A/N: Warning! This chapter contains heavy violence, blood, really heavy feels, and bad pickup lines.


Chapter 8: Shipwreck


The man who has experienced shipwreck shudders even at a calm sea.
-Ovid


Five years ago

Bedrock Bay

From another perspective...


I hopped out of bed. Stars still dotted the sky, but that's the prime time to get out on the water. The sun would be up soon, and I needed to be the first one in the water. I slipped on my fishing clothes quietly, careful not to wake the sleeping figure still in bed. She had a late night at the tavern, she deserved to sleep in. I brushed aside a lock of her red hair and snuck a kiss to her forehead. "I'll be back in a few hours, Pep." He turned to leave the room but a hand caught his wrist.

"Just because you like waking up with a beautiful woman doesn't mean I like waking up at the buttcrack of dawn."

I mentally berated myself for getting greedy with my romances. I turned to face my wife, Pepper. "Sorry hon, I wanted to let you sleep in."

She waved a finger sarcastically. "Tsk tsk. Waking me up when I've got twice the sleeping I need to do... it's like you're trying to earn a night sleeping on the boat." She gazed at me playfully. It never ceased to amaze me how often I could get lost in her eyes. Such a deep blue, they matched the ocean I spend my days on. Each time I looked at the water I thought of her. She chuckled. "You're staring again, Salt."

I smiled at the pet name. Her name was Pepper, so she thought it would be clever to call me Salt because I worked on the sea. "Alright, alright." I got up to leave. I stopped in the doorway and turned around. "You know, I should charge you rent."

She looked at me confused. "What? Why?"

I winked. "Because you occupy my thoughts." She laughed and threw a pillow at me. I dodged dramatically and let it harmlessly bounce off the door. "See you at the Dilo Pep!" I left the bedroom and shut the door. I walked into our kitchen and surveyed the room. I've been saving up money for an expansion to the house; a nursery. It was going to be a surprise, but I couldn't where I wanted to build it. I couldn't build it off the kitchen for obvious reasons, but the only other room to build off of would be the bedroom. If I did that we'd lose the majority of closet space, or I'd build out into the yard, neither of which sounded good. On one hand I'd have an angry wife, on the other I'd have a restricted play space for a kid to run around. I weighed the options against each other before giving up. It'd be well past noon by the time I made a decision.

I stepped out the door and into the street. The town was still quiet this early in the morning; not many lights were lit. The few sounds being made were fellow fishermen setting up their kits for the day. I had set mine up late last night to get an early lead. My net was folded and secured in the back, I had a few spears and hooks tied down, and I even had a fresh bucket of meat. I stepped across the beach and onto the dock across from the house. I began untying my fishing boat from the dock. It was a humble craft; a wide, shallow platform with a single square sail. Once it was free, I stepped down onto the bobbing boat. I grabbed hold of the rudder and pushed off the dock, propelling me into the bay. I pulled out a long paddle and stuck it deep into the water. The bay itself was actually quite shallow, only about 10 meters deep at its lowest. With the mouth of the bay being angled adjacent to the waves, this meant that the water was unusually calm. As long as nothing to dangerous drifted in, this made the bay a great casual swimming and fishing spot. But casual fishing wasn't my job. I was partially responsible for feeding half the town. And with Fish Fest coming up, I needed to be in my A-game. I pushed myself along until I was through the mouth of the bay. On the open ocean, the wind was strong enough for sailing. I unfurled the sail and tied it in place. The morning wind caught against the pale cloth, pulling my boat along. I turned the rudder and steered out towards deeper water. Normally, Trilobite hunting wasn't my forte, but I brought a few cages along to get the most out of the day. I kicked them off one by one, letting them sink to the bottom. They were tied to a painted log buoy that floated to the surface. I left them behind while I floated out to my usual fishing spot. It was a well sought-after spot; just above an ocean current. The current was just deep enough that it wouldn't pull ships on the surface, but shallow enough that one could lower a long enough net into it. All I had to do was let out the net and wait while the fish got dragged into it by the current. Easy teeth. Once I was satisfied with my positioning, I rolled up the sail and slowed to a stop. I unfolded my net and attached the corners to two hooks on the side. I dropped the net into the water and let it sink. It unfolded to its full size as the current caught it. Now that the trap was in place, all I had left to do was bait it. I pulled the lid off the bucket of meat, releasing the smell of raw fish. If I was going for anything larger than coelacanth, I would have just dumped it in. But coels tend to go for smaller food, anything they can get in their mouth, really. I pulled out my hatchet and a slab of meat, laying the raw cut on the bed of the boat. I began chopping the meat into fine cubes before tossing them into the water. As I prepared the chum, splashes drew my attention. Beside the boat a fin was cutting through the surface of the water. Not large enough to be a megalodon; those generally ignore boats. It was an Icthyosaurus, a large, curious fish. They were rather social, swimming up to boats and even swimmers on occasion. It was not uncommon for highly experienced fishermen to even ride them to chase down larger prey. The fish surfaced curiously, swimming alongside the boat and watching. I smiled at it and pulled out a slab of fish. The creature's eyes locked on to the potential meal. I stood up and waggled it in my hand before tossing it in the air. The fish dove quickly before surfacing with enough speed to launch out of the water. The meat landed in its open mouth as its momentum carried it clear over the boat before splashing down on the opposite side. Satisfied, the Icthy swam off into the depths. My smile persisted as I finished tossing the remaining chum into the water. It was always good to feed an Icthy. It was a kind of symbolic way of giving back to the ocean that feeds our families. It was just an old fishing practice, but I still did it for good luck.

With the net in place, I sat down against the mast and pulled my hat down over my eyes to catch a nap. I was quite fond of this hat, I'd had it for a few years now. It was actually the first thing I found after waking up on these beaches. It was half-buried in the sand, probably tossed up by the sea. I feel bad for the fisherman who lost it, it was high-quality and stylish. It was stitched from a fine, brown leather. Waterproof too, so probably beaver hide. It was wide-brimmed all around, but curled upwards on the sides. My implant labeled it as a 'hunter's hat,' and, given my profession, it found an almost permanent place upon my head. I usually used it to keep the sun off, but I made sure never to miss a sunrise. A brilliant yellow blossomed across the sky as the sun climbed over the horizon. The light illuminated the serene blue tint that made up the ocean around me. A gentle warmth bathed over me as the sun climbed higher. Satisfied, I pulled my hat back down and shut my eyes.

Things were looking just fine in my little slice of paradise.


I woke up to more splashing sounds. I tipped up my hat to identify the source. Not far off was another boat. I chuckled lightly. "Amateurs. You don't set up right next to another boat. Especially not when this boat has the prime spot." I leaned forward to check the net. I peered into the clear water to see a limp net, almost entirely empty. I glanced about to double check what I could have done wrong. I had chummed the water, laid out the net, closed the sail to prevent drifting, and set up on the current. I didn't understand why I had moved. A thought struck me and I looked over towards the other fishing boat. They were directly over my spot. I inspected the side of my boat. Several chips and dents were visible in the side. Normally a fisherman would chalk this up to wear and tear, but I just had this boat repaired this week. I looked back to the other watercraft. A pair of older men manned the boat, newcomers that must have traveled in for Fish Fest. One of them was tossing meat into the sea, not bothering to chum it. The other however, was holding a long fishing spear, much like my own. The tip matched the marks poked into the side of my ship. "Those sneaky rats... they pushed me out of my spot." I stood up, ready to give them a piece of my mind, when I noticed what grave mistake they were making. I had already chummed those waters, their net had to be full by now. Yet they were still tossing meat out. Worse still, they weren't breaking it down into smaller bites to attract smaller fish. The large chunks combined with the trapped bounty within the net...

They were inadvertently building an all-you-can-eat buffet.

I stumbled slightly as the water beneath my boat swelled from movement. I looked down as a large shadow passed beneath me. I watched it as it made its way towards the other fishermen. A fin broke the water, creating wakes with its speed. The fin was far too large to be an Icthy. I cupped my hands over my mouth. "SHARK!"

The fishermen reacted to my warning too late. They turned just as the massive creature breached the surface and collided with the boat. Wood splintered and cracked under the weight and force of the attack, shattering the hull of the craft. The men screamed as the tumbled into the water. The fish dove to give itself an angle to make another run. The men scrambled to cling to the quickly sinking wreckage of their boat. I waved to them frantically. "Over here! Swim to me!" The men looked to each other in indecisively, unable to decide what to do. One of the men made the split decision to make a dash towards my boat. As soon as he let go of the wreckage, the surface erupted in a flurry of brine and teeth. The man shrieked as the shark's jaws closed over his abdomen. His anguish was short lived, as with one quick thrash of the beasts powerful jaws the man was ripped in two, tainting the water red. The monstrous fish's jaws clamped down on the remains, dragging them beneath the waves. The other man was frozen in shock, staring helplessly at the carnage in front of him. He desperately clung to the mast of the capsized boat and cried out for help.

