In no time at all, the world behind me shrunk into the endless expanse around me, a balanced mix of the pale blue of the sky above dotted with blocky white clouds and the deep blues of the sea below. As I continued onward, the crushing loneliness of this new biome pressed in around me as I realized just how isolated I was out here.
On land, other creatures were always wandering about, creating movements to catch the eye and sounds to grace my ear. Out here, there was nothing. No movement other than the gentle rolling of the waves ever so slightly rocking the boat. I couldn't even feel them unless I specifically paid attention to them. The boat itself didn't even leave a wake behind it. However, it did create a sloshing sound as it plowed through the water.
It was peaceful, in a terrifying way.
Beneath the water, the blurry shape of the terrain as I passed. The dark silhouettes of giant mountains rose and fell into the depths and from the relative safety of my vessel, the landscape appeared barren and foreboding. For the most part, I didn't see any signs of life. However, there were a few occasions where I swore I saw movement down there, yet the minute I focused on the spot, the water became too dark. As I kept going, I continued to see movement, but could never pinpoint the source and confirm if I'd actually seen something, or if it was just my imagination.
Probably my imagination, or the light reflecting off the waves. No matter how many times I repeated the thought to myself, I couldn't convince myself to believe it. Something had to be down there.
Maybe the heat's getting to me and making me see things?
That could be it.
It was warm, but it wasn't hot. Not like the desert. Still, the sunlight bore down the world and the water reflected it at me. It was everywhere and inescapable. So, despite the cooling ocean breeze, I found myself sweating. The longer this went on, the more inviting the idea of taking a moment to jump into the water became. Swimming would surely cool me off.
Only my fear of the unknown depths kept me from diving off the boat.
The morning passed, and so did the afternoon. Soon enough, the evening had arrived and quickly faded into night. This, at least, provided relief from the persistent glare of the sun. It also caused worry to brew in my stomach.
Where am I going to sleep?
There was no land in sight.
Maybe I can get comfortable in the boat?
I stopped sailing for a bit, yet try as I might, I couldn't get comfortable enough in the boat to sleep. Laying back and gazing up at the starry sky, seemed like a great idea in theory, but it felt so wrong in practice. The floorboards were stiff and unforgiving. The sides were rigid and forced me to hold my head at odd, uncomfortable angles. The boat itself wasn't even long enough for me to lay down completely. I had to keep my knees bent at all times. Keeping them up kept them exposed to the chill air. Putting them to the side just bumped them against the aforementioned hard sides.
In my heart, I knew the only way I'd be able to sleep was if I set up a bed. It just wasn't possible to sleep without one. Should've known better, I'd learned how finicky sleep could be pretty early on in my cave. Unfortunately, the only way I'd be setting up a bed would be by diving to the ocean floor and building up to the surface.
While I was desperate for sleep, gazing into the black waters told me I wasn't that desperate.
I am NOT diving into the ocean at night. I wouldn't even swim during the day. There was no way I'd do it when there were definitely monsters down there. They always came out at night on land. Why would the ocean be any different?
With a groan, I sat up once again and pushed on, hoping I'd find some land soon so I could sleep.
I didn't.
Night came and went, with no sign of salvation from this endless ocean. My eyes burned with exhaustion as the first rays of light emerged on the horizon. While the light was a relief after the long night, it didn't come alone. Once again, the heat returned within the first hour after sunrise, and soon enough sweat beaded on my forehead once more. Meanwhile, the boat plowed on through the gentle waves without any care in the world.
Of course, it doesn't care. It's in the water, not cooking in a wooden box. There was also the fact it was inanimate, but I wasn't exactly in the mood to admit to I might be wrong. I was far too busy being jealous of it to think straight.
The flat, repetitive blue scenery continued to float by and the longer it went, the more the idea of crossing the ocean seemed like a bad idea. What had I been thinking? I had no idea how far the waters stretched or if I had enough food to get me to the other side. Though, as I thought of it, I realized I wasn't too hungry and I hadn't eaten anything since breakfast the day before. Maybe it was because I wasn't moving much within the boat. Even then, I couldn't go without food forever. Eventually, I'd run out and there was nothing to eat out here. Not even any fish, which felt odd. How could there be an ocean without fish? Maybe they were down deeper?
