So, this chapter took me a while to post, but hey, it was christmas! Anyway, this part has lots of action... actually, it's basically all action. So, enjoy!
War Within
Chapter 2: Arriving
"Jak, wake up, we're here!" Macy squealed in excitement. They had been onboard the Thunder-Wave for almost two weeks. Jak didn't move, although he woke up. All of the other people who had fled the village stood on the deck, admiring their new home, everyone but Jak. He silently punched the bag of rice his head was resting on.
His mother's death was still fresh in his mind: the blood and the knife, the bodies and smoke of burned homes… Jak fingered the murder weapon at his side. He hadn't cleaned it yet, so his mother's blood was encrusted onto it, hiding its gleaming blade. Jak often compared it to the knife that had belonged to his father. The handle of the strange one was bronze, partially wooden in some carved areas, while his was bullion with a strange seal molded into it. The blade of the other was straight and jagged, making it impossible to pull from flesh without causing more damage than already done. His knife's blade was long and curved, making it lodge and hook once inside the victim. They were both great designs to use on some unlucky person, but if only that person hadn't been Mother…
Macy noticed Jak's look of despair and approached him timidly. She was always skittish around Jak, whether it was because he handled knives or she just didn't know how to act, Jak didn't know.
"Jak, don't you want to see Sandover?" she asked, slowly reaching for his hand to help him to his feet. Jak rolled onto his side, facing a barrel of water that was halfway full, causing a quick withdraw of Macy's hand.
Jak didn't like to be touched, he never had. At least, by anyone other than Mother. She was also the only one he had ever depended on for anything and everything, and now he was alone. Jak was autonomous, feeling he had to be independent. He wouldn't accept help, even when needed. He did everything himself.
Jak gave a slight jerk as the hull of the boat lodged itself in a sandbar. All the people had been at the deck, watching the shore grow ever closer, leaving no one to guide the boat or watch its course.
"We're stuck!" the captain called, after much loud cursing. "We have to walk along this sandbar and swim a short stretch to that there land!" he announced, pointing with his right index finger.
Jak sat up. Swim? He didn't know how to swim. He wasn't afraid to try, but he didn't know how. Would he sink like a rock or struggle until he got too tired to go any farther? As he looked at the stretch of water they would have to swim, he began to squirm. Sure, it wasn't really that far, but it seemed like it.
"Everybody has to carry their own bits and pieces!" the captain called. Everyone began to collect their items and stuff them into packs: sleeping mats, blankets, rations, basically anything within reach. Macy was one of these people, as well as her children, but not Jak. He just made sure his knives were tied to their sheaths- so they wouldn't float off- and his sheaths tightly secured to his waist. His knives were the only things he had from his past life, the only things that could remind him of his mother and father and the life he had left behind.
Jak was third off the boat after the captain. He wanted to be in between adults so, if absolutely necessary and left with no other options, they could help him swim the gap. Jak had also been smart to tie his knives to their sheaths, for the sheaths quickly filled with water and the knives floated out freely.
The water came up to Jak's waist, but it was warm. It felt like nuke-warm bath water. It swayed gently and Jak suddenly knew he could make the swim. If he couldn't trust himself, at least he could trust the water to carry him to shore. Somehow, he knew that the water would make sure he made it to the island safely.
Jak liked the squishing feeling of the sand under his feet as they trudged over the sandbar. The water was calm and it wasn't hard to ride the miniature waves to gain a few feet of footing. But Jak hesitated as the sandbar came to an abrupt stop and it was all open water. He had never been in the ocean before, he had no idea what kind of evil or friendly things lurked in waiting. But pushes from behind made his decision final. He took a deep breath and dove in. He automatically began kicking and pushing. He broke the surface again to screams of horror.
What was going on now? He looked around and saw people disappearing beneath the water, being pulled down by something humongous. What could it be? Then he saw it, a giant fish. He had heard of them before. Lurker sharks, they were called. They had rows of sharp teeth and could eat a person whole. Jak swam for all he was worth, but it didn't do any good, he wasn't getting anywhere.
He looked down and saw a flash of orange scales. His hand flew to his waist and be broke the string holding the strange, jagged knife. He resumed swimming as the fish continued to parade below him, as if sizing him up or trying to make Jak have a panic attack before he swallowed him whole. Jak timed his move, watching the fish swim by a couple of times, determining its speed and how deep it was. Finally, Jak took a deep breath and spiraled down through the water, the knife held in front of him. It dug into the shark's back and a cloud of blood immediately drifted around Jak, enveloping him. The shark fled, taking the knife with it. Jak broke surface again with a triumphant grin.
People around him seemed relieved. Jak had saved them, or so they thought. But wait, people were still being pulled under… There was a whole swarm of the sharks! He had only killed one of five. Jak once again took off through the water, depending mostly on the waves to carry him to the shore.
