A new companion

Gabriel waited in silence for any reply from inside the ship. He strained his ears, having sworn he heard movement. 

"It could just be the creaking of the wood settling," said Captain Napier behind him. "I wouldn't dare to hope." 

"Is anyone there?" Gabriel called, and turned back to the captain. "Do we have a lamp, or a torch?" 

A lamp was lit and brought forward, and the young man took it eagerly, holding it forward into the dim light of the broken vessel. 

The first board he stepped on broke, and he hesitated. He would do no good to anybody if he managed to severely injure himself in the first hours of his mission. He lifted the lamp higher, its light flickering against the eerie interior of the sideways ship. The large crack he'd entered was at the very back of the ship, and the floor and ceiling of the deck framed him like walls. The side of the boat was over and under him, curved in a slightly unnerving way. 

He preferred walking on flat ground. 

Along the floor, which was actually the wall, much debris blocked his way and he momentarily debated the merits of even attempting to look further inside without some sign that a spark of life was hidden within. 

"I'm not sure I can make it deeper inside!" He called. "If you're there, let me know so we can figure out a way to free you! Make some kind of noise so that I know you're there!" 

Several second passed, and then an unmistakable rustling echoed through the ship. Gabriel shoved a crate aside and moved deeper. 

"Keep it up, so I can find you!" He called, trying to pick his way through the debris as quickly as he could. It was impossible to tell exactly where the noise was coming from, but he thought he was getting closer. 

"Carefully!" Captain Napier called. "The structure is damaged and unstable. It could collapse if you move too much!" 

Gabriel paused. He certainly didn't want to bring the rest of the ship down on his head and the head of whoever was trapped. In the quiet, he heard a cry. A child? A child was trapped alone in this dark, dank place? 

His heart wrenched, remembering his own time trapped alone in darkness. 

The ship must have been traveling from one settlement to another to be carrying a child, or else they had climbed in after the wave for shelter and gotten trapped in the process. 

"Hold on, I'm coming," He said in what he hoped was a calming voice. "I'll get to you soon." 

A whimper of pain spurred him onward. He pushed aside another broken crate and squinted into the dim space. Sounds of struggle drew his attention downward. 

"Oh!" He exclaimed. "Hello, there. Are you all right?" 

Gabriel place the lamp down and knelt next to the bedraggled dog. It whimpered again, and he saw that its leg was caught between two broken pieces of board. When it pulled, splinters dug deeper into its limb. 

"Hold still, please," He requested, carefully breaking away one of the boards to make enough space to pull the injured leg free. "Will you promise not to bite me if I carry you to freedom?" 

The dog's mournful brown eyes promised to be as calm as it could manage. He gathered the animal into his arms and managed to pick up the lamp with the tips of his fingers. 

"I'm coming out!" He called to the captain. 

"Make way," He heard the leader command the others. 

Gabriel emerged holding the dog, ignoring the surprised faces of the others. Kneeling down, he opened his medical bag and quickly removed the splinters he could see from the dog's leg. 

It whimpered pathetically, but to its credit did not snap or snarl, even when he caused pain. Gingerly, he washed the wound, cleaned, and bound it. 

"Did you just waste precious medical supplies and water on an animal?" One of the soldiers protested. 

"We've been told to look for survivors," Gabriel retorted. "I just found the first one, and I believe she's grateful." 

The dog was white and brown spotted, with one ear floppy and one that stood up straight. A respectable size, she probably weighed as much as a six or seven year old child. 

"Congratulations, you've got a new pet," The Captain commented with an ironic twist to his mouth. "What will you call it?" 

"Evey," Gabe said confidently. 

"Strange name for a dog," Napier shrugged.

"You're going to let him keep the mangy thing?" The same soldier protested a second time.

"Calm down, Mason. You act like you're a fresh recruit." The Captain shook his head. "I should send you back to guard duty." 

"I'm just saying, our resources are finite now. Can we afford to waste them?" Mason said more quietly. 

"We brought plenty to sustain any survivors we find. Of course if the choice comes down to the animal or human life, there's no discussion," Napier eyed Gabriel, who nodded. "But so far it seems rather unlikely we'll find anyone to save. I am worried about this water business… Perhaps we should walk closer to shore on our way back and see if we can tell anything about the ocean itself." 

The sea reeked. Its scent was putrid, with many dead creatures littering the shore, both those from the sea and those swept out from the land. Bad as they approach, it was nearly unbearable to be this close. Gabriel tied a kerchief around his face to help with the smell, and several others did the same. 

Napier's face was grave. 

"I expected as much," He commented, "but it is disturbing nonetheless." 

Gabriel looked to the sky, half expecting a portal to have appeared there to rain death upon the sea and land once again. The body of some great black and white sea creature lay across their path, and the young man paused.

"Nothing's eating." He said. 

"What's that?" Mason asked. 

"Usually, when some animal dies, there are carrion birds on it within minutes or hours. They can smell it from miles away. But for all the death having been here for days now, there's nothing consuming it. It's eerie. Wrong." The young man gazed out to sea. "I wonder if there's anything alive out there at all." 

Much of the carnage seemed to have washed ashore more recently, as opposed to having been killed in the initial wave. The half of the great beast that the waves lapped against was distorted and rotting, while the dry half seemed almost… fresh. 

"I don't like it," Napier said.

"Will we head back to Klain early?" Mason asked hopefully. 

"We must learn all we can first. If there are no survivors, except Evey, investigation will be our primary purpose here." The captain gave his subordinate a harsh look. 

Gabriel's gaze was still on the water. How much of the sea had been poisoned by whatever fell from the sky? He had some understanding from farming that poisoned well or bitter spring could infect the area around it. 

How far would this acidic water spread? He glanced back towards home. The trees whose roots were still in the ground looked sickly. He hadn't noticed initially, assuming it was an aftereffect of the saltwater wave, but now it took on a far more harrowing meaning. 

"We should warn Klain. Test the waters in the towns and villages closest to the sea. The crops… if this water is used for crops, they will die or become inedible." 

"And there are many people to feed," Napier added gravely. "We brought two messenger birds with us. I hate to use one so early, but I believe it is the correct decision. This changes things." 

"Is it magic?" Mason asked. "Did magic come back?" 

Napier looked at his subordinate with an odd expression. "A portal opened in the sky and spewed out a mountain that poisoned the sea, and you don't know for sure whether magic is at work?"

"I meant, was it the Void? It dumped a giant on Klain during the war. I saw it happen." Mason turned a little red at the collar. 

"We cannot say for sure." Napier said. "It is something to consider." 

Gabriel kept his mouth shut. He didn't think the Void was at work, given that the last portal that he'd seen appear was to the Fae with a message. He had a sneaking suspicion about what was happening, but refrained from voicing it. 

"The other bird, we must save for a dire emergency. Since we cannot use the river to get home, the journey will take much longer." 

Other groups that had spread to look for survivors in other directions had used horses, but their group didn't have that luxury. It would be a walk back to Klain. 

They stopped for a short while to bury one poor soul who didn't escape the disaster. A moment of silence over the grave was all they could afford; sunset was nigh. 

Evey limped along behind them, holding her injured leg aloft. Gabriel patted her head. At least his presence had done a little good.