Land of the Setting Sun
As much as I respected Dr. Blythe's ability to improvise, the fact that Ogasawara could literally read what was written on the map was easily enough for me to take his side. With my vote swaying the crew, we decided to wait before heading west. The hours leading up to the turn were some of the most stressful of the entire journey. Tensions were already high with the death of the captain, and the crew did not seem very keen on the newcomers making seafaring decisions.
As we continued north, the temperature took a quick dip, freezing the words that we whispered around the lower deck. Insulation was completely ineffectual on the tugboat, and all the extra clothes I had brought were pierced with the talons of the approaching cold front. As the light was suffocated by the passage of time, the temperature decreased even further, and I decided to crawl my way to the upper deck. The boat swayed uncharacteristically, jostled by rough seas that shone above the boat's railing in the pale moonlight.
Cries began to rise from the front of the ship as one of the cres shuddered and collapsed onto the deck, scattering little ice particles. His body twitched and stilled, then another crew member promptly collapsed after. I turned to run back down to the hold, but the cold gripped my legs like a vice, and I nearly tripped over myself. Before my brain could even come up with a proper explanation for the deadly freeze, the shock of the temperature sent my eyes rolling into the back of my head. The deck of the ship traveled toward my eyes, as the world spun like a vacuum and I blacked out permanently.
As we continued north, the temperature took a quick dip, freezing the words that we whispered around the lower deck. Insulation was completely ineffectual on the tugboat, and all the extra clothes I had brought were pierced with the talons of the approaching cold front. As the light was suffocated by the passage of time, the temperature decreased even further, and I decided to crawl my way to the upper deck. The boat swayed uncharacteristically, jostled by rough seas that shone above the boat's railing in the pale moonlight.
Cries began to rise from the front of the ship as one of the cres shuddered and collapsed onto the deck, scattering little ice particles. His body twitched and stilled, then another crew member promptly collapsed after. I turned to run back down to the hold, but the cold gripped my legs like a vice, and I nearly tripped over myself. Before my brain could even come up with a proper explanation for the deadly freeze, the shock of the temperature sent my eyes rolling into the back of my head. The deck of the ship traveled toward my eyes, as the world spun like a vacuum and I blacked out permanently.
