text: Over the next couple of weeks, we rushed to prepare for the upcoming journey. Dr. Blythe somehow managed to get his Chinese visa within a day of sending me that fateful email, and I got mine by the end of the week, although it was a pain in the ass to drive down to Houston to turn in the papers personally. One by one, our ragtag crew got their visas, except for Ogasawara, who stayed mysteriously silent about the affair until about two weeks out when he declared that he "didn't need a silly visa". Nobody asked questions.
  
  The last two weeks passed by with bated breath, as the excitement began to mount. To pass the time, I badgered Dr. Blythe for information about the other three members of our expedition, until he cracked and revealed their names. First was Qara Reed, the photographer from Ogasawara's team, and a young Mongolian woman in her twenties. I did a bit of unsavory MySpace stalking to figure out that she was indeed, very attractive. After thirty or so thirsty minutes, I tore myself off her page and searched for the second name I had been given. Aubrey Allen, an American hitman whom I realized very quickly had almost certainly given me a fake name. I couldn't find any kind of information on him and could only wonder what kind of hitman would choose "Aubrey" as his alias. A bit concerned and irritated, I moved on to the final name, Itaki Kyoshi. This was Ogasawara's family friend whose house we were going to visit.
  
  When May 17th finally arrived, tensions were high. I was going to meet Dr. Blythe at the St. Louis airport, have a bit of a layover in Detroit where we'd run into the others, and then fly directly into Beijing. And for the most part, things went according to plan.
  
  When I arrived in the terminal for our first flight, Dr. Blythe was already there waiting impatiently. He then revealed to me that he had already been there for three hours, which I found ridiculous, but typical for Dr. Blythe. He was wearing a terrible button-up/sunhat combo, indoors no less. I made a mental note not to grow so old that I dismissed the laws of fashion completely. His carry-on bags were equally atrocious, practically bursting at the seams with useless garbage: some old metallic rocks from another expedition, a set of wooden candlesticks, and a weird glass skull. It looked more to me like the ingredients for an occultist ceremony, but I knew better to inquire. Inquiries required answers, and we had a three hour flight ahead of us.
  
  Running into the other four in Detroit was a bit of an awkward union. Ogasawara was loud and boisterous as usual, wrapping Dr. Blythe in a very stereotype-shattering hug, practically snapping the frail old man in two. I braced myself, and he almost lifted me off the ground, soles barely scuffing against the ground. Ogasawara was extremely tall and large for a Japanese man, nearly 6'3" with a neck like steel bridge cables. He looked like he was in his mid-fifties. He introduced us to Itaki next, who quite literally stood in his shadow to his right. Itaki was frighteningly skinny, wearing a shirt a couple sizes too large that drooped over him like a poncho. Shaking our hands with a firm grip, he thanked us for coming along. Behind Itaki, a man wearing a two-tone Hawaiian shirt seemingly materialized and put a gentle hand on his shoulder. He had light blonde hair and an angular face, and I knew before he even spoke that this must be Aubrey. Rather than speak, he gave a simple nod.
  
  Suddenly, I got blinded by a flash of light from the side. A camera flash. When the combination of white and gray dots faded from my eyes, I spotted the last member of our crew, Qara, behind the lens of a Canon Powershot S5 IS. She smiled as short black hair framed her face, and I instantly remembered my overenthusiastic stalking I had done not even a couple weeks earlier. I hoped my face didn't show it as she taught Dr. Blythe and I Zolgokh, a Mongolian way of greeting, by Dr. Blythe's insistence.
  
  The flight to Beijing was nearly 13 hours, but sitting next to Dr. Blythe? An eternity. Even as I turned our cabin lights off, he continued ranting and regaling me about his and Ogasawara's adventures in Thailand, back in the 70's. I had to really control myself. It wasn't his fault he couldn't understand social cues.
  
