The Channels Between Us

It's all quiet on the western coast. Too quiet. A lot quieter since the Strangelove disappeared.

The news first struck the nearby Alaskan town of Seward, its last port of call, before traveling like wildfire all the way to the national capital. No one knew what to make of the story: an innocuous fishing vessel suddenly vanishing without a trace, with no distress call sent and no wreck discovered. Luckily, the investigation lies in good hands: the Anomalous Response Command, or ARC for short, is already on the case with a quickly dispatched vessel to the scene of the incident.

This mission is the chance for six young cadets to prove themselves capable of standing up to the paranormal and belonging among ARC's ranks, this time without a commanding officer among them. Two will remain securely on land in a radio outpost on the island of Maui, acting as strategists, backup, and the primary communicators with the vessel. Four will sail to the front lines, prepared to uncover the mystery and fend off whatever sea monster or supernatural force is at work. It's the perfect opportunity to make a name for themselves and return as heroes.

But return isn't guaranteed in this line of work. And for a team divided by great distance, with nothing but thousands of miles of ocean and a feeble radio signal between them, it's not enough to merely hope the waves will bring them all home. They'll have to fight for it.

Night shift at A.R.C. wasn't glamorous. It was fluorescent lights that buzzed way too loud, the stale and unbearable tang of burnt coffee, and an ocean of glowing monitors. By now, I'd learned every tick and whir of the machines, every small sound that marked the difference between routine drills and actual emergencies.

Most nights, nothing happened. Just me, a headset, and the occasional ship-to-land check-in from Phoebe before she finally gave in and got some sleep. She pulled the short straw often enough-- she deserved the rest. That left me here, covering the graveyard hours while the rest of the floor dimmed down, leaving me alone with my thoughts and screens that made my eyes ache.

I didn't mind the solitude. Talking weather patterns to a half-conscious agent or listening to static-laced ocean reports was easier than silence. Silence left too much room for memory, y'know?

So, I sat there with one boot up on the desk, the headset snug against my ear, keeping my eyes trained on the shifting streams of data: sea pressure, cloud formations, barometric oddities, all of it scrolling in neat little lines. Out at sea, the team slept, and for once, the weather looked calm enough to let them.

Or so I thought.

The line crackled once, twice. I leaned forward automatically, adjusting the dial, expecting to hear Maddox grumbling something half asleep about course adjustments.

Instead, a familiar voice-- bright, playful, and very much awake-- sounded in my ear.

"Howdy, Mission Control," Colin drawled into the microphone. "Anyone awake? I'm bored."

"I shouldn't be surprised that you're awake, but somehow I am every single time," I rubbed my eyes and leaned back in my chair, letting out a long, slow sigh. "Colin. What did you break this time?"

"Aw, come on, West," Colin said, feigning hurt. "Can't a guy call up his old buddy without cause nor reason other than to have a pleasant late-night chat, no ulterior motives involved? Have some faith in me."

I scoffed, holding back a smile, "Faith? In you? At three in the morning, over comms, with the entire ship asleep except for you?"

"Well, it's not like I can join them!" Colin huffed. "Plus, you're one to speak. You're an actual night owl with a messed up sleep schedule. Time is all the same to me."

"Mhm," I yawned, stretching slightly, "Spill. What is it? Is there a leak, caused by you? A... uh, what was it earlier? Did the engine make a weird sound again?"

There was a pause from Colin, and I could imagine him leaning back in his chair with his legs hooked over the armrest, the way he did when he refused to sit like a normal human being. "Wow, you are not buying it, huh?"

"Not at all, to be honest," I let out a heavy laugh, "I can usually tell because your voice gets all funny. Like... it goes up an octave. Phoebe noticed it first, it's kinda funny, y'know."

"No, it does not!" Colin's voice only turned more shrill, and he must've noticed it, because he fell silent again.

"You were saying?" I grinned, leaning even further back in my chair.

"You've not my favorite teammate anymore," Colin grumbled. "The honor has been revoked. That position is now going to... uh... I'll get back to you on that, but they're totally cooler than you. Take that."

"That's not possible," I looked at my reflection in the dark computer screen in front of me, "And you know, you shouldn't say that when you're mere yards away from Maddox. He'll get a big head about it."

"Good thing he's asleep, then." A pause, filled by crackling static. "For now."

I raised an eyebrow, tempted to glance behind my shoulder in case Phoebe just happened to be awake. Which, at this point, wouldn't be a surprise.

"Be careful, if we talk about him too much, he'll be summoned. Like the devil," I sighed at Phoebe, who was asleep on a lousy chair a few feet away, "Speaking of, did you know I had to fight Sleeping Beauty over here for comms? She was about ready to lose it. Eyebags and all. Maddox would be pissed if he found out."

"And thank God it's you instead," Colin sighed. "She'd have told me to shut up four times by now."

I couldn't help but smile. He wasn't wrong. Phoebe was known for being all-about-work, and way too stressed about what happens in ARC. It wasn't until I was grouped with her that I realized how intense she can really be-- especially when it matters. But when it came to Colin, Phoebe wasn't very patient.

"Definitely," I sighed, stretching, "So. Let me ask again, since we've had our small talk. Why are you calling me at three o'clock in the morning, Colin?"

More silence on the other end. Coming from Colin, that alone was suspicious.

"...I need an alibi," Colin admitted.

Oh god. What is it this time?

I rubbed my temple, bracing myself for what came next. "For...what, exactly?"

"First of all, I'd like to remind you of my extremely likeable nature and award-winning personality, before I say anything further," Colin said brightly.

"Uh huh. Very likable indeed. Did you blow something up? Did you draw a mustache on Maddox while he's asleep?" I raised an eyebrow.

"No, and no, but I will be trying that second thing tomorrow. If I survive tonight, that is." Colin cleared his throat. "So, someone, not naming anyone here, got really bored tonight while everyone else was off sleeping-- how lame of them, imagine wasting your time that way-- and decided they wanted a midnight snack. Or a 3am snack, I guess. They also had a sugar cookie recipe they wanted to try, so they decided to kill two birds with one stone and do some baking." Another heavy pause. "Unfortunately, the oven on board has a very hateful heart."

I rest my head lightly against the back of the chair, "Colin... don't tell me you--"

Colin groaned. "No, I didn't set anything on fire! Those days are over, I promise."

I let out a slow breath of relief, "Good. Because if you burned cookies at three in the morning and set off the fire alarm onboard, Maddox would actually kill you. Or rather, make you disappear. I think that's his thing now."

"I'm not worried about Maddox. I'm worried about Flick." There was a crunching sound.

"Oh?" I raised both eyebrows this time, surprised, "and... why is that?" I thought about it for a second, and before he could respond, a lightbulb went off in my head. I shook my head, "The alarm. The alarm on the oven. That's it, isn't it?"

"Oh, hey, you're breaking up." Colin made some rather unconvincing static noises. It sounded like his mouth was full, which made it all the more laughable. "Can't we just talk about how good these cookies I made are?" More crunching followed.

