The promise I had made to myself—to never abandon my beloved home—proved as fragile as the glass cup I knocked from the table. It had been half-filled with amber liquid, meant for Captain Francis, who slept soundly in his chair, feet propped lazily on the table.
Francis’s eyes shot open at the noise. It brought him abruptly back to the waking world. His glare moved from the glittering shards of the cup on the floor to me, but the beeping black stone quickly caught his attention, and suddenly he sat upright, alarmed.
He seized a yellow acoustic megaphone and stepped out of the room, his booming voice rang out: “Alan, to the navigation deck—now!”
Moments later, Alan arrived and placed her hand on the surface of the beeping black stone. The translucent blue map burst into view, spreading across the space in front of us. From this bird’s-eye perspective, the sea stretched out in glowing detail, with NOAH 1 and nearby ships marked as white specks. A blinking red dot moved slowly toward our position. Numbers materialized in midair: coordinates, speed, and an estimated time of arrival. Whatever was coming, it was heading straight for us.
The second black stone lit up, glowing green. Alan touched it, and in the air above the stone a hazy projection of a man’s face appeared. At first glance, he seemed like any other human, but upon a closer look subtle abnormalities soon became apparent:—bulging dark eyes reminiscent of deep-sea creatures, and jagged teeth protruding from his lower jaw, giving him a faintly fishlike appearance.
“The Security Council received an unusual message,” he began, his gaze scanning us, though I could tell he was speaking to a recording device just out of view. “Strange that it came from a rat… Nonetheless, they saw it as proof of your success in training the creatures. The Commander has now ordered us to establish a second base and proceed with phase two of the Plan. Our Surface Contacts are ready to assist, and they’ve proposed a different borough for the setup. It will be—”
A sudden disturbance behind him broke his focus. His head jerked to the side, his expression shifting from confidence to shock. “HOW DID YOU—” he began, but before he could finish, his image vanished, and the green glow of the stone faded into nothingness.
Alan turned to Francis. “What do you make of this, Captain?”
Francis’s lips tightened into a grim line. “It looks like we’re about to have company—uninvited company.” He wasted no time giving orders. Three boats were dispatched to investigate the source of the red blip. Whoever was brazen enough to breach NOAH 1’s sea boundary would answer to the captain.
I couldn’t just stay behind! The thrill of action set my thoughts ablaze. Who was this stranger? Were they alone? The only way to find out was to join the mission. And so, I broke my promise—just a crack—and joined one of the boats with Alan, Francis, and another crew member.
The boats stayed within the sea boundary of NOAH 1, as per Francis’s command. We were there to watch, wait, and prepare for the worst. Harpoons and muskets forged from salvaged metal were at hand, ready to be used only if the approaching entity posed a threat.
I took my place on the bow standing next to Alan, who was scanning the horizon through a telescope. My own eyes watched the endless stretch of waves, seeking any sign of the shadow of a ship. More questions churned in my mind: Was their vessel larger or smaller than ours? If they possessed superior technology, did we have any hope of standing our ground?
As the minutes dragged on, eventually bleeding into hours, I could feel the tension ease slightly. The others were beginning to let their guard down, though Francis remained vigilant with his harpoon gun in hand. Alan, seated cross-legged beside me, set the telescope aside. A strand of black hair escaped her ponytail, falling across her face. She brushed it aside, then reached into her pocket to retrieve the black stone. She held it carefully as she examined its surface.
I leaned against her leg, craning over her arm to get a better view of the device. My eyes caught on something I hadn’t noticed before. There were three circles etched into one side of the stone, each enclosing a distinct symbol: two interlocking squares, three wavy vertical, and four arrows crossing one another like the spokes of a compass.
The moment her thumb brushed the Two Squares symbol, blue light flowed from the device, showing the translucent map in the air, revealing our location and the surrounding area. Three white dots marked our exact position. The red dot, blinking steadily, lingered miles away, its pace noticeably slower. All seemed calm—until it picked up speed again.
I swiped at the map, but my paw passed right through it. The red dot flickered, stilled, and then vanished. Alan switched off the map, tucked the stone back into her pocket, and raised the telescope to her eye.
“I think I see something!” she shouted.
I strained my eyes but saw nothing beyond the small waves cresting in the distance. Then, the waves began to rise, swelling higher and higher, until we faced a monstrous wall of water. Its roar was deafening, a bone-rattling thunder that scrambled my thoughts and shook my senses.
“Brace yourselves!” Francis yelled.
I felt a hand snatch me up, shielding me beneath something warm and steady as the boat, tilting upward, climbed the face of the monstrous wave.
*****
Several months ago, we faced the fiercest storm NOAH 1 had ever endured. The wind, like the howl of a thousand enraged beasts, tore at the rigging and battered the hull. Its icy claws raked across the decks, while the rain hammered down in furious torrents like gunfire.
Francis gave the order to lift the anchor as the storm intensified, knowing that leaving it down risked tearing the ship apart.
“Anchor up! I’ll bring her bow to meet the waves!” he shouted, and the crew scrambled to obey.
With the storm clawing at the ship from all sides, he turned the bow toward the waves at a slight angle, guiding the ship to ride the swells and keeping the massive forces from slamming broadside. Waves, each larger than the last, rose like waking giants, lifting the vessel to dizzying heights before plunging it into deep troughs as though it was just a mere plaything. The ship pitched and rolled, its steel body groaning in protest but holding strong.
When the waves settled and the wind's roar dwindled to a whisper, the ship became lodged on a craggy island that had appeared out of nowhere. Many residents took the chance to climb down and investigate this new land. Among the eager explorers were the Kelping children, their young hearts beating with the hope of finding their long-lost father marooned on the island.
Unsurprisingly, the island offered little–only jagged rocks, a scattering of sea plants, and small creatures left behind by the retreating tide. Joe joined the carefree games of children his age, while Anne crouched by a tide pool, enthralled by the tiny creatures within. She cupped a hermit crab in her hand and tried to catch her mother’s eye. Her mother, however, was focused on Sam, who couldn’t swim and had wandered off to peer into a different tide pool.
But our exploration was cut short when the waters rose suddenly and swallowed the land. The residents scattered in a desperate rush, some were swept away, vanishing beneath the waves, while others clambered aboard in time.
A handful took to dinghy boats, hastily lowered from above. At the last moment, I clambered into one with Alan who saved Sam from being nearly wrenched away by a powerful surge, pulling him safely aboard. On the ship’s deck, Joe and Anne, clutching their mother’s arms, watched in horror as they realized Sam wasn’t with them.
But the moment we thought we were safe in the dinghy, Sam cried out, pointing to the dark shapes emerging in the water. Sleek fins cut through the waves as more than one glided in slow circles around the boats. One by one, they began bumping the sides, their intent was obvious: to hurl us into the waters and straight into their hungry jaws.
We froze as the sea monster started closing the distance, its rows of jagged teeth rushing straight at us. Then, with a violent jolt, something struck the beast, sending it thrashing backward, its blood erupting into the air and drenching us. I looked up to see the glint of a harpoon fired from a large gun. More harpoons followed. They whistled through the air then sliced through the waves, driving back the attacking creatures until the waters around us were stained a deep red.
