Kiel was admiring the massive selection of books when he asked Kate what she hadn't finished.

  “I have read them all,” answered Kate.

  “All of these?”

  “Yes, multiple times”

  Kiel sat on the edge of the bed beside Kate.

  “Why? What's the point”

  Kate seemed to process the question. It took her some time before he was able to answer.

  “It gives me new perspective"

  Kiel was about to ask what she meant by that when the door swung open revealing Adam in front of the room.

  He and Kate decided to give Kiel a tour of the island.

  It's way larger and livelier compared to the time it first arrived with Kiel. Which is probably the reason for his surprise and amazement.

  Several men had climbed the building's roof to attach the solar panel that Kate and Adam got.

  An old yet stout man seemed to be managing his workers. Both his hands resting on the pockets of a blue coat that he was wearing as he shouts orders to what seemed to be his crew.

  He had a long beard and hair both turning completely grey. His face was wrinkled but it still contained the image of a man who was once handsome.

  The man saw the three head out the building and produced a smile.

  “How was the sleep?” the man asked in a gruff yet clear voice.

  “Bad” said Adam and Kate at almost the exact same time that caused the man to laugh heartily.

  “And who is this young fella?” he asked.

  “His name is Kiel. We found him during the retrieval of the panels,” Kate explained.

  “Kiel this is captain Richard, Richard this is Kiel”

  “Oh please no captain, it was an old title, that ship isn't going anywhere” he said, staring at the massive ship that was resting by the shore.

  The man then stretched his out towards the boy.

  Kiel took it shyly and shook it. His hands enveloped the old man's massive hand.

  “It's been a while since I saw a young one.” Said the man named Richard.

  “You're an actual captain?” The boy asked as he looked at the massive figure of the ship that can be seen even at the center of the island.

  “i once was, you can still see the ship right there the USS Victor” said the man as he pointed towards the ships direction

  “It no longer looks victorious if you ask me,” said the old man with a smile.

  “That ship once carried a lot of great men”

  The old man said looking afar as if to recall the events.

  “What happened?” Kiel asked.

  “The green streaks, we were sailing then. We didn't think of it as much to us that only seemed like a sight to behold-”

  The boy tilted his head, waiting for the caption to continue.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  “I even called Nature's beauty” the man said with a light chuckle.

  “I didn't know that it was actually nature's tragedy”

  “What happened to the crew?” Kiel asked once more.

  “Like I said we didn't know about what happened then. When we tried contacting the other vessels no one responded. Again we didn't think of it that much. It was the next day we realized something was wrong”

  He sighed.

  “So we approached the shore and everything seemed fine. Most of the crew hit the land; only some of my men stayed with me.”

  Kiel’s eyes widened in realization.

  “Yes, they changed. We were confused and afraid then. We didn't know what to do so we left.” The man paused again

  “Then we saw another vessel aimlessly floating by the sea. My hopes went up then someone might knew what was happening”

  “ but only those creatures completely filled the ship, we immediately changed course”

  “Then how did you come across the island?” asked the boy.

  “Well, aren't you a curious one? Not right away we had turned the engine and let the waves steer us, afraid we might lose power. As we drift aimlessly, we come across this island. “

  “Of course, we didn't land immediately it was only when I saw a boy that we did”

  He said as he nodded at Adam.

  “You shouldn't disturb the captain” said Kate with the emphasis on the word captain.

  “Sharp tongue as always” Richard said with a laugh, his mood slightly improving after the remembrance of an unfortunate memory.

  “We had to go, we would give Kiel a tour of the island” said Adam.

  The captain nodded in understanding he then proceeded to shout to his crew so that they hasten their work.

  Their first destination was the tree plantation which also includes the garden. This section took up almost one third of the island. Containing trees of varying size and color and several fruits and vegetables. Adam explained to Kiel that in order to survive one of the things that they needed was wood. With it they were able to create shelter and maintain warmth by using chopped wood to create fuel for fire. Of course not to mention the fruit and vegetables that they harvest from it had become one of their staple food sources.

  They continued their walk until they arrived at the livestock and poultry. There was a massive wooden barn and a chicken coop beside it. Kiel smiled at the sight.