I cursed under my breath. There was no way he could swim the distance between us. I scrambled around my boat, pulling up the net and lowering the sail. I turned the rudder hard and steered towards the shattered craft. I pushed the paddle through the water as hard as my muscles would allow, gaining as much speed as I could. The megalodon would need a minute to chew its food, but it would be a short minute. I approached the wreckage, not bothering to slow down. If I didn't get the man on this run, then he would be on his own; I wasn't going to risk dying out here too. Once I was properly angled, I glanced out towards the water. The shadow was making another run and gaining fast. I leaned out towards the panicking man. "Jump! You've only got one shot!" The man looked at me then back at the shark. His eyes widened as he saw it approach. He closed his eyes and leaped towards my speeding craft. He leaped too early however, and only caught his torso on the side of my boat. I reached down and grabbed his arms, pulling him out of the water, but I was too slow. The side of my boat collided with the wreckage of theirs, crushing the man's legs between them. The man screamed in pain as the boats ground against each other, emitting sickening cracks of both wood and bone. I pulled hard, trying to free him from the trap, only to notice too late that the shark had finished it's charge. It collided with the remaining wreckage, shattering it to pieces. It caught the man in its open mouth and swallowed over half his body in one bite. I fell back as the force of the collision rocked my boat sideways. Had my boat been any thinner, I would have rolled right off the edge. I looked down at the man to find only his severed arms laying on the floor. I gagged and kicked the bloody limbs back into the water. I glanced around for the paddle only to spy it floating several meters away. There was no way I could grab it without swimming, and that wasn't an option. The sail was still intact, but the wind could only provide so much speed.

I had just lost my only means of escape.

"Dammit... DAMMIT!" I punched the mast of my boat in frustration before glancing around for anything to use. All I had left were spears and my net. I turned the rudder towards shore and and let the sail catch the wind. I surveyed the water for movement before spotting the large shadow circling around. It seemed to be debating whether to keep attacking or not. I picked up a spear and held it defensively, pointing at the fish. As it circled, gears turned in my head, trying to form a plan. Carcharodon Ultramegalodon were little more that colossal missiles of teeth and muscle. They turn slowly, but get up to terrifying speeds. Coupled with their intimidating size and bite force, these sharks are at the top of the food chain in the water. Any experienced fisherman knows to avoid practices that attract these beasts unless they are equipped to hunt such a creature. They only safe solace a sailor can have from these beasts is in the shallow waters that they avoid. I was still quite far off from the shallows, however. The shark made an aggressive turn before diving beneath my boat. I leaned over and speared the water, trying to get a hit off on it. The spear barely grazed the back of the creature, hardly scratching it. The fish made a wide turn to try and intercept the path of my ship. At this rate, I would never outrun it. I had to buy time for me to reach the shore. I dropped the spear and grabbed onto the net. I tossed the few dying fish back into the ocean to lighten it as I untangled it. Once I had it reasonably opened up, I folded it lightly and held it out. I surveyed the water until I spotted the shark still making its turn. I did a mental calculation, wound up, and hurled the net across the water. The spin of the throw unfolded the net to its full size before it landed in the path of the beast. Unable to turn, the shark swam right into the net, ensnaring itself. It didn't stop the creature, but it thrashed around, slowing considerably. I pumped my fist in triumph. "Chew on THAT you dumbass fish!" My excitement was short-lived. Despite its movement being impaired, the shark kept turning into the path of my ship before attempting to charge. It was slow enough that it wouldn't destroy my craft in a single good hit, but its size could still flip it. I leaned on the rudder and rotated the sail, pulling the boat into a turn. I lost speed, but changed course considerably. When fighting anything, moving unpredictably was always a good strategy. The shark made a move to follow my movement. I picked up another spear and pointed it at the shadow. I pulled my arm back, planted my feet, and steadied my aim. "Come on you saw-toothed demon of a fish... give me a shot..." The shark lined up and thrashed its tail, propelling it through the water. "Come on... lemme see those eyes." The shark was gaining speed as it zeroed in. It reared back, opened it's mouth, and lunged, breaking the surface of the water with its speed. I smiled as it revealed its weak spot. I'd been throwing spears and other ranged equipment for years, no one was a better shot than me. "Now don't blink!" I leaned forward hard and hurled the spear through the air. It whistled softly before striking true to its target. The shark recoiled as the spear tip pierced through its eye. It slowed down even more and thrashed in pain. I smiled in success, only for that smile to drop even faster. The injured creature was determined to attack, and blindly snapped in front of it. I reached down for more spears only to find the boat empty. I jumped back as the megalodon's jaws crashed down on the back of the boat, destroying the rudder and locking the rear within it's jaws. The craft groaned and squeaked under the stress, but held firm. I patted myself down for something to use and found my hatchet still clinging to my belt. I grasped the handle and swung hard, embedding the tool in the shark's snout. The beast thrashed in frustration, rocking the boat and throwing me back. I collided hard against the mast and saw stars. I struggled to get up off the floor, but the boat tipped again and made me roll once more. I teetered dangerously over the edge, nearly going into the water. Dazed, I realized this was it. I was going to die here. The ocean was finally going to take me into its deep blue depths. The serene blue that I came to admire every morning. The blue that always reminded me of something else. Of SOMEONE else.

Someone I damn well was going to fight for.

I grabbed onto the mast to pull myself up on the rocking ship. I eyed the thrashing shark at the end of the boat. "Hey there, fella. I don't mean to be rude..." I took a stumbling step towards it. "... But I'm afraid we're gonna have to cut this short." I tripped but caught the side of the boat, keeping myself upright. " 'cause you see, if I wash up half eaten and dead on the shore..." I reached the end of the boat. "... then Pepper'll kill me, and we can't have that. So if you'd be so kind..." I raised my boot over its snout. "And GET. OFF. MY. BOAT." I brought my foot down on the blade of the hatchet still lodged in its nose. Each words was punctuated by another stomp. The handle splintered and snapped but the sharp stone wedged ever deeper. The fish thrashed and snapped in pain. If sharks had vocal organs I'm sure it'd be roaring it's lungs out at me. It thrashed in pain, but more in anger. I stumbled slightly, but was determined to win this fight. I reached down and snapped off the weakened handle of the hatchet. In one swift movement, I braced myself on the beast's face and rammed the splintered hilt deep into the shark's remaining eye. It bucked hard and rocked the boat forward, throwing me back to the front. I caught myself on the mast this time, bracing myself to keep fighting. When I turned back, the now-blind megalodon released the rear-end of the boat and thrashed away, smacking the splintered rudder with it's tail. The muscled limb smashed the weakened section, sending wood flying. I held my hands up against the incoming debris, but a plank got through, impacting the side of my head. The last thing I saw were stars.


Waking up from being knocked out sucks. I feel like most people share that opinion. I hazily registered a vaguely familiar voice calling my name. I tried to brush it off and fall back asleep when a sharp sting snapped me awake. I sat up quickly and paid for it dearly with a wave of dizziness. I tried to fight through it and get a quick survey of my situation but quickly lost balance and fell back over. I looked up to see a figure standing over me, silhouetted by the sun. I held up my hand to shield the glare only for the figure to bend down into view.

"You know Chestnut, the last time I had to slap you awake on this beach, you were piss-drunk, half-naked, and almost late to your wedding." The man revealed himself to be none other than Brian; fellow fisherman, self-proclaimed master trader, and lifelong friend. He smiled that cheeky grin of his and held out his hand. "You had me worried there. For a minute I thought I'd have to be the one to break the bad news to Pepper. She'd rip me apart on the spot."

I smiled and grabbed his hand for support, pulling me to my feet. "It's good to know you've always got my best interests at heart, Brian." I chuckled and looked myself over. Surprisingly, other than a massive headache, I was relatively fine. I was sore all over and I'm pretty sure I sprained my ankle at some point, but I still had all my limbs; more than most survivors of a megalodon attack. I tried to take a step forward but pain shot through my leg. It was a pretty bad sprain; I wouldn't be boating for a while. I glanced up, remembering something. "Where's my hat?"

Brian used his free hand lift my hat out of the sand and drop it on my head, not bothering to shake it out. Sand poured out the sides and down my hair and face while he grinned sarcastically. "Honestly buddy, I'd be more worried about that." He raised his arm to point out to the water. I followed his gaze to a half-submerged mangle of wood just off the shore. I must have just drifted into the shallows when the boat finally sank. I deflated visibly. That was my one and only boat. Without it, there was no way I could do my job, let alone participate in Fish Fest. Brian looked over the wreckage with me. "The whole back half was crushed. What the hell happened Chester?"

I let out a depressed sigh. "Goddamn greenhorn fishermen, that's what. There's always some idiots that don't know the rules, and we professionals have to suffer for it. To be honest, it's a story that I need to be at least half-drunk to tell." My eyes widened and I glanced up at the sky. The sun was at the height of it's arc; midday. "Damn, I'm supposed to be at the Dilo right now!" I took one step and stumbled as my ankle spiked with pain again.

Brian lunged forward and caught me. "Hey now, you can barely walk. We need to get you home."

I looked at him squarely. "I told Pep that I would meet her at the Dilo. Do you really want to be the one to tell her that I had to go home injured?"

Brian let out a hearty laugh. "No. no I do not." He wrapped an arm around my shoulder to support me. "She'll probably give us a beating for being late anyway. Let's not keep them waiting." We began hobbling forward when he let out another laugh. "Who knows, maybe your story will earn us a round of drinks."