"Colin, how many seconds are left on the timer?" I ask, ignoring his antics, "If you have time, you should shut it off."

"You don't think I tried that? It's got a mind of its own! The buttons don't work!"

I sighed as Phoebe stirred, and my heart basically dropped to my legs. "Colin."

"Look, I know you know I'm better than this, so--" Colin paused. "Okay, maybe not. But you don't get it. The timer turned on automatically, I swear, and you've never heard it go off before. It's serious."

"You're on board with two people that have the capability to kill, and another who gets frightened by a leaf rustling. Any alarm, to any of them, is not going to end well." I stated, rubbing my thumbs together, "How many seconds are left?"

There was mumbling on the other end of the radio that was too faint and shameful for me to hear.

"What was that?"

"...Forty seconds," Colin said reluctantly. "Give or take."

"You called me eight min--- you know what, okay. I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do from here. I'd start digging your grave. Leave comms on though, because I wanna hear. I don't get much entertainment nowadays." I rolled my chair back slightly so I could kick my feet up on the desk.

"Hey-- no, you were supposed to be my alibi!" Colin protested.

"You made me a witness!" I laughed, "You aren't trapped in a lighthouse with Phoebe. I'm not going down with you, but I do support your justification. Cookies are needed every once in a while."

"I'm taking you out of my will," Colin threatened. "Which would be a great thing to stay on, considering how likely my imminent death is."

"You would never," I joked, "Because you like me too much. Plus, who else has the patience to sit here and help you justify your stupid actions? I mean, they're brilliant... but stupid, nonetheless. Respect, though."

"Damn you, Calloway."

No sooner had Colin spoken than a shriek-- the alarm-- tore through my headset.

I flinched so hard I nearly fell out of my chair, hands flying up to claw the earpiece away. The sound was apocalyptic, what I'd imagine a Banshee's wail to sound like. I immediately glanced at Phoebe, to find her staring directly at me, hands pressed over the headset she'd fallen asleep wearing. The unfocused, groggy look in her tired eyes as she roused did nothing to hide the sharp accusation behind it.

"For fuck's sake," she muttered, shaking her head to clear it and rolling her chair quickly toward the comms bench.

"Wasn't me!" I threw my hands up, ears still ringing, "I swear! And why the hell would ARC install an oven that loud on a vessel?!"

"I'll have a word with them about their supplier." Phoebe rubbed her eyes with one hand, lowering her microphone and twisting a knob to dial in on the channel in one smooth, practiced move. "Put those on."

"Hell no. I need to see a doctor after that, and maybe sue," I rubbed my ears, opening my mouth slightly to see if that made it any better. The ring got slightly better, but the remnants were still there.

Phoebe turned her head to stare me down again, and all sense of tiredness in her gaze was gone, replaced by dead seriousness. The air suddenly felt charged with static electricity. "Headphones, now."

I was tempted to test her, but instead I sighed heavily and dramatically before grabbing the headset, "You know, you're cute when you're mad. Or upset. So, I will put my headset on. But keep in mind, if my ears get worse, you're paying for it!"

"Get a lawyer," Phoebe said dismissively. "Make that their problem."

I snatched my headset out of my lap and placed it halfway on my ears, wincing.

"--more like thirty seconds," Colin was saying, clearly through a pained wince. If it had been loud over the radio, the timer on board must have been staggering. "My bad. If it helps, it's fine that I probably lost my hearing. I'll lose my life soon enough probably."

"Colin," Phoebe interrupted. "Was that you?"

A pause. "...Oh hey, Phoebe! How's it going, girl--"

"Bad," Phoebe said bluntly. "Bad."

"Sorry to, uh, hear that."

I was surprised he could hear at all after that.

Scuffling, indistinct sounds crackled over the radio, a bit like footsteps if the person was stomping. Which they probably were.

"I'm going to kill that little Texan freak!" Though her voice was clearly coming from far away from the microphone, the sheer rage in Flick's tone was palpable.

"I'm not little," Colin mumbled.

"I heard that! He's in the comms booth!" More stomping followed.

Colin sighed. "Nice knowing you, West."

Somewhere behind Colin came a hammering knock, and then Maddox's unmistakable voice boomed over the radio, even through the static. He didn't sound happy.

"You woke the entire damn ship!" his deep voice came in and out of the transmission, "--Do you know what time it is? Do you know how long it took for Phoebe to knock out? And Flick--" there was a frustrated growl, and I pictured Maddox running a hand over his face, "You can't just screw around in the kitchen like it's a toy set. What if you'd actually triggered an emergency system?!"

"What if, and hear me out," Colin offered, "I give each of you a sugar cookie and we forget this ever happened?"

I sighed heavily into the microphone as Maddox slammed his hand on -- what I think was a table? His voice boomed through the other end, "Colin. We've only been at sea for two days. We're here to prove ourselves. So far, it's not looking very promising!"

"What am I supposed to do while you're all asleep, curl up into a ball and not touch anything?" Colin protested.

"That'd be fantastic, actually," Flick snapped. "But since you find yourself utterly incapable of it, I think it'd be best if you found your way overboard."

Before Maddox could add fuel to the fire, another voice-- gentler, a little uncertain-- cut in.

"Wait, wait, wait! -- You can't just... throw him overboard." Thalia. I could practically picture her half-burrowed in a blanket somewhere, wide-eyed and wringling her hands, "That's... um, murder. And it doesn't exactly scream 'teamwork', does it?"

"Thank you!" Colin exclaimed. "See, someone gets it!"

"Not the time, Thalia!" Flick retorted.

I looked over at Phoebe, "Do we just... let them continue?"

Phoebe shrugged. "Unless we hear them actually installing a plank for Colin to walk, sure."

"Can't you just like, tell your boyfriend to back off of Colin? And you and Flick get along-- do that thing you do when you lower your voice slightly like a mom. That always works," West narrowed his eyes at her, "Because we know if you don't, Maddox and Flick will have Colin hanging upside down, tied by the feet, over a swarm of sharks. Tell me I'm wrong."

"Mmh..." Phoebe gave it thought, staring off into the dark tropical landscape out the window. "Maybe in three minutes. Colin can squirm for a bit."

I rolled my shoulders back and turned the microphone to my mouth, "Guys. Let's not do this now."

But alas, that didn't work. Maddox's voice cut through, "Quiet, Calloway. We're trying to figure out what the next course of action is. I suggest we tie him up at night."

"Agreed," Flick growled. "Now open the door, Colin!"

"See, I think I won't be doing that," Colin stated. "Slight matter of preference."

"Nobody will be tying up anyone at night," I spoke loudly into the microphone.

"Phoebe, I know you're still here. Tell your coffee assistant to shut up, respectfully," Maddox shot back.

Coffee assistant. That's a new one.

Phoebe gave me a not-so-apologetic shrug and the gesture to zip my mouth shut.

"The door or else, Colin," Flick threatened.

"You'll never take me alive!" Colin hollered in reply.

There was a faint, high-pitched humming for about one second. It was the sound Flick made whenever she phased through something-- which, unfortunately for Colin, was a locked door in this case.

