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From afar, the ship was of the typical kind. Just another mode of transport across a seemingly endless body of water.

But the closer they came to it, the higher the bow of the ship rose into the sky, acknowledging their approach like a lion puffing out its ragged chest.

Around the splintered ark, small armies of waves attempted to push over the ship. They splashed in desperate suicide against the wooden planks, if you could call them that. For their darkened shiny colour made it clear that they were barely wooden at all.

"Same as usual," Flynn told Kate and Tom, in his happy-go-lucky way.

Where's the normal in riding a carcass of modified wood across a lake? Kate wondered. Her previous almost-transformation into the fox creature had slipped away as a mere memory for now.

Kate thought the tingling on her face had simply been from of her excitement. But then again, she couldn't see the barbed whiskers that were slowly sinking back into her flesh.

Rendered speechless at the sight of the ship, Tom had dropped his watermelon shell to the ground. Now Tom realised why it was that his father had issued so many rules when he was younger. Why he had never been permitted to leave the house between 10pm and 10am. Why he'd been met with a frown of disapproval whenever he asked why his father had to leave so often, sometimes not returning until the day pulled up its cover of night.

Tom's father had been part of something bigger. And now, stood in front of the wooden mass, Tom was unwillingly close to finding out exactly that was. What being a Purifier meant.

*

Meanwhile, Flynn had turned his attention to the melon shell that Tom had dropped in dread. The fruit swayed from side to side, much like the ship itself. Flynn of all people would know. He'd seen the boat enough times and he felt no sudden urge to linger on it for too long. Besides, the real life watermelon was far more interesting to him than the ship made from the ghost of trees.

"Mother of..." Tom shuddered.

"Nature?" Flynn finished, looking over his shoulder back at Tom and chuckling. He was clearly pleased with his play on words. Flynn picked up the watermelon and was now throwing it from hand to hand. But it's owner, Tom, was far too distracted to notice Flynn's preoccupation.

The boy didn't want to look at the ship anymore but there was no way that he could stop. He squinted in order to get a detailed view of it, his head resting against his chin as though his brain could barely contain the information it was taking in. Morbid curiosity had taken hold of him.

As Flynn played with the frewt (as was labelled on the stall) silhouettes moved from behind the melon and caught his attention. The Guards were approaching. The three of them had been motionless for too long.

"Come on then you two," he said, hurriedly pocketing the melon. "The ground'll gobble us up if we stand here any longer!"

Flynn guided them round to the side of the boat. 

Tom's eyes were so glued to the bow that they surely would've leapt out of his eye sockets as he moved, falling into the deep water swashing below him.

As Tom put his left foot onto the bridge, the drawling creak of the plank emphasized the distance between the boat and the water.

"This boat... it's huge," Kate observed from behind Tom. She was simultaneously satisfied that her ticket to uncovering the Purifiers' work was ensured, but also resentful of the government's secrecy.

I wonder how many Purifiers it took before me Kate thought as she climbed up onto the plank after Tom. Soon they'll be none.

"Why have we never noticed this before?" Tom cursed- trying in vain not to look down at the water beside him as it whispered in salted voices.

"Timing! I thought the same on my first day. What about you Tom? What do you think of it?"

"Just great..." he grumbled, not wanting to disappoint Flynn. It seemed sick to him to admire something that was so dangerous.

"It comes way before everyone wakes. Always early and never late! That's what Captain says." As if on call a gruffly voice boomed from on board the ship.

"Two minutes until we set off," it said. The head of a woman popped up from over the sides of the ship. "I said two minutes," she repeated, irritated by their slow pace as they wandered up the precariously placed plank. "All aboard ye workers."

To Kate and Tom it became immediately clear who was running the vessel. It might have been the way the Captain moved into full sight like a Guard from a palace or the nautical hat that had taken root on her skull. Either way, this Captain had certainly earned her title.