Minutes later we burst through the door of the Tavern, drawing eyes from a few patrons. It was in the middle of the lunch rush, so many of the seats were full, but Brain set me down in a char by the bar. He posed dramatically and dropped into his what he calls his 'Merchant Voice'. "Behold! The champion-conquerer of the sea returns from his epic journey." He gestured to me before turning to the rest of the bar, commanding attention from the entire room. "Exactly what he has conquered on his amazing quest, only a round of drinks shall reveal." Sarcastic groans echoed from around the bar. Brian and I were regulars at The Drunken Dilo, so his antics were well known. He and I had a steady partnership in the fishing business; he uses his 'witty charm' to win over buyers in the market while I do all the backbreaking, real work bringing in hauls to sell. Admittedly one could see it as an unfair workload, but I didn't mind. I loved the sea, and we had been best friends since we met in town. He and I had been fishing rivals since we set ourselves up in the business, until it was clear that I was completely dominating him in skill. He still managed to make profit with his silver tongue at the markets, selling what little he caught at high prices. We decided to pool our skills together, rather than compete. And we've been inseparable ever since.

Ellen came storming out from the back room with Pepper. "Are you trying to scam good customers in my bar again?" She waved her spoon angrily, only for Pepper to brush past her and around the bar. Brian quickly backed up to avoid getting bulldozed by her as she ran to my side.

She looked me over worriedly, eyeing my bruises and injuries. "What happened?"

I scoffed sarcastically and waved her off. "Oh Pep, it's nothing that your darling husband couldn't-"

Brian cut me off. "He sank the ship."

I glared at him furiously and opened my mouth to retort. Pepper's expression flared with shock and anger. "WHAT!? What happened? What did you do?"

I shrunk sheepishly under her gaze. The bar went silent and watched. When Pepper got angry, everyone knew sparks would fly. "C'mon Pep, really it-"

"Chester. As your wife and future mother of your child I demand that you tell me what happened." I flinched as she said my name. She only reverted to calling me Chester when she was really mad.

Ellen chuckled from behind the counter. "Best spill the beans now, boy. A sunken boat hardly compares to an angry wife."

I grimaced at the truth in her words. "Well... there may... have been... a megalodon involved." I cringed as I finished the sentence, waiting to be beaten within an inch of my life.

Color drained from Pepper's face. "WHAT?! A megalodon sunk the boat? How? What did you do?" Her eyes darted over my figure again in a panic. "Oh god, a shark? Are you ok? I mean you survived, obviously, but-"

I grabbed her hand to stop her. She always hated it when something went wrong while fishing. It was very clear in the town that hunting on the open water is one of the more dangerous occupations, but still people did it. Many had families to feed, others, like myself, simply enjoyed the water. Soon I would have both reasons to go out each morning. I gave her a reassuring smile. "I'm fine, hon. Just a bit of an accident. I'll be right as rain in no time. After all..." I gave her a sly smirk. "It's nothing a kiss from the hottest gal this side of the island can't fix"

Pepper rolled her eyes and sighed before pulling me in for a kiss, earning whoops and hollers from the rest of the bar. She pushed me back. "That's to help you get better. And this..." She wound up and delivered my second slap across the face today. "-is for scaring the crap out of me!" The tavern erupted in laughter as I rubbed my sore cheek.

A patron down the bar finished laughing and waved a hand to us. "Alright, alright. Now I'm thoroughly interested. Ellen! I'll buy the man a drink. I'm in the mood for a good story."

Brian recoiled in mock offense. "What about the man who dragged his sorry ass in from the beach?"

The man laughed. "Buy it yourself, Brian. You've always got some teeth just lying around." It was true. Brian was the king of money saving. If anyone knew how to amass a small fortune, it was him.

Brian chuckled. "Awww, but I need every little scrap of cash I can get my hands on. After all, wealth is the way to attract women." He turned to the other server in the bar. "How about it Georgia? Care to take a ride on the money maker?" He gestured not-so-subtly to his lower regions.

The dark haired server scoffed. "You ain't getting me in a bed with you until phiomias grow wings and fly." Her sarcastic reply made Brian dramatically deflate, clutching his chest to imitate a broken heart. Georgia's rejections to Brian were nothing new, he'd been trying all year. It became more of a running joke than real flirting. She was around our age, yet already had a kid. The father skipped town when he realized she was pregnant, never to be seen again. I didn't know him, but I hoped that coward was rotting in a cave somewhere. Why Georgia decided to name the boy after that lowlife, I'll never know. Her little five-year-old Matthew was a mischievous boy for his age, always full of energy. Brian doesn't mind the little boy at all though. In fact, one could say that he actually likes the kid. Whenever Georgia brings him to the bar, Brain makes sure to put on a show to entertain the kid. Ellen could practically pay the guy for stand-up entertainment. Little Matthew instantly took to him, trying to act all dramatic and over the top. One could say he was a bad influence, but we all know he means no harm by it. Whether or not he was using him as a way to close to Georgia was still up for debate though.

Brian laughed and turned back to the bartender. "Hey Ellen, you've got a pig around back right? Mind if I borrow him for a while? I'm gonna go tell those Slipstream fellas that I've got an idea."

That earned another round of chuckles from the patrons and an amused shake of the head from Georgia. "Tell you what, if they actually let your sorry ass up their mountain, I'll let you buy me dinner."

Brian pumped his fists into the air enthusiastically. "Ha! I know what I'm doing tomorrow! Far's Peak here I come!" Brian turned back to the bar. "But first..." He dropped a sack full of dino teeth on the table. "First round of drinks is on me. All of you had better enjoy it while you can, I ain't buying the next." Cheers came from all around at the prospect of free booze. Brian took a seat next to me at the bar and slapped a hand on my sore back. "Now why don't you regale us with that tale of yours, Chestnut?"

I winced from the impact but chuckled at his enthusiasm. Ellen sat a pair of drinks in front of us with a resounding clink while Georgia and Pepper passed out rounds to the remaining patrons. I took a swig of the golden fire before beginning. "So have you ever had just one of those days?"


After an overly dramatized story, a near heart attack from Pepper, and several rounds of drinks, the bar had sufficiently cleared out a bit. Lunch was well over, and people needed to either go back to work or get home. A few people stayed at the bar to chat for a bit while they finished their drinks or food. A loud thumping from outside drew my attention. The rattle of someone dismounting from a saddle rang through the door before it swung open. In strode a man with a look like he owned the place. Unlike the egotistical asshole I call a best friend, this one had few redeeming qualities. Bruce, the leader of the town's local band of hunters. There are two things a person can have that makes others want to listen to them: knowledge and power. This prick had the latter far more than the former. He sat down on the stool next to me. "Ah, I was looking for you two. Got something I wanna talk about." He tapped the counter to get Ellen's attention. "Oi! Hardest you got. Don't bother with a glass, I'll take a whole mug."

Ellen looked at him with the enthusiasm of someone watching a fly trying to get out of a closed window. "You got the teeth for it?"

Bruce grunted. "I heard someone was buying drinks. Thought I'd cash in on that little goldmine."

Brian shrugged. "I only bought the first round. Guess you're outta luck."

Bruce grumbled in response before waving Ellen off. "Never mind, something small then. I won't be staying long." He turned to us. "I got a proposition for you two."

I scoffed in amusement. This outta be good. "Sure, Bruce. What did you have in mind?"

Ellen set a mug of liquor in front of Bruce and walked into the back. He took a loud swig from the glass, spilling some of the liquid down his shirt. He wiped his mouth on his sleeve and burped. The display made my face twist in disgust. This man had about as much class as a phiomia rolling in the mud. "So there's this little problem that I need help solving. We've noticed a lot of aggressive dino behavior lately. Unprovoked attacks, disrupted caravans, real bad stuff." The tone of his voice almost seemed rehearsed, yet unenthused.

"Tragic." Brian rolled his eyes. "What's this got to do with us?"

Bruce grunted at his sarcasm, but continued. "It's getting so bad that we think that the town may actually be at risk. The scale of said risk is still debatable, but it's a very real one."

"So... you're point is?"

"If we Hunters can't cull the numbers of the dinos around Bedrock, we'd be looking at the possibility of wild dino attacks within the town."

Ok, I can admit that's pretty bad. Brian and I shared a look before Brian spoke up. "So I'll ask again, what does this have to do with us?"

Bruce took another gulp from the mug. "See, now I've been trying to convince people to lend a hand to us. My Hunters might be good, but skill doesn't matter if we don't have the right tools. Sturdy spears, armor, saddles, meat for what few mounts we have and some to tame new ones, you know? The problem is that no one will listen. They think I'm some kind of con. How rude! I'm one of the most upstanding citizens in this bay." He took another sloppy swig from his drink, nullifying his statement. "But you," He gestured to us with his mug. "You two are loved by everyone. Practically the poster boys of Bedrock. If you two join the Hunters, people will listen to us. We'll finally be able to get the resources we need."

I tilted my head in confusion. "You DO know that we're fishermen, right? We don't know the first thing about hunting in the woods."

"Don't worry about that. Your position with us will be mostly public, you know? Just enough to give us sway over the general populace. You don't actually need to follow us out on our hunts. What do you say?" He raised his mug for another drink.

I didn't even need to think about it. "Thanks, but no thanks."

Bruce coughed mid-gulp, splattering liquid over the counter. "No?"

I shook my head, confirming my decision. "It's not something I can do. Fishing has been my life, I can't just give that up. Plus I have a wife and kid on the way. If I just become some public figurehead, how would I provide for them?"