"Well, I don't know why I thought that would work-- Ow! Stop!" Colin's voice carried loudly over the background noises of a door being unlocked, thrown open, and a person being violently dragged through it.

"Abduction! Abduction!" Thalia's distant, frantic voice sounded from the other side of comms, "You are abducting him! That's illegal! Hold on, let me record this! The conservatives will have a field day with this one!"

I shot a look at Phoebe, "Would you say now is the time?"

Phoebe still looked unconvinced, but then Flick said, "Okay, there's rope in the starboard side closet."

"Oh, she's for real," Phoebe muttered.

I couldn't help but feel proud of myself for guessing their way of execution, "Ah, as I said. The 'hang upside down over sharks' trick."

Phoebe cleared her throat and pulled her microphone closer, but not without shooting me a warning look first. "Colin, would you say your life is being threatened?"

"Are you blind-- I mean, deaf? Yes!" Colin yelled.

"It's okay, Colin! I got it all on video. You will be avenged!" Thalia's voice came through again.

"Okay, just checking," Phoebe said, her voice lowering in the exact same maternal way I'd described. "Because if that's the case, I'm going to have to put out an distress signal. After all, ARC will want to know if one of their agents is about to suffer a horrible death. They'd also probably be interested in hearing that said horrible death was instigated by a fellow crewmate-- right, Maddox?"

"I couldn't agree more, Phoebe," Maddox chuckled through the comms, "Isn't she smart? She's so smart."

I mentally rolled my eyes.

"Thank you," Phoebe said evenly. "Since you're in agreement, how about someone saves me the trouble of getting us all in trouble with ARC and liberates Colin?"

I heard an expected, loud sigh from Maddox, and a scruffling noise. I smirked, never surprised by the hold that Phoebe had on Maddox. Anything she said, he did. What a joke.

"Okay, time to let the guy go, Flick. We've had our fun."

A sigh came over the line. "Have we, though?"

I didn't need to listen to the comms to know that Maddox raised his eyebrow. "Now."

"Sir, yes, sir," Flick said, almost boredly.

"Hey, I'm just trying to save you from the wrath of--"

The radar above me started blinking, and as I looked up, I noticed two large masses moving towards the team's ship, "Okay, guys. You should get back to sleep," I held down the button on my headset to speak. "Storms are rolling in. You won't get much sleep later."

"Oh, I forgot he was even here," Maddox scoffed, "Why so quiet, squirt?"

"Observing." I sat back a bit in my chair and glanced at Phoebe almost annoyingly. She sure seemed to think it was annoying, because the look I got from her was deadpan, even for her.

There was a soft grunt over the radio, which I assumed was Colin being released from his near-death. "Yeah, observing my misery."

"It's pretty entertaining," I shrugged, picking at my nails, and pondered for a moment, "I was serious about the storms."

"He is serious, for once," Phoebe said. I shot her another look.

"We know. We can practically feel the humidity in the air," Maddox responded with an annoyed tinge to his voice, "Weatherman here thinks we're dumb, apparently."

"Your girlfriend backed me up." I bluntly stated.

"She has a name," Phoebe deadpanned, and I curled back in my seat slightly.

"West, I'm gonna --"

"Okayyyy! Sounds like someone needs to get some sleep," Colin's voice cut in. "And by someone, I mean everyone but me. For obvious reasons."

"Sounds like a good idea. Especially since Mr. Big Man might rage since he can't touch me from over there. We all know what happens if he doesn't get his beauty sleep." I smirked wider, "Nighty-night." I took my headset off and kicked my feet back on the desk.

Phoebe shot me yet another one of her looks, but kept her headset on. She handed out a couple more instructions that I didn't really listen to, then gave a softer good night to someone-- probably Maddox. Finally, she went silent, which meant she'd ended her conversation with the boat.

"You guys are gross," I mocked them, "Goodnight, Maddox, my sweet little pumpkin munchkin!" I pretended to turn into Maddox, "Oh, goodnight sweetie muffin!"

Phoebe didn't even bother to give me a glare. "That is not what we said."

"I know that," I straightened my face, "Why are you together anyway? He's gonna lose his temper one day and disappear or something. I heard some recruits talking about it in the lunch hall a few months ago, back at HQ. Pretty juicy stuff."

"Since we're asking dumb questions now, why are you here with me instead of literally anyone else on the planet?" Phoebe muttered. "You're no better than Colin."

"Because I'm lazy. Simplest Answer." I shrugged, throwing both my hands behind my head, "And your excuse? I know Maddox fought for you to join them, but you and A.R.C declined. Why? Thalia would've seemed like the more obvious choice."

"I'm the technician and communications officer," Phoebe said with a shrug.

"But you have more talent than someone who stays in a lighthouse miles away from the action," I blankly said, "You could be a weapon out there. Yet, here you are. Thalia, on the other hand, would rather die than see an anomaly get killed, which is exactly what we sent them out there to do."

"Actually," Phoebe corrected, "we don't know what we've been sent out there for. We don't know what we'll find."

"I don't think it's a coincidence that there's a disturbance and they picked an anomaly communicator to go on the venture. Do you?" I asked, "It's a test. It won't be easy."

This seemed to actually give Phoebe pause. She leaned back in her seat, staring distantly out the lighthouse window, where palm trees swayed against the dark sky-- a far cry from the cold shores the rest of our team was navigating.

"It's a test," she said. "But we'll be fine. We always are."

I studied her profile in the dim light of the monitors. The worry etched on her face didn't quite match the words she was saying. I almost called her out on it. Almost.

"Fine is relative. Personally, I think the definition slides a little with every minute they're out there. Going into the unknown." I pursed my lips, "Like you said, we don't know what we're getting into."

Phoebe finally glanced my way, and I caught a hint of surprise in her eyes. "You're worried about them," she said, more of a statement than a question.

"No," I scoffed, "I don't... worry." But in reality, I was worried. This was our first real mission. And I, personally, didn't think I was ready. I couldn't say that to Phoebe. That's a weakness. So, instead, I glanced lazily down at my torn-up fingernails.

"Right," Phoebe said, though she didn't seem interested in pressing me, because she looked out the window again. "No worrying here."

I didn't respond right away, but I did follow her gaze. The seas were stirring.

"We'll be fine. They'll be fine." I rubbed my hands together, "Yep. Perfectly fine. You should get some sleep, too. I'm good to stay up."

"You sure?"

"I don't think I could sleep after that. I still hear some ringing," I lied, getting comfy in my chair. She looked exhausted. "Plus, you'll be needed in the morning, I'm sure."

Phoebe looked unconvinced, but she finally nodded. She kept her headphones on, but leaned back in her chair, curling her legs up to her chest in a way that almost looked comfortable.

"Yeah," she murmured. "There's always the morning."

That was the last I heard from her before she closed her eyes. My gaze drifted towards the glass windows. Outside, the palm trees bent sharply in the wind, and the sea churned. I rubbed my thumb against the edge of the desk. This was supposed to be simple-- watch, report. Wait. But the more I listened to the wind clawing at the lighthouse walls, the more I felt uneasy.

