My Apocalypse Mate

4- SINKING (Lucas)

        “f**k!” I yelled, when the sudden hit makes me fall forward. I get up fast and run downstairs to the control room. “What happened?” I ask my Beta, who was at the helm.

        “The radar stopped working, Alpha, we didn’t see the rocks!”. I jump outside and look out the rail, looking for the damage, but I can’t see anything from here. I turn to my Gamma, Jack, who has just arrived:

        “Look for injured people, this was a hard hit.” I order him. He nods and disappears inside the yacht. I call my Beta and two warriors nearby, and we head to the lower floor, the basement of the boat. As we arrive, I hear the sound of water running, making me curse again.

        The basement has almost five inches of water already, but the leaking isn’t as big as I thought it would be. “I’m guessing we have two to three hours left before this ship sinks” says Thomas, the Beta. I grunt at him, agreeing to his forecast.

        "Bring everyone to the upper decks, we can’t afford any more accidents. See that the injured are receiving proper care and assist Doctor Vanessa with anything she needs” I tell the warriors. They bow to me in respect and carry on their orders. I then turn to my Beta and tell him to come with me, while I’m also mind linking The Nerd and our only elders, my parents, to meet us in the control room.

        When we arrive there, the others are already awaiting. I look at Adrian and notice he has a lot of folded maps in his arms, which must be the nautical charts we spoke about. I look and my parents and once again I realize how tired they look. This whole situation since the flee from the USA wasn’t easy for any of us, but for them it must much worse, since they are not so strong and resistant anymore. I worry for them.

        ‘They are waiting for you, Lucas’, my wolf says in my head. I run my fingers through my hair and sight. We have to plan something, and we must make it fast. I signal for Adrian to put the charts on the table. “Where are we, Adrian?” I ask. Adrian seems to check something:

        “Alpha, we are way below São Paulo already. There are some beaches and islands nearby, but not all lighthouses are shown here. However, there is one quite famous, in an island named Ilh… Ilha do Mil… wait, no, Ilha do Mel. It’s quite far yet, though. Maybe we should consider another place for repairs before…” he is interrupted as I let out a grunt and fall on my knees, as a series of images flood my head. I see my mate, a fort, the lighthouse and the aerial view of an island. In a few seconds, I understand that is the Moon Goddess who is showing me all this, and she wants me to find my mate as soon as possible.

        “Son, are you okay? What happened?” my mother’s worried voice wakes me from my trance, and I realize I’m lying on the floor, in fetal position, trembling. I shake my head and stand up, still a little dizzy. However, I know exactly what to do for the first time in three years. I look at the charts and recognize the form of an island. The Ilha do Mel Adrian was talking about is the same island the Goddess showed me. There are a lighthouse and a fort in the maps as well. Never have I felt that something was so clear as now.

        I hold the gaze of the confused faces and ask Adrian: “How long until we get to the island?”. Adrian swallows, nervous:

        “I think… maybe three and a half hours, Alpha”. I think for a moment. Our pack can swim quite well, since we used to live in the coast. We have a lifeboat, where we can accommodate the pups and older people. If we have to abandon ship with half an hour left, it wouldn’t be a big problem. So, I make my decision:

        “The Moon Goddess has emphasized to me and my wolf that our mate is in that island, and we should head there now” I say and everyone in the room gasp in surprise, but I hold my hand up as still have more coming: “I will explain everything in time. Mom, Dad, get the lifeboat ready for use, and bring out all the lifejackets as well. You can take as much help as you need from the pack. When the time comes, the pups and elders will get in the lifeboat and the warriors will swim. Adrian, call Doctor Vanessa and you both will see that everything important is packed in waterproof bags, like weapons, historical archives, medicine, food and some clothes. Give one vest and one bag to every warrior. Thomas, call Jack and follow me to the basement. We have a leaking we have to fix”. Everyone leaves with an “Yes, Alpha”, while I head to the basement. On my way, I grab a few silver tapes and mattresses, hoping they are enough to stop the water from getting in.

        Twenty minutes later, my Beta, Gamma and I look at our work with narrowed eyes. “I think we did great, it may hold the water longer, now” Thomas said. I nod, thinking.

        “We must come down and check this regularly, but I don’t want anyone in this deck longer than necessary. I’ll leave both of you in charge of the wall, and let me know the moment anything changes”. Jack and Thomas nodded, and climbed back to the upper decks with me. I went to the control room again and sped up the boat. ‘Mate, here we come!’ Atlas howled in my head, and again, a huge smile appeared on my face.

        For three hours, the boat held on beautifully. Like we had predicted, there is too much water now, and as we approach the island, the ‘belly’ of the boat brushes the sand bellow, until the boat completely stops moving, but it’s not sinking either. Not that far, I can see the white lighthouse kissed by the sunset orange light, extremely inviting. I look at my pack and encourage them to star swimming. They comply happily, probably sensing my good mood. ‘Mate, here I come.’.