Bruce stared at me in disbelief. "You can't be serious. You're telling me that you think your 'family' is more important than the protection of the town?"

I scoffed. "Have you met Pep? You don't find a woman like that every day. If we're being honest, I'd trade the whole island for her."

Despite his attempt at a calm demeanor, Bruce put his mug on the counter with a slam that betrayed his rising emotions. "I suggest you to rethink that mentality of yours. No one is that important."

This time I slammed my fist on the counter. "I'm afraid she is. And I suggest you rethink YOUR mentality of disrespecting the wife of the man your trying to persuade to be your social puppet. The answer is NO, Bruce."

We maintained a tense standoff before Bruce stood up and grumbled. "You're making a huge mistake here, Chester. Let's hope you can live with the consequences." He slammed open the swinging door to the tavern with more force than necessary and stormed off. I sighed and turned back to Brian who simply shrugged.

Ellen came back out with a rag and picked up Bruce's glass, wiping it clean. "To think that brute and his motley crew is supposed to guard this town..." She grumbled "I'm too old to be worrying about things like that."

"You've been saying you're too old since the day you washed up, Ellen." I jumped at the new voice behind me. I turned to see a bearded man walking up to the bar. Beside him was a small child, probably as young as Mathew. She hid behind him as I looked at her. The man lifted his hands in apology. "Sorry boy, didn't mean to frighten you. I can be kind of quiet."

Ellen rolled her eyes. "Quiet? Joe you've got the social skills of an anxious galli. Maybe if you came out of the woods more than once a month people would get used to you."

"And if the best part of my trips to town wasn't talking to a bitter old woman all day, maybe I would."

"Old? You're probably older than me you geezer. Tell me, has the crippling back pain and arthritis set in yet?"

The man flexed an arm, showing impressive muscles for a man his age. "Still fit as a fiddle, unlike you. Can you even cook by yourself anymore?"

"Ha, you've got me there. Now I need Scraps to help me clean up."

The girl perked up at the mention of the tavern's resident mascot. She tugged on Joe's pant leg to get his attention. The man leaned down and the girl whispered something in his ear. He nodded in response and looked up. "Is the old dilo still around?"

Ellen responded by bringing two fingers to her mouth and whistling. Out of the kitchen trotted the brown lizard moments later. It yawned before stretching, likely freshly woken from a nap. The girl's eyes lit up when she spotted it and she ran towards it. The lizard yelped in surprise and darted beneath a table to avoid the small child. She giggled and began crawling down after it. She chased the lizard around as it weaved in and out of chairs. The dilo then turned in quick, tight circles around the child, spinning them around as they tried to follow. She reeled from dizziness before falling. The lizard stopped and inspected the fallen toddler. Before the dilo could react, the child lifted a hand and booped the lizard's nose. "Gotcha!" The lizard flinched in surprise before growling at the child. It leaned forward with its mouth open, seemingly about to bite them. Scraps simply stuck out their tongue and began licking the child's face, who in return descended into a laughing fit.

Damn. This kid was just too cute for their own good.

We all watched the display until Ellen spoke up. "She seems healthy enough. But I still don't think you're giving her the childhood she needs. Surely not the one that they wanted for her."

Joe gave a hollow sigh. "They wanted a lot of things they knew wouldn't happen. Not here, anyway. She's growing up just fine and she's perfectly safe, that's what matters." He turned back to her. "But I'm not here to talk about the past." He looked at us. "You two are fishermen, right? Accomplished ones?"

Brian and I exchanged looks before nodding. "Yeah, what of it?"

He reached into his satchel and produced a rare sight; a book. "I was wondering if I could ask you two a few things about the local aquatic life. Would you humor an old man?"

Brian and I exchanged glances before I shrugged. "Sure, ask away."

He asked very specific questions, like how big or heavy certain fish were, what color, how many teeth. Real scholarly stuff. He would write down our answers in the little book of his, not word-for-word, but reworded to sound highly informative, as if he expected extremely literate people to read it. Maybe he just didn't want dumb folk to be able to figure out what it was. Everything from megalodon to liopleurodon, he asked away. Whether or not we actually had answers to his questions, he seemed content to just discuss things with us. Every time we didn't know or understand something, he broke it down and explained it in detail. Ellen said he had poor social grace, but he had a passion to him that you couldn't miss. As if he enjoyed every second of our conversation and relished in each little tidbit off information we could give him. I stopped held up my hand to kindly interject. "Are you some kind of teacher, Joe?"

He seemed caught off guard by my question and hesitated. "What makes you think that?"

"You've just got this... way about you. Like you enjoy giving out information just as much as collecting it."

He stroked his beard absentmindedly while he considered the comment. "In truth, I am a doctor by trade. Medicine and wellness are my forte. However, my philosophy is that the best medicine, is to never get hurt at all."

Brian chuckled. "That's a pretty arrogant philosophy." And that's saying a lot, coming from him.

Joe smiled and put down his pencil. "Look at it this way, you can go into battle with the thickest of armors or the sharpest of spears, but if you don't know what your up against, odds are you don't have the advantage." He made several arm gestures to emphasize his points. "Humans, for all we are, physically cannot match up against the beasts of this island. We're weaker, smaller, slower, easier to see, and other loads of disadvantages. What we DO have, however, is this." He tapped his head with a finger. "Humans are the smartest animal on this island." He made a note of emphasizing 'animal.' "We can build, we can speak, we can use the environment to our endless advantage, and most of all we can strategize." He held up the book. "I'm writing this because I believe that knowledge is power. By learning everything there is to know about the dangers of the island, then maybe, maybe, we can do something about our constant struggle to survive." His gaze drifted to the small child, happily playing with Snaps. "I'm trying to make this world one worth growing up in."

I nodded in understanding. Despite the lack of blood relation between the two, he obviously saw the child as his own. A deep, fatherly kind of bond; one that I would likely have soon.

Brian voiced a question plaguing both of our minds. "So if you're trying to make the island a better place by educating people, then why are we only just now hearing about you? I mean, that's a mighty large book you've got there. All of that couldn't be written in any short amount of time."

Joe sighed and traced the leather binding of the book. "I'm trying to do this privately. Many people would love to get their hands on this journal, even before I finish it. At the same time, some of the most vital information contained within these pages was not obtained without... sacrifices. Sacrifices that some people may not have been... ethical." He paused to let that sink in. "Long story short, I have my reasons for keeping this a secret as much as I can. If it's alright with you two, I would prefer if you didn't mention to anyone that we met."

Brian and I exchanged a cautious glance. I didn't quite understand what this man was implying, but I could tell that writing his book was no walk in the park. It makes sense that something so ambitious would take some less-than-noble methods. Not that I approve, but it seemed like a just cause, and his intentions were well placed. I shrugged passively. "Sure pal, whatever you want."

The man smiled and reopened his book. "Thank you. Now if it's not too much trouble, I have just a few more questions about a particular type of shellfish. It's a small, arrow-shaped creature. Primarily brown, several body segments, scuttles along the sea floor. I've seen and taken notes on it, yet I don't quite know it's name. Do either of you know what I'm describing?"

Brian thought for a moment before snapping his fingers. "Oh! You mean a trilobite? Basically little water bugs right? The boys 'round here catch those in cages all the time."

The comment rang a few bells as I remembered something I forgot to do. I quickly stood up and turned back to Brian. "Hey, you've still got a working boat right? You didn't sell it or anything?"

Brian rolled his eyes. "Of course I've still got the old row boat. Every fisherman needs one. Why?"

"I dropped a few cages on my way out this morning." I shrugged sarcastically. "Guess I forgot to check them on my way in."

Brian chuckled. "If you had, I would have called bullshit on your entire story." He stood up and stretched, making a point to flex visibly towards Georgia. Who made a point to completely ignore him. He held the pose hopefully for a moment before letting out the breath he was holding and relaxing. "So you wanna go check them or what?"

"Preferably now before someone else does. I'm going to need whatever profit I can get today. There's no way I'm letting Pepper be the only one in the house making money while I'm getting a new boat."

At the mention of her name, Pepper glanced up from the table she was cleaning off. "Wait, what? You're leaving?"

Brain pointed a thumb at the door. "We're heading out to go dredge up some trilobites. We won't be too long."

Pepper's mouth dropped open. "Are you kidding me? There is no way you're going back out there after today. What if-"

Brian let out a laugh. "Oh come on, Pep. We're just grabbing some cages in the shallows. The chance of that shark showing this ugly mug are next to none." He threw an arm over my shoulder. "Besides, even if something goes wrong, he'll have me to bail his sorry ass out."

"Oh now that just fills me with confidence." Her voice practically dripped with sarcasm. She turned to me with a pleading look. "Salt..."

I shrugged off Brian's arm and walked over to her, taking her hand in mine. "Pep, it'll be fine. The worst that could happen is an overexcited Icthy rocking the boat."

"But-"

I gently pressed a finger to her mouth. "Believe me when I tell you I'll be right back." I winked playfully. "I've got a hell of a motivator to come back each time."

Pepper smiled a little. "You'd better." She grabbed my collar and pulled me close as her tone dropped to a dangerous level of seriousness. "Because contrary to what Georgia wants people to think, being a single mother is not easy. And your are NOT leaving me with that responsibility. Got it?" She released my collar, but not my hand. Her tone lightened to a more caring one. "You're everything to me, you know that?"

