G. Fields - Under Vanishing Skies

My first inkling that something was wrong was when the sound of the waves went from either side of me to all around me. I opened my eyes to get my bearings, but all I could make out was the ghostly white surface of my surfboard. The bioluminescence was gone. There was no way to tell how close I was to the island, but I sensed that it was close. The plan called for strict silence, so I didn’t call out to anyone.

My heart began to pound against the board. I stopped paddling, hoping to hear the sound of the others. They should be near me.

Nothing.

The sound of waves seemed louder to my right, but it extended out in front of me now. I swung up to a sitting position, desperate to see anything. My left foot scraped against something. Pain shot up my leg. It felt like I’d been stung or bitten by something. I pulled it back, but then my other foot smashed into something. It had to be a rock or coral. I could tell that the toenail on my big toe was gone. Water this shallow meant that I was either over a reef or close to shore. I silently prayed for the latter. Either way, I was about to find out.

I grabbed the board with both hands and lifted myself into a kneeling position. The sound of the waves was deafening now and I still couldn’t tell which direction to go. I had to decide or else those bitches, the Fates, would decide for me. If I was going to die, I preferred that it was on my terms.

Leaning forward, I paddled to the left. When the sound of the waves seemed to be in front of me, I paddled as hard and fast as I could. My board scraped against the bottom and I struggled to stay upright. In the back of my mind, I knew what would happen if I fell. A wave would drag me across the bottom. I wasn’t about to let that happen.

It was time to find out where I was.

I grabbed my board once again and set my feet down in the water on either side.

Sand! I felt sand.

A wave hit me from behind, knocking me forward. But my feet remained anchored to the bottom. Water rushed around me. Moving as quickly as I could, I pulled the board through my legs and hoisted it above my head. Another wave hit me. I managed to keep my balance. I still couldn’t see anything except for the surfboard hanging over my head. Another wave crashed against me, this one stronger. I kept moving forward. Finally, I found beach. I set the surfboard down, took a few more steps, and crouched down beside it. I heard leaves rustling in the wind and could just make out the silhouette of the tree line.

I’d made it, but I was alone.

I looked at my watch. It was too dark to read it. I pressed the button on the side. The watch face lit up and cast a ghostly teal glow. I quickly let go. It was almost two thirty in the morning.

On Lohifushi, very few people would be awake at this hour. There wasn’t much to do at night ever since they stopped playing karaoke at the bar. They didn’t stop because people didn’t come, they stopped because there wasn’t a bar anymore. It had been converted to a school room for the kids. I hoped that it would be quiet here as well. Somehow, I doubted it.

Someone grabbed my arm. I turned and took a swing. Kamish caught my fist in his hand. Then in a hushed voice, he said, “Aron, it is me.”

Relief swept over me and I got to my feet. “Thank God. I thought—”

“Shh. There are guards patrolling nearby.”

Whispering, I said, “Where is everyone?”

“Down at the beach, at the rally point.” Kamish whispered. “Grab your board. We must go.”

I knew it. I had gotten lost, not them.

I picked up my surfboard and followed him about a hundred yards down the beach. Kamish’s arm shot out in front of me like a crossing road guards. I stopped. Then he whistled. It sounded like the call of the Koel, a migratory bird from India. They had been all over Lohifushi when I had first arrived. I hated them. Their mating calls woke me up every morning. Thankfully, there weren’t many around anymore.

His call was answered by another bird call. Kamish motioned for me to follow. We moved cautiously another twenty feet. Michio and his son crouched behind a large boulder.

Yoshirou came over and took my surfboard. Even in the dark, I could tell that he was scowling. I watched him carry it back to the water’s edge, where I could just make out the silhouette of him tying it to another board. It looked like he had daisy-chained all the boards together.

“Aron, are you alright?” Michio whispered.

“Yeah. Sorry.”

“We were worried.”

“I’m fine. I thought you guys were still out there. I can’t believe we made it.”

“That was the easy part. There is no room for mistakes going forward.”

I nodded.

Michio ran over to Yoshirou and whispered something to him. Yoshirou nodded and waded out into the surf, pulling the first board with him. I watched the rest of the boards follow behind him like a train. Once he was out of sight, Michio ran back to us and said, “Let’s go.”

We entered the jungle following a narrow path that seemed to lead towards the interior. Unlike Lohifushi, branches and palm fronds covered the ground. It was hard to move without stepping on something. Luckily, the wind was pretty strong. The noise from the canopy masked our movement.

Michio led the way, I was in the middle, and Kamish stayed in the rear. We moved fast. Within a few minutes, we came upon a clearing. There were six huts set next to each other in a semi-circle. They looked deserted, except for the one on the far end. The light from its window was enough to illuminate the area.

Michio turned and motioned for Kamish and me to wait. Then he ran, hunched over, to the closest hut. He opened the door and went inside. My heart beat so fast that I was afraid that somebody might hear it.

I looked back at Kamish. He scanned the area around us. I wondered how long we should wait. I didn’t have to wonder for very long. He came out of the hut and closed the door. Then he repeated the process four more times, moving from one hut to the next. Kamish and I moved along the tree line, staying out of sight.

When he had cleared the fifth hut, I readied myself. I pulled out the blade that Kamish had given me on the boat.

Come on, Senil… bring me luck.

I watched Michio, bent low at the waist, move to the last hut. He maneuvered himself below the window. He looked out towards us. I wondered if he could see us from there, but there was no way… not in this light. He nodded in our direction, turned, and then peeked into the window. He looked in for a few seconds and then crouched down again. He sprinted back to the bushes. I called out in a whisper, “Michio, over here.”

He found us easily.

“What did you see?” I asked.

“There were six of them. Definitely pirates. Four were playing a game at the table and two looked like they were passed out on the beds. There were a lot of empty bottles on the floor.”

“So what do we do? Go in and take them out?”

He shook his head. “No. We leave them. We must stay focused on our objective.”

I nodded and looked over at Kamish. Anger flashed in his eyes. It didn’t surprise me. I knew that he wanted to spill some pirate blood. But we moved on.

We stayed inside the tree line moving in short, rapid bursts. We stopped anytime we heard anything out of the ordinary. Just before we reached another clearing with another grouping of huts, I heard men talking. We all stopped and ducked down. A few seconds later, a two-man patrol walked up the path. I thought they would pass us by, but they stopped right in front of us. They were backlit by the light from one of the huts. I didn’t understand their language, but they seemed to be joking with one another. One of the guards, a tall skinny guy with a large assault rifle slung over his shoulder, lit a cigarette with a cigarette that the other guy had given him. When the cigarette was lit, he threw the other butt into the bushes. It landed a few feet from where I crouched.