The Explorer's Apprentice

80:Sweet Life

I own no one but the bit of Rose that is Marley.

Marley Faulkner

They run all the way to the halls of the kitchen before finding a place to hide. There's a small door behind the china cabinets, and although the pair have no idea where it leads to, they open it and enter. They stand close at the top of a small staircase, their breathing labored. Jack presses a finger to his lips, and they listen.

 But all Marley can hear is the distant, eerie moan of a sinking ship.

 She leans her head against the hard wall, and Jack leans back and closes his eyes--both of them wheezing, both of them kids, only kids, who should have a whole life ahead of them. And yet tomorrow seems so far away.

 The water seems to rise with every breath. It's beautiful and terrible, and in a strange, twisted sort of way, Marley supposes that this is just what she's always loved about the ocean. It's free and no one controls it--not even man. She just never thought that it would ever hurt her so greatly.

 She should have known. Oh God, she should have known.

The ocean shows no favor with anyone.

 China crashes to the sea like feathers and tables are lifted from their posts like a spell. The air is cold, and Marley can hardly feel the hand that isn't holding Jack's.

 You were right, Uncle Brock. You were 100% correct. She thinks, closing her eyes and letting the image of her uncle's kind face come to her. A single tear slides down her left cheek. She wants to thank him for painting P.J's room pink, or for giving Marley her own art room. She never got to tell him how glad she was to live with him, and she'll never be able to tell him about Jack. He would have been happy for her. He really is an amazing man.

 "Jack," she whispers suddenly, her voice soft. " I have to tell you something crazy." She keeps her voice low, but her breathing is perfectly steady. She feels absolutely alive--absolutely secure. She'd been meaning to do this hours ago. Jack, her love, he needs to know about everything. P.J. and Uncle Brock and Florida and being Marley. "About me."

 "Daddy!!"

 Marley opens her eyes and holds her breath, wondering if the strange and sudden voice is real.

 "Daddy!"

 When they hear the young scream bellow through the halls, Jack takes Marley's hand and they sink down the slim staircase. Her legs are completely consumed by water. When they step off the last stair, they reach a corner. Marley cranes her neck and glances at the hallway before her, her sense of hearing greatly intensified as she focuses only on locating the screaming. Her confession, once again, will have to wait. But if she and Jack can save a life, the wait is worth it.

 "There," she says. A little boy much younger than P.J. presses himself against the white wall of the corridor. He stands near another large, locked door where ocean spews from with the ferocity of a jungle waterfall. The water is up to his knees. Marley wonders how long the door will hold.

 "We can't leave him." Despite the cold, his little face is red and stained with tears. Her heart makes an extra beat for him, as Marley knows exactly how it feels to be alone and helpless.

 Jack nods, not showing a hint of hesitation. Water pours out from every direction. 

 "Alright, come on!" Jack turns down the hall quickly. His hair so wet that it's brown, and his face is pale. The child's hollering pierces Marley's ears. Ocean pulses at the large door, knock-knock-knocking, waiting for the moment that door gives way. In a battle between Land and Sea, Sea always wins.