Ushanti basically dragged him out of his bed and out the door. Liam didn't remember stopping until they were standing on the deck. The water was calmer and the sun was brighter.
Liam paused.
Ushanti led him to the railing that overlooked the ocean.
"You see that?" she pointed out to the distance.
From where he stood he could see that the waters weren't nearly as calm and the sky seemed darker.
"What?" he pondered
"The captain says he led us to the eye of the storm or whatever" Ushanti explained.
Liam looked up and then he looked back at the distant storm.
"Makes sense then" Liam said.
"How does that make sense?" Ushanti furrowed her eyebrows. She seemed to have understood that the ship was safe because it was within the eye of the storm. But she didn't seem to understand the underlying principle behind it.
Liam lingered for a moment. Thinking of the best way to explain it. Finally he spoke:
"Well...I learned about it in Geography class" seeing her lost expression Liam turned to face her. "Basically for a tropical cyclone to be created several winds meet and rotate and push each other intot he sky... but in the process they create an empty space in the center while the outside is nothing but a storm"
Ushanti finally seemed to get it.
"Oh! Now that makes sense why the captain had chosen this spot to ride out the storm"
"Yeah..." Liam nodded and looked out once more.
"You are really lucky you made it here then"
"Yeah...real lucky" he sighed.
Everything that had happened to him was nothing but a stroke of luck. His very survival had been a stroke of luck. He should have been happy that he had managed to make it out alive. He had survived a Zone collapse, killed a hobgoblin and even inherited the legacy of a mighty dragon.
Liam tightened his grip on the railing
Yet it had all been luck. He couldn't continue like this. He couldn't rely on luck otherwise the day his luck run out...
Liam didn't want to think about it.
"So where is the ship heading anyway?" he asked.
"Its taking me home" Ushanti replied with a slight smile.
Liam sighed. He should have known honestly. He was back on Earth except he was thousands of miles away from Bright City. He was crossing the Indian Ocean and heading to the Island Nation of Quescue.
'Ah... I need to sit down'At that point they heard footsteps approaching behind them.
The two turned to find two men walking towards them. One of them had a stethoscope around his neck and the other one looked dressed for a beach day.
"Forgive the intrusion my lady... but the boy requires inspection from the doctor" the man dressed for a the beach said. To which Liam could only nod.
***
Sometime later...
Liam was back in the sickbay being inspected by a bold man with a smooth face. He had a small scar along his forehead. He had a stethoscope around his neck. He was dressed quite shabbily but he was no doubt the medical expert for this ship.
Right behind the doctor, stood a man with a dark shinning hair. His bushy mustache moved as he puffed at his cigarette. He was a tall man and had a muscular build hidden beneath a beach shirt and a pair of blue shorts.
The shirt...Liam took a subtle glance at his own.
'Could this shirt be his?'
The size just about matched in his eye so that had to be the case.
"Remarkable the earlier bruises are already fading" the sea doctor said.
"That's just my ability"
"You're an awakened" the man with the mustache said. His dark brown eyes were clear. It wasn't a question.
Liam nodded.
"And how did you end up here mister awakened?"
"Well...I wouldn't really call myself an awakened. I mean sure I do have an ability but I don't think I qualify to be an awakened or a Hunter for that matter" Liam's voice was soft.
A hint of gentleness appeared in the man's eyes. "Would you give us the room please?"
The doctor immediately straightened his back.
"Yes captain" the man gave a small bow and left the room taking his tools with him.
Now it was just the two of them.
The captain gave Liam a long look before he sat down in one of the beds. He leaned forward and interlaced his fingers.
"So how did you end up here kid?" he asked.
Liam thought for a moment before he spoke:
"There was a Zone collapse in my city...Bright City. I was basically in the thick of it there were goblins everywhere. It was horrible but I managed to run from the worst of them...well at least I thought I did..."
The captain listened with apt attention as Liam explained what happened to him. How he was dragged into a Zone. Of course he left out everything that happened with Aragon... as well as the battle against that other strange person.
Liam changed his story abit. After being dragged into the Zone the only way he survived was by hiding and running away. With his Self Healing ability the task sounded more believable. So Liam lived like that until one day the Zone destabilized and began to break down. Then he was released above the Indian Ocean, during a storm.
"...and that is how I ended up here" Liam finished. He waited for the captain to say something only for the man to remain silent.
Liam couldn't help but be tense.
'Did he somehow find out that I lied halfway through?'
That couldn't be possible... well it would be if the captain had some kind of mind reading ability but he highly doubted that was the case. If he did he wouldn't have bothered asking.
After what felt like an eternity, the captain finally sighed.
"You've been through a lot kid, truly" the captain said. "I would have loved nothing more than to help you get back to land but we are currently in the middle of a job."
"You believe me?"
The captain shrugged. "Your story checks out somewhat the Disaster of Bright City is a well known topic. But that's just what happens when a five star guild is relegated to a three star"
Liam furrowed his brows and thought for a second. That must have been the Vulcan Guild after all they were pretty well known in Bright City. Still for a guild with an S-Ranked captain to be demoted that much was...surprising. It was no wonder the story was well known.
"Okay then can I accompany you to Quescue and back? You're from River City right?" Liam suggested with a smile. Honestly he didn't mind waiting at all.
"Aye. We can do that" the captain stood and offered him a hand shake. His own face painting a smile. Liam stood up ta shake it he was pretty satisfied with the arrangement. What the captain said next however poured a bucket of cold water over his heart. "You've already waited six months to go home. What's a few more days?"