I nodded. “I know they did.”
It turns out that the Happy-Go-Lucky wasn't that far away from the Angry Mermaid. If I had just walked around the corner, I would have found it tucked away in a small cove. Now I can finally get some rest.
I think I can hear Sally making some food. He is singing.
I love that guy.
Morning – The Happy-Go-Lucky – Mood: Back to adventure. Yay?
Wow, I must have needed more sleep than I thought. I could probably have slept for a year if I hadn’t been shaken awake by Bob, who found me curled up in a corner on the deck! He pointed towards the wooden table that had been set up on deck and grunted.
I blinked the sleep out of my eyes and stood up. Everyone was sitting around the table, and a small feast made from fruits of the jungle was laid out on top of it!
My stomach rumbled. I needed to eat!
It turns out getting chased by monsters and nearly dying really works up your appetite. Luckily, we had Sally on board who could apparently make a meal out of anything. He hummed and sang as he placed plates of food in front of us with his thick, trunk-like arms. Then he skipped off below deck with surprising grace to go and get more food. As I stuffed my face, Cat told me what happened after I had fallen overboard.
The Happy-Go-Lucky also took a beating in the storm, but it managed to survive quite well. Luckily, Cat deftly brought the ship into a cove, which served as a natural dock, with a path onto the beach. The Happy-Go-Lucky can float here while repairs are being made, using the wood from the island. There aren't even that many repairs needed, in fact, and we could almost leave right away if we wanted.
That was how the argument started.
“We could sail away from this evil island right now,” Cat said, spraying crumbs from her bread everywhere. “We nearly died last night trying to save you, and you want to go back?”
“It's daytime now!” I said, spraying crumbs back at her. “The monsters aren't around! We can find Scotty, the reason I came here in the first place!”
Sally placed some more tasty food in between us as we continued to argue. That guy can cook!
“Yeah, well, I never wanted to come here, and I've got to think of the safety of my crew first. As captain, I say we go back,” Cat said, shoving some watermelon into her mouth.
“Fine,” I snapped, breaking a carrot in two and chomping down on it. “Go back, see if I care. But you're leaving me here, then.” Obviously, I did care if she left me here. I mean, how was I going to cope without Cat around? I wasn't going to tell her that, though. No. I secretly hoped she would change her mind.
Instead, she said:
“OK. Bye bye, then.”
I sat and stared at her open-mouthed. She was just going to abandon me here!
“I will be staying as well,” Abraham said. “For my quest is to find the light bringer, he who will save the day, he who...”
“Yeah, yeah, we get it,” I grumbled.
It looks like I am going to be stuck on the island with old man Abraham. The guy who talks to walls. That will be really handy when the monsters come out at night. After we had finished our meal, Sally packed us some small provisions and we stepped off the ship. Cat stood and crossed her arms on deck, watching us go.
I waved at her as we stepped off the ship, but she turned away. I guess we are on our own now.
Monday- In the jungle – Mood: Too hot!!!
Guess what! We had barely taken a few steps into the jungle when Cat came running out after us!
I was shocked, but she rolled her eyes and said, “I didn't think you would actually go out by yourselves. You are crazy.”
“So...you're going to help us?” I grinned.
“One day,” she said with a serious face. “You have one day to explore the island, while my crew re-stock for the journey home, and then we leave, got it?”
I hugged her again and she pushed me away. “It’s too hot for hugs,” she said. “But I know I'm great. The greatest, in fact.”
“You are alright,” Abraham said.
Cat glared at him and I tried not to laugh. Those two are best friends. I know it.
Together, we pushed off into the jungle. I knew that we were on the right path to find Scotty.
What I didn't realize is that we were also on the path to hot, sweaty, uncomfortable jungle land of hot sweaty uncomfortableness. The air felt heavier in the jungle, and sticky. Bugs flew around my head and I tried to swat them away, but there were always one hundred more to take the place of the ones I knocked off. It was horrible. Each step demanded the same effort as a thousand steps at home, and for a brief moment, I missed the cool terror of the night. It felt like I couldn't breathe. It was like being in the desert, but surrounded by thousands of plants. It made no sense!
I felt really sorry for Abraham in his big robe. I asked him why he didn’t wear something cooler, and he just replied:
“A Wizard is never hot. He is always precisely what he needs to be.”
That's probably why he smells so bad.
We've stopped for a break by a little stream. The cold water is amazing.
Wait... what is that sound?
Monday - In the jungle – Mood: We’ve made a friend!
You know what is worse than spiders?
Giant spiders!
You know what is worse than that? Nothing. Giant spiders are the worst!
It was almost as if they knew that we would take a break by that stream. It must have been their hunting ground, because as soon as we settled down to rest, they came out of the trees above us, clicking and crawling their way down the branches. Cat drew her sword and told us to stay behind her, but she was too slow. The nearest (and ugliest) spider squirted webbing all around her, tying her up until she fell to the ground, cursing. Abraham stood in front of me and began to say a magic word:
Then he paused and frowned. “Wait...no, that spell just makes me slee..” and he flopped to the ground and started snoring. My eyes widened as I noticed that I was the only one left standing as spiders crawled down the trees around me.