Jak's heart was beating so fast by the time he had reached the welcoming, sandy beach, he thought he was going to have a heart attack. He watched as people that weren't as lucky as him were attacked, one by one being sucked under the current.
"Get help!" someone yelled at him from farther down the shore. Jak saw that they were badly injured and would need help soon, or it would be too late.
Over the hot sand, up the beach, up the strange natural steps in the cliff, finally reaching the town. It seemed to be abandoned, but that didn't stop him. He ran into each hut, looking desperately for help, but he found no one.
The bridge creaked as he flung himself across. He looked down at the blue water below, remember all the people on the boat, renewing his determination to get help. He ran into what seemed to be a workshop, mechanical gears and gizmos of all sorts laying about, scattered and in piles of scrap metal. He looked about frantically, but, yet again, saw no one. He looked around one last time, looking for some sign of anyone. That was when he noticed the way up to the second level of the hut.
Jak sprinted faster than he had in his life, faster than he knew to be possible. He barged through the door, not bothering to knock.
"What in Precursor's name is going on!" shouted a pleasantly plump, elderly, green man.
"Jak pointed and jumped frantically, trying to explain what was happening without using any words.
"Keira!" A small, green-haired figure appeared in a doorway.
"Yes, daddy?" she said.
"You and this boy take out the boat to scout for any people in the water, though there is little possibility of survivors. I'll round up the villagers and get them to shore. Go!" the green elder ordered. Jak stood there. What boat? Little possibility of survivors? Before he could thoroughly think any of this through, the green-haired girl, Keira, grabbed his hand and dragged him out the door and back across the squeaking bridge. She then led them down the shore to a dock, where a medium sized, simple boat sat lonely. It bobbed in the incoming tide, unknowing of the great commotion just a ways down the shore.
Keira jumped into the boat, Jak close behind. He watched intently as she started the engine securely and effortlessly. It roared into action and she drove steadily into deeper water, careful of the sandbars.
"Look for people!" she shouted over the rumbling hum of the motor, pointing a finger towards the water in case her words were lost in the noise.
Jak looked over the side of the boat, looking for flailing arms, cries, anything to help him spot someone. But there was nothing, nothing left of what had once been half of an entire village. Something caught Jak's eye, a sharp shine out of the water. It could have been anything, a spray of sea water of just a trick of the eye, but Jak wanted to know for sure. He pointed urgently out to the gleam, and Keira skillfully turned the boat.
They slowed as Jak waved his hand. Approaching the gleam, Jak leaned over the hull. He was almost in disbelief as his fingers curled around a familiar object. It was the knife, still lodged in the Lurker Shark. He pulled it out of the creature, which emitted a spurt of think, black blood. It squirted him in the face and dripped over his arms. It reminded Jak of when he had pulled the very same knife out of his own mother's stomach.
Suddenly, he felt very sick. Still leaning over the side of the boat, Jak vomited.
"What's the matter, can't handle a little blood?" Keira said teasingly. Jak nodded although it wasn't true, not wanting to have to explain the real reason. "Well, you'll get over it. Help me pull this shark on deck, maybe the villagers can do something with it," she said, turning off the engine. She stood next to Jak and also leaned over the side. Her hand was firmly gripping the shark's tail when the orange beast took off through the water.
Jak lunged for Keira's quickly disappearing hand. His fingers barely caught the tip of hers. By this time, Keira had let go of the Lurker's tail and the monster was circling back, ready for once last meal. Jak wouldn't let that happen, not after the stupid fish had devoured all the rest of the people who had been on the Thunder-Wave, coming to a new land in hope of starting over. Jak pulled with everything in him. Finally, at the last second, Keira flung over the railing of the fishing boat. But the sudden release of her hand flung Jak backwards into the deep water, leaving him to hold his own with the shark. Jak thought he would surely die as he felt himself slip into the dark water. His heart pounded and his vision went blurry, his eyes stinging from the salty water. His arms flailed… and he felt a strong hand grip meet his hand.
The next thing Jak knew, he was sitting on the deck of the boat, vision of the ocean flying by.
"That was a close call," Keira said carefully turning the rudder.
Jak nodded and scooted away from the railing.
"I wonder why the shark didn't attack you. It looked like he was going to, but then he turned away and swam off," she continued. Jak thought about it. What had happened before? Then it came to him: he had gotten the shark's blood on him!
He explained this to Keira with a series of hand motions and waves. She laughed at some of the things Jak did.
Jak liked Keira's laugh. It was soft and lulling. He also liked her eyes, a more vivid green than even the ocean. Her hair, shiny and full. And her smile, her bright flash of teeth... it was enough to cheer even him out of his slum, at least a little. Maybe, just maybe, they could be friends…