The arrow
The magnificent light of dawn broke over the horizon and chased away the shadows into the deepest recesses from which they came. The sea was finally calm, and the world was bathed in shades of gold, rust, and fiery red.
They folded their limbs tightly to fit into the narrow vessel with such haste that it wobbled precariously, threatening to topple them into the sea. Despite being nothing more than a slender sliver of driftwood, it miraculously held their weight and sliced through the water with ease, carrying them further away from the village with each paddle stroke.
Nobody spoke; to speak was to affirm the reality. Remaining silent was to accommodate the possibility that what had occurred was merely a nightmare. Ann closed her eyes momentarily, finding strength and seeking forgiveness from whatever gods the villagers worship.
Something fell from the bulge in Dave's shirt, landed at the bottom of the vessel with a soft thud, and rolled by her feet. From the corner of her eye, she saw swirling black lines and purple. Ann held her breath, and the grip she had on the paddle faltered. She hastily glanced over her shoulder, beyond Jack's sweat-covered brow and Toji's heaving muscles. The crashing of the wave sounded loud like her own heartbeat. Briefly, she wondered what possessed Dave to do such a thing.
"Are they chasing us?" Jack asked anxiously.
A loud roar erupted from the village in a language she didn't understand, followed by angry chanting, wails, and sounds of anguish. The villagers hurried about, then row after row of boats were being lowered into the water.
"They will now," she answered softly.
Fuelled by fear that threatened to immobilize her, Ann rowed harder and faster. The world faded into silence. Until, she could no longer hear her companion's ragged breath or the whizzing of arrows behind them. The burn in her palms, sharp ache, and strained muscles with each pull of the paddle gradually changed to numbness. Her vision narrowed to a single point on Dave's back, focusing on the rise and fall of his chest.
"Jack, think you can reason with them? We can't keep this up forever," Toji said, calm and steady. But, she could tell by the slight tremble of his muscles that he was starting to get tired.
"Maybe, I'll give it a shot," Jack replied in labored breath.
"Too risky, they don't sound like they're in a negotiating mood right now. Just keep rowing, get the hell out of here," Dave protested.
"We're rowing straight into the open sea on a piece of log. We've got no food, no water, and no clue which way to head. We're risking getting lost, dying of thirst, or getting swallowed by the sea if another storm hits," Toji, ever the voice of reason, argued.
But Dave remained undeterred. He plunged his hand into the sea and said confidently. "We're riding a good current. I'd say, at this pace it'll take us straight to the next island in a few hours."
They rolled their eyes and sighed in exasperation. Lately, his delusions were becoming more frequent. Everyone knew well enough that the only vessel he rode frequently was the train.
"You're a city boy from New York. Stop playing sailor," Toji's brow furrowed in annoyance. "Let's be realistic—"
"No," Ann held the fruit in her hand for everyone to see. Toji's eyes grew wide with the knowledge that they had crossed some unmarked boundary beyond which there could be no return. "We can't—-, the chest has been opened, and the fruit is here. If they catch us, we won't get away with just an apology."
"What!"
Jake's paddle fell from his hands and clattered noisily against the floorboards. He was almost speechless in disbelief. "How—, how, could you guys do something like this?" he shouted. "We should give it back!" Rising to his feet, he made a grab for the fruit.
"Jack, sit down! You're making the boat unstable. Everyone, start rowing, they're catching up to us," Dave said in a tone reserved solely for reprimanding them for doing something stupid. But that only seemed to enrage Jack further, "In case everyone forgets, that thing is cursed!"
Dave exhaled, releasing the weight of exhaustion accumulated since yesterday. His eyes darkened and deepened, hooded by tired eyelids. Finally, he uttered the words they all dreaded to acknowledge.
"Jack—, the shaman is dead. We saw her body in the shrine," his voice barely audible over the waves. "Last night was probably a spirit, playing a trick on us. We don't even know if it was telling the truth."
Jack's golden locks danced in the wind as a wall of silence enveloped them. His expression shifted from contemplation to anger. "You," he growled.
"It must have been you who opened the chest and doomed us all!"
He lunged across the boat towards Dave. Toji and Ann swiftly stepped in. The weathered log rocked. The fruit lay forgotten at the bottom of the boat. The paddles floated in the sea. Amidst the chaos, their pursuers were completely forgotten.
A searing pain erupted from her chest. In an instant her world shifted into a surreal, nightmarish tableau. An arrow had found its mark, protruding menacingly from the center of her chest. Time seemed to stretch, distorting the once-frantic scene into a macabre ballet. They look at her in masks of horror and expressions frozen in terror. Her teacher's voice, distorted and desperate, called out her name. The world around her blurred. In her final moments of clarity, she managed to utter a feeble, "Oww," before her body cascaded sideways, plunging into the frigid embrace of the ocean below.