He kicked with all his might, but he knew that his energy would soon be gone. In that moment, he had the strangest vision: Yu-ning was playing tag with him on the beach. He could almost smell the chalkiness of the dry sand and the salty balm of the water and hear the sound of Yu-ning’s feet slapping against the sandy shore, running just out of his reach.
He could see her; she was just in front of him. If only he could touch her! Then he would be able to breathe. As he began to lose consciousness, a soft purple light began to glow all around him, and he thought perhaps he was leaving this world and beginning his journey to the next. And then all became calm, and he wasn’t frightened anymore. He was on the beach with Yu-ning, running on the wet sand, a soft, purple light flowing all around him, growing brighter and brighter.
Twenty-Four
Vortex
YU-NING RAN DOWN the steel stairs of the old vessel, flight after flight, until she was on the bottom level of the boat. On her way down she passed passenger room after passenger room. Some doors were cracked open, and inside she saw people sitting in darkened, silent rooms.
She ran down a long hallway with dim lights flickering on the walls. She made two right turns and came to a door with a steel plate that said “Engine Room.” The compartment was closed, and there was a small round window in the door. She stood on her tiptoes and peered through; the captain was sitting in a chair, holding a cup. He had a white mustache and white curly hair. He was round and heavy.
Yu-ning knocked on the door tentatively, but when there was no answer, she knocked firmly. When there was still no answer, she began to shout through the door. “Captain, we are headed directly into the heart of a treacherous storm. Open the door, Captain!”
“Go away!” the captain finally replied. “No children in the engine room! You know nothing,” he yelled angrily.
“Captain, please listen. The ship is drifting toward the eye of a terrible storm; you need to start the engines and navigate the ship in the opposite direction.”
The captain kicked back his chair angrily, stomped toward the door, and launched it open with a blast of fuming energy. He stood in the doorway with his hands on his waist and his chest puffed out. “Who do you think you are, banging on my door?”
She bellowed back, “CAPTAIN! THIS SHIP IS HEADED STRAIGHT FOR A TERRIBLE STORM. YOU HAVE TO DO SOMETHING! TURN THIS BOAT AROUND!”
The captain was taken aback by the power of this little girl, and didn’t know how to react. “It’s not me!” he said, with less anger. “I don’t make the decisions; those people up there told me to go this way. I’m only doing what they told me. They paid me and asked me to go this way!”
“But you are the captain!” Yu-ning said in a gentler, more persuasive tone. “You steer this ship, not the passengers.”
“Everyone on this boat wants to go this way, so don’t talk to me,” the captain said, raising his voice again. “You go talk to them on deck and get them to change their destination. Now get out!” With that, he slammed the door violently in her face.
Yu-ning whimpered in frustration. She paused for a second and was about to knock on the door again, but instead quickly ran off, back up all the flights of stairs to the top deck. She was panting and out of breath when she reached the top. She held tight to her necklace, readjusted Lightcaster, and ran toward the center of the deck, calling for everyone to gather, rain lashing against her face.
“Everyone! Please come here. We are heading right toward the worst of the storm, and the ship needs to change direction! The captain won’t turn around until he is told to by all of you. Come on, everyone, please tell the captain to turn around. The storm is here!”
“What are you talking about?” a man screamed out. “This is where we want to be. There’s nothing in the other direction.”
Others listened and nodded. A drone of voices repeated, “We stay where we are.”
Yu-ning’s frustration was mounting. “It couldn’t be any worse than this! Look at all of you. You are all grey and lifeless. This is not natural—there is evil magic at play here. You have to believe me. Don’t let your light be stolen away!”
Dead silence greeted Yu-ning when she stopped shouting.
She softened her voice, sensing an opening. “Please trust! The other way is bright and light.”
“What do you know?” a man screamed out. “You’re just a kid!” He turned around and started down the stairs, mumbling as he left, “Just a stupid kid.”
Yu-ning was at the end of her strength. The storm was growing worse, and the swells were now nearly cresting the deck of the ship. Then, to her amazement, she saw a shape in the water, swimming next to the boat. “Yu-ning! It’s Minkaro! Can you hear me?” shouted the dolphin king, now directly below her in the water.
