful walls he had seen in his latest dream and wondered if there was something painted on the outside that simply blended together in daylight.

"Okay…" Irleen said as she descended back to eye level with the group. "So… now what?"

"Should we just go inside?" Cale asked, indicating the door. "Would that be an intrusion?"

"Well," Link said as he looked around the outside, "clearly, someone's home. I think we should knock."

"You can say that about any of the buildings around here," Irleen pointed out. "We've already broken into two."

"Link said that these things around here just ignored him," Line said as he stepped forward. "I say we just go inside."

"Hold on, Line," Link said, grabbing Line's hand just as he was reaching for the doorknob. "We know that some individuals respond to us. We should try the easier method first."

"But barging in is easy…" Line growled as he retracted his hand. Link tapped his knuckles against the door's frame. "What kinda knock is that?"

"It was a decent knock," Link argued, giving Line an irritated scowl.

"You'd get more reaction out of it if you smacked the door with a dead fish!"

Link pointed down the road. "Fine! Go find me a dead fish, and I'll use that!"

"Uh… Captain?" Cale spoke up with an uneasy edge to his voice. This prompted both Link and Line to turn back to the door.

An Obeetan had opened it and now stood in the doorway with its barely-visible head tilted in confusion. "Oh, my," it spoke up, its deep, distorted voice causing Cale and Line to visibly cringe. "I have visitors." Then it tilted its head to the other side. "Right?"

"Yes," Link quickly replied even as Line and Cale took a step backwards. He grabbed the shoulder of Line's black bodysuit to stop him. "Yes, we're visitors. Would you mind if we talked with you for a moment?"

"Yes, yes!" the Obeetan replied as it stepped aside. It swept a hand to invite them in. "Please, make yourselves comfortable."

Link stepped inside and immediately moved to the opposite side of the doorway to make sure his crew followed. A prod from Layna forced both Line and Cale forward while Irleen carefully hovered across the threshold. Link then turned to look around the house. It was a single room illuminated by a pair of open windows opposite the door. In between those windows was the source of the smoke: a lit fireplace with a black tea kettle hanging inside it. Against the left wall was a large bed and an empty wash basin. A wooden table occupied the space on the right side of the room, and additional chairs lined the wall.

Link made note of the fact that the table was set for six, the same number as the chairs had been arranged around it, as he sat at the nearby end. "I hope we're not intruding," he said. "It looks like you were expecting some other company."

The Obeetan gave an unconcerned hum and told them, "I probably was, but I can't seem to decide who was coming."

"Friends, maybe?" Line said as he looked at the table.

"Could be." The Obeetan then moved to the wash basin and held a hand over it as if testing the non-existent water's temperature. "I hope you don't mind my asking, but have we met before? I must confess to not knowing your names."

"I'm Link," Link said. He indicated Line as Line took a chair near the opposite end of the table. "This is Line…" He nodded toward Cale as Cale moved to warm his hands over the fire. "That's Cale…" Then he pointed out Irleen as she circled the room overhead. "She's Irleen…" Lastly, he switched hands to indicate Layna, who was carefully closing the front door. "And she's Layna. It's all right if you don't know us; we haven't actually met before."

"Okay," the Obeetan said, a breath of relief in its voice. "I was concerned that I was being a horrible hostess for not knowing."

"A hostess?" Cale repeated, looking over his shoulder. "You'h a woman?"

"In all honesty, I can't say. All I know is my concern for being a good hostess to those visiting me."

Irleen dropped down to Link's side and whispered, "Link. This one's being surprisingly clear."

Link nodded and addressed the Obeetan, "We haven't heard your name yet."

"I believe it's Logan," she replied. "It's written on that bin in the corner."

"Bin?" Line asked, turning his head as Cale moved to investigate the back corner she was pointing to.

"How long have you been on this island?" Link asked.

"I can't really tell," Logan replied. "It seems like I've never really known anything else besides this island."

"It would make sense," Cale said from the corner. "It's been some time since Hylians fihst ahrived. It wouldn't be unusual to find people bohn heah."

"Hylian?" Logan asked.

