"Pack a travel pack and be ready to go in an hour."
Camilla looks up sharply, brushing soil from her fingertips. She tries hard to hide her excitement, but there is a distinct flash in her eyes and a spike in her heart rate.
-You're taking me on a mission?-
Karmen nods. "If you want to go. We'll be gone for about a week at the latest, so you'll want to leave someone else in charge of the gardens while we're away."
Her heart slows dramatically at this. There are few people she trusts, and even fewer on this island she would leave over the gardens. Karmen leaves her to think on it. Half an hour later she surprisingly leaves the job to Iona.
As they get their diving gear ready, Karmen gives the girl a curious look. "What made you choose Iona? I thought you and her didn't get along well."
"It's not about whether or not we get along," she responds. "She respects you and what you stand for. She wants to impress you and make sure everyone is taken care of. I've seen it while you've been away on missions. I know she'll do a good job."
"Is that so?" Karmen asks in a way that conveys she knows Camilla is telling the truth. "She didn't show me much respect the other day in the dining chamber." She likes hearing Camilla's thoughts on things. Opening up those confiding grounds helps put the girl at ease.
"She respects you plenty, but that scares her," she says, lowering her voice. "You give us hope. For people who came from where we did, having hope is dangerous. It's the worst kind of torture to have that taken away. It's… frightening… to want to believe in something again."
"I'd like to reassure, but everyone here knows our odds," Karmen says. "I want to make sure that you all can fill the gaps I leave. I'm just one person and I can't be everywhere at once." She levels her gaze on Camilla's nearly black eyes. "I want you to be my proxy. I want you to know how to run this community, inside and out. You'll hold a rank equal to that of Winston and Saaresto on the island and that of Pierce off it."
Her heart skips a beat. -I'm not sure I'm ready for that.-
-Not now, perhaps- Karmen signs, flashing a warm smile. -But I have faith that you will be. Sooner than you think.-
Packed and ready, they select her a ray. She'd observed them from newly adult to the aged and experienced. She selects a sleek young adult with dulled spots to partner with. She's small but powerful and nearly able to keep up with Parvati and Raja. When asked what she wanted to call her mount, she simply signed that she doesn't know the ray well enough to grant her a title yet.
They make their way across the ocean, Karmen keeping a close eye on how well Camilla remembers her underwater training. The girl doesn't need any reminders and keeps her eyes on the ocean ahead, despite being aware of the observation.
When she feels she can communicate with her without risk, she hooks her arm through Parvati's harness, gets the girls' attention, and begins signing to Camilla. She runs through the regular procedures, what to do if they get spotted or they have to split up. Camilla soaks it all in with few questions, then repeats it back to Karmen to make sure she has it memorized.
They pass the few days of travel like this, meditating on the surface when there are no ships in the area. Outside of training, there is very little talking. Every time it looks like Camilla wants to talk about something else, her eyes drift to Pierce and the words die on the tips of her fingers and tongue.
On the third day they reach shallower waters. The sea changes from a deep blue to a green that jumps suddenly to brown as the currents beat sand up from the overgrowth-consumed shore. The island itself is small, maybe five miles across. Tall, dense jungle smother any visibility further in. Karmen senses no people or large animals until the very center of the isle.
The pod of rays with them halts half a mile from shore. Camilla signs desperately behind them while coaxing her mount forward in vain. Only Raja and Parvati continue their approach. Their tails swish with agitation and their nostrils flare. "Hold," Karmen calls. The rays slow to a stop, more than willing to follow the order. She rubs Parvati's head gently. "What is it, dear?"
Parvati dips her nose toward the island and swishes her tail before swimming in a quick circle.
"What's wrong with them?" Pierce asks.
"They don't like the island. Their instincts are telling them to give it a respectable distance," she answers. Parvati gives a determined flap toward the island and looks back up at Karmen. "Par and Raj are willing to take us there, but the others are too warry."
"What about getting the slaves off the island?" Pierce asks.
Karmen has another quick conversation with Parvati who loops back to communicate with her children. She and Raja line up with Camilla's mount, giving the girl a chance to cross over onto Parvati's back. "They'll form a bridge out to the main group when the time comes, and then they want to leave as soon as possible."
-What's wrong with these fish?- Camilla asks.
-Don't know.- Karmen answers. -I think we'll find out soon enough.-
Par and Raja escort them to shore before a hasty retreat. Karmen, Pierce, and Camilla stand as close to the water as possible without being in the surf, watching for any signs of danger. Pierce does a sweep of the shore and returns with a slight frown on his face. "There are no docks on the island and no clear path through the trees."