“Er,” I said. “Nice...spiders?”
Yeah, that was going to work. Red eyes stared at me and a mouth full of sharp teeth opened and hissed. It didn’t seem like a nice way to go. I backed up as much as I could into the stream. That’s when I heard it.
A scream!
But it wasn’t an ordinary scream of horror because we were all about to be devoured by spiders. No, this was a squeal of happiness, of excitement, of joy. I stopped backing up when I felt something soft and fluffy behind me.
I turned. It was a...cat?
The squeal of happiness came from the one person who loved cats: Cat Danger.
This wasn’t an ordinary cat, either. No, this cat was about twice the size of a normal cat and it stared intently at the spiders. There was a pause as both cat and spider pondered what to do, and Cat squeaked, “It’s so fluffy! I want to touch it! Alex, cut me free! Do it now!”
I wasn’t going to move. I didn’t know if this giant cat was a friend or if it wanted to share me with the spider. Luckily, I quickly found out.
The spider twitched. It was about to attack, but the cat reacted first. It pounced into the air, claws extended, and landed on the spider!
The spider let out a hissing squeal, which made the other spiders scurry back up the trees in fear. The cat played with the spider for a while, biting at it and scratching it, until that spider too retreated up the tree to escape the feline jaws.
That, of course, was when Abraham sat back up and said, “I’m awake!” He looked around. The cat looked back at him with a confused expression. “Cat?” he asked. “When did you turn into an ocelot?”
The cat licked its paw in response.
It was crazy.
Monday - Back at the Happy-Go-Lucky – Mood: Bad times
I’ve just seen something I never thought I would see. What is it? Cat Danger giggling. The ocelot seems to have taken as much of a liking to
Cat as she did to it, and for a while, after I set her free from the spider’s web, she just sat and stroked the yellow and brown fur of the big ocelot as it purred and rubbed against her.
All the time she was doing it, she said things like, “Oh, you are so cute! Yes you are! Yes you are!” and “Who’s my biddy widdy cutie booty?”
It was...strange. Creepy. Very unlike the Captain Cat Danger that I had come to know.
Me and Abraham just watched in horror as she rolled around on the floor with the cat for a while and then, finally, she looked up and noticed us.
“Having fun?” I asked.
Cat quickly got up and brushed herself down, putting on a serious face. “If either of you tell anyone that I am like this around cats, I will stab you with my sword and then drop you in the ocean. Got it?”
I looked at Abraham and he looked at me. We both nodded, trying not to smile. Cat narrowed her eyes and continued to stroke the cat on its head.
We were about to continue into the jungle when we heard a distant sound, back where we had come from.
Cat looked up and her eyes flashed with recognition. “The Happy-Go-Lucky!” she cried and then set off in a sprint back the way we had come! The ocelot, seemingly interested, ran after her.
“Wait!” I shouted, but it was too late. Cat was running back from the spot we had taken over half the day to get to.
I knew that our search was over. The sky was already turning orange in the sunset, and I knew that we would have to wait until morning if we turned back now, but there was no way to make Cat stop running.
By the time we got back to the Happy-Go-Lucky, the damage was already done. We all looked on in horror as the Happy-Go-Lucky took on water from the brand new hole in its hull. We jumped in and dragged the ship as close as we could to the beach. Soon, it stood leaning slightly on the sand, just like the Angry Mermaid. It was a horrible thing to see.
Cat stared at her ship, her ocelot at her side, shaking her head.
“Cat,” I said. “I'm really sorry. If I'd had known, I would never have...!”
Cat raised a finger, silencing me. “I don't blame you, Alex,” she said quietly. “It was a creeper. A cursed creeper. I hate those things.”
“I hate them too,” I agreed.
She took a deep breath. “I guess you have your wish,” she said with a bitter smile.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“We‘re stuck on this island for a little bit longer,” she said. “I guess we'll have time to find Scotty tomorrow. Tonight, we rest.”
And with that, she boarded the ship and slammed the door closed to her captain's quarters. Everyone standing outside the room was speechless. The ocelot, as if it was a perfectly natural thing to do, curled up outside the door and promptly fell asleep.
Abraham stood next to me and frowned. “These are dark times,” he said. “Dark times indeed.”
She’s been in there for a few hours. At one point, Sally got the courage to knock on the door and offer her some food. Tonight’s special was a strange looking fish he had caught. Cat opened the door, took the fish, dropped some down for the ocelot and then slammed the door closed again.
It is dark now, and we are all huddled up on the deck of the ship, listening to the groans and moans of monsters in the forest. I don't think Cat plans on coming out any time soon. Probably a wise decision! I wouldn't want to come out here. It is creepy.
I don't think I am going to get any sleep tonight.
Tuesday Morning – A New Day – Mood: Sleepy
Weirdly, the first person to wake up today was Cat! She strolled onto the deck while we were all asleep, stamped her foot on the floor and shouted, “Wake up, wake up! It’s a beautiful day and we are wasting daylight!”
Being the closest to her stamping feet, I sat up quickly, thinking something was wrong, and instantly regretted it. She was right. It was a beautiful day. The sun was up and bright, shining on everything. It was horrible.