  “This was just like the one beside our house.”

  “Yes, this is one of the most important parts of the island, it kept us fed, provided wool and even transport by horses” Adam explained

  “But you don’t ride horses?” the boy asked.

  “He doesn't know how to,” Kate interrupted with a smile.

  Adam lightly pushed her by the shoulder to stop her from speaking.

  …

  During the walk Adam also explained that most of the island's inhabitants were the captain and his crew. The rest of the people here were the ones assigned to take care of the island before the streaks even happened like Althea's mother: Elena. It turns out that she was the woman who welcomed them to the island.

  Eventually they arrived at the final stop of the tour. It was by the beach, near the massive vessel. Several benches and tables that look used for picnics sit by the concrete just before the sand.

  Allowing them the full view of the island’s shore. Some seagull caws around the beach as Adam took a seat on the bench urging Kiel to sit beside him.

  Kate sat on the side metal armrest of the bench by Adam's side, joining the two in admiring the view.

  “This was where Althea found me,” Adam said softly.

  Kiel nodded in understanding and stared at the sea as well. Adam slightly raised his brows in confusion.

  “He already knew about her,” said Kate.

  Adam crossed his arms, he was about to say something when Kiel spoke.

  “Beth said she never saw a beach”

  Adam felt dumb.

  When arriving at the Island he considered the possibility that Kiel lied about something. Adam just felt something wasn't right. But right now, he thought he was wrong.

  The boy wasn't unaffected; he was just trying to distract himself.

  How could even doubt him?

  “I told her about the island, I said you were taking me with you, but she said Nolan wouldn't agree she said he never does”

  Adam patted the boy by the shoulder who just started sobbing lightly.

  “Now even Nolan is gone” the boy started sobbing louder.

  “Both of them and it's my fau-”

  “No it wasn't,” Kate said sharply.

  “What happened was an accident, it's not Nolan's fault, not ours and especially not yours” she said and paused.

  “No one wanted what happened,” Kate finished.

  “Kate was right, we had seen people die people like us, people that close to us”

  Adam sighed, remembering everyone they had lost.

  “That doesn't mean it's the end, you would still have someone you haven't lost-”

  “And you must make sure that you never do” Adam continued as he stole a glance towards Kate.

  Adam patted Kiel's back until he slowly calmed down.

  They stayed on the shore for another couple of minutes before Adam felt hungry and told the two that they should go back and eat some food.

  The two agreed with Adam, they stood up and started walking towards the main building.

  It only took a few minutes of walking before they saw a man running towards them. Adam recognized the man’s face, he was one of the captain’s crew. The man was sweating and he was also catching his breath when he finally caught sight of the three. He shouted some words that Adam didn’t hear clearly at first, but when he did his eyes widened and his hand started to shake. He looked at Kate and the three of them immediately rushed towards the main building.

  Althea is in danger.

  Adam continued to repeat it in his head what he just heard. They dashed their way to the center of the island, Adam realized a thin sheen of sweat sliding down his forehead as they ran. He wasn't tired, they almost never were.

  He was scared

  What meant to take only minutes of running felt like an eternity to Adam. They eventually arrived at the room. Elena, Althea’s mother, was sitting by her daughter’s side, holding her hand. Adam saw Althea, her face still thinned. It was the same look she had this morning but its breathing was different. It almost felt labored, as if each breath she took required a significant amount of energy.

  Adam stared at her mother as if to ask what was happening.

  “The- the flow batteries stop working so i-i wasn't able to give her the oxygen mas-‘’ The mother was saying in a scared voice but Adam wasn't processing what she was saying as if the world around him had turned mute.

  He was just staring at the girl on the bed as she tried to breath, the air in her body slowly declining.

  Kate was saying something, but Adam wasn't getting any of i as wellt. He had always prided himself with being able to make quick and hard decisions in a pinch. But this time he couldn't do it. He knew they would eventually have to decide about Althea, but he never thought that the decision would be this hard.

  Kate was looking at Adam who was helplessly staring at the girl.

  She put his hand on Adam’s shoulder. She waited until he slowly turned his head towards her before she spoke.

  “Let's get her out”