Phoebe shifted slightly. I glanced at her, then back to the moonlit sea.

"Fine," I whispered, "We'll be fine."

But I didn't believe it. Not tonight.

Not a day went by on the Harbinger that I didn't wish I was in Hawaii instead.

Sure, West was perpetually moaning about the heat, and even Phoebe seemed to spend a substantial amount of time fending off mosquitoes, but I'd take that anytime over forgetting what it felt like to be warm and dry the moment I set foot on the deck. It wasn't like we didn't have mosquitoes either. The saying about how everything's bigger in Texas holds true-- except for a certain short Colin, obviously-- but Alaska's bigger than Texas. So the mosquitoes are large enough that they could fight off a hawk if they so chose. Given their aggressiveness, I wouldn't be surprised if they did.

And the company... Well.

"Why can't West just... tell the weather to go away?" A squeaky voice-- Thalia's voice-- flooded my airspace. "Because, like... we need that right about now. And I don't know how you all are going to lift those ropes, but count me out. Too heavy, plus I'm getting sick because of all this rocking!" she screamed through the wind.

"We all have to help, Thalia," Maddox yelled back from across the soaking wet deck. At this point, his clothes were more than wet-- they clung to his body for dear life. "Everyone, get over here and help me secure this thing! All hands on deck!"

The storm West had warned us about had struck just after five-- the hour I'd normally wake up in, if I hadn't been violently roused by that tornado siren of an oven. I'd just barely managed to get back to sleep before the battering and shaking of the boat woke me up again. I've decided I didn't like the ocean very much. I didn't like much about anything here. Still, the work needed doing, even and especially if the world couldn't give us a break.

Feeling like a wet dog, I shook seaspray out of my hair and made my way across the slick deck, keeping one hand on the railing. The salt in the water stung my one working eye, blurring my vision, but I angled my face away from the waves and kept blinking until the sensation eased. I was freezing, and it was barely fall here. How did anyone live here past September? For some reason, that was not the mystery we were sent here to unravel.

"If I may," I muttered through gritted teeth, catching a rope Maddox tossed me, "I suggest we locate the nearest dry land and stay there. Preferably forever."

"We'll talk about it once we make sure the vessel is secure," Maddox paused, wiped his eyes, and shook the water off his hands. It didn't do much good, because a moment later, another wave crashed against the side of the boat and showered us both. "Preferably under a roof."

I grimaced even further at the contact of more cold water soaking through my uniform, but didn't say anything else as I helped secure the ship. Somewhere else on the deck, Colin commiserated with Thalia about the conditions. Neither of them would last a day in the military, I knew. Complaining was only fine as long as you kept it in your head. At least Maddox was made of different stuff.

Maddox continued to pull multiple ropes up before turning back to me. He looked exhausted, hands raw and mouth open from heaving, "Gather," he breathed, "everyone. Let's meet in the kitchen. I need to... change."

"Yes! That's where I left the sugar cookies!" Colin cheered.

I resisted a deep sigh. The cookies had better be fucking fabulous, or I was going to reconsider the mercy I'd shown him earlier for the stunt he'd pulled with the oven alarm.

We were all too breathless to speak any further as we made our last checks, retreating indoors to the shelter of the boat. Thankfully, we had some dry towels hanging on a rack near the door for situations just like this, and we all took one as we huddled in the kitchen, dripping water like rain on the tile floor. I pressed it to my hair first, then wrapped it around my shoulders for warmth. It looked stupid-- like I was some newborn swaddled in a blanket-- but fortunately, everyone else looked even more stupid.

"I reiterate my earlier suggestion," I said plainly.

Thalia let out a long, whiny groan from where she'd plopped into a chair, "Yes, please. Land. I don't care if it's a patch of rocks with a single bush on it. I'll kiss the dirt if it means we're not getting drowned every five minutes."

"Well," Maddox leaned against the kitchen counter, "We definitely can't just ride the storm out. We'd have to consult with Phoebe and West on where the best place to port would be."

"We have this fun little thing called an intercom that will patch us over on the radio," Colin said brightly. "Consulting has never been easier."

"Are you good for anything besides pointing out the obvious?" I asked plainly.

"Yeah, I'm also a damn good baker, if I do say so myself." Colin grinned, holding out the cookie tray in Maddox's direction. Even soaked to the bone, he was still visibly chipper enough to give me a headache. "Cookie for you, Captain?"

Maddox gave Colin a look that said he was somewhere between grateful and entirely done with him. He took a cookie anyway, though, biting into it with the kind of weary hunger only storms and stress could create.

"Has anybody spoken to Phoebe and West since the storms... encapsulated us?" He asked, pacing the front of the room.

"No," I said with a shrug. "But they obviously know about it, since they predicted it. I doubt they're too worried."

"Right," Maddox nodded, pointing in my direction approvingly, "Of course. Thank you. Uh..." he put a hand to the back of his head, "Listen, guys, I'm not sure what we should do. I don't wanna make the wrong call and mess this up. Does anyone have ideas that don't involve--"

I did have an idea, but it involved jettisoning Colin off the boat as a sacrifice to appease the ocean.

"No," Thalia inturupted him. "And how don't you know what to do? You basically shoved yourself in here as captain. Do you even know how to steer a ship? Who's controlling it right now?"

Maddox shot her a dead stare, "Take it easy, Thalia."

"I'm the navigator," I said plainly. "We're doing fine." Had she never heard of autopilot?

"Still didn't answer my ques--"

"Thalia, enough!" Maddox's voiced raised slightly, before he took two fingers to his temple and started rubbing it ever so slightly, "We'll port. Skagway. It's the closest, and it'll give us cover from the worst of the winds. We'll dock, take stock, and wait for the weather to ease up."

"That rhymed," Thalia remarked, almost mocking him.

Maddox ignored her and looked to me instead, "What do you think, Flick?"

"Skagway," I murmured, trying to recall its location on the Inside Passage. Right. It was one of those old towns that had once been a hotspot during the Klondike Gold Rush-- now it was just a tourist trap. It was off-season by now, so I doubted there'd be many people there to help us.

But we didn't need help. Just solid land.

And maybe a bit of a break from each other.

"Yeah," I said at last. "Skagway's fine. Just don't expect much."

Just as Maddox was about to respond, Thalia's head quirked to the side slightly, and her ears twitched. The girl's facial expression changed exceptionally fast, and her left hand appeared to be visibly trembling.

Ay Dios mío. She had so many nervous reactions to things that I didn't know if it was ever as urgent as she made it seem-- but this one actually seemed to mean something.

"Thalia?" Maddox noticed too, his voice lowering to a whisper, "What is it?"

Thalia didn't respond right away, instead standing and walking towards the circular window in the corner of the room, "We need to port. Now."

I frowned. "...Now? In a hour, maybe, but-- why now?"

Maddox straightened from the counter, half-eaten cookie forgotten in his hand. His eyes tracked Thalia's every movement like she might detonate at any second.

