Ethereal

Chapter 25: Solomon's Port

The remainder of my time on the island was a blur.

Jax loaded me into his own rowboat, swaddled me in blankets with a whispered promise that he would take a closer look at my cuts and bruises once we got back on board. I trembled at the thought of being back inside his room, remembering how the last time I had been inside I'd barely made it out in one piece.

I curled up on the bottom of the rowboat, nestled at the bottom of Jax's feet as he and two other men rowed us back to the ship. The rhythmic rocking of the boat coaxing me into an uneasy sleep.

When I opened my eyes, I found myself back on board, tucked into Jax's bed.

I was alone in the room. Sunlight beamed through the porthole, sending light tumbling into the room. Sitting upright, I stretched my arms over my head and arched my toes outward and gasped as a sharp pain radiated from my side.

I lifted my shirt to see several patches littered my ribs with long lengths of gauze wrapped around my middle to keep them all in place. Though the bandages had recently been changed, the gauze seemed to be reused, as both new and old blotches of blood stained its fabric. I tried to peel one of the bandages away from my skin but quickly stopped when I saw the angry purple and black bruises that were painted across my ribcage.

I rolled up the long sleeves of a white tunic I had been dressed in – it was Jax's from the smell of it– and spotted a similar bandage on my elbow where I had fallen by the tidepools.

I licked my lips, my thirst demanding my attention. A liter of water was left on the bedside table for me to drink, and I hastily swept it up and drank its contents. Almost emptying the pitcher, I tried to itch a spot on my neck but found myself stopped by another wrapping of gauze and bandages. Jax had really come through on his promise of playing nursemaid for me.

My stomach rumbled then, carrying my feet out from the bed and against the cold wooden floor. I stood for a moment, making sure that I didn't lose my balance and fall, before shuffling towards the door.

I peeked into the hallway but heard nothing. There were no voices, no distant hissing of Grouch-o's soup pot as he prepared dinner for tonight. The ship itself was still, as the floor below me didn't sway to its usual pattern when we were at sea. I felt my eyebrows scrunch down in confusion. Where was everybody?

My feet patted down the hallway and into the kitchen. Grouch-o was nowhere to be found. While this was normally a very concerning sign, as Grouch-o never left his post during the day, but my hunger had reached a point where it could no longer be ignored and everything else faded into the background.

I grabbed an apple and peered down into the depths of Grouch-o's pot, the smell of the soup not as revolting as it usually was. Stealing a ladle from the counter I scooped myself up a bowl and sat down at one of the tables, wolfing down my meal.

I had just taken my first bite out of an apple when I heard a shout from the top deck. The door was closed, only letting me see the shadows of feet walking past. The answer suddenly came to me. The stillness of the ship, nobody below decks – we were at Solomon's Port! Everyone must be above deck assisting with moving the trading goods. That's why Jax wasn't with me when I woke up. That also meant that I had been asleep for the better part of the day, and that we would be back at Camp by tomorrow at the latest.

The thought of Camp made the frown deepen on my face. I had only spent half a day inside those walls, and I never wanted to go back. My family was in there somewhere, and I had to find them.