"We've got ourselves some newbies," Flynn explained as he pulled himself on to the ship.

He presented his surprisingly pristine pass to her and she nodded, after pausing to wipe her nose on her corduroy brown jacket. "You're looking as stunning as usual Captain," Flynn said in jest.

"Keep walking Ealdwine," she retorted, referring to him by his second name.

Tom lagged behind Flynn- the plank seeming to stretch for miles ahead of him. Intimidated, he had to stop for a moment. Taking his own advice, he then tried to reverse the effects of his nervousness.

To do this he used logic- something he felt he could always trust.

Though as it turns out, evaluating the probability of falling into the water was not a successful way of distracting yourself.

He let out a nervous groan as he had made himself even more worried than before.

"What's taking so long?" Kate tutted as her impatient nature got the better of her. She shuffled forwards- forcing Tom to take another step, and another until he was nearly at the top. But he stopped dead again.

"Honestly," said Kate in indignation. They were close enough to ship that if she reached out she could touch the side. So Kate decided that she would skilfully get past Tom and pull herself up once she had a good hold on the edges.

"Watch it!" Tom snapped as he wobbled slightly, his feet almost half off of the edge as he was forced to move out of the way.

Now on the boat, Kate reached into her pocket to show the pass that the coordinator had given her beforehand.

Though Tom remained on the bridge, until he was sure he could make the distance from the bridge onto the ship in one whole step.

Once he had finally done so he was relieved more than anything, and he presented the pass. It was the same deep blue as Kate and Flynn's and was covered in crystalised chips of Lake salt.

Kate walked port-side of the ship in awe, leaving Tom, Flynn and the Captain together. There were at least twenty people on the boat. Some were confident and cocky- they'd obviously been trained before. Where as others appeared more nervous- twitching at any sudden movement. 

As she moved passed them and peered downwards, her hair fell over the edge of the ship in fiery waterfalls beside her.

The land below seemed like a whole other world now that she was atop the ship. Like a dollhouse for giants the Lake District had turned miniature. The stalls looked like matchstick structures made haphazardly by children and the pebbles on the beach were grey peppery corns. The Guards were still there too- looking up at her like plastic bottle-green soldiers.

She liked the feeling of being above them. They seemed to have less power all the way down there.

*

Kate felt a presence beside her, though she didn't stir. For she could tell by the clumsy plodding of feet against floor that it was Flynn.

Instead, she closed her eyes and let the wind tickle the few parts of her face that weren't covered by the oxygen mask.

    If the breeze hadn't unexpectedly entered underthe ill-fitting mask and pressed against the bruised skin on her nose then shewouldn't have known that the ship was now moving. It sailed away from the shore as silent as a birthday wish. Even with the acidic water barreling against it.

Tom wasn't so fortunate to view its departure this way though and he anxiously turned to the opposite side of the ship- not wanting to think about the tattered shred of innocence they were leaving behind.

"I must say," said Flynn, having decided to join him. "- even though you're so different since I last saw you. You've aged well," Tom smiled, revealing his dimples.

"Flynn, have you seen how you look?" Tom gazed affectionately at the face of the boy who he had known since he was child.

"Way way too many times- I guess that's what being on your own does to you." Flynn laughed and Tom joined in. It brought out Tom's not-so-older self, talking to Flynn. A side that Kate wouldn't have noticed in her vengeful state.

Tom caught a glimpse of himself in the reflection of the polished deck. Next to Flynn's tall- almost gawky physique, Tom was fairly well-built. Yet he still felt he didn't fit himself like Flynn did.

He looked away. Tom had barely seen his reflection at all since he'd escaped the facility. Part of him couldn't bare it. To see how age had cruelly stolen years from his face.

A feeling of thick nausea flourished inside his stomach like an unwanted weed. He gripped onto the banister as the boat seemed to be swaying a debilitating amount. He felt his brain go fuzzy. He was losing control.