I squeezed her hand softly. "And you're everything to me and a little extra." I gently poked her belly. "You always were, and always will be. Nothing will ever break us apart, I promise."

She smiled coyly. "You promise."

She may have been amused, but I was completely serious. "I promise that until the end of my days, I will do everything in my power to always be with you, Pepper."

She seemed a bit put off by my commitment, but then again, she always flustered a bit at my romances. She recovered quickly with another sarcastic question. "Then I expect you to do just about anything to keep me from leaving you." She returned my wink.

I smiled at her. "Whatever you say sweetheart." I brushed aside her scarlet hair and pulled her in for a long kiss. Some couples complain about their romances losing their spark, but to me every kiss from her felt just as good as the first one. My heart beat skips, my breath catches, and the whole world seems to melt away, taking any and all problems with it.

At least, until a certain toddler interrupts the tender moment with an obnoxious raspberry and two thumbs down.

We both looked at the small girl in amusement as she openly expressed her disapproval. Joe walked over to her and took her hand. "Alright, enough. No need to be rude."

I addressed him as he repacked his bag. "Sorry to cut our chat short. Wanna take a rain check?"

"No, I got plenty of what I needed. Besides," He scooped up the girl and slung her over his shoulder. "Mira gets cranky and rude without her nap."

"Nooooooo!" The toddler kicked and struggled against his grasp to no avail. He waved with his free hand before pushing open the door and walking out. The tavern suddenly seemed much quieter.

Brian turned back to us. "So you two lovebirds done yet or should Ellen rent you two a room?" He walked towards the door and leaned casually on the frame. "Because trilobite cages aren't the most secure way of making money. Better grab them while we still can."

I chuckled. "Yeah you're right. Let's go." I turned to Pepper. "I'll be back here before you know it. I'll buy you a little something on the way home tonight, whatever you want."

"I hope you've got deep pockets tonight then."

I smiled and joined Brain near the door. He dramatically held the door open. "After you, good sir."

"Thank you, you fine gentleman." I grinned and spoke loud enough for the whole bar to hear. "You know Brian, it's a good thing I'm a swell fisherman."

Brian gave me a look of confusion before catching on. He grinned and played along, equally loudly. "Oh yeah? Why's that?"

I turned and gave Pepper the largest grin I could. "Because if I wasn't, I never would have landed that great catch over there."

Pepper flushed a deep pink and stormed off into the kitchen. She called back as she left. "Get out of here Salt." Her reaction incited chuckles and playful teasing from the remaining occupants. She hates it when I flirt with her in front of others, but to be honest it was still totally worth it.

Brian patted my back as we walked out the door. "Stop using those pickup lines in front of everyone."

"Oh please, it's not like she's going to divorce me over it or something."

"No, I mean stop using them in public so I can steal them and use them on Georgia and seem original."

We both laughed heavily as we walked towards the pier.


We sat out on the water pulling up the second cage. I had dropped four of them, and only three of them remained. Whether the buoy sank or someone stole it, who knows. I had my bets on the latter option. Fish fest attracts all sorts of characters, from professionals like me to amateurs like the men today. I mentally cursed at my luck today. Nothing got my blood boiling more than crippling incompetence. Sure I can understand someone being new to open water fishing, but for someone to be so thick in the head that they just do whatever they want and think there are no consequences... well... let's just say I didn't feel sorry when those men got what was coming to them. To those of us who have been here a while, fishing is more than a job. It's our life, our burden, and our purpose. There's an unspoken code between us to respect each other's rights to a catch or spot. When amateurs come in and abuse that code, that's when things get stressful for us. Their failures waste us time, food, teeth, and in extreme cases like today, lives. Fish fest supposedly helps the town grow, but in my opinion it's more trouble than it's worth. It was shaping up to be a crappy one this year; with the loss of my boat, I couldn't help drive the catch in and therefore the festival team would be hard pressed to pick up my slack.

Brian shook me from my thoughts as the cage broke the surface. "Looks like there's actually something in this one." The cages worked by having a narrow cone that trilobites could crawl through. As they passed through the hole, they would push it open to enter the cage itself. Once inside, the hole would contract back to its regular size, trapping the shellfish inside. All a fisherman had to do was put bait in the cage and drop it in the water. Personally I prefer my tactic of baiting a current, but I can see the appeal of this method. As I was quickly learning, this was actually very unreliable. People could simply steal the cages or you could pull up an empty or broken one, as was the case with the first one. This one however had a small load of trilobites of all sizes; fifteen at least. "Welp. Let's get cracking."

I nodded and we both picked up our clubs. While trilobites had shells made of chitin, they carried something far more valuable in their stomachs; pearls. Trilobites had similar eating habits to that of oysters; they filtered out nutrients from the sea floor and water. Like oysters, occasionally a piece of sand or a small pebble gets caught in their mouths or digestive system. Over time, filtered sediments collect over the stuck object, eventually forming pearls. These pearls have an almost unnaturally high silicon content, probably due to the silicon-rich sand that makes up the ocean floor. This gives the pearls a glossy, grey-white color, making them extremely sought after by jewelers and other wealthy folks. Sure someone could just dive down into the ocean and pry open a few clam shells for profit, but at those depths, sharks were one of the smaller threats. Instead most fishermen settle for harvesting the pearls from simple trilobites.

By bashing them open with a club.

Loud cracks drowned out my thoughts as we set to work cracking open the shellfish. Not every one yielded a pearl, but we were at least finding a few. After about half the cage was gone I noticed that I was the only one whacking. I glanced up at Brian who held a trilobite against the floor of the boat, but was simply staring off into space. The trilobite wiggles out of his grasp and scuttled across the floor of the boat and right into the next whack from me. A little white ball rolled out from the creatures innards and I tossed it in the bag with the rest. I turned and tapped Brian's knee with the club. "Hey, these things aren't gonna smash themselves."

He looked at me for a moment before shaking his head. "Right, right. Sorry."

"Hey, you ok?"

He was silent for a second. "Do you... think you'll ever get tired of this?"

"Tired of what?"

He gestured all around him. "This! The fishing, the shit you put up with, all of it."

I scoffed. "I... don't think so, no. I mean, what would the alternative be?"

He paused to choose his words. "I've been thinking. About Bruce's offer."

"You can't be serious. That prick? You want to work for him?"

"No, not really. I'm just thinking about what he said. What if there's actually a real threat? What kind of people would we be if we just ignored it?"

"Brian, they're the Hunters. It's their job to handle 'threats.' We're fishermen, that's not our place or responsibility. And to be honest, I wouldn't trust a single word that comes out of his mouth. You remember some of the cons he's tried to pull in the past, right? He tried to play off the compy like it was the most poisonous dino on the island and tried to get everyone to kill them on sight. Turns out that he was just throwing a temper tantrum because a pack of compys 'marked their territory' on his porch."

"Yeah but think about it. He came to us directly and asked for help with what actually sounds like it could be a real problem. No buildup, no obvious scheme. This could be legit."

I let out a laugh. "Bruce? Legit? I'll believe that when phiomias fly." I smiled at him. "You know, maybe you should make that trip to Far's Peak. Sounds like a lot of good would come from it at this point."

"I'm being serious Chester. I've got a bad feeling about this."

I didn't like this. Brian was almost never serious about anything. "But what about being an 'attractive sailor.' What about making enough money to woo Georgia?"

Brian chuckled lightly. "Oh that's just an act we put on. We've been together for a few months now. She just wanted to keep it a secret so that the town wouldn't think she's the type to 'sleep around.' That's not the kind of image she wants Matthew to see."

I was a bit shocked, but at the same time it made sense. Georgia and her son lived in one of Ellen's rooms. With how much time Brian and I spent in the Dilo, no one would find it unusual for him to be visiting her. "Wow... I uh... congrats but... don't you think that's a bit unfair? I mean, you're one of the most publicly noticeable people in town. I'd think telling everyone would be your first priority."

He smiled. "Oh don't get me wrong, I so extremely badly want to say something, anything REAL when I see her. But instead I put on my famous act every time. Don't get me wrong, I'm an amazing actor, but I don't want to be in a comedy. I want the romantic story where everything works out. Honestly, when I see you and Pepper and how comfortable you two are... it just makes me angry. I mean, I love Georgia and the little rugrat, so I'll do anything to stay with her. I just wish it wasn't... a problem for her."

I listened intently to him. Brian was the kind of person who never seems like anything bothers him. If this made him drop his carefree attitude, then he was seriously stressed. "So what does this have to do with Bruce's offer?"

"Think about it. Georgia doesn't want to seem like a slut. But if she found some upstanding, heroic guy that everyone thought highly of, no one would think less of her for being with him. For lack of a better way to put this, I'm not good enough."

Bullshit. "Whoa, hey. I'll believe just about everything you say except that. You're probably the most charismatic person I know."

He gestured in frustration. "Yeah, I am. That's ALL I am. I crack jokes while siting pretty on a pile of teeth that I make off of your hard work. I don't even FISH anymore, Chester." He laughed, but it was hollow. "The real joke is that I actually thought I had a shot with her. But that's why I think this will be good for me. For us. Pepper loves you too much to care if you fish or sew clothes or pick goddamn flowers for a living. There are almost no drawbacks to this. People will think we're important and protecting this town."

