Niko

When we arrived in Greenhaven, no Greencloaks came rushing to the docks. There were no smiles, no welcoming calls from the battlements.

Instead, it was eerily silent. Like a blanket had fallen over the entire island, muting everything. No animal sounds could be heard, either.

"Something's wrong." Sabien seemed to have either read my mind, or sensed the same unease. I think it was probably the latter.

I nodded, looking around for Tyler.

The guardian was watching the docks with a cautious frown. Glancing up, he caught my eye.

"Where is everyone?" Skye asked in a hushed voice. I jumped, having nearly forgotten they were there. They crouched on the railing, their spider perched just as precariously on their shoulder. "There's usually people, right?"

"I don't know." Tyler answered slowly. He looked disturbed.

I felt fear spike in my chest, wishing suddenly for a joke to lighten the atmosphere. "Well, maybe they're just all inside."

Tyler shook his head as Promise walked up to join the conversation.

"Loyal smelled danger in the air," she said by way of explanation, "we are not safe here."

Sabien crossed his arms, rubbing his fingers over his bicep. "We can't just assume the worst, right? Maybe Niko's right, maybe they are all inside."

"Somehow I doubt that." The sarcasm had returned to Skye's tone, which anyone with a brain could see was their way of masking fear. Yes, I'm including myself in that.

Promise reached up to adjust her hood. "So, what's the plan, captain?" She asked Tyler.

"We have to know for sure what happened." He murmured after a moment's thought. "But just in case, we can't risk the Eight's safety." He ran a hand through his hair, tucking it back and out of his face. "Loyal and I will scout it out. Promise, I want you and Loving to stay here, keep an eye out for trouble, protect the kids."

I wanted to bristle at that, protest that we weren't kids anymore, but then bit my tongue as Tyler turned to me.

"Don't do anything stupid." He said, a knowing glint in his eye. "We'll be back in a jiffy."

"Got it." I nodded, resisting the urge to salute teasingly.

Tyler called Loyal over and together the two disembarked, hurrying down the docks. I watched them go until they were swallowed by the castle's shadow.

"We should get belowdecks, stay hidden in case someone comes looking," Sabien suggested.

Promise gave him a brisk nod. "Go tell the others. We will remain up here, to keep watch."

"Uh, are you sure that's a great idea?" Skye pointedly looked her up and down. "You kind of stand out."

"All of you do." Sabien piped in then. "I'd be the ideal lookout."

"He's right," I agreed. "He can camouflage so well he's basically invisible."

Sabien seemed to puff out his chest a bit, looking proud at the statement.

"Fine." Promise consented reluctantly. "But the rest of us need to go, then."

"Yes ma'am." Skye hopped off the railing and trotted toward the stairs.

I followed, but not before patting Sabien's shoulder and giving him an encouraging grin.

By the time I got below, Skye had told everyone everything. Lucia and the others were all milling around the galley, missing only Navia and the Redcloaks, who were probably in their respective cabins.

"What does Tyler think is out there, anyway? What could possibly have taken over Greenhaven in two days?" Zay was asking as I sat across from her.

Skye shrugged. They were sitting cross-legged on the table, something Tyler would definitely not have approved of, but we were all too anxious to tell them that. "My guess? Whoever is behind these parasites. They took over that entire city within one night, remember."

I shivered at the memory. So many people, transformed into mindless monsters.

"Hey," Lucia's voice pulled me away from the conversation.

I looked up and smiled as she slid into the seat beside me. "Hi."

"Can we talk?" She asked quietly.

I paused. "Is now really a good time? Can it wait?"

I almost missed the fractional fall of her face before she shrugged and schooled it back into indifference. "Yeah, it can. Sorry."

I chewed my lips, wanting to take back the words, and almost missed the rotten look Zay threw at Lucia. It caught me off guard. I thought they'd been getting along. "Are you and Zay fighting again?"

Lucia wrinkled her nose. "Aren't we always?"

"Well, yeah, but—"

"It's nothing huge, just a small disagreement." Lucia waved away my concern. "We'll figure it out. We always do."

I raised a brow. "Okay. If you say so."

Lucia threw a wry smile my way. "Don't worry about it, just focus on Tyler, okay? I'll be right back." She stood, leaving a lingering touch on my shoulder, and disappeared from the room.

A moment later, Sabien came sprinting in. His pale face sent us all bolting to our feet. "Get Promise and Loving! They're on their way back!"

"What's going on?" Sasha asked frantically as Skye darted off to find the Redcloaks.

Sabien sucked in a deep breath. "I can't explain. It's just— it's bad. We have to be ready to leave the moment Tyler and Loyal board."

Footsteps echoed in the hallway as Promise and Loving hurried up the stairs.

"Come on, we have to help!" I jogged out onto the deck in their wake.

Promise was shouting orders, and we scurried to obey. Within minutes, the ship was prepared to leave. I took a moment to step up to the railing, and froze as I saw what had fuelled Sabien's urgency.

A crowd of Greencloaks were thundering down int the direction of the docks. Sunlight glittered off the spirals in their foreheads— they'd been Infected. Feeling sick, I scanned for Loyal's telltale red cloak. There, at the front of the horde, were our two companions.

Tyler was sprinting, faster than I'd ever seen him go without Charlie at his side, yet barely keeping pace with Loyal. They reached the ship and Loyal hoisted Tyler up to the ladder, fending off a few of the Infected Greencloaks before following.

Something whizzed past my ear and struck one of the Greencloaks, knocking them off as they tried to scale the ship's side. I glanced back to see Sabien, wielding a crossbow and wearing a determined expression. On the other side of the boat, I saw Skye load up their slingshot and fire off a round as well.

"Okay, they're on!" Promise shouted. "Let's go, let's go!"

The ship pulled away from the docks, agonizingly slowly. Splashes signalled that any Greencloaks attempting to hitch a ride had failed.

But it was only when the fog recaptured Greenhaven, hiding it from our sight, that I finally let out a breath of relief.

"What happened back there?" Sasha asked Tyler as I walked over to join the circle.

He had a grim look on his face. "Couldn't you tell? We lost Greenhaven."

"Lost it to who?" Lucia prompted.

"The Many. The parasites. I don't know. All I know is that it's been overrun, and we were lucky to escape with our lives."

I swallowed at the anger, the hopelessness in Tyler's voice. We'd lost our base, our old home, and we were still no closer to understanding why or who had done it.

14/08/21
yikes
intense
anyway
:)