"That's different," Karmen says, considering. "We should keep our eyes open."
She makes her way to the edge of the treeline where beautiful golden flowers dot ivy that's climbing the trees. With every small gust of wind or leap of a frog or insect, a small yellow cloud flutters from between their petals.
Her eyes widen with delight. "You two put your gas masks on right now," she says with glee. "This is the Golden Gate flower. Their pollen is deadly to anyone who breathes it in."
A tiny frog leaps from the closest tree and lands on Camilla's gas mask visor. -Get it off, please.-
Karmen rushes over, her voice climbing another octave. "And this is a Grand poison dart frog! Just a touch of its mucus on your skin could devastate your central nervous system."
Pierce points to a drooping snake that has a berry caught on its fang. A plump beetle rests atop the fruit, munching without care. "And I'm guessing those are deadly as well?"
"Yes!" Karmen squeals, feet doing a happy tap dance. "This place is amazing!"
Karmen rushes forward, lovingly strokes thorns seeping with toxic sap and samples the brightly colored flower petals of another plant that reeks with death. She holds still while venomous insects and spiders drop from the trees and find purchase on her skin. She dances through toxic spores and pollen.
She could stay in this sanctuary for years simply exploring and tasting and documenting. Creating. But as baby brown arachnids trail threads across her fingers, the happiness drains from her face. She looks around at the twisted beauty as if feeling Aokiji's chill, no longer able to enjoy her surroundings.
"I'll need both of you."
Silent nods answer her. They know what this means for their route off the island, what they'll be risking. It will be an escort through the veil of death itself.
They pick their way through the trees heavy with fruit and bright blossoms framed by jagged brambles. The vivid wildlife encircles them on all sides, dropping from the trees above them, whizzing by in swarms, skittering past their feet. Karmen's fingers are itching to document and study these creatures and plants, but her feet carry her forward. The mission comes first.
She can focus her haki to cover the three of them, allowing them to pass by the animals and insects without issue. Each time she increases her focus, more and more deadly life-forms appear on her radar. To ensure that she doesn't miss a single one, she'll have to pull in her reach and only concentrate on awareness and synchronization.
"There are too many creatures here," Karmen says. "I won't be able to cloak the whole group and find every threat in this jungle. And if I use so much haki that I become paralyzed then I'll only be putting the patients in more danger."
"I can fly over them on the way out," Pierce offers. "I'll do my best to redirect anything that drops from the trees."
"Camilla and I can keep our focus on the ground, then," Karmen agrees. "It may be slow-going, but as long as we're together we can handle this."
As they travel, Karmen places her gas grenades in strategic places along the safest path they can find. It may not do much, but she can at least use some toxins to deter some animals and insects away from the group. When there's a lull in the danger, she focuses on tying a thin wire to the end of her darts.
Finally, they come to a large clearing and crouch behind some bushes to take in the change in scenery.
In the center of the island are a series of round beige buildings with domed roofs and interconnecting hallways. The only windows are tiny, unopenable, and high on the walls. There are vents at the peak of each roof in the form of small, round holes. The single set of double doors in each building are tightly closed. Not a soul is to be seen outside.
"It must be sweltering in there," Karmen comments. "They can't risk anything from the jungle getting in."
-This isn't a vineyard or a bottling plant,- Camilla notes. -So what is it?-
"It's a label-making facility," Pierce says, brushing his nose in discomfort.
"It's how Shakky found this one," Karmen says. "Someone in there hid a message on the labels of a single crate of wine. It was marked as a mistake, but some of us know better."
"Are all the guards inside, then?" Pierce asks. "We're upwind from the facility. It's hard to pick up clear scents."
"I'm not sensing any guards at all," Karmen responds. The only people inside are those working. They don't even seem to have exploding collars or shackles. She can sense her bodyguard's growing discomfort.
"Mistress, might I suggest-"
"Shh." Karmen quiets Pierce. "Someone's coming out."
As they watch, a woman emerges from the nearest building and approaches the treeline. She has long blond hair tightly tied into a French bun behind her head. Her pale skin looks ashen and her stomach is slightly distended. Karmen suspects them to be signs of malnutrition.
Her hands ball into fists as she eyes a gap in the brush defiantly. Inhaling deeply, she sprints forward and leaps over the low margin of confining bushes. She lands in a small, clear patch of ground, jumps, and swings herself into the branch of the nearest tree. She sways there slightly, unsteady and warry. Her eyes scan the trees as she pauses there, breath steady and even.
Snakes slither from the bushes below and fill the once open area beneath her. Some begin to climb the trunk toward her. Lizards peek out from behind branches above her, flicking their tongues curiously in her direction as they slowly begin advancing.
