Young Samurai: The Ring of Wind

by Chris Bradford

  Miyuki swam through first, Cheng right behind her. Yori was next. He briefly struggled with the canvas bag, which had air trapped inside and was acting like a float. As it cleared the hull, Yori shot up like a cork. Slowed by Saburo’s bulk, Jack was last and had to kick hard. With his arms round his friend’s chest, they made it through the hole. Then Saburo stopped with a jolt. Their eyes met in panic. Jack yanked on his friend, but to no avail.

  Looking down, he saw Saburo’s breeches had snagged on the serrated edge of the hole. Jack tugged again. After the third wrench, the cloth finally tore free. But the mistake had cost them precious time and energy. Jack pumped his legs, praying for the surface before they ran out of breath. The darkness of night meant he couldn’t tell how much further there was to go. Then their heads cleared the water and Jack immediately wished they hadn’t. They’d surfaced in the middle of a ferocious sea battle. Captain Arashi’s fleet was being torn apart by a fire-breathing dragon, the flames from his burning ships flickering a hellish orange glow across the Seto Sea.

  The dragon charged straight over a kobaya in its path, splitting the smaller boat in half and crushing its crew. One of the surviving seki-bune fired off a cannon. But the iron ball merely bounced off the spiked back of the beast. The dragon roared flame in retaliation, setting fire to the battleship’s mainsail along with several of the crew. Screaming, the Sea Samurai threw themselves overboard, tumbling like human comets into the water.

  As Jack fought to keep Saburo above the surface, dead and dismembered bodies of other Sea Samurai washed past.

  ‘Jack!’ cried Miyuki, swimming over with Yori and Cheng in tow.

  Yori was hanging on to the canvas bag and his staff for dear life.

  ‘We … need … a boat,’ gasped Jack, Saburo’s dead weight slowly slipping from his grasp.

  ‘Look there!’ cried Cheng, pointing to wreckage from the kobaya.

  A section of deck drifted near and Miyuki grabbed hold. Clambering on to the makeshift raft, she hauled Saburo to safety, then helped the others. They all collapsed with exhaustion. Unguided and unpowered, the raft was tossed on the waves.

  Mercifully, they drifted away from the atake-bune just before it exploded, the Seto Sea swallowing the great battleship whole.

  26

  Adrift

  Jack felt the warmth of the morning sun on his face and heard the gentle lap of waves. Opening his eyes, he discovered his friends sprawled across the raft, fast asleep. Yori was curled round the canvas bag in the middle, with Saburo propped against him.

  Sitting up, Jack inspected the splintered section of deck that had saved their lives. Rectangular with the main beams beneath, the raft was buoyant and large enough to hold them all. But their weight made it unstable and even the smallest waves threatened to capsize them.

  Surveying the horizon, Jack’s hopes rose … then fell. None of the devastation from the previous night was visible and no samurai or pirate ships pursued them. But now the Seto Sea stretched unbroken in all directions. With no land in sight, he guessed their raft had been caught in an outgoing tidal current – which meant they could be drifting into the vast and dangerous expanse of the Pacific Ocean. Glancing up at the sun, Jack tried to calculate the direction they were heading in. But, without any landmark to judge their progress by, it was impossible to tell. And since he wasn’t familiar with these waters, even if he could establish a bearing, he wouldn’t know whether their current course was a good or bad thing. He shook Cheng and the others awake.

  ‘Where are we?’ asked Saburo, groggily sitting up.

  Jack stared in amazement at his friend.

  ‘What?’ said Saburo, blinking and wiping his eyes.

  ‘You’re better!’

  Saburo gave a pained smile as he rubbed a stiff shoulder. ‘I wouldn’t say that. I feel like twenty sumo wrestlers have jumped on my bones. My muscles burn every time I move.’

  ‘Those symptoms will fade in a few hours,’ explained Miyuki, also glad to see their friend on the road to recovery. ‘All you need now is water, food and rest.’

  Saburo’s eyes lit up at the mention of food. ‘I’m famished! What do we have to eat?’

  Jack laughed. ‘You almost died from eating fugu! And the first thing you think about is food!’

  ‘Well, I don’t want to die of starvation,’ said Saburo seriously.

