Shrouded Seascape

Fifteen days later...

Charles and his crew continued their journey across the barren semi-desert climate. The tracks of the Narwhale spun relentlessly as they transversed the dry earth. The crew members were stationed at their posts and preoccupied with their tasks.

They were now in the semi-desert biome beyond the desert, an uncharted area. They were only able to explore even further now that they had the Narwhale as their mode of transportation.

Under the guidance of the first mate, Sailor Norton gripped the helm tightly in both hands. Meanwhile, a gaunt, balding old man stood beside them. He was the newly appointed second mate. He was from Hope Island and was also an old captain well acquainted with Charles.

A streak of black flashed by the side of the ship before it landed right outside the bridge's entrance and morphed into a man clad in a dark cloak.

"No anomalies or findings on the left," Audric reported to Bandages.

Bandages nodded silently in response before swiftly drawing a dashed line across the map on the wall with a pen.

"Is Captain not back yet?" Audric felt his way into the bridge.

"Not yet. The Governor said he wanted to scout a few more areas," the second mate replied nonchalantly.

"Alright, I'll head down now. Let me know if you need me to scout any other areas." Audric then transformed into a bat once more and swiftly glided down the communication tube to the turbine chambers.

Their previous chief engineer had died on their last exploration and Audric was now the newly promoted Chief Engineer of the Narwhale.

As soon as Audric left, silence enveloped the bridge. Bandages had always been quiet by nature. Seeing that the first mate had no intention to engage in small talk, Norton also felt apprehensive about initiating any dialogue.

Eventually, the new second mate broke the silence. Clearing his throat, he asked, "Mind if I smoke a cigarette? My mouth's a bit dry."

"Mmhmm..." Bandages responded with a simple affirmative.

"Thanks," Second Mate Charlie replied before pulling out a cigarette from his pocket and lighting it with a flicker of his lighter. Slowly exhaling a smoke ring, he began, "Before I came aboard, I was surprised to hear I would be joining Governor Charles' crew.

"I hadn't expected him to be this easy to get along with. He doesn't have the central islander's air of haughtiness."

"Mmhmm..."

"I grew up among the trash heaps at the docks, and I really hated those condescending glances. Back when I was plundering ships, anyone who looked down their nose at us would end up getting fed to the fishes."

Hearing Charlie's words, Norton's pupils shrank slightly. He was tempted to interject with his opinion, but seeing how Bandages remained indifferent by the side, he swallowed down his words.

"Many... have died... on this ship... Yet... you dare to come?"

Holding the cigarette between his index and middle finger, Charlie scratched his shiny scalp with the ring and pinky finger.

"I know, but it doesn't matter to me. I'm already seventy-four now; if I die, I die. But my grandson has just been born. The islands can't sink; he can't just die when he hasn't lived for long."

At these words, a trace of tenderness surfaced in Charlie's wrinkled eyes.

"I heard... from the Captain... that you have... a special relic...That's why... he chose you?"

"Yes, yes. That thing is quite something. I was planning to leave it for my grandson, but relics aren't exactly great. Too much blood on them; I figured better not.

"I've also told the Governor that if I die, he can have my relic. I don't need any compensation. I just want him to use whatever means necessary to stop the sea levels from rising so my grandson can live safely as an ordinary person."

As the conversation flowed, a sense of camaraderie was slowly fostered between the veteran crew members and the newcomer. The atmosphere on board became noticeably less tense than before.

Just as Charlie was animatedly describing to Bandages and Norton how well-behaved his grandson was at bedtime and would never throw a fuss, they suddenly heard a flurry of wing beats from outside.

"Thirty degrees to port! I saw something odd over there!" Charles instructed as he burst into the room. He had reverted to his human form, and his expression was grave.

"What... did you find?" Bandages was alarmed by Charles' behavior.

"We'll know once we're there. I'm not too sure if those things are related to the vanished darkness."

The Narwhale swiftly adjusted course and moved in the direction Charles had indicated.

Just half an hour later, the crew began to observe odd specks resembling ash-like powder dotting the barren ground. As they ventured further, these specks grew denser and eventually formed a blanket of ash-gray snow.

Swoosh!

Audric transformed into a bat and swiftly glided over the powder. When he landed on the deck, he presented the cupped ash gray matter in his hands to Linda.

"Here."

Charles' full attention turned from the surroundings onto Linda as he watched the latter lightly fanning her hand over the powder to have a sniff of its scent.

"I feel like I've seen this substance somewhere before," Linda remarked.

"Are you sure you've seen something from the surface before?" Charles asked with evident skepticism in his voice.

Linda chose not to refute. Instead, she carefully studied the powder and eventually scooped up a small amount with her fingernail and placed it into her mouth. She tasted it for just a couple of seconds before spitting it out immediately.

"I'm not fully certain, but I think this powder is similar to ashes."

"Ashes of what?"

"Human ashes."

Linda's succinct answer cast a brief, eerie silence over the deck.

"Doctor, that must be a misjudgement. Are you suggesting that there are humans on the surface, too?" Dipp asked, bewildered.

On the contrary, Charles' heart skipped a beat.

"I find that unlikely as well. That's why I said I'm not fully certain," Linda replied.

Charles pondered for a moment before tapping Lily, who was perched on his shoulder, with his finger. "Get your mice friends ready for battle. Make sure the cannons on both decks are prepared to fire at any moment."

"All right, Mr. Charles!" Lily saluted before leaping off Charles' shoulder and scampering off toward the gun ports.

This was the first of such a scenario on the surface world. Faced with the unknown threat, everyone braced themselves for whatever was to come.

However, the terrain ahead stretched on longer than Charles had anticipated. They journeyed for three days; there seemed to be no end to the blanket of unidentified power.

Then, at four in the morning on the third day, Charles had barely lay down on his bed when he was woken up again.

"Captain! Wake up! The deckhand on duty spotted something! Seems like a gigantic house!"

Charles hurried out of his bed, and upon reaching the deck, he was stunned by the sight that greeted him.

A massive, square, metallic structure stood before them. Parked next to it, the Narwhale appeared no larger than a toy boat next to a shoebox.

The powder covering the ground was being expelled from small holes atop this "shoebox," and had accumulated into a slope. The powder that they had seen earlier was the surface particles that had been carried away by the wind.

There are still humans on the surface? They survived? Charles thought as he stared at the building's large doors with a heart racing in anticipation.

"Scout!" Charles commanded.

A giant bat soared into the air, and mice scurried toward the metal building. They circled the giant structure in search of entry points, but they didn't find anything special. There was nothing in the exterior compound apart from the thick layer of ash.

Hooooooonnk!

The Narwhale emitted a piercing whistle, but there was no response from the building.

Following the path marked by the mice's footprints, Charles led his crew toward the main doors of the giant building.

"Captain, the door seams have been completely welded shut," reported Dipp.

Charles ran his hand over the cold, smooth exterior wall of the building. He was certain that the structure was built by humans.

"We must find a way inside. If there are humans in there, then we might have another way out apart from finding the darkness."

To breach the building, Charles used every method at his disposal: explosives, acid corrosion, and mechanical cutting. After six grueling hours, the welded iron door finally yielded a crack just wide enough for a person to squeeze through.

"What metal is this? It's even harder than Type 3 Alloy," Dipp grumbled.

"Shhh. Quiet. I hear something inside," Charles whispered.

Immediately, everyone held their breaths as they strained their ears to hear the faint sounds drifting out through the crack.

"It's...someone singing... I seem... to have heard... this song before," Bandages commented before squeezing himself through the narrow opening.

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