  We arrived in Beijing just as the sun rose over their runway, battered and bruised, and proceeded to customs. Everyone got through fairly quickly, apart from Dr. Blythe and Ogasawara. Dr. Blythe had over ten grand in cash on him, so he was filling out a declaration form, but Ogasawara seemed to be having a heated argument with the customs personnel. He raised his voice suddenly, attracting looks from people around us, including security. Several customs officers now watched him through the Plexiglas service window, as Ogasawara became more and more frustrated, veins on his neck popping out. Dr. Blythe excused himself from his window, and intervened carefully, trying to calm down the behemoth of a man. They whispered quietly to one another aggressively, and he came back over to us.
  
  "It seems our friend Ogasawara is running into issues with his... contingency for getting through customs. I'm afraid we're going to have to turn back with him." Soft-spoken Itaki objected immediately.
  
  "For what reason? I paid good money for this trip, Mr. Blythe," he spat. "Ogasawara knew as well as all of us what was required when we passed through Chinese customs."
  
  "Isn't he your friend?" I chimed in suddenly.
  
  "Of course, but even if we left with him, we lose our chance at getting into Japan. I lose my chance at seeing my home." Dr. Blythe ran a thin finger across the wrinkles on his face, a classic sign that he was thinking hard.
  
  "Maybe not, Itaki. I have a few contacts in Taipei, and quite a bit in American dollars. They may formally be a part of China, but they're much easier to bribe. It would be a far more difficult boat trip, but we could still make it with a larger boat and a small hired crew."
  
  Aubrey stood in the background like a monolith, and that's when I realized Itaki must've been his employer, not Ogasawara. Qara and I looked at each other, the only ones who hadn't really chimed in. She shrugged at me with indifference, and I realized I was going to have to be the tie breaker.
  
  > Try going to Taiwan
  "We can't just leave Ogasawara stranded in the middle of Beijing, guys. That's a fucking terrible thing to do." Itaki frowned, but I could tell he knew it was true. With an audible sigh, he nodded his head and waved his arms as if to shoo us towards the booth.
  
  Dr. Blythe was the first one in there, distracting the officers while Aubrey and I peeled Ogasawara away from the glass window, his mouth practically foaming. We managed to get him out of there and into a terminal seat, Aubrey doing most of the work, practically shoving him down. Itaki was an agent of rage when he reached us, and spoke in a low, uncharacteristically aggressive voice. I began to think I got the wrong first impression of him.
  
  "What the hell were you thinking, you old fool! Provoking Chinese customs? What did you do, offer to bribe them? You should know better than anyone that a Chinese man would never accept anything from a Japanese man, especially nowadays!" He slapped Ogasawara's upper arm with the palm of his hand. "Now we have to go to Taiwan and try again, you stupid, inconsiderate..."
  
  While Itaki chastised Ogasawara, I spotted Dr. Blythe waving me over from one of the service desks. He had just gotten off the phone with someone, and turned back to face the service desk lady. She slid a bundle of papers over to Dr. Blythe, and he pocketed most of them inconspicuously. The last one, he handed to me. A ticket to Taiwan.
  
  "We fly out in thirty-four minutes, James. And if you don't mind, we're going to keep this little diversion out of the final draft for our paper." I nodded quickly.
  
  The flight to Taiwan was short, but cramped, as we huddled in a small cargo plane filled with chickens. The smell was nauseating, and the swaying of the cabin did nothing to alleviate it. Ogasawara was the first to break, as the largest, he swayed the most in the cabin, crushing Itaki into the side of the wall occasionally. There was a bucket provided to us, and he spent no time grabbing and vomiting into it.
  
  Even Dr. Blythe was silent, a miracle if I'd ever seen one. I half expected him to break out into a rendition of "Set My Chickens Free", but even he seemed in poor spirits, swaying and pushing up his wire-frame glasses whenever they slid down. Aubrey had completely passed out, slumped against the bulkhead between the cockpit and our little group. He snored softly, it was a wonder he could sleep at all. Every few minutes the plane would hit turbulence, and his head would bounce off the bulkhead, then slam into it again. He stayed asleep. Qara was the second, and last person to give in. She sheepishly grabbed the bucket, and I turned away for her benefit.
  