  ‘We should still have some rice,’ said Yori, opening the canvas bag. His face dropped and he began to dig deeper. ‘Oh, no … it’s all gone.’

  ‘Everything?’ enquired Jack, fearing for the rutter.

  ‘No, just our food. Someone must have taken it.’

  ‘What about water?’

  Yori held up a cracked empty gourd. ‘Two are broken; the others are missing. We must have lost them during our escape.’

  ‘Then we need to find land as soon as possible,’ urged Jack, realizing their situation had become perilous. ‘Now … Captain Arashi gave orders to head back to Imabari. Before that, the pirates caught us maybe half a day’s sail south-west of Omishima Island and then the Black Spider took a southern tack for most of the day. Since the dragon attack, we’ve been adrift half the night … Cheng, do you have any idea where we might be?’

  Cheng shook his head apologetically. ‘I joined the Wind Demons barely a month ago. This is the first time I’ve sailed the Seto Sea.’

  Jack bit his lip in frustration. They were well and truly lost. With no food, no water and no idea in which direction land lay, their chances of survival were very slim indeed. He tried not to despair.

  ‘There are hundreds of islands in the Seto Sea,’ said Yori hopefully. ‘We’re bound to come across one soon.’

  Although Jack wasn’t about to give up, he couldn’t share Yori’s optimism. Being at sea level, he knew they only needed to be a few miles offshore before the coastline disappeared below the horizon. They could be passing an island and salvation right now and never know about it.

  ‘One of us needs to stand lookout at all times,’ said Jack decisively. ‘Without sail or oar, we’re at the mercy of the currents, so if we spot land, we may have to swim for it.’

  ‘I’ll take first watch,’ Cheng offered.

  The raft rocked as the pirate boy gingerly got to his feet. Shading his eyes, he began to sweep the horizon for any islands.

  ‘Keep an eye open for boats too,’ advised Miyuki. ‘Fishing ones preferably. We don’t want to be saved by pirates or Sea Samurai!’

  ‘And look out for drifting wood, stationary clouds or birds,’ added Jack. ‘They all indicate land. Especially birds. At dusk they tend to fly towards the shore. And if there’s a roosting site near, we may even hear their cries.’

  Cheng nodded and resumed his search.

  ‘Dusk?’ questioned Saburo, his expression troubled. ‘But it’s still only morning.’

  Jack nodded gravely. ‘It could be a while before we get lucky. So we need to be prepared for a long voyage. What else is left in the bag?’

  Yori had a hunt through. ‘Our samurai clothes, our packs, the pilgrim bags, your rutter and Saburo’s swords.’

  Jack looked down at the ragged remains of his pilgrim outfit. There was little point in changing clothes until they reached dry land, but they needed to protect themselves from the sun.

  ‘Put our belongings in the packs, then tie them to the raft,’ instructed Jack. ‘We can make a shelter with the canvas bag. It may be spring, but that sun will soon burn out here on the water.’

  Yori got to work, happy to be guided by Jack’s seafaring expertise rather than think about their dire situation. Jack found a loose piece of wood from the raft’s edge to act as a supporting strut and wedged it in between the planks. Driving the steel tip of her ninjatō into the deck, Miyuki used this as a second strut. Together, they erected the makeshift shelter and helped Saburo into its shade.

  ‘We still have our weapons,’ said Miyuki, pulling a straight-spiked shuriken from her utility belt. ‘With Yori’s staff, I could m
ake a fishing spear.’

  ‘Good idea,’ said Jack. ‘Then at least we might catch some food.’

  ‘But what are we going to drink?’ asked Yori. ‘We can’t use seawater.’

  ‘The canvas is ready for when it rains. That’ll be our only source.’

  They looked up into the sky. It was crystal blue and cloudless.

  ‘We might be waiting a long time,’ said Saburo glumly.

  The sun had reached its zenith and was beating down relentlessly upon the raft. The canvas bag did little to alleviate the scorching heat and the shade it offered was only large enough to accommodate two people. The others had to sit in the sun’s full glare, their discomfort compounded as the salt water dried and cracked their skin. Already weak from their imprisonment, their exposure quickened the debilitating effects of thirst and hunger. As time went on, the five friends became more listless and a growing sense of desperation spread among them.

