Author's Note: Here's another chapter...
Chapter 3: The Mariner Returns
Looking ahead, the Mariner could get a nice and clear view of the dry land he had once set foot upon. The sun beat down on him and he lifted a hand, holding it above his eyes to get a better look at what was before him. The land he had left all those years ago was torn and broken. There was smoke rising from it and he could see destructive flames consuming every single form of life on there. Trees were burning, grass and flowers were wilting and shriveling up in the heat, horses ran across the sands of the beach, fire attached to their backs. It was all just a complete nightmare, but the Mariner wasn't worried about any of that. The only thing he was worried about was what happened to the people on the land!
Moving his boat faster towards the land, the Mariner ceased his rapidly beating heart, hoping for it not to be so. His greatest fear was starting to come to life. His greatest fear…was losing the ones he loved. The man had loved Helen, yes. He had loved her with all his heart, but he just could not stay with her on dry land. Dry land wasn't a place for him. The sea was where he belonged. The Mariner also cared deeply for the little one, Enola. She was his friend and he liked her. He wouldn't know what to do if something happened to either of them.
As his boat touched the sands of the burning land, the Mariner scurried off of his boat. Fear gripped him in tremendous waves, almost sending him over the edge. He was calm on the outside, but his emotions were going haywire on the inside. As his eyes roamed the flames that was destroying everything in its path, the male was starting to regret ever leaving Helen and Enola on the land alone with the others for all those years. He felt so much guilt claw at his heart for never visiting them for all those years. He had missed out on so much, missed out on the time he could have spent with the two females. All that time was wasted. Gone. There was nothing he could do about that. There was absolutely nothing he could do; nothing to be done.
Pushing back those horrid thoughts and feelings, the Mariner focused on what was currently occurring. He couldn't just let the fire to continue leaving a trail of death behind as it burned everything away. The male had to stop it somehow. Looking back to his boat, he could see unused buckets there. Knowing it was going to be very difficult to get rid of the fire with just a few buckets of water, the Mariner started to hurry. He grabbed one bucket and then dunked it in the ocean water, gathering a lot of it before rushing over to the first fire. He dumped the water on top of it and then rushed back to get some more water.
The Mariner carried out these actions for at least a couple of hours before the fires were entirely put out. Collapsing onto the sand, the man brought a hand up to his head, feeling dizzy for standing on land too much. The land really didn't move like the ocean. It had no motion whatsoever to him. It wasn't smooth, he didn't float. The land was definitely no place for him, but he had to tolerate it for the people he cared for. Getting up from the ground, the male ignored his tiredness and dizziness for now and started venturing further on the dry land, looking for any signs of people. He could see dead horses scattered around the beach, shriveled up plants, and other various plants that had been burned in the horrible fire. Still, he did not see any people at all! Where in the world was everyone? Where was Helen? Where was Enola?!
"Helen!" the Mariner called out, his voice hoarse and broken from breathing in all that smoke and for not getting a drink of water from all that moving around for hours. It was now in deep evening and everything was strangely and eerily quiet. "Enola! Helen!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, allowing his voice to carry. Looking around, he found a river and wasted no time in getting a drink of water.
Through with that, he continued his search. After thirty minutes of walking on the nauseating dry land, the Mariner began to see bodies lying around. He couldn't identify any of them because they had been beaten beyond recognition and burned to a crisp. It made him sick inside, but he moved forward, determined to find Enola and Helen. Those two were the only ones that mattered to them. He stepped over the lifeless bodies and surveyed the area, trying to see if any of the bodies belonged to his loved ones. He couldn't tell.
"Helen!" he tried calling for the only woman he ever loved again. "Helen, if you're alive…say something! Enola! Helen!" Slowing down to a halt, the Mariner realized something. His eyes caught sight of a hut up ahead and he dashed towards it. Once inside, he found Helen on the ground. She was breathing shakily and her entire face was swollen. Also, her body was covered in horrible bruises. Getting down on his knees, the Mariner scooped the female up into his arms, trying not to panic by the state she was in. Even though she had been beaten pretty badly, he could still recognize her. The feel of her skin felt the same the last time he touched it. He still remembered what she looked like after all these years.
"Helen…" the Mariner whispered, running a hand down her cheek, fingers brushing her dry lips. "Helen, please talk to me," he commented softly while a frown jumped onto his facial features.
Helen struggled to open her eyes. However, she was only able to open one of them because the other one was swollen shut. Her hands grasped the material of the Mariner's clothing and she stared at him while in pain. "You!" she exclaimed in a broken whisper.
"It's me, Helen," the Mariner confirmed, holding her tighter against him.
Helen shut her eye and a tear rolled down her cheek. A sad smile danced along her lips and her grip tightened on him.
"You've come back to me…"