"Pierce. Be ready to help her," Karmen says under her breath.
A snake drops from the branch above her head and the woman leaps backward, not caring where or how she lands so long as it's out of striking range.
Pierce lifts his wings to burst off the ground, but Karmen and Camilla both grab a wing in unison, stilling him.
A man explodes from the building, running toward her as fast as his feet can carry him. Arms outstretched, he catches her just before she smashes into the ground.
Eyes scrunched closed, it takes the woman a moment to realize she's not hurt. She peeks up at her rescuer and gives him a sheepish smile. "Hi, Osian," she greets him. "Thanks for saving me… again."
He sighs and sets her feet on the ground, making sure she's steady before he lets go of her completely. "When are you going to give this up, Maddie?" he asks. "There's no way out through the jungle. You're just going to end up dead, and then where would we be?"His thumb traces her hairline and down her cheekbone, lingering on her face. His voice softens significantly. "You know I'd go after you, don't you?"
Guilt wars with the determination on Maddie's face. "I wasn't trying to find a way out… this time," she says. "I just couldn't leave Islwyn like that."
Osian looks over her shoulder into the trees, lips thinning some. "He wouldn't want to put us through the trouble, and he certainly wouldn't want you to be risking the jungle with how sick you've been this month."
"Is there a difference between the two? I mean really?" she asks. "We either die in the jungle trying to escape or work ourselves to death in there." She sighs. "I want a better life. For you, for me, for everyone here. I want to be free. There has to be a way."
"I'm sure there is," he says softly. "But it's not through that jungle by yourself and it's certainly not charging headlong at the balloons." Repressed sadness flashes across their eyes. "Come on. Let's get back inside before the snakes come out of the trees."
She nods and begins walking toward the doors, but he stays behind a moment. Maddie gives an understanding look over her shoulder and doesn't stop.
Osian exhales heavily and shakes his head at the trees. "Why didn't you tell us what your plan was, man? Were you trying to keep us safe or did you snap?" No one answers his questions and he shakes his head. "Anyway, thanks for keeping the spark alive, even if it was just for a few minutes. Enjoy freedom for us, yeah?"
When he's back inside, Karmen leans forward with serious intensity. "I want to go see what's over there in the trees."
They pick their way through the brush until they smell something putrid and rotting. Pierce instantly covers his nose and Karmen's face goes blank.
"I see. This must be Islwyn."
Camilla peeks past them and instantly gags. She presses on her gas mask where her nose and mouth would be at the sight and stumbles backward.
There, face down on the ground is the partially eaten corpse of a man covered in puncture marks. His bloated skin is a deep purple, making it hard to identify how long he'd been there. He can't be more than ten feet from the clearing.
Pierce moves to the tree line and feels the ground, tracing divots back to the base of the body. "That woman disturbed the tracks, but I can still make out the details," he says. "There was a group of people who forced him into the tree line while others were lined up to watch. He stumbled some and broke a lot of branches. He tried to run, but that's as far as he got before the jungle claimed him."
Karmen kneels next to the body and examines him closer. "It looks like he was eaten by several of the local animals, but it was the snakes that did him in."
"A viper, do you think?"
"It's possible. He's been here for a few days at least. These maggots have had time to pupate. There are beetles under his skin too, poor dear."
"Do you want to catch some for your research?"
"Of course I'd like to, dear, but research isn't my focus today." She extends a hand toward him. "May I please borrow one of your tonfa, Pierce?"
"Here, Mistress."
Camilla stares incredulously between them. "H-" -How are you two so calm about this?!- her hands scream. -He's… he's dead! Murdered or…. Or something! He's not some science project. You can't just start cutting up dead bodies!-
Karmen blinks up at her in surprise. "Cut up-? Oh dear, you've got the wrong impression," she says as she moves to a leafy tree with low hanging branches. "I am horrified by this man's means of death and the lack of respect given to his body." She begins cutting off tree limbs with the sharp blade. "I'm sorry if we came off as crass."
Camilla relaxes some as Karmen drags the limbs over and covers the man beneath their foliage. -Sorry. I know. I know you care it's just- Her hands tighten into shaking fists.
-It's triggering for you,- Karmen finishes for her, words forming awkwardly around the weapon in her hand. -Would you like to talk about it?-
Camilla shrinks back and shakes her head vigorously, pulling her hood tighter around her face. -Can't. Not yet.-
Karmen nods. "Alright. If you'd like, you can rest over by the buildings while I finish burying him."
