Chapter 26: Powder Keg

…

Link did not take as long to calm down as the first time, especially now that he knew what the Night was capable of. Nester held back the tranquilizer, allowing Link to come off his hysteria on his own and still conscious. He asked Nester to examine him. Just as he had suspected, he had bruises on his neck resembling claws, around his left ankle where the trap had snared him, and on his back as what Nester described as a child gone mad with a crayon. Link only went as far to explain the trap and that he had been mauled by a Wolfos; he did not want to think about what the other Wolfos had been doing to him before he had finally passed out. Even just talking about the attack made him want to retch. He explained this to both Nester and Leynne; Randy, who had responded to the screaming with Leynne, had returned to his bunk to shake off what he had described as the sensation of Link's scream rattling his soul.

Leynne, leaning on the bare bulkhead next to Nester's desk, pressed his hands against his face and let out an exhausted groan. "I was concehned this might happen," he said through his hands.

"I'd love to meet a man who can predict what's going on around here," Nester said.

"Me, too," Link spoke up.

"How ah we to leave if the Night is going to ambush you like this?" Leynne asked, removing his hands from his face. "Ah we to assume that what happened in the library was a fluke?"

"Seems to me that this 'Night' has a sadistic streak," Nester said. "And what better way to torment not just the captain, but all of us, by making us think there's a chance?"

"It didn't seem to hesitate the first time," Link pointed out. "Now, it just let me walk into it."

"You see?" Nester asked, indicating Link with a hand.

"But I don't think the library was a complete fluke," Link continued. "Janni said the Night was genuinely mad that I hurt it. Now, it's probably on its guard."

"And, because it's on its guahd, what's to be done?" Leynne asked. "Has Janni suggested that theh is a solution to this situation that favohs us?"

"Uh… not really," Link admitted. "She's convinced that we're gonna be joining the other Hylians already here. And, well, she seems to see it as a thrill."

"What if you tried going to another place?" Nester suggested. "Tried to keep it guessing? Number Two here told me there are different places this thing likes to haunt."

Both Link and Leynne shook their heads. "Eitheh awake oh asleep," Leynne explained, "the Night know what we ah planning. Everything that's happened to us has been the sum of thoughts of the entih crew used against us. Including holding us within this stohm." He looked at Link. "Would the shield allow moh than one pehson to enteh this 'dream wohld' of youhs?"

"I don't think so," Link said. "Both Irleen and Nester have been in the same room. Nester was…" He pointed toward Nester's bed at the back of the sick bay. "… probably about as far away from it as me. I can ask Janni about it, but I wouldn't get my hopes up."

Leynne groaned. "This could be simpleh if only we could have anotheh in theh with you…"

"Are we sure it won't let another person in if they slept with it instead?" Nester asked.

Link and Leynne exchanged intrigued looks. "He has a point," Leynne said.

"But who are we supposed to send?" Link asked. "Layna?"

Leynne gave a shrug. "Layna used to travel with you befoh," he pointed out. "I cannot think of anotheh who might be able to navigate the technowohks, otheh than maybe myself. But I can't fight."

"Think we can sneak one of our bigger airmen in on the Night?" Nester asked.

"Only if the Night was inviting him to a bah brawl," Leynne said. "I'd have to say, at this point, we should let ouh assassin do heh job."

"It's gonna be a tall order," Nester pointed out.

"Not from me," Link said, indicating his joke with a hand hovering over his head.

"Should we see to getting heh on heh way now?" Leynne asked.

"We'll wait until the coming evening," Link said. "It's gotta be pretty late; Layna won't make it to the river before the Night goes back to sleep."

Leynne checked his pocketwatch. "Yes, of couhse," he muttered. Then he asked Link in a clearer voice, "Any ohdehs foh the mohning?"

"Just make sure the night shift gets some sleep," Link said. "I'll talk to Layna tomorrow evening."

…

~~9/23, Expedition Day 41.