Thalia pressed her face close to the glass window, her breath fogging against it. Her shoulders were taut, every muscle tight. She brought a hand to her chest and started pulling invisble threads.

"Somethings wrong," she whispered, "It's not just the weather."

"You mean danger?" Maddox's eyes went from worried to terrified, as much as he tried to hide it.

If danger wasn't weather, that only meant one other thing out here. Or rather, one other very broad category.

"They're here." She moved quickly to the door and slammed it shut, locking it urgently, "We need a definite plan, now. Or we're goners. I have a really bad feeling about it. All I feel is... anger. Like something's trying to warn me. We're in someone's-- something's-- territory."

"What?" Maddox shook his head, "We can't just... dock now. As Flick said, an hour at least."

"Are they angry and like... doing to do something about it?" Colin asked, which, for once, was a relevant question coming from him. "If they're angry but also harmless, that's fine. But if they're angry and going to capsize us, that's less fine."

Thalia looked confused, "I don't know. They're not like anything I've catalogued. They don't move so much as... rearrange the water. There's a rhythm to it. They react to noise, to fear. To rage." She shot a look at Maddox and I. "Right now, they're angry. And territorial."

"I still can't get us there faster than an hour," I replied. "So, whatever's out there is just going to have to deal with it."

"We can't wait an hour," Thalia said, "If they're circling, if they--" she swallowed, going almost pale, "if they take the bump out of the hull to get at us, we won't be inching to Skagway. We'll be patching holes in a lifeboat."

I stared at her, deciding it was beneath both of us for me to explain the physical limitations of our boat's engine and my inability to magically shrink the distance between us and the nearest land. There was only so much I could do to dilate spacetime.

Maddox moved before anyone could speak. "All right. Change of plan. We head to Skagway, now, we're not telling comms anything until we know for sure what we're dealing with here. Flick, do your thing. Thalia, feed me everything you feel-- every twitch, anything you think could be necessary. Colin, be on lookout. I'll get the weapons on standby. Yes? Everyone in agreement?"

Colin cleared his throat. "You said... we're not telling comms anything?"

"Nothing. At all. Until we know," Maddox was halfway out the door, "And if you guys say anything, I'll throw you to whatever's out there. Lets get moving."

Thalia chuckled, covering her mouth with her non-trembling hand.

Colin sighed. "Whatever you say, Captain."

"He wishes he was one," Thalia blurted.

"That's why I call him that," Colin said. "To remind him he isn't."

"I can hear you!" Maddox distantly yelled.

"Good!" Colin hollered back.

Thalia groaned and reluctantly followed behind him, "Maddox, why are we using weapons for..." her voice trailed off.

Colin turned to me and held out the cookie tray with hope in his eyes.

"Pass," I said. "Not a hard pass, either."

"Your loss," Colin said. "If this thing kills us all, I bet anything your last thought is going to be Man, I wish I'd gotten to eat one last cookie."

"I will think no such thing," I said plainly, already on my way out the door. Maybe the bridge would offer some peace from the resident gremlin.

What I wasn't about to say was that honestly, I was hungry, and the cookies looked good. But a watery death sounded magnitudes more pleasant than admitting that.



Twenty minutes later, everyone was at their proper stations. Of course, not everyone can be trusted to be doing their job on this ship, so Maddox had to run the rounds to check that we were all actually following orders. He always checked on me last, naturally. I was right where I needed to be, manning the wheel at the bridge, when he came in, looking stressed and sweaty like usual.

"Got everyone wrangled?" I asked.

"Wrangled, threatened, bribed-- take your pick," Maddox said, shutting the door behind him with a metallic click. His soaked jacket clung to his shoulders, and his hair-- normally neat-- was plastered to his forehead. He leaned against the wall beside me, gazing out through the rain-streaked glass of the bridge window.

Outside, the sea churned wildly. It wasn't getting much better as far as navigating this thing went, and Thalia wasn't being helpful when Maddox asked for an update five minutes ago.

I wouldn't have gone so far as to commit mutiny and "kidnap" Colin-- which was really just leaving him in a locked room with a working TV and a lifetime's supply of potato chips-- but I understood why Maddox had fought so hard to get Phoebe assigned to be on board with us. Some days it felt like the two of us were the only sane, competent people for miles.

Scratch that. It felt that way every day.

"It's an embarrassment, honestly," I muttered. "The fact that this is who they're putting us and our talents with."

Maddox huffed what sounded like something between a growl and a laugh, "Tell me about it. It's more than an embarrassment. It's a liability. If Thalia's reading is even half right, the second they panic, we're screwed. I mean, I can try adjusting the air pressure so that they pass out and we can have some... productive time to assess our situation. But hell, I think we..." he shuddered, "need their gifts. Thalia was picked for her empathy with the anomalies. Colin is... Colin. He's a great engineer. It's tragic."

I wrinkled my nose, but I couldn't disagree with either of those points directly. On paper, the two of them were qualified, as much as I hated to admit it. But Thalia had the assertiveness of a field mouse whenever it came time to doing anything of importance, and Colin seemed to be having fun coming up with ways not to be using all his qualifications. How they had managed to pass rigorous rounds of interviews and psychological checks was beyond me-- and that was all even before the training we'd gone through together that had weeded out most of the people we'd started with.

"Maybe they'll be useful as bait for whatever's out there," I said. "Too bad they're both so small. They're probably not a great serving size."

Maddox let out a chuckle, "Thalia might try to talk it to death before it gets close enough. And Colin..." he sighed, "Would just try to feed it cookies."

"Were they any good?" I asked.

"They were amazing, sad to say." Maddox smirked, "Don't tell Phoebe, but Colin might have her beat."

I'd never had Phoebe's cooking, so I had to take his word for it. I also had to make sure Colin never knew someone had complimented his baking. He'd never shut up about it.

"Well, if they save our lives, maybe it'll make that ordeal we went through at 3am more bearable." I rested a hand on the captain's wheel, turning it slightly to the starboard side.

"Yeah," It looked like something was bothering Maddox, because his smirk disappeared and his facial expression turned deadbeat, "...Do you think Thalia's right this time?"

Even though it narrowed my vision to almost nothing, I squinted at him for a second. It was unlike him to ask that sort of question-- I couldn't remember the last time I'd heard him express doubt.

He threw his hands up at my look, "Hey, just trying to cross our P's and Q's. That girl is strange, but I've never seen her face drain of color like it did in the kitchen."

"It depends what you mean by 'right', probably," I said. "Right that there's something out there? Sure, I trust her to determine that much. Right that it's of any more danger than a cranky sea lion? Less certain."

"I don't know," He lowered his voice, "You're right. Remember that one time during drills when she saw a lightning-bug and swore it was a prophet and that it was going to kill her?" he couldn't help but smile, "But that just makes it that much harder to realize when she's being serious. What if one day, we come across some... huge threat, and we don't believe her? What then?"

