The shore was as silent as the rest of the city. The moon guided us past the ships and cranes, eventually taking us to Edelfelt’s boat docked to one of the smaller jettys. Looked like the crossover between a large rowboat and the Fumauto. Little waves rippled from the cylindrical plank-wheel attached to the back. Everyone except Edelfelt climbed in. I noticed two silhouettes coming down the street towards the shore. They were carrying a rectangular object between them; a box of some kind. Another patrol maybe. I readied my right hand to pull the Schofield out.

“I prezume you knov hov to operate van of zeese?” Edelfelt told Grimmington.

A very distinct tap echoed between the buildings with every other step one of the silhouettes took. There was a peg where his leg was supposed to be.

“I’ll be flying an airship, so I suppose you’ll have to teach Leah how to,” Grimmington replied, “if only that damn Connor was here to take the wheel..”

I let my right hand rest.

“Did ye miss me?” Connor asked.

“Connor! Happy to have you back!” Grimmington smiled.

“Sorrey, we got’ a li’ul lost on ‘e wey,” Connor set the trunk he and peg-leg had carried down in the boat after having stepped on board.

“No worries, you came just when we needed you. This is Edelfelt, he is letting us borrow his boat. You think you can drive one of these?”

“No daut abaut et!”

“Good, I’ll leave you to it then.”

Grimmington unlocked the trunk, dug through its contents, then handed me a small single-shot pistol made of brass.

“Shoot this into the air when you’ve found your sister, and I’ll be right over to pick you up, alright?” he told me.

“Alright,” I said. I replaced the Schofield in my holster with it.

“See you on the other side, good luck.”

Grimmington joined Edelfelt on the jetty, they departed together. Peg-leg got a fire started in the boiler of the boat while Connor raised the anchor, Mike and Emily were sorting their weapons out by the trunk. Ri and Fu had found a place in the front of the boat where they squatted, while still keeping their feet flat on the ground. Strange way to sit, didn’t look very comfortable. Steam began rising out of the boiler’s chimney. The cylindrical wheel slowly turned, moving the boat forward.

“Were you guys ever on fishing trips back in Unionsville?” I asked Fu.

“No. Only a select few people are entrusted with such work. This is my first time on a boat,” he replied.

“Oh, how is it?”

“I think the waves are making me sick.”

Fu’s comment made me reflect on how I was feeling. A bit tired, fatigued. My arms felt heavy, and simply staying upright was a chore. Wasn’t a feeling I was unfamiliar with, it had come to me before; the feeling of thunder looming nearby. I grabbed the VRC from the trunk by Mike and Emily. I had missed the rifle.

“Do you feel that?” I asked them.

“Feel what?” Mike wondered.

“The fatigue, like a storm is on its way.”

“Huh? I think you’re just nervous. This is it. You finally get to see your sister again.”

“No, I know what she’s talking about,” Emily said, “just don’t think about it. A little rain has never hurt anybody.”

The beacon of Point Civ shrunk behind us, we were out on open waters. There were no lights on our boat, had to keep a low profile. I could see a line of stars almost as bright as the moon stretching across the clear night sky.

“You sure you can find the island in the dark?” I asked Connor who was manning the wheel.

“Ye, it’s onley a feu minnets from ‘ere,” he assured me.

I saw four flashes in the distance.

“Ship ahead!” peg-leg yelled.

A boom travelled across the sea.

“Shite!” Connor said.

Four plunges made violent waves in the waters around us. The boat wagged from side to side, making it difficult to stand up straight. Emily loaded her flintlock pistols, and Mike his musket.

“Dou not retern feier!” Connor ordered.

“They’re going to blast us into pieces!” Mike replied.

“Which es why we pleey ded! Can’t exactle’ fite ‘em.”

I was skeptical about the plan, it seemed very risky. A single lucky hit was all it would take to blow us out of the water. Four more flashes, followed by a boom, then plunges. Still not hit.

“Full steem ahed!” Connor shouted.

Sparks flung out of the boiler as peg-leg blew air with the boat’s fire bellows. The cylindrical wheel rotated as if we had all the time in the world, almost as good as me at keeping its cool in stressful situations. The time between the flashes and booms shrunk. The splashes came quicker too. We crashed through the waves, closing in on the ship. Our boat passed too close to the deck for the cannons to fire. It didn’t stop the people on board from leaning over the railing with their rifles ready to rain hell upon us. I wasn’t going down without a fight.

“Shoot or die!” I yelled as I threw myself onto my back, aiming the VRC at the people on deck.

Ten bullets, only five people. The odds were very much in our favor. I shot first, making a little hole just below one of their chins. The resistance caught them off guard. Must’ve thought we were going to surrender. With one flintlock pistol in each hand, Emily was the second to shoot; twice. They don’t fall like you’d think. They tense up, get all stiff, then their knees give way, making them top heavy. Fell head first over the railing like sacks of potatoes. Mike’s musket wasn’t very helpful, he only had time to shoot it once, and missed, before the two remaining people started returning fire.

After passing, Connor steered us around back, into the wake of the ship, momentarily keeping us out of their line of fire. I flipped the notch on the VRC, readying myself for the people to rotate to the stern. Emily quickly reloaded her pistols, then we waited. Surely enough, two heads popped up over the stern railing.

They didn’t shoot even once before I pulled the trigger. The person on the left no longer had much of a face left. Emily shot the other person twice. The wind had picked up speed, and made the sails of the ship flap. No other sound could be heard, except the boiler on our boat of course.

“Whew,” Emily said.

“Wut ‘appened tu pleyin’ ded??” Connor asked.

“What happened to staying alive?” I replied. He went silent.

The boat vibrated, and came to a sudden stop. I grabbed onto Mike but he was as bad as me at keeping his balance, causing me to fall on top of him. The VRC pressed against his chest was the only thing keeping our heads from having bumped into each other. I got lost in his kind eyes for what felt like minutes, but was closer to three seconds.

“Whoops,” he said.

“Sorry,” I immediately got up and brushed off my dress.

Connor had driven the boat onto land; a beach. Peg-leg put away the pair of bellows. The boat sank into the sand as we all got out on the same side. I could sense Maria’s energy, she was closeby. So this was Banana Island.