Aside from the whole food aspect, I couldn't help but wonder how much more of this I could take. This heat was unbearable! I couldn't take another minute of it, let alone another day of it if I decided to turn around and head home, which was only if I turned around now. Who knew how much further this ocean went on.
Again, I found myself gazing at the depths as they passed by, imagining how much cooler I'd be if I were swimming. What might lurk beneath the surface still terrified me, but the heat slowly eroded away at my fears.
My boat slowed to a stop. A quick dip wouldn't hurt. Right?
Scanning the water, I couldn't spot any movement other than the shallow waves. If there were any monsters, I would've seen them by now. They weren't exactly shy. They loved to make their presence known with their grumbling and by pressing their faces up against whichever surface allowed them to see me. By that logic, they should've been surfacing by now to glare at me.
With a deep breath, I stood on shaky legs and jumped into the water. At least, I tried to jump. The wobbliness of the boat made it more of an ungraceful tumble. However, I didn't worry about it long. Steve wasn't here to laugh at me.
The water embraced me with a splash and in an instant, the heat of the sun vanished as my head sank beneath the surface. I held my breath as I floated just under the boat. The landscape of the seafloor beneath me became easier to make out as everything in the distance grew murkier. An odd mix of peace and fear swirled within me as I hovered there, unsure which feeling affected me more. The ocean was a beautiful and terrifying place, and it seemed completely devoid of life.
When the burning in my lungs became too much, I breached the surface and inhaled deeply. The salty air somehow filled me with renewed energy. The mixture of bright sunlight and ocean water forced me to blink my eyes as I wiped some stray strands of hair out of my face. Thanks to the water's aid, the sunlight and its heat diminished to warm and inviting, rather than hot and oppressive.
With care, I slowly spun in place, studying the horizons not obstructed by my boat. There really is no land in sight. Still a terrifying thought, but somehow easier to manage in this moment, bobbing on the ocean waves.
With a final deep breath, I felt ready to begin again and reached for the side of the boat. Before I could pull myself out of the water, something brushed against my leg.
I shrieked and managed to push away from the boat, only adding to the rising panic within me as I watched it drift away. Scanning the depths for the sneaky monster, I spotted a dark shape gliding by. It had a long, blocky body and several lengthy tentacles sticking out of one end.
I backed away from the creature, fully expecting the appendages to chase me down. This was some nightmare monster from the deep, after all. However, they didn't seem concerned with me at all. The thing didn't even give chase. It just sort of meandered about in the water, behaving more like an animal than a monster. It didn't care about me at all.
Feeling a little silly, I swam back to the boat, still keeping some distance between me and the black creature, just to be safe. As I climbed back aboard my vessel, it dawned on me the creature was a squid. Completely harmless, if not a bit creepy.
Now I felt very silly.
I glared at the squid, doing my best to suppress my smile. You didn't need to sneak up on me like that!
As with all of the other creatures I'd encountered, the squid wasn't concerned with my feelings in the slightest. It just kept drifting in the endless sea.
You don't happen to know how much further I have to go, do you?
No answer.
Well, thank you for your time. And the future nightmares. I waved goodbye and turned my gaze skyward.
Checking the sun, I pointed myself east and got the boat moving again. The warm breeze felt great against my soaked clothes and body. A much better experience than what I'd been dealing with for the last day. Why hadn't I jumped in the water sooner? I relished the cool breeze, while it lasted.
In no time at all, I was dry again, but I didn't worry about it. Having already done it once, jumping in the water to cool off didn't seem like such a big deal anymore. I was about to do it again when something changed along the horizon. The flat expanse rose into gentle slopes.
Land.
As I drew nearer, the terrain became more recognizable as a desert.
Great. More heat. Just what I wanted. Not exactly the relief I'd been hoping to get once I reached land, but it would have to do. I just wanted to walk again.
A cove became recognizable, and at its center, an opulent white tower shone in the afternoon sunlight. What is that? Did you make it, Steve?
I didn't get an answer from him, but it didn't matter. I would find out for myself.
A/N: Hello all, sorry for the long delay. Work got busy, Writer's block reared its ugly head, and I had family visiting for a month, which all amounted to a very long period of no writing. I'll try to get the next chapter out sooner this time around. See you all around the block!
Hope ^