~~The Night killed me again last night. I'd give details, but just saying that I was attacked by Wolfos will probably be enough to remind me years down the road just what a shitty experience it was. Up until now, I thought I'd shaken my dislike of Wolfos. The Night knows exactly what to hit me with. It's probably only a matter of time before it throws more monsters at me. Worse yet, one of the massive creatures I'd met on the surface. It's using my experiences against me, and I don't know what to do to stop it. Our best idea is to let Layna go to sleep tonight with the shield and the sword. She might not quite understand what's going on, but she just might be able to make it further than me. Not to mention that the Night would be hard-pressed to ambush one of the most paranoid people I know.

~~Cale, Line, and Irleen are going back to the library today. No one is really convinced that the library is empty, but the fact that they were actually cautious about it makes me worry less. I just wish that the river was just as abandoned. Without water, the Island Symphony won't remain in the air, never mind that we'll need a new source of drinking water soon. I mean, we haven't reached a critical point yet, but I'm worried that we can't even get water from the only source on the island.

~~I'm still aching after last night. I'm going to take a nap now.

…

Link could only get a couple hours of sleep later on that morning, haunted by events of his previous dream. His late breakfast was a ration, deciding to decline the potato soup Lilly had kept warm from last night. Even then, he found the food hard to stomach. Despite his misery, though, he found his crew to be much worse off. The deck crew patrolled with a slight glaze over their eyes. Link ordered Airman Brandon to a lookout post on the quarterdeck, afraid that, in his drowsy state, he might fall into the boat deck. He must have nudged the rest of the deck crew about a dozen times because they were leaning against or sitting on something and were encouraged to fall asleep on-duty. Making rounds in the engine room revealed that his engine crew was faring just about as well. In fact, when he set foot in the room, Chief Sello was the only one awake (although this mainly seemed to be a requirement to refilling himself with a bottle of whiskey). Although Sello was just as capable of maintaining an idling engine, Link still preferred his crew to sleep when they were not supposed to be working.

Noon, about the only time that was visible through the storm, brought out the night shift and a fresh wave of sleepy eyes. Even Leynne, who had gone to sleep after Link dismissed him for the morning, had to be prodded a couple of times to keep on his feet. Link decided to make an early visit to the engine room to nudge the crew awake. This included Sello, who had fallen asleep with a half-chewed label stuck to his forehead.

He would later wish he had waited a little more.

He spent maybe half an hour checking on his deck crew when Leynne approached him. They exchanged a quick handwave, and Leynne approached Link from the bow to meet him at about the middle of the main deck.

"Captain, have you spoken to Layna yet?" Leynne asked.

"No, not yet," Link said. "I was planning to do it here in a bit." He rolled his eyes. "When she's a little more awake."

"The sentiment can be made towahd most othehs of this crew," Leynne commented. "I wouldn't mind sleeping during the day, but it seems to be ratheh difficult. Too difficult foh the entih crew."

Link nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I had the same impression. You think the Night might be manipulating our sleep during the day, too?"

"You have been the only one these past fouh nights willing to go to sleep. Everyone else struggles to stay awake, but no one seems to make any progress unless the pehson next to them wakes up screaming. Even ouh supply of coffee didn't wohk, foh as long as it lasted."

"I don't suppose you have any other ideas."

Leynne rubbed his jaw for a moment, and the scratching sound he made indicated to Link that Leynne had not recently shaved. Not that Leynne needed to do so very often, but Link was now noticing a slight stubble covering most of his jaw (the bare patches being a pair of old scars). "I think I've an idea, but it might upset Sello."

"I'd make a Malgyorg mad if it'd help. What is it?"

"Well, Sello still has an ample supply of alcohols. As much as he values them, we might be able to use theih propehties to help the crew get sufficient sleep during the day. It could help them resist the Night."

"You wanna get the crew drunk?" Link asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Not necessarily. A drink oh two should wohk. Alcohol needs only to be in small quantities to induce a sleepy state."

"How do you plan to talk Sello out of a bottle or two?"

"Well, I h—"

"Captain!" Both Link and Leynne jumped at the sound of someone hollering from the port staircase. Leynne turned to look, stepping out of Link's way so that an alarmed-looking Gillam was visible. "You've gotta get to the engine room now!"

"What's going on?" Leynne called.

"It's a beating!"