“Oh, Minkaro! I am so relieved to see you. Where are the Darq creatures?”
“I dove deep, Yu-ning—deep where the water is icy cold. They stopped following me. I believe they are susceptible to the cold. I then stayed deep, but made a wide circle, leading back here to the ship. But you are running out of time, Yu-ning. The storm is worsening, and the water is strange. This is not a normal storm!”
“I know, Minkaro. But I can’t leave all these people—if they stay, I am worried that they are going to be swallowed by the storm!” Yu-ning said.
“Hurry, Yu-ning! We don’t have much time. Save as many as you can!”
When she turned back toward the passengers, she noticed that more had followed the man below decks. Yu-ning watched in frustration as a steady flow of people drifted away. Yu-ning looked up at the ominous sky and ran back to the side of the ship.
But Yu-ning was heartened by Minkaro’s presence and felt a wave of inspiration flow through her as she darted back toward the center of the ship. She held onto her necklace, calling out as she walked through the crowd, “Wake up! Do you want to be stuck in this storm forever? Tell the captain to go the other way, please!” She felt the chill of their bodies as she moved through to the center. People slowly began to gather around her.
“No, we don’t want to go to the unknown,” a man said, looking down at his feet, pulling his wife back into the crowd as they both disappeared.
“Please tell the captain to turn the boat around. Let’s go tell the captain to change direction; come on, everyone . . . open your heart. You want to believe. I can feel it.”
They want to believe, Yu-ning thought.
“What do you know?” a woman said. “You are just a child!”
As Yu-ning took the woman’s hand, she noticed color subtly returning to the woman’s cheeks. Yu-ning’s spirits were buoyed. “What is your name?”
“My name is . . . Sarah,” the woman said, as if waking from a dream.
“You have stopped believing in hope, and now that hopelessness has affected all the others,” she said to Sarah as she looked to everyone else. “This entire ship has lost heart. But you aren’t ghosts. You are alive, but you are not living. Please choose life!”
Sarah was weeping. Yu-ning took off her necklace and placed it in her hand. As she did, color flowed from Sarah’s hand, spreading throughout her body. The crowd gasped in shock. Yu-ning saw Jonas approach the woman. He smiled at Yu-ning and reached out to hold Sarah. “You are Jonas’s mother!” said Yu-ning, realizing what was happening. The two of them embraced for a long time, and all the while Yu-ning was holding Sarah’s hand.
Furniture and belongings were flying everywhere as the wind and rain became more powerful. Over the fury of the storm, a blast of sound emanated from the ocean, louder than the thunder or crashing waves. Everyone was taken aback as they heard the voice bellow from the sea. “Yes! Follow me. Listen to Yu-ning. If you don’t leave now, you will forever remain in the eye of the storm.” It was the voice of Minkaro, and everyone had heard it.
With the wind and rain slamming against their bodies, about 100 people began to drift toward the rail, following the voice. Yu-ning stared wide-eyed as they began to nod at one another
and point to Minkaro. “Did you hear that dolphin? It spoke! Did you hear it?” A murmur passed through the crowd; there was no denying that the large pink dolphin had spoken. Many people in the crowd seemed to awaken from a daze, shaken from their somnolence by the voice of Minkaro.
“Come on, people, let’s go tell the captain to follow Minkaro,” Yu-ning said urgently. “We must go now, or else we can never get out of this storm. There’s no time to save this ship, but we can save ourselves!”
Just as Yu-ning spoke these words, she saw something looming in the darkness on the port side of the vessel. Yu-ning wiped her face, trying to focus her eyes as the rain poured down on her in sheets. She saw it! It was a boat—a shining white boat, smaller than the cruise ship, but solid and stable and holding steady in the storm. It was about 200 yards away. One light at the top of the mast was shining and flashing like a beacon. Yu-ning stared wide-eyed as she saw the passengers slowly begin to point.