"I don't know, Maddox," I said sarcastically. "Maybe one day the fireflies will actually be out to get us, and then we'll all be sorry we didn't listen to her. Wouldn't put it past this world to pull something like that on us."

"Wait," he straightened from the wall, pursing his lips, "You just said firefly."

I stared at him, unaware of what he was getting at. "...I did," I said finally. "Your point?"

He narrowed his eyes, "Aha! Nobody east of the Rockies called them that. That's a western term. Don't tell me you're--" he stopped himself, studying my face as if it was a map, "You're from west of the Rockies... aren't you?"

I groaned, pinching the bridge of my nose. "No. No, we are not playing this guessing game."

"Oh, we already are Ms. Navigator," Maddox sat beside me, turning the chair to face him as he straddled it, "Hold on, let me guess. California? It has to be. You have that disappointed look of someone who just paid fourteen dollars for an oat-milk latte and never recovered. Or... Hm, maybe Washington? You into hiking?"

"You sound like Colin," I muttered.

"Don't you dare compare me to Colin," Maddox scoffed, "It would've never clicked in Colin's brain. He's too worried about... everything else," he paused, "And also, I think we've been teammates with each other long enough for me to know where you're from, Flick."

"Nope," I replied. "You guys know too much about me already."

Maddox leaned forward like a bloodhound who caught onto a scent, "Oh, no, no, no. I'm not letting this go. We've been training together for years, and now I finally get a clue about the mysterious Flick? This is like Christmas for me. Utah? Idaho?"

"No one lives in Idaho, Maddox."

"So it's not Idaho. That narrows it. A little," Maddox leaned back slightly, "Don't worry. I'll figure it out. Maybe I'll give that to Phoebe when she gets bored-- 'find out more about Flick'."

"She's tried," I said. "It was pretty unsuccessful."

The only thing she'd found, if she was telling the truth, was my sophomore year GPA. Not even the institution it was at. And I could live with Phoebe knowing I'd gotten a 3.8.

"Of course she has," Maddox smiled slightly, "She never rests."

He sighed heavily, and the silence encapsulated us for just a moment before he spoke again.

"Any advice how how we handle this thing? I'm guessing it's water-borne if they're threatening us even out here."

"If it's not avian-- which it still could be-- it's not really my jurisdiction." I shrugged, glad for the change in subject. "Floodlurkers, maybe?"

"Can't be, I've only heard of cases like those near shores and waterbanks," Maddox bit his lip, "Thalia said it's something she hasn't researched, so I doubt we have. Maybe we should do a three-sixty and see if we can spot something."

"And have Thalia freak out even more about the delay? She was upset enough that I couldn't magically teleport us to shore."

"We're out here to go to our target location, yes, and we should definitely stop, yes. But... hear me out," Maddox brought his voice down to a whisper, "This is a test, right? What better way to prove ourselves to A.R.C. than to bring back even more possible intel and research? If they don't even know about... whatever this is, it could boost our performance rating."

I wanted to wave him off, but I hovered my hand over the wheel, not turning it just yet. In my mind, there wasn a single thing on this planet, land, earth or sea, that A.R.C. didn't know about. It felt like they'd mapped the surface of everything that was once a mystery, to the point that even the anomalies they were named for felt almost commonplace.

At least, that was what I'd used to think. This mission felt like the first time I had the sense that A.R.C. had no idea what was going on.

"You think it's linked to the Strangelove?" I asked at last.

He seemed shocked by my question, and then his expression quickly turned to intrigue, "What do you know? Or think you know?"

"You said it yourself," I said. "There's only so many things out there A.R.C. doesn't know about, and we're here to find a particular one. We don't know what this is; they don't know what happened to the Strangelove. It's not..."

I deliberated for a moment. He was clearly over-excited, and I wasn't sure indulging him was the best course. But I had to admit the idea had wormed itself into my head.

"It's not impossible they're the same unknown thing," I finished.

"Maybe that's what Thalia's picking up on," Maddox's eyes flickered with slight light, "Residual energy, feedback, hell, maybe even the crew. If we can record even a fraction of that? That's data A.R.C would kill for."

"...Is that a thing?" I asked doubtfully, and then remembered how weird our lives were. "No, better question. Is that a thing we can actually, qualitatively pick up on with our instruments?"

"What, residual energy?" he asked, "West might be able to from his end. Probably Phoebe too. The anomalies are traces, kind of like magnetic distortions, electromagnetic spikes, psychic signatures. Thalia's whole job is to feel that, and back at HQ... we might not have the proper instruments to read all of that. But West and Phoebe, they do. Probably."

"Never thought you'd be asking West for help."

"He has no choice," Maddox grinned, "Right before we left, I did him a favor of not burying him alive after he called Phoebe a 'smoke-show'. He owes me."

"You're both weird," I said plainly.

Maddox shrugged, "I like weird. Better than being normal. That's boring," he finally said, standing, "So, what do you say? We can just hover... for a few moments. Tell the crew we are having technical difficulties-- hopefully Colin doesn't try to actually work--and see what we find?"

I scoffed as I turned off the engine and reached for the intercom. The constant rumbling of our motor, the white noise that "Colin? Work? You're worried about the wrong things."

Before I pressed the button to start transmitting, I double-checked that Phoebe and West weren't on the frequency. That would be a dumb way to get discovered.

"Sécurité, sécurité, sécurité," I started. That was the procedure word for low-level warnings over radio-- the French word for security, repeated three times, signified the safety information that was about to follow was the least urgent of any distress call. The highest level, of course, was a mayday call. "Crew of the Harbinger, we are currently experiencing some technical difficulties, and our engine has stalled. I expect to have it running again within the next..."

I looked to Maddox for a timeframe he'd like us to be idle for. He held up a three with his right fingers, and a zero with his left.

"Thirty minutes," I continued. "No action is needed. Remain at your stations." I ended the transmission.

"Perfect," Maddox's expression turned from anxious to... well, excited. "What now? Do we arm ourselves? Lock Colin and Thalia in the supply closet while we investigate this thing?"

"Well, I wouldn't mind that--"

Static crackled, preceded by a beep-- the telltale sound of the intercom.

"Engine's not stalled," Colin said, sounding like he was both eating another one of his cookies, and speaking way too close to the microphone.

I gritted my teeth. "Didn't you hear me? Yes, it is."

"Is not. The engine makes this sound when it stalls--" Colin imitated a slow, mechanical-like whine. "And it makes this sound when it gets manually shut off." Another awful screech of dying equipment followed, this time lower and more hoarse. "And that was the noise I just heard."

Damn it. Of course Colin would pick this time to be a mechanical prodigy.

Maddox shifted his stance and grabbed the extra mic, "Colin, mind your business. It's stalled. I'll pay you five bucks if you go make another batch of cookies and forget this conversation even happened."

Colin paused. "...Make it fifty and I'll throw in a batch of brownies."

"Forty and I don't throw you in the ocean," Maddox wagered, "And this is generous. You know too much."

"Uh-uh. You still haven't paid me back for that time you kidnapped me-- you know what? I'm not accepting a cent below eighty."

