"So we just have wait here for seven days or till those guys over there all die right?" Aiden asked with no sympathy in his tone.
"Aiden," Elora snapped, her glare cutting him off.
Silence fell after they arrived at the ship. No one spoke for a long moment. Faces tightened. Thoughts settled into the same harsh fact.
Aiden shrugged. "What, we're all thinking it. Them or us. We are stuck here. Why should I risk myself? Oh right, I can't even if I somehow tried."
"Shut up," Evelina shouted. Her voice cracked with anger. "You only care about yourself, that's been obvious from day one. You would let the rest of us die if it keeps you safe."
Asher reached out and tapped her shoulder. He lowered his voice. He would not let the argument grow.
They stared at the massive ship. It rose like a city on the water. Its decks stacked high. Rows of windows glinted. Balconies lined every side. Lights burned in hundreds of rooms.
The hull promised comfort and safety. Inside, private lodgings waited. The ship could hold five hundred souls. Each cabin looked like a small house. Corridors spread like arteries. People moved inside, unaware or unwilling to help.
"What good is this if they aren't even allowed to take up the empty rooms?" Rey sighed as he slammed his hand on the ship.
Freya's voice shook. "There has to be a way."
Marcella folded her arms. "Emotions do nothing now. Think practical."
Freya's disappointment showed. "Not you too," she said.
Marcella met her gaze. "We have no authority here. The rules are stacked against them. The men in charge on our side will not open their ship. The trial favors that outcome."
They fell quiet again. The sea rocked the boat. The big ship gleamed. The hour stretched on.
[Rules]
[1. The trial will end if every on one side is judged as dead.]
[2. The trial will end if you last 7 days.]
[3. Your group isn't allowed to to leave the ship but the others can.]
[4. Switching group is allowed but the receiving group must all agree.]
[5. You won't die even if your group ends up dying themselves]
[6. Rewards will be calculated based on how the trials end.]
[7. You have no authority over this ship.]
"It's pretty obvious this whole thing was made to screw the other side over," Rosa said with a tired sigh. "Seems like there's nothing we can do to help."
"What about Jett?" Finn asked. "He could be over there. That is, if he's not dead or something."
Rey froze. His breath caught, and his thoughts raced. He pictured Jett alone on some wrecked boat, surrounded by strangers who might already be turning on each other. The idea of him gone tightened Rey's chest. He clenched his fists, trying not to show it.
Freya noticed. She stepped closer. "Don't worry. I know for a fact he's not dead. He can take care of himself"
'For all we know he might have already made the others to see him as some kind of hero.'
Rey narrowed his eyes. "And how exactly do you know that?"
"Ah... well... I... instincts," Freya stammered. "That's how."
Rey stared for a moment, clearly unconvinced. "You don't say," he muttered. "Alright then. If he's really okay, he'll show up. Maybe he'll come to ask for help himself."
"Maybe if we vouch for him," Morrigan said, "they'll let his group board. Or at least let him in."
Rey nodded, his hope fragile. "Yeah. Maybe."
Aiden stood up and stretched. "If," he said as he dangled a small metal key between his fingers. "If you'll excuse me, I'll be heading to my room. I'm sure they have food ready for us too."
He walked off without looking back, leaving the group in heavy silence.
Evelina stepped up behind Elora, still fuming. She leaned in. "I know he is your brother. I will kill him one day."
Elora sighed. She covered her face with her hand. Her shoulders shook. 'What am I going to do with you?' she thought.
"All we can do now is wait," Matthew said. "The outcome depends on whatever decision Jett makes."
He turned and walked off. Following Aiden. Marcella and Seraphina trailed behind them to check out the ship.
"But that is exactly why this is worse," Cedric muttered. "It is Jett. Who says he'll act straight or rational? I can see him pulling some twisted logic to cheat this trial. Just thinking about it makes me sick."
His face went pale. He followed the others slowly, hands at his mouth.
Rey and Freya paused for a bit. Both thought the same thing at once. 'You better be safe.' Then they headed into the ship to find their rooms, all waiting to see how everything would play out.
*****
Jett stood frozen. The sea wind stung his face. He took in the boat and the seven faces around him.
Three men. Three women. One baby held tight by a tired woman.
"So I am supposed to let... no watch them die?" He balled his fists. "Who made this freaking trial?"
He spat the word spectator. "This was never a trial."
'What kind of sick, twisted mage made this?' Jett thought as he bit his lips. He walked to a stack of hay at the corner of the small boat and sat down.
Next to him, a worn-out mother tried to nurse her crying baby. Her arms trembled from exhaustion, her eyes hollow from sleeplessness. The baby's cries cut through the quiet sea air, raw and constant.
A few steps away, two men and a woman sat with makeshift fishing rods. They dropped their lines into the still water, hoping for a bite that never came. The others sat motionless, their faces blank, caught between despair and denial.
Jett watched them in silence. He wanted to care, but the situation felt unreal, like he had been dropped into someone else's nightmare.
'Seven days, huh?' he thought, his gaze fixed on the horizon. 'And this counts as a trial?'
*****
Two hours passed before Jett finally spoke. The mother had managed to calm her baby, cradling the child against her chest. The air smelled of salt and hopelessness.
"Why are you here? You don't seem like the sort to go on a long voyage." he asked quietly. "What happened to get you into something like this?"
The woman looked up, startled at first, then softened. "Oh, You don't know?"
Jett shook his head.
"Oh... forgive me," she said. "You're the adventurer who joined us." She adjusted her hold on the baby and sighed.
"An evil monster drove us out of our home. Our village was near a large town. People said a mad sorcerer lived there. He created that thing... a creature that went berserk and killed him too."
She paused, her voice trembling. "We ran for the sea. Some of us didn't make it. When we reached the docks, the big ship was already full. They told us to wait, but the monster was closing in. We had no choice but to take this boat and escape."
Her eyes dropped to the floorboards. "When we reached this point, the sea went still. Neither our boat nor the ship can move. It's like the ocean froze."
Jett's expression darkened. The still waters around them shimmered faintly, unnatural, like glass trapping them in place.
'So this is the trial,' he thought. 'No escape. No rescue. Just a test of how long you can watch others suffer.'
"How unfortunate. They suffer for another's sins. Nothing I do will help." Jett sighed.
"Where were you headed?" he asked although he wasn't expecting a response this time.
The mother looked at him. "Laxen," she said.
"Laxen?" Jett asked, stunned.
"Laxen," she repeated. "The new queen there favors refugees. The kingdom prospered after it defeated Vond."
Familiar name. Jett's mind snapped to a connection. That meant a link between events. It couldn't have been a mere coincidence.
"You seem stunned, like you've already lost hope." Her voice grew steady. "Listen. Hope isn't wishing for rescue, it's deciding to keep moving when rescue seems impossible. Survival begins the moment you refuse to surrender. As long as you draw breath, there's still a chance to change the ending. Not for me but for."
Her hands trembled. Her eyes burned with resolve. She did not smile. He could tell she was scared but was trying to be courageous.
'She's even stronger than me.' Jett felt anger rise fast.
"Ah FUCK!" he barked. "Was I going to let this asshole win? No."
He ground his teeth. "No reward matters. Not now."
He stood. Bones warmed by purpose. A soft warmth spread from his palms. The boat warmed. The crew looked up.
[Area Heal]
He focused. The warmth spread along skin and muscle. Minor cuts closed. Strength returned to tired arms.
"Operation Save Everyone is underway," he said to no one and to all.
*
*
*
Yep, he's pissed now.
(. ❛ ᴗ ❛.)