"Tom?" Flynn said- concerned. He placed a steady hand on Tom's arm but he shrugged it off. That was when Tom realised the boat was barely swaying at all. Flynn wasn't swaying and nor was anyone else as Tom searched around for an explanation.

Suddenly he knew what was happening. It was like before- in the boathouse. When he'd seen things that hadn't made sense. Awful and unnerving things. It had been happening and continued to happen, since he'd left the facility. The green light that he saw reflecting off of his hands was proof of that. He couldn't let Flynn see him like this.

"Sea- sick," Tom told Flynn as he covered his eyes that were glowing with colour. He ran to the back of the boat, pushing past people as he tried to navigate the ship almost fully blind. The oxygen tank on Tom's back knocked against the tanks of others. "S-or-ry," he slurred.

He had just reached the back of the ship when his sight had turned completely black. Shutdown.

Here it comes Tom waited, trying to prepare himself for the invasive visions that felt like uninvited guests in his body. He continued to wait. Though he saw nothing.

When he opened his eyes his vision had cleared. He saw the familiar viridescent water curling behind the ship in white frothing movements. Tom was on the boat. It was over. He had fought the side effects.

He found himself straightening up. That was close, he thought to himself.

He walked back over to Flynn to apologise for pushing him away. Flynn was only trying to help after all. He quickly found him, his dirty blond hair dancing in the wind.

"Hey Flynn-" The taller boy turned around, looking relieved that Tom was alright. "Sorry about--"

Tom would've finished his apology. Had not a sharp shriek interrupted him. One that pulled the hairs on his back so high up that the pain made him think they were being ripped off of his body.

"It came from the opposite side!" Flynn said to Tom, looking like one of the startled stags in his nature books. They ran beyond the mast and moved forwards through the group of people who were nervously muttering between themselves. Another scream jolted out from the space ahead.

Emerging from the crowd they found Kate stood at the front, chewing on her nails.

"What's going on Kate?" Tom asked. Wearing unavoidable concern, she looked from him back into the distance- towards the pirate's plank. It wasn't the thought of pirates that were bothering Kate though.

It was the woman, whimpering in pain. She stood barely a centimetre from the end of the plank- her blue scalf flying beside her.

"I didn't mean to!" she screeched, through a clogged up throat. "I didn't mean to. It just slipped out. They know. They know what I've done."

With the implications of the government the people on the boat began to panic. Whatever this woman had done, they didn't want to be involved in it. In their eyes, she'd be better off jumping. It'd save the suffering.

Tom looked in frustration as the people behind him took a few steps back in fear.

Heart racing, Tom tried to get onto the plank but the woman spooked and inched further towards the edge.

"Get away from me," she said, turning around to reveal the tear marks that seemed to be burned onto her face. She was familiar to Tom. He felt like he'd seen her before. He stepped forwards but the woman backed away. In her resistance her foot had missed the plank. She fell, backwards into the water.

"No!" Tom groaned- watching her limp body fall from the plank into the Lake. He ran forwards to try and grab her but the scenery changed and he was at the back of the boat again. People were giving him strange looks as sweat poured from his face.

What's going on? He searched around for any evidence of the lady in the indigo scarf. But all he could see were sporadically placed people who looked as if they hadn't just seen a woman commit suicide.

A sound pierced his ear drums. The same scream as before.

He hadn't fought it at all. The visions. Tom had never felt one that powerful before. That real.

He pushed passed the crowd to stand next to Kate and there was the lady again. He knew where he recognised her from. She had been the on in his visions for days.

And there was no doubt about it- She was going to jump. 

Author's Note- Firstly, it's late again! Sorry- what am I like:') Pretty pleased with this chapter though. I hope you enjoyed it. Please leave a like and comments on what you think of the story thus far. I'd love to know:) Are Tom's side effects finally going to take over him? Who's the woman in the indigo scarf? You'll find out in the next chapter:D 

Thanks for reading- hippywitch