"It's what we call ourselves," Link said. He pointed back and forth as he continued, "Cale, Line, and I are all Hylians. Since you speak our language, you're probably a Hylian, too."

"How interesting!" she declared. "I'd have never known. It's such a fascinating concept."

"That… fascinates you?" Line asked with an air of disbelief.

"I don't know that it's apparent to you, but we don't exactly look alike."

"Oh," Line said with a grunt. He glanced down and started scratching at his eyebrows. "Yeah."

"What can you tell us about this island?" Link asked.

"Very little, I'm afraid," Logan replied as she moved to the fireplace. "Would you like some tea?"

"Uh—please," Link replied.

"To tell you the truth, I haven't ventured out of this house in a long time." Both Link and Line watched in surprise as she simply lifted the kettle out of the fireplace, not caring that it might be hot. "I spend most of my time here waiting."

"Waiting?" Link replied as he watched Logan cross directly in front of him to a cabinet next to the door. He had felt the heat from the kettle, and he wondered if the Obeetans had lost the ability to sense temperature as well. However, he pushed the thought aside so he could ask, "For what?"

"I forget. It probably wasn't anything important."

"You don't have a job or anything?" Link asked, his voice masking Cale's hissing to gain Line's attention. He was barely aware of Line rising from the table.

"No." Logan said as she pulled some tea cups from the shelf.

"Does youh husband have an occupation?" Cale asked while trading places with Line.

"Yes. He's a miner. He works in the shafts on the south side of the… isl…" Logan paused pouring tea to turn toward Cale. "How do you know I have a husband? I hadn't even thought of it until you mentioned it."

Link glanced over to see Cale sport a sickly face. He forced himself into a neutral expression before pointing at Logan. "Youh left hand," he explained. "You'h wearing a silvah wedding band."

Logan raised her left hand. Link caught a glint of silver on one of her fingers. "You're right. That's amazing. I've always had this ring, but I never knew why."

"Do you know where he is now?" Link asked.

"Gone to mine, I believe," Logan said as she resumed pouring tea. "I don't think he's been back for days, but it doesn't feel unusual." Link heard Line trade a quiet remark with Cale and assumed he was making a smart-ass comment. "They feed them at the mines, though. I believe he told me about the rations that they keep down there. It isn't much, but it suits their needs."

"Rations?" Line asked. "As in 'packaged' and 'more disgusting than licking your boots clean' rations?"

"I assume so," Logan said. "I don't really recall ever eating them myself, though."

Line hustled along the wall and stepped up behind Link from the other side of the table. "Link, it's perfect," he said in a low voice. "We can load up the Conductor with those rations as long as they're still good. We could be outta here in two more days!"

"I agree," Link replied in a similar voice, "but we need to find them first." He paused to accept a saucer with a tea cup from Logan. "And we have to make sure the rations are still good. It won't help us if we get food poisoning from a bunch of spoiled rations."

"No thanks; I'm trying to quit," Line told Logan as she tried to offer him a cup.

"Oh, okay," Logan replied as she moved on to Cale.

Link returned to his low tone as he told Line, "We'll do this carefully. There's still too much going on around here."

"Point taken," Line said, "but we need to get out of here. We're wasting time."

"You're not confused by an Obeetan being awake?" Link asked.

Line gave Link a confused look. "A what? An… an Obeetan?"

Link was about to insult Line until he realized that his crew still did not have the information he had collected in his dream. So he said, "Just bear with me; I'll tell you later."

"Great," Line moaned. "More crap I'll never understand. I'm still wrapping my head around the whole 'volcano' thing."

"That's why you should read more," Link said before he decided to take a drink of tea. Then, once he had the cup under his nose, he realized that his cup was empty. He looked over to Cale to see Cale, once Logan had turned her back, hold his cup upside down to show Link that his was empty as well.

"Oh, that's not very promising…" Line groaned as he moved to step around the table.

Link set the cup back onto its saucer, deciding to try playing along with the absurdity. "I noticed that there weren't a lot of people out today," Link said. "Any idea why?"

"I can't say," Logan said, glancing toward the windows in back as if to view the situation herself. "I've never seen that before."