If there was ever a time Link and Leynne could say they were truly awake and fully alert during the whole of their experience on Obeeta, this was the moment. Both immediately charged across the deck. "Layna, Gold!" Link shouted en-route. "Get below! Now!" Gold responded from the forecastle, jumping over the railing onto the main deck. Layna jarred herself awake at the sound of her name and ran swiftly across the deck from her napping position near the aft starboard capstan.

Gillam ducked back into the staircase and led Link and Leynne down, Gold on their heels while Layna had chosen to descend from the opposite side. Once they reached the orlop, it was evident that something was wrong. Spare timbers had been left unbound near the middle of the deck with Harley and Botu standing nearby. And somebody was slamming something hard against the deck from further aft, the sound of a grunt mingling with each bang. Link's group ran toward the back through the repository that had once carried rocks for the Goron airmen. Link and Gold moved to one side of the deck while Leynne and Layna waited at the door on the opposite side. Link and Leynne nodded, and they shoved the doors to the engine room aside.

In front of the massive boiler that served as the centerpiece of Sello's nonsensical engine, all four witnessed Airman Beech raising a spare timber into the air and hammering it onto Airman Geordie's limp form.

"Beech!" Leynne snapped while Link stared on, frozen in horror.

Link then stumbled when Gold elbowed him out of the way. Beech never saw Gold coming, and the seasoned sailor floored the young airman in a tackle not unlike a freight train striking a stray cow. The timber flew out of Beech's hands, and Beech started struggling against Gold's thick arms.

"Layna, put him out!" Leynne ordered.

Layna jumped onto one of Sello's crates and performed an amazing leap that brought her within striking distance in seconds. Link was not even sure when she threw the needle, but it embedded in Beech's forearm as he continued to thrash about. Layna then slipped closer and pressed the fingers of one hand to either side of Beech's neck, pinching off major blood flow to his head. Beech quickly grew calm until he was unconscious in Gold's arms.

This allowed Link to hear a moan from nearby. He saw Randy lying against the bulkhead and rushed to his side. "Randy, are you all right?" he asked as he put a hand on the older man's shoulder.

"Arr, sir," Randy growled as he slowly pushed himself into a seat. "He caught me by surprise."

"Get Nesteh down heh now!" Leynne hollered.

Link glanced over his shoulder to see Leynne hovering above Geordie. He turned back to Randy and asked, "What happened?"

"I don't know, sir," Randy said, giving his head a slight shake. "One minute, everythin's fine. Next thing I know, Beech comes chargin' back in here with a board and whacks Geordie across the face. I watch him take two more swings, then I try to cut in." He placed a hand on his forehead, calling Link's attention to the line of blood slowly tricking across his wrinkled brow. "I bleedin', sir?"

Link followed the blood to a small lesion near his balding pate. "I've seen worse, but it's gonna need a stitch or two."

"Arr."

Link heard footsteps and glanced around as Gillam stepped back into the nearest doorway. "Nester's on his way, Captain," he reported. Then he looked around at the engine room. "What happened to Brandon? He tried to jump in, too."

"Brandon?" Link asked as he turned to survey the room.

"'E's over 'ere," Gold spoke up. Link had to crane his neck to see Gold hauling Airman Brandon to his feet from the other side of the boiler. "Yeh arright, Brandon?"

"I think so," Brandon said, holding a hand over an open wound on his left temple.

"What happened?" Leynne asked.

"We heard someone hollering and banging from the kitchen, so we came to see what it was," Brandon explained as Gold helped him across the room. "I tried to grab him, but he turned on me and clocked me good."

"Just sit 'ere," Gold told him. Brandon heaved a relieved sigh and sat on one of Sello's crates.

"Someone need me?" Nester asked as he leaned inside the engine room behind Gillam.

"Check Geordie," Link ordered. "Hurry."

Nester entered and rounded the crates to find Geordie. He froze for a moment to take in the scene. "Goddesses above…" he whispered. Then he dropped onto his knees and started feeling around Geordie's neck and chest. "He's in bad shape, but he's alive. I need to get him to the sick bay. A stretcher will do it."

"Gillam," Leynne spoke up as he moved to examine Geordie with Nester, "get Botu and retrieve a stretcheh foh the doctoh."

"Aye aye, sir," Gillam replied before disappearing into the orlop.

"How bad is he?" Link asked as he approached Nester.