  So far there had been no sight of land or any other ships. Jack worried that the raft had floated out of the tidal current and was no longer drifting in any particular direction. Or worse, they were in the Pacific Ocean and beyond saving.

  Miyuki crouched at the edge of the deck, spear in hand. She hadn’t moved for over an hour, waiting with dogged determination for a fish to swim by. A school of tiny blue ones flitted beneath the shadow of the raft, but none offered a realistic catch.

  ‘Can’t we make a sail from this canvas?’ suggested Cheng.

  ‘The raft is too unstable,’ replied Jack. ‘One wild gust and we’d capsize. We could cut paddles from the decking, but we have to be careful not to weaken the raft’s structure –’

  All of a sudden, Miyuki lunged. There was a splash followed by a shimmer of silver in the air.

  ‘Got one!’ she cried in delight.

  Miyuki pinned her catch to the deck, where it flapped and struggled. She gave another twist to the spear and the fish fell still. Prising it from the shuriken spike, she offered her catch to the others. ‘Who’s hungry then?’

  Saburo automatically reached out, then stopped himself. ‘Do you think it’s poisonous?’

  Cheng shook his head. ‘No, it’s a yellowtail. Very tasty. We can also drink the fish.’

  They all looked at the pirate boy dubiously.

  ‘Let me show you,’ he said, taking the yellowtail from Miyuki’s hands.

  Putting his lips to the fish’s eyeball, he sucked hard. They heard a squelching pop as it burst and then saw Cheng swallow.

  ‘That’s disgusting!’ exclaimed Saburo, his appetite suddenly gone.

  ‘You can also drink the fluid along the spine,’ said Cheng, before offering the other eye to Jack.

  Driven by thirst, Jack clamped his mouth over the slimy eye and sucked.

  27

  Albatross

  Over the course of the afternoon, Miyuki managed to spear another two yellowtails. Using his knife, Cheng cut the three fish carefully in half before presenting them to Yori, Saburo and Miyuki to drink from their spines. The fluid would ensure everyone’s survival that day, but wasn’t enough to quench their thirst. The soft pink flesh of the fish, though, more than satisfied their hunger.

  With their bellies full, their spirits rose a little and Yori eagerly took up position as lookout, determined to spot an island. But the promise of land remained as elusive as ever, their raft bobbing over the water and seemingly going nowhere.

  With Cheng’s knife, Jack crafted a crude pair of thin-bladed paddles from a piece of broken decking. But, until they knew for certain which direction to head in, the paddles wouldn’t be of much use.

  ‘I think I saw something!’ Yori cried, pointing to a patch of sea off their stern. But his voice was one of panic, not relief.

  ‘What was it?’ asked Jack.

  ‘I … don’t know,’ he replied. ‘It was big and black … like a dragon …’

  All eyes now watched the waters surrounding them. Their sense of vulnerability became starkly apparent – a tiny defenceless raft stuck in the middle of the sea, with nothing between them and the monsters of the deep. Danger lurked in every wave, fear in every ripple.

  ‘Over there!’ shouted Miyuki.

  A dark mass, twenty times the size of their raft, breached the surface off their starboard side. A fountain of seawater spouted into the air, accompanied by a large snort. And a single black eye regarded them with keen interest.

  Miyuki wielded her fishing spear to fend off the beast. Yori clung to Jack in terror.

  ‘Don’t worry,’ said Jack. ‘It’s just a humpback whale. It won’t attack us.’

  ‘I’ve never seen an animal so huge,’ Saburo breathed in awe.

  The humpback circled the raft, but didn’t approach any closer.

  ‘It seems to be … studying us,’ said Yori, his fear giving way to curiosity and admiration.

  The whale slapped the water with a pectoral fin, sending a shower of spray over the raft. Jack and the others were drenched. Sheltered beneath the canvas bag, Saburo escaped the soaking and laughed. ‘Or else it’s looking for a water fight!’

  Then with slow grace the whale arched its back and dived, its fluked tail rising into the air as if waving farewell before slipping beneath the surface. For a moment no one said anything, stunned by their encounter with this benign creature.