"Tell me," Link said, "what were you doing before we showed up?"

"Setting places for company," she said, turning to indicate the table.

"And before that?"

Logan paused as she set the hot kettle on the mantle behind Cale. "Hmm. I'm not sure. I think I was out for a walk."

"A walk?" Cale asked as she sat down on the edge of the bed. "In public? Last evening?"

"Yes, I think I was," Logan replied. "It's the strangest thing, too. I was walking, and… I think someone ran into me. I remember looking around, but I'd only seen a flash of green before I realized that I was just standing dumbfounded in the street. I forgot why I was out, so I came home from there. I've been preparing for visitors since then."

At her mention of a flash of green, Cale, Line, and Irleen were all staring at Link. Link cleared his throat. "Well, I don't want to seem rushed, but we have to get going," he told her as he stood up. "We have some work to get to, and your visitors will probably be here soon."

Logan gave an exhausted sigh. "I suppose you're right," she conceded.

"Thank you for the tea," Link said, raising the cup to remind her.

She nodded and said, "Just leave your cups on the table; I'll clean them later."

Link received Layna's cup so that Layna could open the front door. "Thank you again," Link said. "You've helped us out quite a bit."

"Oh. Well, I'm glad I could."

Link ushered his crew out. "Goodbye," he told Logan just before shutting the door. The last he saw was a friendly handwave from her. He pointed down a side street and shushed his crew. Once they were out of sight of Logan's house, he looked up at Irleen. "What did you think, Irleen?"

"If you're asking if that was similar to Maroon," Irleen replied, "yes, definitely. It seems like, if these people can remain either in their homes or at a place familiar to them, it's easier to maintain themselves. A lot of her fragments of life were centered on that ring. When Cale mentioned her husband, more fragments built onto what was already on that ring. But, if you're asking what I thought personally about that whole visit, I'd have to say I've felt more comfortable at a funeral."

"But why?" Line asked. "I thought these things are only awake at night. What's wrong with this one?"

"I might know," Link said, "and it's gonna sound weird."

"How much weirder can things get around here?" Line asked.

Link stared at him for a moment. Then he said, "Last night, that shield separated me from my body. I don't know why, but I think it only works when I'm asleep. I explored the island, and I found out what that black thing in the library is."

Cale and Line stood stunned for a moment. Then Line told Cale, "I walked right into that one, didn't I?"

"What is in the library?" Irleen asked.

"They call it 'The Night'," Link explained. "And it's the reason things are the way they are around here. It's been feeding off these people's dreams ever since they arrived. The combination of having The Night feed off them and trying to keep it away has caused them to turn into this."

"Wait, wait," Line said. "Are you saying that the night is what's causing our nightmares?"

"I'm not entirely sure yet," Link admitted. "And, technically it's not the night itself causing it. It's the creature that lives under the island; they call it The Night. It has access to the technoworks. I think that's how it's been controlling the winds around the island. I'm not sure how to free ourselves from it, but that's what I'm going to find out."

"How long do we have?" Cale asked.

Link shrugged. "To become like them? It might be a long time. But we should get away from here as soon as possible."

"So… how does all this explain her?" Line asked, pointing down the street behind Link.

"I was chasing someone last night," Link said. "A creature named Janni. She's a prisoner inside that shield. She told me about The Night and the Obeetans. But… I think I might have bumped into her and a couple others while I was chasing Janni. That might be why there are people awake now."

"Even though you were asleep," Line pointed out with an air of discomfort.

Link shrugged again. "If she remembers seeing a green streak, it might've been me. I was really hauling ass last night."

"That might be so," Cale spoke up. "But, Captain, I wondah if that soht of interaction is wise. People like haah must be suffering if they rediscovah themselves in such a manneh."

"People like 'her'?" Link asked. "Logan?"

Line and Cale shared a look. "Link," Line said. "That's not her name."

Link could feel the heat drain from his body and his intestines writhe themselves into knots. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"It was moah than just the ring which I'd noticed, Link," Cale said. "Haah bed was lahge, indicating that she might've shahed it with someone. Theah was also that bin she mentioned. The one that was supposed to beah haah name?"