The girl nods and darts from the trees, trying to smother her hyperventilation.
Pierce silently collects stones for a moment as Karmen continues to cover the body while their silent conversation ensues.
Should we… talk about you? the tilt of his jaw asks.
About the fact that we hide our emotions, that we're abnormally desensitized to cadavers, or about personal traumas?
He doesn't say anything, but his chin lowers slightly.
I'll have plenty of time to react to it all when we get home. There are far more people that you should be concerned about right now, even though I know that's not your job.
She looks at him out of the corner of her eye as he continues to stay silent, willing him to say break the cacophonous silence.
He considers. Are we… creepy?
She gives a wry chuckle.
If I say that we are in a good way, does that cover how broken we are?
He shrugs and begins covering the branches with the stones.
I know all this is triggering for you as well.
She sighs. She doesn't want to feel resistant, but there's a danger to this direction. He continues.
Reflecting on the pain of the past won't break you, Karmen. And if it does, I'll be here to help keep you in one piece. We're in this together.
She gives him a small smile. "Thank you, Pierce," she says, cleaning sap from his tonfa and handing it back to him. "I'll try to make some time for it when we've returned."
He simply nods and continues stacking stones.
They return to Camilla when the body is covered. She's sitting in the corner between the first building and its adjacent hall, knees pulled to her chest.
"Are you alright?" Karmen asks gently.
Camilla takes a deep breath and nods. -Let's just focus on the mission.-
She accepts Karmen's hand up. They push open the double doors and peek inside. Camilla seems concerned that Karmen's dropped their cloak, but doesn't say anything.
The scent of strong glue and ink reaches their noses. The thirty or so men and women in this building stop working at their stations at giant machines and look up in surprise. Something at the edge of Karmen's senses seems off, but she can't quite put her finger on it. It's like there's an extra person somehow.
Karmen's eyes glance around, hand poised on her quill should she need it, but lowers it almost immediately. No guards are posted here. With the jungle there's no need. So long as they meet their quota and don't cause a ruckus they get the supplies they need to stay alive and keep working. These people are under a more powerful overseer: fear.
Osian is the first to step forward. "Are we to be inspected again so soon?" he asks. "I assure you, we are all working hard." At his words, everyone quickly gets back to making labels.
Karmen gives the man a little smirk. "I know you are. I'm not an inspector. I was simply wondering if you dears would like to leave this island and never have to make another label again."
Osian is stunned by her words, but Maggie rushes forward. "You're not with them, are you?" she asks breathlessly.
Karmen's eyes flash. "Are you the one who left the message?" she asks, noting a flash of recognition in her eyes. "We're here to answer it. You can call me the Gallowcomb Ghost for the time being."
The hopeful looks quickly turn to fear. Osian pulls Maggie behind him protectively. "They said that you've destroyed entire facilities with people still inside, that you kill all the slaves you come across. They call you the Dutchman's Gondolier."
She finds she can't quite hold back her laughter. It starts as a chortle and grows into a guffaw. She wipes a tear from her eye as she regains her composure moments later.
"Honestly. I work so hard to give them a name to use and they come up with something so foolish, the dears. That's pretty low, even for Ikaika." She shakes her head and sets a hand on her hip. "Who are you going to believe? The woman who says she can escort you safely through that jungle, or the man working you to death for profit?"
Maggie pushes past Osian again. "You really came through the jungle? You don't have a balloon?" She gives Osian a serious look. "This is our chance. I'm not going to miss it."
"I like you," Karmen tells her. "You've got spunk."
It doesn't take much discussion to get everyone on board. They gather the rest of the slaves into a group. Maggie gazes out at the edge of the trees and gasps. She meets Karmen's eye and gives a thankful smile, nodding her thanks. Maggie then moves to lead the charge into the jungle but Karmen puts her hand on her shoulder.
"No," she says. "I want you in the middle. It's safer that way."
Anger and confusion flood her expression, but she remains controlled. "May I ask why?"
"I'm sorry, dear. I thought you already knew," Karmen says. "You have a second heartbeat." Osian's eyes fill with a dumbfounded wonder as he takes in the words. "You're pregnant, Maggie."
"Pregnant?" she repeats the words, touching her abdomen. "I- I knew I'd been sick lately, but I didn't think…" She grins tearfully up at Osian who wraps her in his arms, kissing her deeply. "We're going to be parents."
Camilla lowers her hood, but not before Karmen notices a distinct pallor to the slight bit of skin visible through her gas mask.
"Right," Karmen says as Pierce directs everyone into formation. "Stay close together and we'll give our all to keep you safe. Follow me. To freedom."