Maddox sighed, "Eighty... and you make two angel food cakes with buttercream frosting. That's my final offer."

Silence. I held my breath.

"Two, huh?" Colin asked, clearly giving it thought.

"With homemade buttercream frosting. Not that store-bought crap they have in the pantry." Maddox gave me a thumbs-up.

"Well... I think I've got enough flour..." Another pause. "You have yourself a deal, capt'n."

"Nice working with you.... engine...eer?" Maddox stumbled as if he couldn't believe he was saying it, "Also, I don't owe you money for kidnapping you. It's only kidnapping if you didn't agree to it. It was merely a favor. So, therefore, I owe you a favor."

"A favor?" It was as if I could hear the dollar signs in Colin's eyes. "In that case, angel cakes with buttercream, coming right up." The transmission crackled out.

"...Are you really giving him eighty dollars?" I asked.

"No," Maddox scoffed, "He's getting five, like I originally offered. I just got an extra two cakes out of it, though."

"Remind me never to negotiate with you."

He winked and walked towards the door, "You coming?"

I gave one last look back at the wheel before following. "What's the plan? Stand around in the rain and hope we see something?"

"Exactly," Maddox said, already halfway down the deck, "Rain improves the aesthetic. Makes it look like we're doing something heroic... and things like that."

"No," I said plainly. "It makes us look like wet rodents."

Maddox laughed, the sound almost swallowed by the rain pelting against the deck, "Wet heroic rodents," he corrected, throwing me a stupid grin over his shoulder. Typical Maddox.

I rolled my eyes, stepping out into the rain with him. It was as if we were never dry-- the weather swallowed us up. The world blurred to gray and silver. The sea and sky were one thing now, moving and churning like a single living mass.

"Storms like this stir things up. If there is an anomaly out there, it'll move closer to the surface. I think," Maddox and I reached the railing as he continued to speak, "Ugh... I'm starting to sound like Thalia," he muttered.

"That, and you've probably just jinxed us. Now we'll never see anything."

Just as the boat rocked dramatically to the left, West's voice came through the deck intercom. "Land to Sea, check in. I see you guys are stationary, and the turbulence is... not good. What's going on?"

I exchanged a look with Maddox. Why was this the time our resident team slackers decided to be helpful.

"Shhh," Maddox brought a finger to his lips.

"Maddox, we know you're there." West followed up a few moments later.

I sighed, trudging my way to the nearest microphone and kicking up water with every step. As much as I hated to do it, it would only be more suspicious to ignore it.

"Harbinger to land," I said, pressing the call button. "I don't know what you're seeing, but things are under control here."

To be fair, that wasn't a lie. I'd turned off the engine myself, so the problem at hand was of my own making and I was the one who could end it.

West's voice came through again, "Roger that. Just make sure you're keeping your signal steady. You're drifting a few degrees of course."

It was probably more than that. "Noted. We'll keep you updated." We would not.

Maddox gave me a thumbs up from across the deck, "Just in time! I see one! Look--" he pointed to the waves.

I darted back to the railing, looking to where he pointed, but I couldn't see anything. I gave him a few seconds of waiting and watching, just in case I'd missed it, but it became clear there was nothing to see soon enough.

"One... what?" I deadpanned. "One water?"

"I swear, it was just there." Maddox furrowed his brow and dropped his hand, spinning around, "It's under us, I think. That's why it keeps tipping."

"See, I've humored you these last few minutes, but I'm starting to think you're just sleep-deprived and over-excited," I said. "Not your fault. Colin's."

"I got plenty of sleep last night, thank ya very much," Maddox countered, "Maybe we should get out of here."

"You think?"

My question was punctuated by the boat suddenly rocking so far to the port side that I briefly forgot how to stand.

I flung my hand out on instinct, barely grabbing the rung of the ladder that led up to the top deck next to me before my feet could slide out from underneath me on the slick surface. I barely had time to take my next breath before another wave crashed over me. Gasping, I furiously blinked water out of my good eye in time to see Maddox tumble back in the direction we came.

Right on queue, West's voice came through again, "What the hell is going on over there? Things are not fine."

I lunged for the intercom with my free hand, gathering my wits enough to heave out, "Again, I don't know what you're talking about. You sure your instruments are calibrated?"

"Yes, and something's wrong with your intercom too." Phoebe. Of course she was paying attention, too. "Your audio sounds... wet."

Maddox, who was thrown halfway across the deck into some supplies, immediately jumped up. His body noticeably stiffened as he made his way over to the intercom. He went to grab it, but hesitated and withdrew his hand, shaking his head. He gave me... was that a terrified look? Or possibly regret?

Great. I couldn't believe I was going to this length for his pride.

"That would be the rain," I said plainly, as if it was obvious. "From the rainstorm."

"From the rainstorm--" West's voice cut in, "Right. Because that explains why your readings just spiked to--"

I was about to tell him where to shove it when the world tilted again. Fortunately, I didn't lose my grip on the ladder. Unfortunately, I was less in control of the rest of my body, and my shoulder went slamming into the wall. It hurt-- way more than it should've-- but I gritted my teeth through the searing pain that radiated through my arm. Soldiers didn't complain. They didn't protest. I was still one of them.

Unfortunately, while I could cover that up, the rest of our situation was rapidly becoming impossible to conceal. Just when I thought things couldn't possibly get any worse, Thalia's voice came through the intercom-- definitely connected to the radio.

"I just threw up... Twice! All over myself! And this thing won't shut up. Where are you guys?!" Thalia. We forgot to bribe Thalia. Not like it would've mattered, but still.

"Thalia? Was that you?" West's voice sounded panicked.

"Who else would it be?! SOS! SOS!" Thalia yelled into the comms.

"Nope!" I hollered back. "Making false distress calls is a felony! And it's Mayday!"

Maddox was now on his stomach from the last wave, sliding across the deck like an airborne fish, "Now you sound like Thalia!"

I saved my breath and told him what I thought by relying on the use of my middle finger.

"Mayday? Did I hear Mayday?" Phoebe's voice pitched higher, and I realized too late she'd probably only caught half of that, what with the audio quality. And with my luck, of course that could be the part she heard.

"No!" I said firmly. "No."

"Save our Mayday!" Thalia was still hyperventilating, of course. "We're going do--"

Suddenly, Thalia went silent, but it didn't sound like she'd stopped talking. Instead, it appeared her entire audio had cut out. Perplexed, I stared at the speaker, as if that could reveal the cause of her silence to me.

Then a door creaked open, and I saw Colin step out from inside, covered in... flour?

"Huh," he remarked, far too calmly. "It appears the comms in the supply closet have mysteriously malfunctioned. Strange. Oh well."

I had to give it to him. That was exactly what we needed right now.

"You guys need to tell us what's happening, right now! Where is Colin?" West's agitated tone -- which we rarely ever heard-- was palpable.

I gave Colin a look that said if he blew this, he'd find himself overboard. He waved me off with a lazy gesture of his hand as he cautiously manuevered his way to the intercom, staying close to the wall.