Link nodded. "Yeah?"

"It wasn't a bin, Link," Line spoke up. "It was an empty bassinet.

"Her missing baby's name is Logan."

…

The walk back toward the main street was conducted in silence. Link had never felt so spooked before in his life, even accounting for the fact that he had once spoken to a dead man on a train. It only added to the island's malicious atmosphere, and once again he found himself eager to return home and leave this place behind. It also made him realize that he had yet to see a child Obeetan on his nightly walks. So far, everyone had stood above him, usually indicating adults. What had happened to the children? Had they just blended in with the adults as the adults had slowly lost their senses? Or… was it even possible that the children had survived for that long? At one point, Link had to stop his group so he could dry-heave against a building, so upset with the number of thoughts running through his head that he was reminded that he had left the ship without eating this morning. His crew could not help sharing his thoughts; Line had to hang his head around a corner and actually managed to vomit while Cale's face never seemed to regain color until later on. Layna had put on her stoic glare, although she was sympathetic enough to pat Link's back while he was trying to throw up.

Once they found the main road, they proceeded to the library. They still had a sickly air about them, but it had lightened since Link had forced them to stop. By the time they found the tunnel to the library, they had all but forgotten about it.

Link doubly so. Because his first reaction was to clamp onto Line's shoulder just as Line was about to jump into the hole.

"Yeouch!" Line whined. "What the—"

"Just hold on," Link told him as he stared at the hole. Layna had moved to stop Cale, and Cale exchanged looks with Line. Link stared at the hole, looking for any sign that The Night might still be awake. If Janni was not joking about what happened to people who blindly step in, he did not want his crew to suffer for it. Still, he had to admit to himself that he was being paranoid. The Night should be asleep. Even if it was not, it would have its black liquid filling the hole. And it would be solid; he should not have been able to see into the hole like now.

"Link?" Irleen asked after a moment.

Link shook his head and released Line. "Sorry," he said. "Just… if anything strange begins to happen down here, you're all ordered to return to the ship as soon as possible."

"You know," Line said as he stepped up to the edge of the hole again, "when you say crap like that, it just makes me not want to do it."

"I suspect that would be the point," Cale said.

"Well, there's nothing in there but roots," Irleen said. "I just hope that flood a couple nights ago didn't ruin everything."

"Don't worry," Link said while Line dropped into the hole. "It's all all right."

"You know, I believe you somehow," she told him. "Even that gets scary."

"Thanks a lot," Link groaned as she descended after Cale. He sensed Layna step up next to him and turned to place his fingers around her upper arm. "You heard my order, right?"

Layna, looking down at his hand in surprise, gave a nod. "Ay'a, My Captain," she told him.

"Everyone follows it, Layna," he said with urgency in his voice. "There won't be any trying to save people. Leynne has to get word as soon as possible."

Layna stared at him with eyes wide, a spooked look which was ever so rare for her. Then she gave a sharp nod as she put on a determined face. "'Inu nayx mi'aythanak wabin 'atoyn, My Captain."

Link gave a sigh. He was not completely sure what she had said, but he took her physical response as an acknowledgement. "Okay then."

Once they were all in the tunnel, Line tried to alleviate their grim dispositions by telling a dirty joke he had heard from Hunter. The best it earned him was a confounded response from Cale, a groan from Irleen, and a smack on the back of the head from Link. Still, Link had to admit that it helped a bit. Line was being a prick again, and Link would not expect less of him.

They stepped into the library. All at once, they froze in place.

"Whoa…" Line commented as he looked around.

Cale, standing at the back of the group, looked around at them in confusion. "What? What is it?" he asked.

"Something's wrong," Line said.

"Something's different," Irleen corrected. She turned to look at the nearby walls. "I don't see anything different."

Link hustled forward, prompting the group to follow him. He stopped himself on the railing around the atrium and leaned over the edge.

Instead of the shadow on the left side of the lowest floor, the entire floor was a uniform glow of living light. Link gave himself enough room to grunt and perform a small fist pump of victory, which only confused his comrades.