  About three hours later, we landed in Taipei, completely broken. I hardly remember arriving, but we must've gotten through customs just fine this time. Dr. Blythe and Aubrey dragged our useless carcasses into the airport's built-in hotel, where we promptly collapsed and slept for the remainder of the day and night.
  
  > Continue
  There was something to be said for sleeping in a hotel that was not traditionally nice, but rather cozy instead. I slept like a cadaver, and rose feeling invigorated for the day's events. Dr. Blythe had already woken, and had already prepared a pot of Earl Grey, which I partook in. The caffeine was a welcome treat.
  
  As the sunlight peeked through the suite's light blue curtains, everyone gradually woke up. Ogasawara prepared a very traditional Miso soup using a variety of ingredients he'd found at a local market. He said he'd substituted chicken for tofu, which most of us agreed was a solid trade-off. I downed two bowls. It might be our last real meal for the entire trip. The rest of the food was going to consist of rations, similar to the military MREs, but without the portable heater. I'd had them before, and they were pretty shitty.
  
  We packed up shortly afterward, and traveled to one of Taipei's many dockyards. As soon as we caught glimpse of the magnificent vessels, our spirits were restored. Dr. Blythe in particular seemed recharged, and he segued immediately into a tale about the time he and Ogasawara had been attacked by pirates outside Somalia.
  
  "...and then Oga, he threw me the telescope. I could see the vessel approaching eastward, a classic strafing maneuver used by Somalian pirates. I'd never seen anything like it, but the Captain reassured us. Then, and I hardly believe it even now, he called up one of his men, a native Mongol and an expert bowman. I swear the bow he wielded was nearly twice the size of his body. Anyways, the guy nocks two arrows at the same time and takes aim at the pirate ship's mast. They cut through the entire section of rope that was holding up the largest sail! It fell forward, draping itself over the ship and pirates, some of them were even jumping overboard! Hands down the most skilled marksman I'd ever seen!"
  
  I wasn't sure whether to believe his stories sometimes, but this one was enjoyable. The cabbie dropped us off roadside next to a Dr. Blythe-recommended Taipei shipyard and dock. The place was massive, with several hangars constructed of steel beams and cables hundreds of feet high. Half-built ships hung from them, suspended over the water. There was also an area for smaller boats, where we headed. I spotted a variety of tugboats sitting in the dock, including some fire-boats. They bobbed like caramel apples in the smooth, steady rhythm of the tides. Some of the ships had people on them, laying around drunk and basking in the warm sunrise. Itaki and Aubrey broke off immediately to speak with the captain of one of the larger tugboats, who tottered over to them on questionable legs. Dr. Blythe shook his head.
  
  "Cmon James, we're not going to get swindled by some ego-bloated pseudo-Captain. I've got the perfect contact already set up." Qara and Ogasawara tagged along with us, and Qara shot me a raised eyebrow. We approached the smallest tugboat in the yard, coming aboard and immediately stepping over some poor sap asleep with half his body hanging outside the rails. The entire ship was weathered to hell and back, corrosion lining the formerly white cabin walls. Half of the windows were punched out either partially, or completely, and the ones that weren't were yellow and cracked. The entire boat looked like it was one decent storm away from splintering in half. Dr. Blythe seemed completely unphased, slamming his fist against the Captain's door. Qara pulled me aside.
  
  "Is this guy out of his mind? You're seeing the same boat I am, right?" she whispered.
  
  "I know he's a bit out there, but sometimes you just gotta trust his methods." Even as I said the words I doubted them. The sound of shattering glass and a few groans arose from within the cabin. The door swung wide open, and a short, muscular Asian man stood in its wake. He shielded his eyes from the sun, grimacing and squinting to look at us all. He seemed extremely annoyed until he found Dr. Blythe to his left, then became actively angry.
  