The white lights of the boat were shining brightly as it drew closer to the larger vessel, which was noticeably listing toward the stern, taking on water. A voice boomed from the darkness, coming from the direction of the white ship. “We are with the Imperial Navy of Tunzai! We are heading out of the storm—there is only one safe way out. Your vessel is taking on water. You must lower your lifeboats now, and we will rendezvous with you!”
The boat drew closer—as close as it dared in the treacherous conditions of the storm. It was now a mere fifty yards off the port side of the ship, and Yu-ning could see a man in a rain slicker and white captain’s hat standing on the deck, holding a megaphone. He had a safety harness clipped to his waist and was having a difficult time staying on his feet as the naval vessel pitched violently in the swells. Even so, it was riding high on the water, as if built for the stormy conditions.
“We can take you out of the storm. Just lower your life vessels, and we will throw you ropes to tow you alongside!”
Yu-ning stood high on the rail at the edge of the deck. “We don’t have any lifeboats—they were all taken,” Yu-ning yelled in frustration.
“Yu-ning, take the rope ladder—lead the people down the rope ladder!” It was Minkaro, swimming at the top of a swell next to the boat.
“Yes, of course, Minkaro! I will guide them to the ladder, and you can shuttle us to the ship!” Yu-ning didn’t wait for a response but darted away from the railing, back toward the haggard group of passengers.
“Our boat will fit everyone who wishes to come,” boomed the captain’s voice. “Bring them all now—there isn’t much time.”
“Yes, I will get everyone!” Yu-ning whipped around on the rail, shouting, “Come on, everyone, it’s time. We are all going onto the naval boat. It’s here to take us out of the storm.”
She jumped down onto the deck and ran furiously toward the center of the crowd, shouting and grabbing onto people. “Everyone! There is another boat that has come to save us; they are here to take us out of the storm! Look, over there!” Some craned their necks and tried to peer through the storm. Others stood there in apathy, ignoring Yu-ning. By this time, several hundred others had gathered to see what all the commotion was about.
Jonas and Sarah grabbed people by the shoulders, trying to convince them to abandon ship. Most people shook them off and just walked away, struggling on the pitching deck to make their way back down the stairwells. Yu-ning was frantic. “Please come back! If you don’t leave with us now, you will go down with this ship.” Yu-ning shook her head frantically. “The captain is following your orders! He’s waiting for you to tell him what to do.”
“That’s ridiculous, child,” a woman called out. “The captain runs this ship. He steers it and charts the course, as all captains do.” Everyone around her nodded.
She darted toward the steel stairs and called back to the people, “The captain doesn’t know! He’s waiting for you to tell him you want a different course!” Yu-ning disappeared down the steps, jumping four steps onto the landing of each level as she descended. She ran down the hall to the engine room and pounded furiously on the door. “Captain, it is too late for this ship, but a new boat is here to save all of us. Please come with me!”
Slowly the door opened. The defeated captain stood there looking at Yu-ning with sadness and resignation. “Yu-ning, a captain never abandons his ship. You tell everyone to board the naval boat. I can see it through my window. Tell them to save themselves,” he said stoically. “I have to stay with my ship. We are more than 700 souls on this boat. Those who stay will need me to steer the ship,” he said.
Yu-ning was frantic because she knew time was running out. She composed herself and said with gravity, “Captain, everyone has a choice. You do not have to sacrifice yourself because of others’ choices. The decision you make must come from love, not sacrifice. This ship does not need a martyr. Those people who choose to stay are so fast asleep, they won’t even know if you’re down here or not.”
The captain looked with amazement at the little girl standing before him. He felt so very old and tired. But she had sparked something in him—there was now no doubt. He grabbed Yu-ning’s hand and said, “I know a shortcut up to the main deck. We have to hurry.” He led her through a door at the back of the engine room, and they dashed up the stairs. On the way topside, the captain stopped on all the passenger decks, grabbing the first person he could find on each deck. “We are abandoning ship,” he repeated on each deck. “Knock on everyone’s door on your deck, and tell them they MUST leave now, or they will sink with the ship!”