“Ugh,” I groaned. “Someone needs to turn off the light.”
Cat tapped me on the head, and turned to Abraham. “Wizard, can your fancy magic fix my ship?”
Abraham blinked at her through tired eyes. “I... yaaawn... I’m unable to cast any significant magic. Something on this island is blocking my spells. Something... dark.” He looked accusingly at the island and then turned back to us. “Then again, I could just be overtired. I am over five hundred years old, you know, all this running around is terrible for my knees.”
At first I was shocked. Five hundred years old? How could someone be that old? But then I looked at his wrinkled face and, you know what? He does look five hundred years old.
Cat, however, didn’t seem that affected. She rolled her eyes and turned to the rest of her crew. “Alright then. Crew?” Sally, Bob and Other Bob got up in a flash and snapped to attention. They stood in a straight line, ready to receive their orders. Sally even saluted, until Bob pulled down his arm and shook his head. Sally flushed with embarrassment.
“You are going to return my ship to the beauty that it once was, you understand me? I'm going with the girl and the old man and we are going to find her friend. When we get back, I want this ship ready to sail us out of this forsaken place. Understand?”
“Yes Cap'n!” her crew shouted, and they scurried around the deck, finding jobs to do. Cat nodded as they got to work and walked over to me.
“Right,” she said. “This time, we are going into the jungle with a plan. We aren’t just going to run around and hope for the best.”
I nodded. “Sounds good. What do you have in mind?”
Cat squinted in the sunlight and looked at the island. “There,” she said, pointing towards the jungle. “That tree.”
I turned to look. In the distance, one tree stood taller than the rest, up on a little hill. Nothing seemed that special about it. “What about the tree?” I asked.
“You’re going to climb it.”
“Me?” I said. “Climb a tree?” I looked back to the tree. It looked big from where we were standing now.
“Yes, you,” she said. “I might like danger, but I don't like heights, and Abraham looks like he would fall asleep halfway up.”
Abraham looked like he was about to protest, but then nodded. “That is more likely than you would think,” he agreed.
So I guess I’m climbing the tree. We are gathering stuff and are about to head out. I keep looking at the tree and...I know this sounds silly, but...I think it got larger since I last looked. That can’t be true, right?
Trees don’t grow that fast.
Do they? No, of course not.
I’m sure it will be fine.
Maybe I can make up an excuse not to do it once we get there?
Tuesday Morning – On top of the world! – Mood: Exhilarated!
You'll never guess where I am writing this from. The top of the tree! I know, I climbed a tree last night, but it was nothing compared to this beast! This tree must be ancient. The trunk alone was thicker than any other I have seen, and when we stood at the bottom and looked up, it towered over us like a giant who is tall for its age!
Cat, stroking the ocelot (it had of course come with us), laughed at my poor excuses not to climb the tree. She didn’t believe that I had twisted my ankle. She shook her head when I said that my tummy hurt, and tapped the top of her sword when I told her that maybe the tree didn’t want to be climbed. So I had to suck it up, grab hold of the nearest vine, and climb.
I’m really glad I did.
The view up here is amazing. I feel like I can see to the end of the world, in every direction! The wind is cool and refreshing, and I could stay here forever. The leaves and branches are actually quite comfy if you give them a chance.
The most obvious thing I can see on this island is trees. Trees and trees and trees and more trees. It’s very green. I can’t really see anything that...
Wait. What’s that? Something sticking out of the top of the trees in the distance. It looks l
ike...a stone structure of some kind! I can’t really make it out, but that might be worth checking out. It could be, I don’t know, a temple or something? All I know is that it means there might be people on the island, and they might be able to help us find Scotty.
Better than nothing, right?
Looks like we have a destination! I’d better climb down and tell the others. Woah, it's a long way down, isn't it? I think I feel a bit dizzy.
Woaaaah.
No, I'm OK. I'm OK. Not a problem.
Tuesday Morning – Not ok – Mood: Not ok at all
Climbing down a tree is a lot harder than climbing up! Everything was going fine, I was holding onto the vines, gently putting my feet into places that I thought could hold my weight, when I heard Cat shout from the bottom of the tree, “Come on, lazy bones! We haven't got all day!”
I turned to shout something back, something rude and really awesome that would put her in her place, but I found myself staring right down to the ground again. The far, far away ground. The tree started to spin and I closed my eyes. No, it was my head spinning, not the tree. I tried to keep climbing down with my eyes closed, but as I rushed, I forgot to check where I was putting my foot and slipped! Before I knew it, I was hanging by one hand, clinging onto a vine and hoping it would hold my weight as it swung around in the air.
It didn't hold my weight. Bad vine.
It started with a creeeeeeeeeaaaak. Then there was a crack snap crack snap. I silently wished I hadn't eaten so much for dinner last night, because next came a CRUNCH! The vine broke from the tree and all of a sudden I was falling through the air towards the ground screaming my lungs out! I thought I heard Cat and Abraham shouting as I fell, trying to catch me, but I knew it was too late. I was going to hit the ground and would become Alex jelly. I closed my eyes and waited for the inevitable.