"Then go ahead."

He stopped. "What?"

"I mean it. If that's what you want to do then I completely and totally support you."

"... You say that like you won't go with me."

I sighed and looked out towards the open water. The sun had lowered just enough to give the the clouds color but not enough to truly be called a sunset. The calm water reflected the golden light, gently contrasting the deep blue beneath. "Look out there. What do you see?"

Brian rolled his eyes and looked out at the water. "I see... lots and lots of water."

"I see the thing that I've spent my entire life with. Honestly if I wasn't married to Pepper then I would be married to this." I dragged my hand through the cold water. "Fishing has been my life since I woke up on this island. And so far, it's never done me wrong. I love my life just the way it is." I leveled my eyes at him. "I wouldn't change a damn thing about it. So believe me when I tell you this; happiness is something that should come naturally. It can be earned, it can be worked for, but it can't be forced. I'm sure you love Georgia, but just make sure you're ok with what you sacrifice for her." I leaned back and went back to my casual tone. "But hey, that's just the opinion of some stubborn sailor who's already got everything he needs. I'm your friend Brian, I'll be supporting you with whatever you want to do. But I'm staying here."

Brian opened his mouth to protest but paused. A disappointing look crossed his face before he dismissed it with a wave. "Whatever. Let's just get your last cage."

The awkward silence weighed heavily on us as we rowed out towards the last buoy. I had dropped this one a little further out so it ended up sinking farther than expected. I wasn't very optimistic about this one because trilobites tended towards shallower waters. I tried to come up with something to break the suffocating silence when a loud crash broke it for me. We both swiveled in our seats to look towards the origin of the sound. A roar echoed across the water as dust rose from the residential part of town. I stood up to get a better look. "It's coming from the town."

Brian's eyes widened. "From town? That roar came from something big, but nothing goes hunting at this hour. Let alone something ballsy enough to attack the town."

I glanced between him and the sounds of destruction from the town. "Should we do something?"

Brian shrugged, but maintained a look of concern. "Like what? It would take us at least fifteen minutes to row all the way back in. Even then the bridge is down. We'd have to walk all the way around the bay to get there." He grimaced. "Looks like it's up to Bruce and his gang."

"Dammit... I am not looking forward to the 'I told you so' conversation he's going to give us." Another crash followed by a scream emanated from the town. I winced at how it sounded. There was a clear difference between a cry of pain and a cry of fear; and that was the former. "I hope they stop it soon, before something really bad happens." A thud on the side of the boat wrenched our attention from the destruction. I glanced down the see the last buoy gently knocking against the side of the boat. "Oh, right." I started pulling up the rope. There was always excess rope dropped with cages to make sure that they can be pulled up from any depth. As I reeled in the loose rope I glanced at Brian for help. His eyes remain glued to the dust cloud rising from the town. I elbowed him lightly to grab his attention. "Hey, what are you so worried about? It's not gonna eat your stash of teeth."

His gaze didn't break away. "Chestnut, don't you live on the northern side on the housing district? That's where the attack is."

My stomach did a flip. "Awww... that better not be my house. I can't pay for a new ship and a new house. My heart raced for a moment as I remembered Pepper, then relaxed as I realized she would still be at work. "At least the girls are safe, right? That's what matters." I kept pulling up the rope, letting it coil in the bed of the boat. The moment the line went taut I was met with massive resistance. "Shit... please don't be stuck..." I leaned hard, throwing my back into it. I pulled so hard that the rowboat rocked a little. I looked at Brian. "Mind lending a hand?"

Brian took a moment to look away from the rising dust. "Yeah, sure." He stood up and gripped the rope alongside me. "Alright, one, two, three, PULL." We both lifted at the same time, successfully dragging the rope up further. The cage wasn't stuck, but it was heavy. Brian counted down a few more times and we kept heaving. Several dozen pulls later, my arms burned and my back ached, but an irregular shape formed beneath the boat as the cage rose. Brian leaned over the side to get a better look. "What... is that?" His answer came much faster than he expected in the form of a large stinger punching into the wood inches from his feet. "Holy-" he lost his balance and landed on his ass in the bottom of the boat.

I glanced from where he fell to the limb protruding from the water. The shape was much more visible now that it was pulled to the surface. Superficially, the creature resembled the coffee table-sized scorpions that roamed the rocky jungles of the island. Beyond that, the similarities ended. This insect lived entirely in the water and was only half he size. Instead of grabbing claws it had large, vice-like mouthparts that protruded from its face. It's legs were flat and more akin to flippers, yet still seemed ambulatory enough for life on the sea floor. It's stinger was small, yet long and more flexible with a poison-coated barb on the end of it. It's front limbs and mouthparts had become tangled in the thick weave of the cage as it tried to cut its way to the bait. It's black eyes regarded me frantically as it pulled its stinger free from the boat. It whipped its rear limb again, this time aiming for me. I threw myself down as the stinger just barely grazed my arm. Despite it not leaving a scratch, my skin tingled from contact alone. Getting stung by this would be a serious problem.

Brian grabbed his club as the creature lunged again, bringing it up just in time to block the strike. The barbed stinger wedged itself within the wooden weapon, becoming stuck. The insect yanked on its tail, trying to free itself. Brian held onto the creature's tail, effectively pinning it. He glanced at me. "Chestnut, NOW!"

"Right!" I picked up my club and leaned over the side of the boat. I brought the club down hard upon the insect, sending a spiderweb of cracks across its shell. The creature slowed its movements, struggling in pain. With another swift strike to the head I put it out of its misery. The water began turning green as blood oozed from the dead insect. I grabbed hold of its tail and heaved it onto the boat. The broken cage slowly sank back into the water, now free of the creature. I sat back and sighed as my heart beat returned to a reasonable speed. I looked at Brian, who was prying the creature's tail from his club. "What do you reckon it is?"

"I'm pretty sure it's a Eurypterid. Some shopkeeps say it's a kind of sea scorpion, if that wasn't obvious enough." He looked at the broken corpse in front of him. "They're insanely rare."

I raised an eyebrow at the insect in front of me. "And by rare... you mean..."

Brian grinned. "Rather valuable indeed. These things prey on trilobites, meaning they practically harvest pearls for us." He gestured with his club. "Crack it open, see what you got."

I nodded and gave the shell a quick whack, shattering the already cracked surface. I pried the chitin off and tossed it aside. I dug through the insects insides, feeling around for the round bounty. As I searched, I came up empty with each part of it. I became a little desperate and started tossing its guts into the water. "Oh come on. Come ON." I looked through the final section of it before standing up in frustration. "Dammit! Piece of shit!" I stomped on its head, crushing it. The floor of the boat was splattered in green blood as a dark shape popped out of the mess. The small sphere clinked as it bounced out of the muck, rolling up to Brian's foot. He picked it up and wiped it off on his shirt. The pearl was dark, almost black in color. I scoffed. "Oh great, only one pearl and it's not even white. No one will buy that."

Brian's eyes widened. "Oh on the contrary. This, my friend, is a black pearl. Something about the acidic poison in the Eurypterid turns the pearls a deep shade of purple." He turned the pearl around in his hand. "This is by far one of the rarest productions of nature on the island."

"How much is it worth?"

He rocked his head from side to side doing the math in his head. "Oh... I don't know. I know a guy up north who pays a pretty penny for these. Says they have 'useful chemical properties' or something." He stroked his nonexistent beard. "I might even be able to go so high as ten Rex teeth for this."

If my jaw could go any lower it would have dropped off of my face. "TEN REX TEETH!?" That's an insane amount of money. "Forget about buying a new boat, I could buy a whole fleet with that."

"Indeed my friend. You are one damn lucky man." He gave a teasing wink. "Of course, I'll have to shave off my cut of the find."

I smiled back. "Weren't you just talking about packing up and leaving the business? I'm pretty sure that voids your end of the profits."

Brian raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? Who are you going to sell this to again? How will you know you're not gonna get scammed out of it?"

I opened my mouth to protest before realizing he had a point. "...Shut your trap. I'd manage."

"Oh please. What would you do without me?"

"Probably live a happy life with my wife and kid."

He punched my shoulder. "Oh shut up. Let's head back to the Dilo so you can buy everyone the next round of drinks."

I smiled and grabbed the oars, pushing them through the water. I glanced back at the town. The dust had cleared and the sounds had quieted down. Looks like Bruce did his job for once. I looked up towards the setting sun. "Things are only going to get better from here Brian, just you watch."


We dragged the boat up onto the sand and tied it to a post behind Brian's stall. He was based on the business part of Bedrock, so he had to dock his boat there as well. We walked between the buildings and our into the street, grinning like idiots. Some shops had already packed up, an odd thing this close to Fish Fest. It actually seemed quieter than usual, as if less people were out and about. I didn't pay it much mind though, nothing could ruin my mood. I waved to the local tanner as we passed his shop. "Afternoon Ken! What's new in your neck of the woods?"

The older man looked up, his expression sinking upon seeing us. "Oh, it's you two." He studied our faces for a minute. "Why the grins?"

Brian swung his arm around my shoulders. "This lucky bastard just scored the greatest haul of his career. With any luck he'll be sitting pretty for a good long while." He looked at Ken, frowning when he didn't react. "Hey, why the long face? Today's a good day!"

