“What’s going on, Fin?” I call out. He spots me then, skipping over and stopping just before my extended feet. Something has gotten him excited, but with as quiet as the ship is, I can’t imagine what it would be.
“Hi Lennox! Guess what? I get to do my job! I get to do my job!” He spins around in circles and then tumbles to the ground.
My spine straightens. Did something happen? Is anyone in trouble? Jorn and Sig are on the island today, but how would Fin know if something had happened to them?
I try to remember what Jorn said about the helio signals and what they stand for, because this is the first time since I’ve been on the ship that they’re going to be used.
“Is everyone alright?” I ask Fin calmly, trying to hide my concern so he doesn’t get scared.
“Everything is fine,” Weston says as he steps on deck, looking more casual and relaxed than his typical buttoned up, firm captain role requires. His loose shirt falls open over the chest I was intimately acquainted with just last night. He’s probably still suffering from the heat down below, with the way his sleeves are rolled and the hem is haphazardly tucked into his pants. But he’s not alarmed, not as he would be if someone in the crew were in trouble.
Fin runs to the mast and starts climbing, and I shade my eyes, craning my neck to follow his ascent. He disappears inside the crow’s nest for a few moments before dropping out of it and shimmying back down the mast.
“What’s he signaling?” I ask Weston, who stopped to watch Fin’s progress, too.
“It’s too hot for anyone to function, so we’re going to the Oasis.”
“The Oasis?” Was this the ‘somewhere’ Jorn spoke of? He didn’t tell me details, probably because back then, the crew didn’t trust me. That time has passed now.
“You’ll see,” he says. He shuffles down the stairs, disappearing below before his voice rings out.
“Oasis! Everyone get ready!”
Cheers erupt from all over the ship, and the previously quiet and relaxed atmosphere is suddenly buzzing. I bring my mopand bucket down to the storage closet as Stassia and Auralie come bounding down the hall.
“What exactly am I getting ready for?” I ask as Stassia weaves an arm through mine and drags me toward the steps.
“We’re going to the Oasis. It’s the only time we leave the ship during daylight hours, so it’s a little stressful at the beginning. But once we’re in the tunnels, the fun begins.”
Within a few minutes, everyone waits on deck for Weston to give direction. He stands at the edge of the ship, blocking the entrance to the gangway, sword drawn and looking severe, before he addresses the group.
“Everyone remember, move quickly, but wait for my signal,” he says, and looks up to the top of the main mast. Ryum stands in the crow’s nest, a spyglass pressed to his eye as he scans the island.
“All clear, Captain!” he calls down, and Weston turns on his heel, striding down the gangway and making his way to the beach. As I watch him traipse over the jagged rock and onto the beach, my chest flutters with worry at his exposure to an attack. I know Ryum is watching over him, and he has the best vantage point in this scenario, but after seeing Storm with the determination and readiness to fire his crossbow on his face, I can’t help but feel nervous.
But it’s not just about Weston. It’s about every single one of us that is about to leave the protection of Dawnlin.
Weston is alert as he walks, his head swiveling side to side, prepared for any threat. At the entrance to the tunnel, he waves toward the ship, and the group in front of us barrels down after him on the same path he just tread.
I take Fin’s hand in mine, and we follow behind Stassia and Auralie. My shoulders tense as I continue to look around, eyes flickering to the ridge above us, all the way to the top of the steps Dane and I took so long ago. As I watch the Castaways ahead ofus disappear into the portal, my mind flickers to Mara, when she thought she saw someone down at the beach during the daylight hours. Had sheactuallyseen someone? Were the Castaways heading to the Oasis that day, and she caught a glimpse of someone just before they disappeared?
I shake the thoughts away and focus back on getting Fin through the obstacle ridden terrain until we reach the entrance. Weston stands to the side, ushering everyone in. His gaze catches mine for an instant before I step through the portal. Fin and I bring up the last of the group, his small steps making it difficult to keep up.
Weston waits just outside the opening, and I look back to watch as Ryum sprints across the rock and over the sand, before ducking through the portal. Only once everyone else is safely inside does Weston cross through, and his shoulders visibly release the tension they held.
“Everyone alright?” he calls out, and is met with a chorus of affirmations. “Let’s go then.”
People break out into a run and disappear into the tunnels ahead of us, probably eager to finally be free of the confines of the ship and inside the cool tunnels. Fin lets go of my hand and tears after them, and before I can call out, Weston is brushing past me, his long strides catching up to him easily.
“I’ve got him,” he mutters before he’s charging down the tunnel, following the pounding little footsteps and leaving Auralie, Stassia, and me alone.
“Anyone ready to tell me what the Oasis is?” I fall into stride with them as we weave through the land in a direction I’m mildly familiar with after going on so many shifts.
“It’s our sanctuary, well, besides the ship,” Auralie says.
“With the Voyagers hunting us during the day, we can’t really go anywhere and enjoy the island,” Stassia adds. “The Oasis is just ours, somewhere we can enjoy on days like this.”
We wind further into the tunnels, going down a few I have yet to pass through. A light appears just ahead and gets larger as we approach. I watch it, confused. We haven’t ascended, and there don’t look to be any steps or ways to get to the surface, so I have no idea where this portal is going to open up to.