  "Rodney, what the hell are you doing on the deck of my ship in the middle of shipping season! You know damn well I can't take anyone anywhere with all these damn orders to fulfill." His pitch-perfect English was completely startling. However, I'd never heard anyone call Dr. Blythe by his first name before and it left a bad taste in my mouth.
  
  "Better than coming during typhoon season, old friend," he laughed. "Besides, I'm fairly certain we can work out a deal."
  
  The sun rose to the highest point in the sky before the captain (whose name you learned was Ganbaatar) emerged with Dr. Blythe. Before that time, Itaki and Aubrey had returned to give their good news. The captain of their vessel, the Jai Li, was willing to take us to Japan for an excellent price. Itaki, surrounded by our dingy, disgusting boat, remarked on the well-oiled machine that was the Jai Li, commenting on its superior living quarters and relatively clean state. He was in the middle of describing how he could see his reflection in the latrine's bowl when someone put a heavy hand on his shoulder, startling him.
  
  "Any boat that clean hasn't seen the true face of the ocean. It's what the ocean does after all, it corrodes. Who am I, a servant to the sea, to go against its will for my ship?"
  
  Dr. Blythe explained that he and Captain Ganbaatar had made an arrangement: eight thousand dollars for a round-trip to Japan. Itaki's mouth fell open in shock.
  
  "What do you mean, eight thousand dollars? The captain of the Jai Li offered the same thing for a quarter of the price! And his ship is immaculate! Yours is crustier than the barnacles attached to the side of your pathetic tugboat!" Captain Ganbaatar scratched the side of his face with a potato chip nail, disinterested.
  
  "Then by all means, go with your yuppie crew of sea cadets. You think this is some kind of game? There's real danger out there, and my crew is hardened." Tension mounted between the men on the dock, and you knew you had to intervene.
  
  > side with Captain Ganbaatar
  "I trust Dr. Blythe's evaluation, and plus, might do us some good to live like the crew for the ride there, build some character." I added. Captain Ganbaatar grinned, and patted me on the back.
  
  "And here I thought the boy with the button-up and fanny pack on his hip would be the biggest pussy in your group!" Itaki glared at me, but Dr. Blythe looked fairly pleased.
  
  "Excellent," he spoke, "I'll pay up front, Gantaabar."
  
  "Damn right, you will."
  
  Captain Ganbaatar seemed eager to leave immediately, whipping his hungover crew into shape by beating the head of a shovel against the railing of the ship. They stumbled to life like a fleet of zombies, spreading across the deck. The tugboat was ready to leave within the hour, food and supplies having been lugged aboard. Captain Ganbaatar gave us an extremely short tour, which consisted only of the deck, which was also to be our living quarters.
  
  "You've got to be kidding, we're sleeping on deck? Like next to the ocean?" Itaki stuttered.
  
  "We've only had three ever roll off the railings into the ocean, and we found both of them! You'll be fine," Ganbaatar mused, with a toothy grin. He was a bit crude, but he wasn't lying about being practiced. His crew ran like a well oiled machine, the reliable old truck your family had owned since you were a kid, that sputtered and argued but still did its job in the end. The shipping district of Taipei faded quickly in the distance, and I realized I was now the cargo. Accordingly, the crew was pretty mute and rude, I tried questioning a few of them for some flavor text in my eventual article, but I was greeted with grunts and people feigning being asleep. Can't say I blamed them. Most of them were practically old men, in their thirties and forties.
  
  Captain Ganbaatar retreated into his cabin, which doubled as the lookout for the tugboat, after he was done showing us around. From what I could see, only the captain was allowed in the cabin. Occasionally, a glass bottle would soar out of the cabin and into the ocean, usually followed or preceded by an exasperated yell. Sometimes those bottles would hit the railing instead, shattering and showering the deck, which the morose crew would then sweep up. In one instance, the bottle shattered directly over a spot where one of the crew had decided to take a nap, bathing him in tiny shards. He kept sleeping, undisturbed; perhaps Aubrey would fit in here.
  