"Bad enough he won't be working for a couple of weeks," Nester said as he used his fingers to probe around Geordie's cranium. "I'll have to keep him in the sick bay."

Link sighed and looked at Beech's unconscious form, Layna waiting nearby in case he woke up. "Gold, Leynne," Link said with an air of calm that surprised even himself. "Take Beech and lock him in the empty room. We'll figure out what to do with him from there."

Leynne exchanged looks with Gold. "Yes, sih," Leynne replied.

"Cap'n," Randy spoke up. "What're ya gonna do about the engine room? I can work it alone if I need."

"At any other time, I'd let you," Link said. Then he walked to the nearest door and poked his head out. "Hey, Harley?"

"Aye, sir!" Harley hollered back as he hustled to the door. "Ya called?"

"Yeah, we've got a problem," Link said as he invited Harley into the room with a hand. "I hate to do this, but I need someone to tend the shift with Randy; I don't wanna leave anyone alone down here, even with Sello around."

Footsteps sounded from behind, and Link and Harley stepped out of the way as Gillam and Botu hustled past with a stretcher between them. Harley watched as they laid the stretcher next to Geordie. And then he saw Gold and Leynne pick up Beech with the unconscious man's arms pulled across their shoulders. "Aye aye, sir," Harley said, his voice almost hollow. He waited until Leynne and Gold left. Then he asked, "Wha' 'appened down 'ere?"

"It looks like Beech attacked Geordie," Link replied. "We don't know why yet. But we're down two men. You can make arrangements with the day crew as long as I have someone down here, but I need you down here for tonight."

"I'll do me bes', Cap'n."

Link turned just as Gillam and Botu were placing Geordie on the stretcher. "Nester, keep me informed if anything changes," he said. "I'm gonna see about Beech."

…

Link had only been privy to one incident where an airman attacked another. It had been him that started the fight, although the attack had not been as vicious as what had just happened. If the circumstances had been different, Link might have gone with Captain Alfonzo's solution: halve the airman's pay and place him on shore duty for a few months. But Link did not have that luxury, and he suspected that there was something more going on.

Beech woke up over an hour later. Link told Leynne to bring him to his cabin as soon as possible. What he and Gold brought in was a horrible wretch of a man. Beech's feet dragged as he stepped to the front of Link's desk. Despite his youth, Link could swear Beech had turned into an old man in the hour it had taken him to recover from Layna's drugging. His eyes were sunken, and his skin was pale and wrinkled. It made Link wonder if this was the same man who had beaten his shipmate not too long ago.

After almost an eternity of scrutinizing the airman, Link finally asked, "What happened, Beech?"

Beech raised his eyes to meet Link's gaze. For a moment, Link wondered if anyone was still inside that glazed-over stare. Then Beech replied, his voice cracked as he told Link, "I-I don't know, sir. I… I just lost it."

"Weh you provoked?" Leynne asked.

Beech shook his head with a heavy motion, like his neck had to strain through the slightest movement. "No, sir. Geordie stopped. He even—" Beech's voice cut off, and he had to swallow hard before he could talk again. "He even apologized. He said he'd follow your orders to the letter. Randy, too."

"Did he say something to you?" Link asked. "Toooo… upset you or something?"

"No, sir."

Link exchanged looks with Leynne. "Airman, something must've happened to cause this," Link said. "Can you explain it to us?"

Beech started wringing his hands together, alternating which hand crushed which as he searched the floor for words. "It just…" he finally started. "It… It-it just happened. One moment, I'm helping Randy sweep down the deck… the next, I'm beating the stuffing out of Geordie!"

"Go slowly, Aihman," Leynne told him, one hand raised to calm him. "Just walk us through what happened. You weh sweeping the deck."

"Y-yeah," Beech said. "I… I was… I remember thinking how nice it was. Y-you know, that I didn't have to worry about being pranked for a while."

"I can appreciate the feeling," Link said with an understanding nod.

"I-I just… got to thinking that… well, what-what happens after all this," Beech continued. "What-what would be waiting after we got home. Things like that." He used one shaky hand to brush hair on his forehead aside. "I-I couldn't stop thinking about it. My-my dreams… I remembered thinking, 'What if he did something like-like that'."