"Hi!" Colin said brightly, right as another wave crashed over us, and I experienced a brand new kind of freezing. "This better be important. I have cakes in the oven."

"Cakes--you're baking right now?" West asked.

"Sure am," Colin said, brushing a plume of now-wet flour off his sleeve. "Which really goes to show just how fine things are going here, no? I couldn't be baking if they weren't."

"Colin, listen to me very closely. We're getting feedback on seismic activity on the ship. Tell me where Maddox is, and tell me the truth."

Colin hummed innocently. "See, I could do that, but he's actually paying me to bake for him, so..."

"Why would he ever pay you? You know he never follows through with--" Phoebe sighed. "Never mind. You have way more important things going on right now."

"You're right!" Colin agreed. "Like eighty whole dollars."

"Colin, how could you say no to me? I thought I was your favorite person? Come on, I'll let you borrow my Grandma Gertie's Recipe Book when you get back. I know you've always wanted to use it..." When I heard West's charm come through, I knew Colin would most likely fold. He always did with West.

Colin's eyes lit up. Yep, we were doomed.

"Can I get that in a written agreement?" Colin asked coyly.

"There's no need for that--" I interrupted.

"Yes." West snuck his answer in before I could object more.

"Well!" Colin grinned. "In that case--"

I made an executive decision in the form of tackling Colin away from the intercom. He tried to shout, but I clapped my hand over his mouth before he could be heard and pinned his arms to his sides.

"...In that case what?" Phoebe asked.

"Sorry about that," I said, ignoring Colin's attempt to elbow his way free. "Colin has been... reassigned."

There was a little grumble and static over the intercom before an nearly-unintelligible murmer came through, "They're... lying...".

"Obviously!" Phoebe hissed.

Maddox threw his hands up in frustration, "For fucks sake."

I glared at him while Colin wriggled uselessly. He'd gotten us in this mess, and now he was complaining? I had to do everything around here.

Maddox was halfway to the microphone before another wave hit, and I let go of Colin to grab onto the ladder again. However, Colin had no time to hold on to anything so soon after being liberated, and the only thing I could hear while the crash of waves blinded my view of the deck was a startled yelp and a thud against the railing.

Maddox whipped around at the sound, gripping the handle of a locked door with his life. He stumbled slightly, dripping wet, hair plastered against his forehead as he made a run for Colin, who was hanging onto the railing for dear life, dangling above the roaring ocean.

"I am not getting paid nearly enough for this!" Colin hollered, barely audible over the next crash and rumble.

"Hold on!" Maddox' voice ripped through the rain. He didn't hesitate-- in three long strides he nearly lost his balance. When a smaller wave hit, it slammed into him hard enough to stagger him sideways, but he caught himself on the railing and launched forward again.

By the time he reached Colin, the idiot had both hands white-knuckled around the metal rail, his feet skidding against the slick floor. He threw himself down beside him.

"That's got to be the least efficient way of saving someone I've ever seen," I snapped, as Maddox grabbed Colin's shirt and attempted to haul him upwards onto the deck like a toddler. After the third attempt and wth one last pull, he lifted them both up and they collapsed onto each other in a soaked, tangled heap against the deck. For a second, neither of them moved-- just lay their breathing hard.

Finally, Maddox forced himself up, "What the hell happened to our deal, moron?"

"Your cakes are fine," Colin muttered, peeling himself up from the deck. "Also, this doesn't count as my favor."

"You were about to give us away!" Maddox wrang out his shirt, which was pointless, considering it was still raining and we could capsize any second.

Suddenly, the door to the hull came flying open. We all turned to find what looked like Thalia, but her eyes bulged and she looked like she'd just seen twenty murders right in front of her very eyes. Honestly, no matter how timid she usually was, this was an extreme.

"Where the hell have you all been?" she attempted to tie her curly red hair into a bun, but as she was walking towards us, she slipped on the wet floor and landed face-first in a bucket.

I hated my job.

"Never mind that," I snapped. "Have you been doing anything useful this whole time? Anything?"

She struggled to remove herself from the bucket, sliding on the floor two fifths of the way across the deck before hitting a crate.

"Yes, actually! I was distracting them; they wouldn't leave me alone! I am traumatized! Do you even know how many times I threw up in there? Nine! Nine times! And where were you guys-- poking it? I heard them saying to capsize us! I felt it in my bones!"

"I'm not sure that's a proper use of the word 'traumatized'," Colin said, "but whatever floats your boat."

"We are barely floating," I grumbled.

From the intercom, I could hear Phoebe mutter something about how at this point, we all deserved to sink to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. And I honestly agreed.

"Phoebe!" Thalia found her way to her feet and ran to the speaker, touching it with her left hand, "Thank god! Get me off this damn boat!"

"I can't do that," Phoebe said blankly. "Especially not if no one is being honest about the life-threatening incident you appear to be in."

"West!" She ran to the other speaker across the deck, as if that was the only way to talk to him, which was odd. Then again, everything about this mission so far was odd.

"Oh--", West's voice crackled through, and it sounded like he was eating something crunchy-- maybe chips? "Can't help ya there, Thalia."

"Guys, look!" Colin shouted.

"Not the time, Colin," I barked.

"No, I'm serious! Look what's at our five o'clock!"

I had the feeling I was about to regret giving him my attention when our lives were all at stake, but I turned my head anyway-- then froze.

I'd only seen it in illustrations and grainy photos-- barely a footnote in our extensive training on various anomalies. At the center of a raging whirlpool, a pair of slender, smooth tentacles poked out of the vortex. Despite the violence of the water surrounding it, there was something... gentle about it. Maybe it was the radiant, white light that floated up from the depths, or maybe the grace the tendrils waved with in the turbulent air. I didn't know. Whatever it was, all I could do for a moment was stare, mesmerized by the heavenly sight emerging from the ocean to greet us.

Then I remembered; this Riptide wasn't here to greet us. It was trying to force us out.

"Okay!" I shouted. "We've seen it! We're leaving now!"

Before anyone, least of all Maddox, could object, I flung the door open and dashed back to the bridge.

"I need to get a picture!" Thalia hovered near the railings, "Someone get my camera!"

That was the last thing I heard before the heavy metal door slammed shut behind me.

My boots stamped water across the floor as I beelined for the wheel, hurriedly flicking the right combination of switches and buttons to reignite the engine. My thoughts raced as I yanked the wheel and started to speed us away. Of course. Riptides were fiercely territorial and only attacked when they felt threatened; so territorial, in fact, that they tried to avoid humans and were rarely spotted. Still, they were a registered and documented anomaly. Hardly the mystery we'd hoped to catch a glimpse by stopping the boat.

I didn't slow us down until I couldn't feel the tilt of being pulled side to side anymore. The radar showed no blips in the water beneath us. I took a deep breath, pushing aside the dark, wet hair that had plastered itself to my forehead.

The radio crackled to life again, snapping me out of my haze.

"That was a Riptide, wasn't it," Phoebe said calmly.

I sighed. No point in hiding it anymore. "Yeah. Yeah."