  It wasn't long before the crew began drinking again, separated into small groups that were strewn across the deck. I noticed quickly that these tiny groups followed a pattern: there was one obnoxious, loud drunk, followed by two or three relatively mellow drunks, followed by one or two that sat silently and laughed at the others like an audience. I had my own little drunk circle in a way. Ogasawara was the belligerent drunk, shouting over the waves of the sea like a lion, eager to be heard. Dr. Blythe and I interjected sometimes if we felt like we added anything to the conversation, and then for the most part, Qara and Itaki sat relatively silently. Aubrey was fast asleep, having already tied a rope around his waist to the railing. It was how all the sailors slept, precariously wedging themselves between the railing and the deck.
  
  I would come to wish I hadn't followed their example the next morning.
  
  I awoke to the screams of sailors echoing off stormy seas, and being tossed from side to side on the boat's slippery deck, as the first few water particulates broke the gray sky. My body was still trying to wake up, and I was jerked towards the railing, smacking my head into it with a hollow ring. The sky went dark for a few seconds, breaking into black spots like coal was raining down. I desperately grasped for the side of the ship but got nothing, and was thrown over the edge.
  
  > Continue
  I was doused completely in water, and drug under instantly, held to the boat only by the rope I'd cinched around my waist. It was a rocky current, bobbing my head over and under the water constantly as commotion raged above. The edge of the boat was low to the ground, being a tugboat and all, but still far out of my reach and covered in slippery plastic. I realized I might die here, pressed up against the side of this boat. Already, I felt my strength fading as I was tossed about. Whenever I was above water, I'd hear gunshots tear their way through the air, screaming like banshees.
  
  Something grabbed my wrist, and began to pull me upward. It was a rather weak and delicate hand, and I planted my feet firmly against the boat to build traction. Together with this stranger, I hoisted myself back on the deck, coughing up water. Qara held my hand, a concerned look on her face.
  
  "Quick! Get down!" I shouted, grabbing her by the shoulders and forcing us both under the tiny space between the railing and deck. It wasn't the best defensive position, but hopefully we'd be unseen. I rolled over onto my stomach and peeked up at the attacking ship. It was massive, its shadow looming in the night like a phantom. It was painfully close too, and a bullet whizzing my by head encouraged me to duck down again.
  
  Captain Ganbataar was still rummaging around in his cabin, cursing loudly over the storm as he searched for something. The rest of the crew seemed fairly defenseless, unless we got boarded, their knives weren't going to do much damage. Instead, they attempted to out maneuver the larger ship, which wasn't going particularly well either. The larger ship was staying glued to our left side, constantly battering the ship with bullets. They were inaccurate shots, and most of them just bounced harmlessly against the deck or sailed overhead.
  
  The cabin's door flew open, and Captain Ganbataar flew out of it with a wild grin in his eye. He was a completely different man than I'd seen on the deck of the boat earlier, lively and motivated. He whipped out a massive longbow, and that's when I strongly considered that I was about to die.
  
  He drew the string back carefully, while threading an arrow onto the line. The draw on that had to be ridiculous, it was resting on the ground as he braced the string backwards. When he finally aimed and let go of the string, the resounding shot snapped the line completely and blasted the arrow forward with immeasurable velocity. It sailed over the gap between our ships, piercing the air. It disappeared into the darkness, and I had to squint to figure out what was going on. Suddenly, the night sky seemed to descend upon the enemy ship like a veil of darkness, completely coating the enemy ship. It seemed to be that the enemy's ship's mast had been hit by our Captain's masterful shot. I stood in awe, while Captain Ganbataar stood confidently on the deck, laughing maniacally in the wind.
  