Ken sighed. "So you two were out on the water? That would explain why you wouldn't know. The town was attacked while you were gone."

I shrugged of Brian's arm, adopting a more serious tone. "Yeah, we could hear it from across the water. What happened?"

"A Megalosaurus slipped past Bruce and the Hunters. It made its way to the residential district. No one was prepared for it." He grimaced and closed his eyes. "It was a bad scene."

Brian and I exchanged looks. "What part of the district?"

"Northern. It took out a few houses." He paused. "And whoever was unable to get out of them." He looked at me. "You live up there right? I'm terribly sorry for what you must have lost."

I shrugged and smiled. "Well hey, houses are replaceable. Especially now that I can afford the big one that my wife deserves. Speaking of... I said I would be back as soon as possible. We have to run, old-timer. See you around." I jogged down the street with Brian in tow. "I didn't really think about it at first, but now I can actually stop fussing about where to put the nursery. Forget about surprising Pepper with one extra room, now we can have three!" I looked at him while we walked. "The possibilities are huge!" I stopped talking when I noticed his expression. "What's up?"

"Don't you see what happened?"

I slowed down. "What do you mean?"

"Bruce came and asked for help with a real problem. And that problem actually happened. Now there are consequences." He sighed. "Are you really sure you dodged this bullet Chestnut? I've got a bad feeling."

I put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, the girls are at the Dilo, and if it's not our problem then it's not our responsibility." I patted him reassuringly. "Let's not go frowning on an otherwise good day, alright?"

Brian nodded, but didn't seem convinced.

I sighed. "The Dilo's right here, let's just have a few drinks and talk about what we can do with all this money." I pushed open the door and waved at Ellen who was wiping down the bar. "Hey, old bat! I can finally pay my tab!"

Ellen actually jumped in surprise. "Oh, hello boys." She squinted in disapproval. "Don't call me 'old bat.' Didn't you see the sign? We're closed already."

I glanced around the bar and noticed it was completely empty. I leaned back outside and looked at the closed sign hanging next to the door. "Huh... I guess I missed that." I swung my head back inside. "But I'm sure you can make an exception for us, especially when we can afford to tip extra!"

She looked at Brian. "If you're gonna pitch a scam again, you can walk right out that door."

Brian held up his hands innocently. "Oh it's all him. This guy's gone and picked up a black pearl."

Ellen raised an eyebrow. "Really? Well then maybe you can finally treat my server to something worthwhile." She waved us over. "One drink. That's all."

I clapped my hands together. "Now that's what I'm talking about." We sat down as she poured a golden liquid into two glasses. I picked one up to moment it was full and downed a large gulp. I wiped my mouth on my sleeve and put the cup down. "See Brian? It is a good day."

Brian smiled and took a sip from his drink. "Maybe you're right. I'm probably just worrying over nothing." He glanced around the bar. "Say, why'd you close up shop anyway? Isn't it dinnertime?"

"Bruce and his buffoons came running through here. Saying something about something big heading to this part of town and he wanted to evacuate everyone."

My eyebrows shot up. "If you were told to evacuate then why didn't you leave? What if some big carnivore comes by and trashes the Dilo?"

She pulled a spoon out of a drawer and smacked it against her hand. Brian and I instinctively sat up straighter. "It can try." She set the spoon down and continued to wipe off the counter. "I never trusted that brute. To me it just seemed like a big hoax that I would lose business over. Needless to say I kicked him out and stayed open. Unfortunately most everyone didn't want to call his bluff and cleared out. With business so slow, I decided to close up early anyway." She gestured around to the silent bar. "Now look, I've lost half a days-worth of business and nothing even happened today."

I opened my mouth to correct her before I looked around again, really noticing how quiet the tavern was. Really quiet. So much so that you couldn't hear anything outside. The walls of the Dilo were built exceptionally thick in order to soundproof them so that the entire street wouldn't complain about the rowdy late nights in the tavern. In such a building, it's no wonder Ellen didn't hear anything going on across the bay. A bad feeling slowly crept its way up my spine. "So uh... I can't wait to see the look on Pep's face when she sees the little gem I found. Where are the girls?"

Ellen scoffed. "Where do you think? We're closed. Georgia's upstairs with Matthew like usual-"

"And Pepper?" I grip tensed on the glass as my voice reached a worried tone.

Ellen gave me a look for interrupting, but continued. "And I sent Pepper home early. Why?"

My heart stopped. "How long ago?"

"Geeze boy, what's gotten you-"

"HOW LONG AGO?!"

Ellen flinched. "... Just a little bit after you two left. Chester-" I bolted from my seat, knocking both chair and glass over. The mug shattered against the floor as I slammed my way through the swinging door. Ellen tried to call after me, but I didn't hear her. I didn't care.

I need to get home. I need her to not be there. I need her be anywhere else.

I need her to be ok.

My feet pounded against the compacted sand of the street as I sprinted around the bay. It'll be fine. She'll be fine.

Right?


I stepped around broken pieces of wood as I ran through the trashed neighborhood. I weaved in and out of people trying to sort through the wreckages and help the wounded. People were sobbing and holding each other. Some even cried out for help. I ignored them. They didn't matter. All that mattered was her.

I rounded the curve of the bay it see my house. The front was intact, and it seemed to be about where the destruction stopped. My heart skipped as I was filled with hope. I ran up and pushed open the door and ran into the kitchen.

"Pepper!? Pepper where are-" I turned and looked at the open bedroom door. Light shone through the opening now that the door was smashed clear off its hinges. "... you?" I walked into the room slowly. I guess I should say I walked outside. A room needs walls to be called a room. The entire bedroom had been smashed into from the outside, collapsing this half of the house. It didn't make sense. All the food was in the kitchen, there's no reason to smash an empty room unless-

No. "Pepper?"

It wasn't true. I dug into the debris, tossing away as much as I could. "Pepper where are you?"

She was safe. There's no way she would have been caught in the house. I lifted and tossed aside the remains of our dresser, scattering the clothes across the beach. "C'mon Pep. I promised I'd be back and here I am. Where are YOU!?"

Maybe she went down to the shops. Yeah that was it. I said I would treat her later on he way home so she probably waited there for us to come back. We must have walked past her. I grabbed the last section of wall that had collapsed on the bed and heaved. "Pep stop messing around. If you're here I'd very much appreciate it if you tell me. WHERE. YOU. ARE!" I braced myself against the massive chunk of wood and turned it over, pushing it out side. I turned back and saw...

... an empty bed.

I fell to my hands and knees in relief and cried. She wasn't here. "Oh thank god she isn't here." I raised my hand to wipe my eyes, then flinched when my hands were already wet. "What-" I froze seeing the red on my hand. I looked down to see I was kneeling in a streak of blood. I recoiled backwards and landed on my ass. I looked at my arms. I hadn't cut myself while digging; at least, not badly enough to leave that much blood.

It was someone else's.

Oh god no. She wouldn't be... she couldn't be...

I slowly lowered myself to look under the bed. It was empty, apart from the blood. But the floorboards were scratched up. Five parallel lines over and over again. Like nails trying to grip the flat surface. I looked around frantically for whoever or whatever left this. My voice began to break with panic. "It-it wasn't her. She isn't here. S-She can't be."

"You're right." I jumped at the voice behind me. Bruce stood in the doorway, hands in his pockets. The look on his face was a mixture of pity and disappointment. "She isn't here." He nodded his head to indicate something outside. I followed his gaze until I saw a trail of large footprints in the sand. And blood.

I stood up slowly and walked over the debris. The trail led up into the tree line just outside of town. I kept my eyes on it as I walked forward. I didn't know what I was expecting to find. The body of some poor person who tried to hide in my house? I mean, it wouldn't be her, right? She was fine and waiting for me to come for her, like she always was. It wouldn't be her. It couldn't be her.

And yet...

I followed it until my eyes landed on a patch of red amidst he bushes. Not the red of blood, but a more familiar shade. A vibrant orange like that of the sunset. One that paired beautifully eyes the color of the ocean. Her hair spread out wildly across the grass as she lay there facedown. My voice was so broken I could barely hear myself. "P...Pep?" My legs continued walking, but I didn't want to go further. My eyes stayed locked on her broken frame, but I didn't want to see it. "S-Sweetheart?" I walked around the bush to see all of her, then fell to my knees next to her when I realized I would never see all of her again. The lower half of her body was a mess of bloody ribbons, leaving nothing recognizable from the waist down. Her server uniform was stained a deep scarlet as it soaked up the puddle around her. My stomach flipped and I turned around and puked into the bushes. I heaved until nothing else would come out. I wiped my mouth and moved back next to her, sitting on my knees. I slowly turned her around, laying her head in my lap. I brushed the hair out of her face to find it without a scratch. She looked calm, like she was asleep. The only thing that betrayed her beauty were wet trails from her eyes where she had been crying. I wiped the blemishes away with my thumb. "Now girl, don't go shedding a tear. Someone as pretty as you shouldn't need to cry." A drop hit her cheek and I wiped it away again. The tears were coming from me. "Sorry, Pep. I know you hate to see me cry, but..." I couldn't finish. I curled up and sobs wracked my frame as I cradled my wife in my arms. I held her tight, tighter than I ever have, painfully aware that I would never hold her again. And I cried. I cried more than I've ever cried in my entire life. I cried until my eyes hurt and my throat was raw. When I looked up night had fallen. A layer of clouds had collected over Bedrock. It was a cold sky. An empty one. Not a star to be seen. And I hated it. Whatever higher power up there deserved to see this. Deserved to see the pain I was in. I tried to cry more, but couldn't. By body wouldn't let me. I held her closer, trying to ignore how cold she felt. "I'm sorry Pepper. I'm so, so sorry. I promised. I promised we'd always be together. I promised I'd always be there. And I... I..." No tears would come out, but the pain was still there. So I screamed. I screamed in anger, in pain, and in sadness. But no matter how much I tried, the hole in my heart wouldn't stop growing. When I stopped, I gently placed her back on the ground and folded her hands on her chest, trying to position her as peacefully as I could. I stood up carefully, unsure of what to do.