"What, precisely, does 'that' entail?" Leynne asked.

"I-I don't know where to begin," Beech said. "Be-before I knew it, I had the board in my hand. He—p!" He had to swallow again, and Link and Leynne thought they had seen his face turn green. "He didn't even see it coming!"

"Beech," Link said, sliding to the edge of his chair in case he had to stand. "Just calm down."

"Calm down!?" Beech snapped, his composure lost to a flood of hysteria. "I just killed my shipmate! I couldn't stop! What the hell is wrong with me!? This-this isn't me! Who the hell am I!?"

"Aihman!" Leynne snapped, startling both Link and Beech. Leynne then gave Beech a moment before saying, "Geohdie is still alive. Nesteh is doing his best to help him."

Beech stared wide-eyed at Leynne for a moment. "He's-he's—" he tried to say.

"Look, Beech," Link spoke up. "As much as I don't blame you for this incident, there are still certain things we can't just… overlook."

Beech gave him a look of dread. "Sir, please," he pleaded. "Please don't—"

"It's not gonna be severe," Link told him, one hand raised to interrupt him. "But you did just attack a crewmate. And I want you to take some time to get a hold of yourself. You're right; this isn't you. For the next few days, you are relieved of duty and without pay. Other than using the head, you will remain locked in the empty quarters down below."

"C-Captain!" Beech cried out.

Link had to raise his hand again to silence him. "I'm not finished. And it's not like you're gonna remain there the entire trip. We can't afford to short ourselves help out here. But I'd like you to take those few days and try to relax. Lilly will bring you meals and anything else you might need. Do your best to get what rest you need; we need you."

"Sir," Beech said with a sudden sharpness in his voice. He managed to straighten himself to his full height. "Will you be reporting me to the home office?"

"I will be reporting the incident to the home office," Link said. "With my recommendation that you not be terminated. There are regulations, and that's the best I can do."

Beech heaved a relieved sigh. "Thank you, sir."

"Don't thank me yet," Link said. The ominous context he spoke with caused Leynne and Gold to raise their eyebrows at him. Link quickly decided not to say anything else, particularly since he was about to point out that the Night would still be affecting his dreams the whole time. Instead, he cleared his throat. "We'll make sure someone checks on you regularly. Dismissed."

"Yes, sir," Beech said.

Link and Leynne watched as Gold escorted Beech out. Then Link heaved a sigh. "Somehow, I think this would've been easier if they were just fighting," he told Leynne.

"Then we ah in agreement," Leynne said. "The Night is having an effect on him. The nightmahs, the paranoia, the lack of judgment…"

"This is how the Night works," Link said. "Just like Janni explained. I didn't think it was gonna be so soon."

"I doubt that we have a crisis on ouh hands yet, Link. Now that we know what to look foh, we can betteh wahn the crew."

Link settled back in his chair and nodded. "And then wait for the Night to throw something else at us."

"If we must."

Link stared down at his desk for a moment. Then he said, "I'm going after it again."

"What?" Leynne asked, confused by Link's lack of clarity.

"The Night. I'm gonna go back to the river tonight."

"I thought we agreed that Layna should be the one to go tonight," Leynne said, crossing his arms as he turned completely to Link. "What's brought about this change of mind? Ah you making this pehsonal?"

"It was personal when the Night started messing with my crew," Link told him. "This crew is my responsibility. And I'm gonna make sure the Night knows that I can get pissed, too."

Leynne pointedly looked down at Link's fists. Link realized he was grinding his palms against the chair's armrests and slowly released his grip. "Link, I cannot regahd this decision as an infohmed choice. Consideh that you've taken quite a bit of abuse in the past few days. Ah you suh you'h being rational?"

Link sighed and rubbed his forehead for a moment. "No, I'm probably not," he admitted.

"Good."

This response drew a confused look from Link. "'Good'?"

"If you'd said 'yes', I would push the previous decision to let Layna make the attempt tonight. I only ask that, should you fail tonight, you'll allow Layna oh someone else to make the next attempt. Youh body is slowly tuhning into one lahge bruise, and Nesteh did mention that, should the Night become any moh violent, it could kill you."

Link nodded. "One more night."