Chapter 2
Malaysia
Talia and her crew traveled for two weeks
Through ocean after ocean.
They had braved the currents of the Timor Sea.
They sailed the Banda Sea dodging the reefs
So they would not be taken under by the waves.
Once past the corals they reached the Molucca Sea
And thought it was safe sailing from there.
The safe sails and clam seas were just a thing of the past
As they moved through the Molucca and into the Celebes Sea.
The crew had been traveling continuously
And after weeks at sea they had finally sighted land.
Only a few days left and they would be on solid ground
But thanks to Dylan Talia and her crew were not safe yet
Dylan was still angered at Talia's defeat of the Aborigines
And wanted her and her crew to pay for his loss.
He summoned all his strength and powers
And cast them into the Celebes Sea.
The ocean floor began to rumble and shake
And the calm sea became a mess of waves.
The boat began to sway from side to side
And Talia and her crew did not know what was happening.
The waves grew bigger and bigger as each minute passed.
One wave grew higher and higher
And became stronger and stronger
It pulled the ship in and came crashing down.
The current carried the ship
Like a man carries his son
Atop his shoulders
So he can see the world before him.
The ship rose higher into the sky on top of this wave.
They could see the Malaysian land slightly out of reach
And it killed them to have the fear of not making it.
The wave finally grew so big that it could not rise any higher
And slowly and dangerously began to crash down.
The ship moved onto the top of the wave and stayed there
As the rest of the water moved down before it.
Talia's ship and crew followed and hit land with great force
But as the ship went down five of Talia's best men did not go with it.
They were sent flying overboard hitting the water
And then crushed by the rest of the wave.
The ship hit the land and shattered into pieces
As the remainder of the crew was thrown ashore.
Talia had been tossed from the ship
Landing on her back and hitting her arm on a rock.
She slowly began to sit up and look at what lie in front of her.
She saw her crew sprawled and scattered along shore
And her ship in hundreds of pieces
Wrecked from the waves.
Talia got up and began to pace the shore
Examining all her men to make sure they were alive and well.
Talia and her crew managed to escape death
But now they needed a plan.
They needed a way to fix their ship and get to Scotch Plains.
Talia decided that her and her crew needed to explore the land
And search for anything that would help them rebuild their ship.
In the distance she saw mountains
And knew if they cross the mountains they would be better off.
Her crew gathered any salvageable wood from the destroyed ship
And set off in the mountains' direction.
After walking on the hilly land of Malaysia for four days,
Talia and her crew finally reached the mountains.
They had to climb the steep cliffs and rocky mounts
Of the Pegunongan Iran.
Talia led her crew up the mountains digging her feet into the sides
And using her strength to pull herself higher and higher
Up the cliffs as her crew followed.
They were all keeping up a steady pace
And managing to grab safe holds in the mountains.
One man was reaching his foot for another hold
When his foot slipped and he lost balance.
His other foot came loose and he began to slide down the mountain.
He slid towards the bottom grasping for anything to hold onto
And all he could manage to grab was another one of his crew member's legs.
He was not thinking in this time of life or death
Because as he grabbed the man's leg
He began to pull the poor crew member down the mountain as well.
Talia and the rest of the crew watched
As their two fellow crew members fell
Further and further down the mountain to the bottom.
All the crew saw were the two men hitting the ground with great force
And a cloud of dirt erupting from where they hit.
Talia and the remainder of the crew could only stop
And say a little prayer on behalf of the men they had just lost
Before they turned their backs to the scene and continued up the mountain.
Talia assured her crew that everything was going to be all right
And made sure that these tragic deaths
Would not stop them from saving her brother.
They finally reached the top and then began to recede down the other side
Until they were all safely standing on solid ground once again.
Now that they had made it past the mountains
They needed to find trees to cut down for wood
So that they could rebuild their ship and sail off this land.
Talia glanced around and spotted a forest a decent distance away
Filled with densely packed towering mahogany and teak trees.
The crew set off towards this area and once reaching it
Began to chop down any tree that they could manage.
Once they had cut down all the trees that they needed
Talia took charge and began ordering and supervising them.
She knew that they did not have adequate supplies
In their possession to rebuild the entire ship.
So quick thinking Talia used her skills to come up with a plan
To build many small makeshift boats and oars.
Half the crew spent an entire three weeks cutting and nailing wood
While the other half twiddled away at the remaining wood
Trying to build sturdy oars for paddling the boats.
After the twenty-first day of long hard work was over
The crew had built a total of fifteen boats.
Talia stayed ashore with her crew for one more night
To get a good nights rest and to talk their plans over.
They were to stay close together in the water
And head eastward until they came upon land.
At dawn the next morning Talia rounded up her crew
And commanded them to all report to their assigned vessel.
Talia got into her boat which was in the front of the pack
And prayed to Sagettia for guidance and protection
That they would make it to land without losing any men
And without encountering any obstacles along the journey.
And with these words she signaled for them to begin rowing.
