The weary search

The morning dawned on a weary little troop who had worried their way through the night. The lack of animal sounds was unnerving, and the sound of the sea was disconcerting rather than comforting. 

Would they miss the appearance of another large wave? Even with a watch, it was hard to sleep. 

Gabriel stretched, and Evey whined softly beside him. 

"Are you in pain, or is it something else?" He asked with a small amount of trepidation. She rested her head on her front feet, and he shrugged. "Maybe just hungry, and too smart to eat the poisoned things." 

He poured a little of his water into a bowl for her to drink, and shared his breakfast. Evey's tail thumped enthusiastically against the ground. 

He checked on the leg, which thankfully didn't show signs of infection. A little surprising, but he wasn't one to look at a gift too closely. The others were finishing their breakfast and ready to begin the work of searching what remained of the settlement. 

"Gloves, men! Don't touch anything without gloves today, especially if it seems damp." Captain Napier advised. 

The men nodded their understanding and donned the work gloves they had each brought for the heavy labor of pulling debris apart. There was no telling what they might encounter today. 

A sparkle to his right caught Gabriel's attention, but it was gone by the time he looked at it. 

"Gwen, please help any survivors to hold on until we can get to them," He whispered. That was what the Fae were best at, wasn't it? Helping people. Surely this would be a situation that merited it… if they could manage it. 

Gabriel's mind processed what information he had, unable to make sense of it all. 

He needed to figure out what was going on, but for now, his primary task was somewhat more or less manageable. 

They broke camp and headed West, hoping to make it through the rest of the Settlement today. They hadn't reached too far before sunset the prior evening, and searching in the dark was not particularly easy nor fruitful. 

They alternated calling out for survivors and listening for sounds of life. The washing of the acidic waves against the battered shore were the only noise to be heard in the eerie place. No birds, no animals, nothing seemed to be around. 

"How did you wind up all alone, Evey? Were you aboard the ship the whole time? What happened to the crew?" He asked her softly. 

She stayed close behind him through the course of the morning, still not putting any weight on her back leg. 

Small hills of debris cluttered in places, left behind as the water had receded. 

Pieces of ships, rotting animals large and small, and broken things of all kinds were littered haphazardly about the once thriving settlement. One soldier found a large deposit of fabrics that must have been left by a destroyed tailor or seamstress's place of business. They debated trying to salvage the fabric to make clothes for the refugees, but the seawater from the initial wave had left it soaked and molding. 

"Some things are just wet and not eaten away," Gabriel observed to Evey as he stepped over something else. "The initial wave must not have been acidic… at least, not enough to do damage." 

Evey looked at him plainly, and her tail wagged slightly. The man smiled at her briefly. 

"I wonder how long–" He began, but suddenly Evey took off in a hobbling run, barking as she went. 

"Evey!" He called, but she was quick, even on three legs. 

"What's your blasted animal up to?" Mason yelled at him. 

"How should I know?" Gabriel tossed him an irritated look as he followed on the dog's trail. "Evey, where are you?" 

A bark led him through some smashed pieces of houses and to the broken remains of a good-sized boat. Evey was digging at it and barking. 

"What have you found?" Gabriel asked. 

He braced his feet against the side, and used his gloved hands to pull a few boards loose. Evey ran inside before he could stop her. 

"Evey, come back!" 

"Hello?" A voice weakly called from inside.

"HERE!" Gabriel screamed over his shoulder. "SOMEONE'S HERE!" 

He began tearing harder at the opening until he could fit inside. "Hello? Are you all right?" 

"I'm trapped, but all right, so far," A man said. "A beam has me trapped here. I can't get free of it. Is this your dog?" 

Gabriel crawled through the tight, smashed space which smelled of rot and death, even moreso than outside. He wondered what manner of tossing on a giant wave could have brought this about and still left a man alive within. "Are you alone? Tell me how best to help you get free." 

"Thaddeus died soon after we wrecked. I've been alone since then. As for freedom, I've been trying… that is, if you can leverage this here, I just can't get the correct angle to get myself out." The man said. 

Gabriel squinted in the dim light of the area. "Are you hurt?" 

"Battered and bruised." The man replied. "The others were thrown overboard, I think, but my hammock was in the center and somehow I found myself here." 

The young man examined what he could, but getting him freed and into the light was of utmost priority. The man was coherent, which was a very good sign. 

"Can you feel all your limbs and extremities?" Gabriel asked next. He needed to make sure that lifting the beam off the man would not exacerbate any paralysis or other problems. 

"I can wiggle everything just fine." A tinge of worry entered his voice. "Why?"

The doctor's apprentice smiled. "I have medical training, I'm just doing a few preliminary checks to make sure I won't injure you further when trying to get you out." 

"That's a relief. I wondered at bothering to stay alive. Don't know where the ship crashed or if anyone else survived to come looking for me. Last thing I know I was waking up from my turn to sleep to people screaming about something falling from the sky and a giant wave. Thought they were pulling a fast one on me or I would have gotten out of my hammock. Thad came down to get me and wound up trapped just there, only he was impaled by something and bled out slowly, poor soul."

A short silence in memory of the dead man stretched between them. Gabriel didn't waste time examining the dead man, focusing instead on the patient he might save. 

"How have you made it this long?" Gabriel tried to keep the man talking as he leveraged a sturdy piece of wood into position to lift the beam. 

"Always sleep with a waterskin and food stashed with you. My old dad always said so. Turns out he was right." The man shrugged. 

"Hold on, I'm about to see if I can lift this. Be ready to move out of the way, if you can," Gabriel warned. If he couldn't manage it himself, he would try to find a way to fit someone stronger into the confined space. 

"All right. Go." 

Both men grunted, and Gabriel threw all of his strength into the lever he'd wedged under the beam. The other man pushed with all his might. At first, it looked like nothing would happen, but then with a creak, the beam began to budge slightly. 

Sweat ran down Gabriel's back. Evey whined beside him. 

"I can't… hold it long." The young man grunted. 

The Cetoan began worming his way out earnestly. It would do no good to have the beam come down on him a second time, perhaps injuring him more. 

"Come on, come on," Gabriel hissed through his teeth. His strength was going to give out any second, and the lever he was using seemed to be weakening as well. If it snapped…

"I'm out. I'm out." The man panted. The beam crashed down, and Gabriel ducked, hoping it didn't further compromise the structural integrity of the little shelter amidst the chaos of the wreckage. 

"Let's get all the way out." Gabriel whispered. "Can you walk, or crawl?" 

"I'm well enough to get myself the blazes out of here. How long has it been?" 

"Since the wave? A full week, plus a day or two." The young man shrugged. 

"Ah. I couldn't tell. The hull blocked the sunlight. The passage of time seemed elusive. I thought I was surely here forever and no time at all, except I ran out of food and water. I'm not sure how long ago that was. Not terribly long, I think." 

"It couldn't have been more than two days ago or you would be in far worse shape," Gabriel commented. 

They made their way out into the sunlight, and the doctor's apprentice almost took back his words. The man was in truly terrible shape, despite his consciousness and ability to move. His ribs were sticking out, and his eyes sunken with dehydration. 

"Get him some water, not too much at first, and a tiny bit of food. I want that to settle in your stomach while I examine you for injuries. What's your name?" Gabriel kicked himself for not asking sooner. Dr. Sherman had said that was one of the most important aspects of bedside manner. Using a person's name made them much calmer in a crisis. 

"Whalen," The Cetoan man replied, "They call me Whalen."