  I could hear the shouts of sailors on the other ship, it would take forever for them to repair the mast, and by then we would have already been long gone. Cheering erupted from the battered crew, as we left their pitiful ship in the dust. Something told me, however, that this was only the beginning of our troubles.
  
  That night on the ship, the seas had calmed, and I felt safer, knowing that our captain was capable. My mind reflected back on the stories that Dr. Blythe would tell, and I realized that perhaps I didn't give him enough credit. I decided to ask him about it in more detail that night but it didn't exactly go as I'd anticipated. I asked him specifically about Captain Ganbataar, about how he'd known about some rough and tumble sailor from Taiwan, and more importantly, what sort of adventures they'd been on.
  
  Unfortunately, Dr. Blythe seemed wholly unwilling to talk. After a few minutes of trying to break him, I decided to go to sleep instead. About thirty minutes had passed and I was still lying wide-awake, wedged in between the railing and the deck. However, the night was not over. Aubrey, who had stayed relatively silent throughout the whole battle, was shifting in his sleep. The mysterious mute man got up slowly, as if he were trying to sneak around.
  
  He began to head towards the back of the ship, searching around carefully with his eyes to make sure nobody was tailing him. Aubrey had already raised my suspicions starting with his tendency to remain silent at all times. Now, after not participating in the battle between the ships, maybe it was time to find out a little more information about him. His elongated shadow disappeared behind the cabin of the ship, trailed with intrigue and mystery.
  
  > Investigate
  I rose from the stained deck carefully, trying not to make even the slightest peep; Aubrey was a trained killer, that much I knew. It was unwise to try and trail him without some sort of precaution, so I'd already taken one. using some of the burlap sacks that the sailors used to store food, I'd made makeshift moccasins that overlapped my regular shoes. I tried them out along the deck, indeed, it made my footsteps far quieter.
  
  I began to sneak towards the back of the ship while taking care not to budge any of the sleeping sailors, most of whom were passed out in awkward positions along the railing, exhausted from the fight. I accidentally bumped one of my feet into one of the larger men, but he didn't budge. I almost sighed in relief, but then remembered I wasn't supposed to be making any noise. Aubrey's shadow could be seen stretched far from the cabin and wrapped around like a coil.
  
  There was a barrel nearby, providing adequate cover for me to eavesdrop. Even as I kneeled against the decrepit wooden barrel, there was no noise apart from the winds of the sea and the snoring of the sailors.
  
  "Whatever he's doing, he must be doing it in complete silence," I thought.
  
  I braced myself against the barrel, planning to lean one eye over it to investigate. The deck was slippery however, and I nearly fell against the side of the cabin, which undoubtedly would have resulted in disaster. I tried again, steeling my nerves and preparing myself for another go. This time, I would figure out exactly what Aubrey's game was, and more importantly, if he was a threat to my friends. I slowly peeked over the barrel, and caught a glimpse of the back of Aubrey's blonde hair, facing out towards the sea. He was holding something in his hands, from what I could tell, but I had no idea what it was. Suddenly, my foot slipped on the slick wooden deck, and my back hit the ground sharply. The noise didn't wake up any of the other sailors, but Aubrey whipped around like a demon, scanning the area with beady eyes. He quickly reached down towards his pants and zipped something up.
  
  "Shit! He was just taking a piss!"
  
  Aubrey took something out of his waistband, a sharp, flat knife. I scrambled wildly on the deck floor and Aubrey was upon me before I could even yell his name. He shoved the knife deep in my throat, stopping the words, before realizing who I actually was. Then, he began apologizing profusely in some sort of broken dialect, or maybe he had a lisp?
  
  "Jamesth, I'm sorreh, holth on. Juss wait a momenth!" Aubrey was no medical professional, his job was to cause injuries, not cure them. Unfortunately for me, Aubrey was very, very good at his job, I bled out shortly on Captain Ganbataar's boat, never having seen Japan.