P-Tribal Island Chapter 49

Read Table of Content | +Kyla Scurchio
=======================================================================
My head bobbed on my shoulders as I slept. In my dreams I saw the Leviathan take the ship again and search through the wreckage for any scraps of food. I made it far enough away to be safe. Most the mice on the ship would have been drowned but I was amused when I saw a mouse float by me in a bottle. After that though, I was alone in the never ending ocean. Exhaustion had taken me in the early morning. It was still dark and I had been following the stars all night. My arms ached from rowing and the constant repeated motion droned on
and on. Finally my brain couldn’t take it and I fell asleep.
                    It’s what woke me that really mattered. Through the early morning fog I heard singing. Beautiful singing, unlike anything I had ever heard. Suddenly every bone in my body wanted to find the source of the voice. Something took over and I rowed the small boat faster and harder than I had all day. The song was getting louder and the water choppier but I didn’t care. The voice was all I heard the beautiful sound swirled around me and pulled me in to it.
                    As I rowed faster a wave threw my small boat and knocked me sideways. My arm slammed against a jagged rock and the song that had caught me was broken. My mouth dropped in horror when I realized what had happened. Just a few yards away sat a little mouse still singing her song and smiling at me. The little Siren had lured me to my death, because all around us were rocks, large jagged rocks. It would be difficult enough in the daylight to maneuver through this mess but now that my arm was most certainly broken and I couldn’t see hardly anything, I didn’t have high hopes. I gripped the paddles and started to row, hard.
                    My breathing was laborious and my good arm was cramping. The waves tossed me against rocks and back against more waves. I was taking on water and I was certain I was going to go down. When I felt the boat could hold me no longer, I jumped. I almost laughed out loud when my feet hit sand. With the dread leaving me I pulled and tugged that little boat onto the shore then fell on my back in the sand. I laid there panting, wondering if I’d ever have use of my arms again.
                    It was still dark and there was nothing I could do until daybreak, so I lied there dozing in and out, never fully letting myself sleep. Right before dawn, when the world was still quiet, except for the relentless ocean, I heard something that sent chills through my body; a rumbling roar that echoed off the island around me. It wasn’t a roar of pain or fear; it was a warning, one that I was more than willing to stay clear of.

                    When the sun rose higher in the sky, I got a good look at where I had ended up. It was definitely the island I had been headed toward. I was on the smaller, outer island that was disconnected to the one holding the volcano. The place looked deserted, but I knew better, according to the few notes Zugzwang had written about it, there were tribes of mice capable of a lot of damage.
                    Both my arms were stiff and painful. I would be stranded on the Islands until they healed, which didn’t sound horrible; at least I was on solid ground. The islands themselves were quiet and peaceful, and normally I would have found that relaxing but instead it just sent me on edge. I had a feeling I was being watched, since there was no way I was alone. When the mice had finished assessing me I was certain they’d make an appearance. In the meantime I made my way over to the larger island.
                    There was a large shore there, one I could settle down on. Without the large rocks or grassy hideouts the mice wouldn’t be able to surprise me. At least that was the hope. I waded through the shallow water between the islands, when the tide came in it would flood and I wouldn’t be able to cross.
                    I threw myself down on the shore and let the sun burn through me. So many days stuck underground made me appreciate the sun a little more, but with a sigh I went in search of shelter only a few minutes later; it was possible to have too much of a good thing, I noted as I watch my skin slowly turn red.
                    I had a shabby little shelter propped up against a nearby tree by the time the sun was setting. It almost wasn’t worth the time, as terrible a job I did. But something about having a place to be was comforting. I decided to use the cover of night to explore. I slipped down the shore, guided by the moon, to a place where the ocean had washed through. large puddles were left behind and I wondered if there were any fish in there for me to catch. I didn’t get the chance to find out because a flash of movement caught my attention.
                    I ducked down and followed the mouse down the shore a ways before I stopped dead. He had led me to an entire tribe of mice. Z had been right, and I was very vulnerable. I watched and listened in the shadows hoping to learn something about these new breeds, something that could help me avoid them.
“Scout has returned, send for the Chief!” I heard one of them shout. All of them wore shades of blue, most of them had weapons, and though I knew they were not tactical mice they would be just as difficult to destroy if it came to that.
                    The Chief was easy to pick out he was the only one guarded by two huge mice, one with a very big and very dangerous looking sword. The other mouse had strips of water circling around it waiting for a command. She twirled the water around her wrist in boredom as she waited for the chief to stand and speak. When he did any rumblings that may have been going on silenced instantly. Every mouse was turned and focused intently upon their chief.
                    “My fellow Tribe members, Elub will attack on the full moon and the Nerg tribe will be BROUGHT DOWN!” cheers and shouts ripped through the island and were hushed by the chief as he continued his little speech.
                    “Our scouts inform me that they are weakened from the battle in Derr and are vulnerable to our attack. Now is the time to attack!’ more cheers as the chief sat down smiling. “Send me my soothsayer I wish to be sung to.” He said with a flick of his hand.
                    From the crowed came another mouse draped in blue like the others making it hard to recognize the differences in the mice. She knelt before the chief before flipping around to face the whole tribe.
“What shall I sing?” she said to herself before the words filled her mind. “ah yes.” And without any written verse she began singing beautifully, no instrument just a voice so amazing I almost forgot to listen to her lyrics.
“The other tribes though strong and alert,
Are not those who will cause us hurt.
Look down the shore and you shall find,
A hunter who will cause, us much strife.
As those around us will soon fall dead,
In traps of those whose cheese we’re fed.
Though cause him no harm he only seeks
What he can’t find, but what we need
Knowledge of one to serve our cause
Return the favor if not all is lost”
                    Every eye turned to squint down the shore, the chief even jumped to his feet to take a look. The soothsayer looked into my eyes knowingly and I just sat there in the cover of the shadows frozen. The last line echoed in the air around me. I felt the urgency of the words as if they were meant just for me. In no time at all spears were in my face and I was hauled to my feet, dragged to face the chief, and surrounded by the entire tribe. I could have really used Zugzwang’s help just then.
        “Hello hunter. Welcome to my shore.” the Chief said coldly.
I grinned “What? Couldn’t get anything better than a patch of sand?” I felt the end of a spear bash against the side of my head. Silencing me for the night, it was probably for the best.