If your dreams do not scare you, they are not big enough.

- Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

The rest of the trip down the cliffs passed faster than Leah expected, and soon she was curled on a lumpy mattress with stern orders to get some sleep.

Cassandra had been gone for over an hour now, and Danny was sitting quietly in the chair beside the bed, his silhouette streaked with yellow light from a streetlamp outside. Every time he looked towards her, Leah smashed her eyes shut, knowing he'd scold her for being awake, but sleep was proving evasive.

She could hear the rhythm of the waves against the sand, the creak of the boats swaying against the docks, and it sent feathers tickling against her ribcage.

She was going back. And she could feel it down to her bones.

A soft knock sent Leah bolting upright and Danny gave her a sidelong look before moving to the door and glancing through the peephole. When he swung it open, Cassandra hurried in, an agitated look on her face.

"I've found someone who'll take us," she said. "But we have to hurry. He's leaving at 4:30."

Leah glanced at the fluorescent 4:00am on the bedside table and jumped up. "Okay. Let's go."

"You need to take this," Cassandra said, dropping a gold necklace into Leah's palm.

Leah raised an eyebrow, examining the interlocking curls that branched towards a diamond teardrop pendent. Tiny inscriptions ran along its chain, delicate and flowing.

"Why do I need a necklace?" she asked.

"The sailor requested you take it back to the live world with you," Cassandra said with a shrug. "It seemed an odd thing to refuse. He said it doesn't belong here."

Leah eyed the necklace for a moment longer before clipping it around her neck and letting it dangle, cold against her collarbone.

When she looked up again, Cassandra was holding the door open, gesturing Leah and Danny outside.

The night was dark and still as they emerged, and when the pier came into sight, Leah's heart started pounding. The finality of what she was about to do was setting in and it made the air thicker around her, flooding her with the life she was leaving; with Alice and Zarah, with Jared.

The last name made Leah's stomach plummet and she glanced back at the cliffs, shadowed and ominous in the darkness. His absence felt the most significant, the most unbelievable. Her every thought of the live world had been entwined with thoughts of him.

She was drawn back to the present when they stepped onto the pier and a boat pulled up. Cassandra hurried forward, exchanging quick words with a burly man who'd emerged from the cabin and Leah glanced at Danny. He was examining the water below them, his jaw tense.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" she asked. "I could find another way to get help."

"I'm sure," Danny said, and before she could reply, he followed Cassandra onto the boat.

Leah sighed and joined them, moving to the railing and trying to remain calm as the engine rumbled and they pulled away from the shore. She watched as the land grew smaller, as the swell crested and fell until it masked it completely.

She wasn't sure how much longer she stood there before Cassandra appeared beside her, leaning her forearms against the railing and looking out towards the ocean.

"How are you feeling?" Cassandra asked.

Leah shifted, her hands white against the rails. "I'm not sure. Are we close to the whirlpool?"

"No, we still have another few hours."

"Okay," Leah said. Her hand moved to her backpack subconsciously, palming the gun that sat inside, it's weight a reassurance.

"You shouldn't be scared, you know," Cassandra said, her eyes following Leah's movements. "Whether or not you're the best fighter, you'll have the element of surprise, they won't expect you without Jared's warning. And once the rest of the S.I.S are there, you'll outnumber them."

Leah shot Cassandra a wry smile. "You sound so confident."

Cassandra's hair was whipping around her face and she pulled out a hairband to tie it back.

"That's because I am," she said. "You're going to get out of there, Leah."

Leah looked out to the ocean, her stomach churning.

"I hope you're right."

Cassandra gave Leah a light nudge. "I am."

Leah scoffed and Cassandra gave her a reassuring nod before moving back towards the cabin.

Seconds later, Danny appeared at her side. He didn't try to offer any reassurances, but his shoulder pressed against hers, warm and comforting, as he gazed out at the ocean with her.

They stayed like that for hours and it was only when the seas became rough, and the currents insistent, that they decided to move back inside.

The boat was being thrashed around in the swell, rising tens of metres, before falling with stomach lurching speed back to the water below, and they'd both become soaked with the splash back.

Leah waited until there was a slight lull in the movement and then dashed back to the cabin with Danny on her heels.

"Are we close?" she asked as they entered.

Cassandra nodded. "Very."

She was perched on a nailed-down chair, her arms braced against the walls as they rose over another crest and the boat tipped downwards.

The sailor was sitting at the front of the cabin, buckled into his seat and looking acutely uncomfortable. There was a nervous tick at the corner of his mouth that made his beard twitch up and down, and Leah approached him cautiously, careful not to startle him.

"How much further can you take us?" she asked.

He glanced at her, his eyes drifting to the necklace that swung against her neck.

"The boat will roll if the swell gets any bigger," he said. "You'll have to get out soon."

Leah wasn't surprised at his answer. "Which way is the whirlpool?"

He pointed and Leah followed his finger off to the northwest and felt her stomach drop. Threads of white water were twirling away from them, branching all the way to the horizon where they converged and disappeared, dropping below the ocean's surface into a swirling dark mass.

"We're just outside of the danger zone," he said, tearing Leah's gaze away from the whirlpool and back to him. "If I get any closer we'll all be dragged in. But you won't have to do much once you're in the water. The currents will get you there."

"Right," Leah said, swallowing down her unease.

She stumbled over to Danny as he stared at the whirlpool, his face white. She wanted to ask him to stay here again, but knew it would be useless.

"He says we need to get out soon," she said. "He can't get much closer than this."

Danny nodded, his jaw stiff.

"I should go now," he said. "I need to give the S.I.S as much warning as possible, otherwise they won't get to you in time."

"Okay," Leah said quietly. "Be safe, Danny."

He gave her an uneasy smile. "I will. I'll be back here in no time. And you'll be with Seth, where you belong."

Leah bit her lip against the tears that pressed against her eyelids as Danny gave her a hug and moved towards the door, saying his goodbyes to Cassandra on the way.

She watched him move outside, her arms aching to pull him back as he looked over the railing, and then suddenly he launched himself over and disappeared.

She closed her eyes for one brief second, allowing the tears to catch in her eyelashes, and then she brushed them away and glanced at Cassandra.

"How long should I wait?" she asked.

Cassandra was watching the spot where Danny had disappeared with a heavy expression.

"Give him half an hour if you can."

Leah nodded and started pacing around the cabin, her strides determined against the chaotic rocking of the boat. All the angst and adrenaline she'd managed to keep at bay had begun coursing through her system again and she didn't know how to control the energy it formed.

She deposited her gun into a water tight bag and hung it on her belt before running through all the fighting maneuvers she knew under her breath, trying to help the minutes tick by.

She only had ten minutes left when the boat lurched and Leah was flung from one end of the cabin to the other and sent smashing against a window.

Her head rung with the impact, but she scrambled up, grabbing onto the window ledge uneasily.

Cassandra had appeared in front of her, gripping the rails firmly and staring at Leah with wide eyes.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm —"

"You've got to get off now!" The sailors voice carried back to them. "The swell's getting too strong for the boat. You've got to go!"

Leah glanced out the front window to find another crest rearing menacingly over their heads. Unwilling to remain on the boat for the next hit, she gave Cassandra a brief nod.

"Thanks for helping me."

"Of course," Cassandra said. "Good luck."

Leah grinned and then crawled over to the door, flinging it open and receiving a face-full of sea spray. She skidded across the deck and grabbed onto the metal railing, allowing herself one last glance at the withering mass of the whirlpool and the racing water below her.

And then she jumped.