"I know it's not the best time, but..." I didn't have the energy left to be startled. I slowly turned to Bruce. He stared at me for a moment before continuing. "This might not be the only attack. More may come."

"... What are you saying?"

"I'm saying. This might happen again. To other people. Unless we stop it."

"Chester, we need your help."

I paused, considering what I still had to lose.

Absolutely nothing.

I took a deep breath. "What would you have me do?"


Present Day
Bedrock Bay


I pushed open the door to my house. The same wave of booze and spoiled food hit me like it does every time, but it stung worse than usual. "Dumb old bitch. How would you know what she would have wanted?" I tossed my hat on the table, knocking over several bottles. I picked one up and flipped it upside down, checking for any lingering drops. My patience waned and I threw the empty bottle out a widow, shattering it against a tree. I leaned on the counter and looked out through the window. A smell rose from the sink below me and I glanced down at the pile of dirty dishes. I picked through them, debating whether or not to clean any. "What's the point? It's not like I'm expecting anyone." I picked up a wooden spoon that I must have picked up outside of the bar. I twirled it around, trying to figure out how Ellen was so deadly with them. A rustle came from outside and I froze, listening. I tightened my grip on the spoon, ready to deal with the intruder. A slight disturbance in the air was my only warning. I whipped the spoon up in front of my face to brace a large beak from biting down. My eyes met with those of the large, tan bird. "Gotta be a quicker draw than that, Hermes."

The bird cawed and flicked its head around, dislodging the spoon from its mouth. It snapped again, trying to grab my hat, forcing me to lean back. Ever since Hermes was large enough to take it, he's been trying to steal my hat. One day on the way home from the market, an egg hatched in my bag. For a lack of a better idea, I plopped the little fuzzball in my hat and raised him in it like a nest. He's been a lovable scumbag ever since. Still, I guess my hat would be comparable to a teddy bear for him. I took off my hat, flicking it onto a hook across the room. Hermes grunted in disappointment while I stared at the casual achievement of perfectly landing a target. Even after all this time, I never lost my aim, despite it falling out of practice. With my income from the Hunters, I had no reason to go fishing. Not that I'd want to. The water was too blue now. It reminded me too much of...

A gentle coo stopped my train of thought as Hermes nudged the back of my head. I chuckled and turned to face my feathered companion, running my hand through his feathers. "Yeah, sorry Hermes. That's a bad way to think, I know." I reached down the counter with my free hand and opened a jar of kibble, pulling out a piece. Hermes' eyes locked on the treat as I waved it back and forth. With a flick of my wrist, I tossed the treat out the window and down the hill with the bird in hot pursuit. I sighed and absentmindedly toyed with my necklace. The black pearl centerpiece glistened softly in the light from the window. "Maybe its about time I checked up on her anyway..."


I stood in front of the stone on the hill for a while, letting my thoughts collect. Finally I opened my mouth. "Hey Pepper, it's me. I know it's been a while..." I looked at the carving for a moment. The local mason carved her likeness into a stone to act as a memorial. He tried his best, but he could never capture her beauty. "Fish Fest is coming up again, as you probably know." I worked the necklace through my fingers as I tried to think of things to say. "It's attracted all sorts of characters from all around... like usual." I grimaced at how awkward I sounded. "There was this one guy I met today at the Dilo. Real funny. He knew his way around puns." I chuckled a bit. "Do you remember what I said to you? On the day I asked you out? I had worked on this really sappy pickup line for at least a week. Do you remember what it was?" I was painfully aware of how quiet it was. "I said 'Knock Knock.' And then you looked at me like I was stupid, but you played along and said 'Who's there?' So me having my luck messed up the line and said 'Flowers,' almost giving it away. You raised an eyebrow and said 'Flowers who?' I pulled out that bouquet of blue flowers from the mountain and said 'Flower you today, sweetheart?' And you blushed hard enough to match a tinto berry. Remember that?" A light breeze shook the grass around the hill. I sighed. "Well, I found some of those at the shop yesterday, thought you might like them." I pulled out a small bunch of blue flowers and gently leaned them against the stone alongside plenty of wilting plants left from my other visits.

"I'm no psychologist, but I'm pretty sure that's unhealthy."

I flinched at the all-too-familiar voice. "Like you would know anything about health."

He held up his hands in defense. His body jiggled with every movement he made. "I'm just saying, talking to yourself is a good sign of being crazy. I can't have the Hunter's poster boy going nuts on me." He shrugged. "After all, I really can't afford for something else to go wrong this week, what with Brian bailing out on me. Something about 'Matthew needing extra help with bullies and wanting to spend the week with his wife.' Personally I just see a bunch of distractions and weights. That's all families are, really; just excuses to be held down. In my opinion-" he stopped when he noticed the daggers I was staring into him. "What? Oh! I wasn't talking about her. I don't know why you're all worked up. You didn't have to go through the stress of managing a family. You know I only mean the best for you, don't you Chester?"

"And you know that sometimes I feel like breaking that fat jaw of yours." I took a deep breath. "What do you want, Bruce?"

He frowned and used a fat finger to pick something out of his teeth. The fat bastard was always eating something. He could afford to. "I need you to fill in for Brian in Fish Fest this year."

"No."

He blinked. "No? What do you mean 'no?'"

"I mean no." I glanced at the stone below me. "This festival gets no love from me."

He actually smiled. Whether he was amused or trying to reassure me, it only succeeded in rubbing me the wrong way. "Now now, don't be like that. We've been working in the woods it wrangle up a few more mounts to help us with the... culling, so to speak." He took a few steps towards me. "But we need a lot more bait for the traps and taming. That's where you come in." He wrapped a thick arm around my shoulders. "You win us Fish Fest, we get the meat, we protect to town." We gestured to the grave below us. "You wouldn't want us to be caught unprepared, would you?"

I sighed and shoved his arm off of me, pushing him away. "... fine."

He put a hand on his ear. "What was that?"

I turned to him. "I'll do it. Happy?"

A grin split across his face. "That's a good boy." He turned and walked back towards town. "Make sure you get a good night's sleep. You might not have to worry about losing, but you still need to put on a good show!"

I frowned at what he implied. Every year someone from the Hunters entered Fish Fest's events, the rest of the group pulled something shady to make sure they won. It was underhanded and cruel, but necessary. If we needed resources, then we would get them so we could protect this town. A necessary evil for a greater good. I knelt down and traced my hand across the details of the stone. "I may have failed to protect you, but I will not fail to protect this town."

"I promise."


A/N:

HOLY MOLY THAT WORD COUNT IS IN THE QUINTUPLE DIGITS! I originally estimated that this chapter would stop at 10,000 words. But it just kept going... Forget mourning Pepper, let's all have a moment of silence for my hands.

Edit: I told you to split it into 2 chapters, but noooooo. You just couldn't bring yourself to write in a stopping point, could you?

Oh sush it's still a good chapter. And I feel bad every time it takes me more than a week to post one so I like to push the content that they have through the roof. I actually deleted the file and had to scramble around my histories to find an intact copy which is why this one took a bit longer.

Anyway, meet Chester! The local sailor/cowboy/drunk! This is the first flashback I've put in and also the first perspective shift. I don't think these kinds of chapters will happen often because Francis is and will remain the protagonist of our story. I think I'll just do a quick perspective shift whenever I introduce a new main character that I want to build background for. I tried to give a lot of background into the feel of Bedrock and the feel of the world in general.

Speaking of the feel of the world...

I'm pretty sure trigger warnings will happen at the start of chapters that I feel need them. This was probably the most violent chapter so far, and I felt that a warning needed to happen. So I'm going to get something off my chest right now that I may or may not get in trouble for: this story is still rated T. Because of fanfiction's filter system, M-rated stories are not shown unless the viewers manually adjust the filter to include M-rated stories. I'm going to keep the story rated T so that people can discover it, but I will make sure to put early warnings at the starts of chapters when things are going to get dark. And let's face it guys...

It's a story about being trapped on an island full of dinosaurs. It's not gonna be sunshine and rainbows.

Edit: is that why you introduced and adorable love interest only to kill her off in the same chapter?

Of course. What? Did you think anyone was allowed to be happy in my story? Pfft.

But that aside, I hope this was worth the wait. Plz don't sue me for my rating. I still love you guys. And let me know what you think of the chapter and if perspective shifts are things I should do more.

As always, you've been a great audience. Try to have a good laugh today.

-TheSurvivingComedian