The sea wind lashed at my face, its cold breath biting at my whiskers, while Sam's laughter rang out behind me, carried by the rush of the other children of NOAH 1. It was a sensation I never thought I would feel again, a thrill I had long believed to be lost to me. I could hardly believe my eyes as Sam twirled, arms wide, his feet drumming a rhythm on the main deck. 

Louis, who'd been freed from the brig, watched from the sidelines, a quiet amazement on his face. His eyes seemed to anchor the moment, as if afraid that, by looking away for even a moment, Sam would return to the chair, unable to walk again. 

Things happened just as I had predicted, though they were far too quickly for comfort. When the sea beings surfaced to our world, people were frightened, naturally. They were suspicious, as they should have been. But once word spread of the miracle the sea beings had worked on Sam, the tide quickly turned. It wasn’t long before the masses began to flock to them. “Cure shops” sprang up around Floating City, with lines stretching out the doors as people clamored for their own miracle. 

When the sick stepped out of the shops, they looked like different people. They were brighter, stronger, and just bursting with life. The blind could see, the deaf could hear, the mute could speak. Even those missing arms or legs walked out whole. To the people here, the sea beings were gods. Mysterious gods, rarely seen, only surfacing to run the Cure Shops before slipping back into their underwater vessels.

But even with all these miracles, something just bothered me. There was a gut feeling I couldn’t shake. Don’t trust too easily. Don’t get swept up in the awe. That's what it told me. I hadn’t forgotten what Louis said: the sea humanoids would take them all, one way or another.

“Sam!” Louis waved, calling him over and then slinging a green rucksack over his shoulder. “Hurry up! We can’t miss the last  boat to Floating City.”

The boy ran to his father, and I chased after him, dodging the eager hands of children reaching for my tail.

The moment I caught up, I climbed up Sam’s side, clinging tight. I wasn’t letting him leave without me. And I wasn’t losing sight of Louis either. Francis might have let him walk free, figuring there was no longer a reason to keep him locked up, but I still didn’t trust him. Not now, maybe not ever again. 

What business did Louis have in the city? Why drag Sam there? 

Louis shot me a quick glance, his brow creased in a frown. “Sorry, buddy. You’ll have to leave Page behind on the ship.”

Sam’s face crumpled. “What? Why? We always take him to Floating City.”

“This isn’t like the other trips, Sam. We’ll be gone for a while.”

“A while? How long’s a while? What do you mean? Where are we going? Are we moving to Floating City?” His eyes lit up at the last part.

Louis let out a heavy sigh, taking his son by the arm and leading him toward the long line of people waiting to board the boat. “We’re heading somewhere safe.”

“But we’re already safe on NOAH 1.”

“We are…but there’s somewhere even safer.”

My ears perked up. Safer? NOAH 1 was the safest place I knew, or at least, I’d thought so. Seeing his worn rucksack slung over his shoulder, it suddenly clicked in my mind that this wasn’t a simple trip. This was an escape. He wasn’t just visiting Floating City. He was abandoning ship. Fleeing. Something was coming. Was it the sea humanoids? That takeover he’d hinted at? It must be happening now. Or soon.

“Alright, you’ve got to leave Page here,” Louis said as we shuffled closer to the boarding area on the deck.

Sam whined but slowly crouched down to set me on the floor. Even so, I clung to his arms, my claws gripping his sleeve, careful not to pierce the skin, but refusing to let go.

“He wants to come with us,” Sam pleaded.

“Just put him down, Sam,” Louis said, his patience thinning. “He can’t go with us.”

“But I don't see why he can't.”

Louis let out a long, weary breath and reached for me, aiming to grab me by the scruff of my neck. I twisted away, ears flattened, and hissed, swiping a paw at his hand before he could grab hold. Before he could try again, the steward by the boarding gate called out that the next boat was ready to board.

“I guess he’ll have to come with us,” Sam said cheerfully, his face lighting up, and cradled me in his arms as he pushed his way toward the boat.

The boat was packed, bodies pressed shoulder to shoulder, most of them bound for one of the Cure Shops. I leapt from Sam’s shoulder over to Louis’s. My grip tightened on his shoulder every time the boat pitched and rolled beneath the weight of too many passengers. 

The waves were rougher today, and the wind stronger. I had, with a mixture of regret and satisfaction, overdone it at breakfast. A sick feeling stirred deep in my stomach. Before I could stop it, my breakfast erupted in a violent spray, splattering across Louis’s sleeve, the shock of it leaving him frozen in place. He reached into the front pocket of his coat, retrieving a handkerchief, and began to wipe off much of the brown mush Gunther had fed me. 

I flopped back into Sam’s arms, nuzzling into the safe, familiar crook of his elbow. Sam gave me a sweet, worried look while Louis shot me a glare. He definitely thought I’d thrown up on him on purpose. And maybe I did. 

When we reached the port, Louis flagged down a cycle rickshaw and ordered the driver, a weary-looking old man, to take us to the Lionfish Inn. Sam, ever the inquisitive child, immediately started firing off questions: “Why were we going to an inn? How long would we stay? Could we pleeease stop and buy a starfish first?”

Louis ignored every single question. Instead, he glanced around uneasily, and said, “We’re just taking a little trip. And you told me you wanted to know what it’s like to be a scavenger, right?”

Sam straightened in his seat, his eyes going wide with excitement. “Are we going on a scavenger hunt?”

The corner of Louis’s mouth twitched into a small, secretive smile. “Yeah, something like that. Just you and me, out on the open sea, hunting for old treasures and lost worlds. What do you think?”

Sam’s face lit up, his whole body vibrating with joy. “Really, Papa? A real sea adventure?”

“Yup, absolutely. Just the two of us.”

“And Page!” Sam let out a whoop and hugged me tighter, nuzzling his nose against my head, but squeezing nearly the air out of me. 

“So, we’ll spend the night over at the inn, and as soon as there’s first light, we’ll get a boat at the dock.”

The boy nodded, grinning. “Sounds like a good plan, Papa.”

The rickshaw driver pedaled through the streets, but something felt wrong. The atmosphere felt… off. Stifling. Louis sensed it too. His jaw tightened. his eyes darting from side to side, his grip tightening protectively on Sam’s arm.

The city should have been bustling. Normally, the streets were alive with noise, people jostling through the open-air markets. But today? Too quiet. The air still. A vacuum of sound.

The rickshaw jolted to an abrupt stop, pitching us forward. I nearly slipped from Sam’s arms but clung on just in time, my claws sinking into his sleeve as I struggled to hold on.

“Hey! Watch where you’re going!” the driver snapped at a pedestrian blocking his path, his face twisted in irritation.

The pedestrian didn’t budge. Instead, he glared and spat back, “You watch where you’re going!”

The driver tightened his grip on the handlebars, his knuckles turning white. “I’ve got the right of way!”

The man still didn’t move. His breath came in ragged, uneven bursts, his chest rising and falling in jagged rhythms. A thin thread of saliva dangled from the corner of his mouth, glistening before trailing down his chin. His eyes began to dull; a murky film was creeping over them.

“Move it,” the driver demanded, “Or next time I won’t be so quick on the brakes.”

Just as he was about to push forward—

A crash.

Screams.

The world spun and tilted.