  Their silence was disturbed by the screech of a seabird. Jack looked up. A white-feathered albatross glided effortlessly overhead. Such birds were believed to be the souls of lost sailors and to kill one was bad luck. But its sighting now was a stroke of fortune. The albatross was taking a westerly course. Jack and the others immediately began to scan the horizon.

  ‘Birds mean land,’ said Yori excitedly, shading his eyes against the bright glare of the sun. ‘So where is it?’

  The shimmering sea yielded up nothing but a distant haze. Jack knew the albatross was a long-distance forager and could fly many miles out from land. But it was late afternoon, so the sighting offered hope. And in a situation as desperate as theirs, hope might be the only thing that carried them through their ordeal.

  ‘It must be just beyond the horizon,’ said Jack, picking up the makeshift paddles and handing one to Cheng. ‘There’s only one way to find out.’

  Kneeling either side of the raft, they began paddling westward while Miyuki and Yori maintained a lookout.

  The albatross flew on ahead until it was no more than a speck in the sky.

  They rowed after it, swapping with the others when they became tired or their hands too raw. Without any landmarks, it was impossible to tell if they were making headway or just fighting against the tide. But the act of paddling made them all feel as if they were taking charge of their own destiny.

  The sun dropped lower in the sky, its rays turning the water golden until it glimmered like silk. But still the sea stretched on. If they didn’t spot land before sundown, they’d be faced with trying to survive the night. Not only would they have to cope with the chilling cold and their mounting thirst but in the dark they might pass by their only salvation.

  Jack dug his paddle in, focusing on his rhythm. His shoulders ached and his palms were blistered. On the other side, Saburo grunted as he fought the pain searing through his muscles. They’d tried to dissuade him from rowing, but he was determined to help. Yori sat in the shade of the canvas, nauseous and dizzy from overexposure to the sun. Jack had a blinding headache, but did his best to ignore it. They had to row on. It was all they could do.

  Cheng laid a hand upon his shoulder. ‘Let me take over,’ he said, seeing Jack sway with exhaustion.

  Jack shook his head, knowing the pirate boy was equally tired. ‘I can keep going a little longer –’

  ‘Land!’ cried Miyuki, her voice cracked and parched.

  Jack stood. He couldn’t see anything, but Miyuki’s sharp eyes glimpsed the rise of an island on the horizon. With a renewed burst of energy, Jack and Saburo started paddling again.

  ‘I can see it too!’ sho
uted Cheng.

  Gradually the dark outline of a peak grew against the sky. Several seabirds circled above, calling out as if beckoning them towards the safety of shore. With every pull of their paddles, the raft floated nearer to land. But Jack became aware that they were approaching far faster than was possible simply by rowing. The raft was caught in another current.

  This was good news … until Jack realized that it was sweeping them beyond the island. At this speed, however hard they paddled, they wouldn’t be able to break away from its drag.

  ‘We’re going to miss the shore!’ he exclaimed in alarm. ‘Miyuki! Cheng! We have to swim for it.’

  The three of them jumped into the water, leaving Yori and Saburo to keep paddling. Holding on to the raft’s stern, they began kicking as hard as they could.

  The combined power of feet and paddle drove them across the tugging current. To their immense relief, the island drew steadily closer, with their raft on a direct course for a sandy cove.

  ‘Not far now!’ encouraged Yori, paddling for all he was worth.

  They were going to make it … then Jack spotted the distinctive shape of a grey dorsal fin rising out of the water.

  28

  White Death

  ‘SHARK!’ cried Jack, kicking harder for the shore.

  Miyuki and Cheng pumped their legs too. Yori and Saburo paddled frantically. But they were still far from the safety of the cove. The fin cut through the water towards them. There was little hope of out-swimming the shark. Yet if they stopped now, the raft would drift past the island and back out into open sea.

  ‘FASTER!’ urged Miyuki, glancing over her shoulder at the approaching fin.

  Then the shark disappeared.

  ‘It’s gone,’ said Saburo with relief.

  ‘But where’s it gone?’ Cheng panted, looking round in panic.

  ‘Get out of the water!’ cried Yori, ditching his oar and putting out his hand to pull them on-board.