Yu-ning and the captain burst onto the front of the boat on the center deck. The ship began to jerk violently from one side to the other, and slowly it began to spin out of control. People were pushing, running, and grabbing onto the deck rails and furniture. Yu-ning pulled the captain’s hand and said gravely, “Captain, this is it. Look.” She pointed upward to a most unruly configuration of black storm clouds swirling brutally into one another. The blackness was covering the entire sky. There was no longer a pause between the thunder and lightning.
The captain shouted, “We have to move, now!” They ran toward the center of the ship where throngs of people wandered aimlessly. Yu-ning passed a man dragging a heavy metal trunk in one hand and a suitcase in another. He was muttering, “I can’t take this off the boat; it is too heavy.” Despite Yu-ning’s protestations, the man heaved the trunk down a nearby stairwell. She could hear the heavy trunk clanging on each step as the man dragged it down to his doom.
The boat was tilting toward the stern at an alarming angle—it was most certainly sinking, even as it drifted toward the eye of a gigantic waterspout. The enormous black funnel whipped around, with every cycle growing in size and intensity. As each wave reached the bottom of the tornado-like waterspout, the funnel’s tip crested and snapped like a whip. Yu-ning and the captain were now both screaming to the others to warn them.
As Yu-ning reached the railing near the rope ladder, she couldn’t believe her eyes. Jonas and Sarah had gathered at least 150 people and were organizing them for the descent down the ladder. “Jonas!” Yu-ning called as she ran to him and hugged him tightly around the waist. “All of these people? You did it!”
Jonas hugged her back and said, “Not me, Yu-ning. You! I told them all about you. These are the people you saved! Come on, we don’t have any more time,” Jonas said as they both eyed the waterspout swirling in the distance, but growing closer to the bow of the ship. The ship’s captain grabbed the rope ladder, steadying it in the howling wind. Jonas descended first and, following Minkaro’s instructions, latched himself to Yu-ning’s saddle. He helped people down from the rope ladder onto the back of the great dolphin.
The captain threw down extra ropes, and Jonas instructed the passengers to tie themselves together, and hold on for dear life. Once Minkaro had about twenty-five passengers on his back, he raced the short distance to the white ship, where crew members waited to help the stunned survivors climb ladders onto the deck of the naval vessel.
In a matter of seven minutes, Minkaro was able to shuttle all the willing passengers to the other ship. It was an amazing feat, aided by the precise actions of both captains working in unison. Sarah and Yu-ning helped each passenger descend the ladder toward the safe haven of the white boat. Yu-ning tried one last time to save anyone who would listen, but everyone was gone. The remaining passengers had all disappeared below decks.
The captain of the ship waved to the captain of the white boat and signaled him that he, Yu-ning, Sarah, and Jonas were the only ones remaining. Minkaro returned for them, and the captain grabbed onto Yu-ning’s and Sarah’s hands as he helped them climb onto the dolphin’s back. Yu-ning noticed tears in the captain’s eyes, though he didn’t say a word. Yu-ning reached out to the captain and squeezed his hand. “I’m so glad you are here leading us, Captain. You opened your heart,” she said.
The captain nodded at her and said, “Thank you for saving us.”
From atop Minkaro, Yu-ning tried one last time to reach the other passengers, some of whom were staring blankly over the railing of the ship from above. “Everyone, please. This is your very last chance. If you don’t leave now, you will never get out!” Some of the passengers simply stared, while others left the railing, walking away from their last hope for survival. A young man, however, climbed onto the railing and dove into the water. Minkaro reached him quickly, and the captain and Jonas helped him climb onto the dolphin.
Tears streamed down Yu-ning’s face as Minkaro tried to comfort her. “Yu-ning, we have to go now. You tried. They chose their journey,” he said kindly. “Hold on now. It’s time to leave.”
Yu-ning nodded wistfully. “It’s time.”
As Minkaro swam away, they saw the gigantic ship pulled toward the funnel of the waterspout; an enormous whirlpool circled where the monstrous funnel met the sea. The ship lurched toward the whirlpool and was sucked into the dark swirling sinkhole, which was pulling down everything around it. The ship disappeared into the deep darkness in less than two minutes. As it sank, Yu-ning thought she could see dark shadows in the water, circling around the ship.
Journey to Rainbow Island Page 22
