text: The gang began walking towards the village; Marshall leading the way, carrying the heavy sack of books over his shoulder. Every so often I would look back to Alessia to try and see if she wanted to leave. I wasn’t sure why she wanted to be here. However, any time I hesitated to head back to her, she signalled for me to keep walking. Our minds were made up. We would see this to the end. There was a great crack of thunder in the sky above. The clouds gave way and heavy rain poured from the heavens, smacking off the leaves of the trees with a persistent hammering. I increased my pace and reached Monica at the back of the group. “So Marshall and Rachel,” I shouted over the storm. “What happened between them?” “They were childhood friends, teenage sweethearts, adult lovers,” she started. Right up until about five years ago. But Marshall was never much into the island ethos and Rachel started getting involved in the executive group, so they went their separate ways and they just kept... drifting further apart.” “Do they really hate each other that much?” “There’s still love. That’s why Rachel never really tried coming after us; gave Marshall some flex.” “And now?” “We’ll find out in a few minutes.” The world temporarily lit up as a shot of lighting rippled across the sky. In that instant, I could see the slight fear in Monica’s eyes, and the still calmness in Marshall’s. I went back to concentrating on where I placed my feet on our walk along the dark and uneven forest floor. But in the back of my mind I was still remembering the the library Alessia had told me about earlier. I was keen to see what would happen here on Aila Flagstones, no doubt. But a part of me was also dreaming of reaching Ringatoy Shires, and the rich labyrinths of knowledge that might hold the secret to what created the Archipelago. We reached the settlement. We followed Marshall as he marched to the center of the village and then stopped. Rain poured from his face and fell to the dirt, slowly turning the ground to mud. He looked left and right at the nearly deserted streets, the citizens scampering from the rain. He raised his voice, stretching his diaphragm to let out a roar louder than the thunder. “Everyone. Come. See what we have found. See what the leaders want to keep from you. We have the truth!” Marshall threw down the sack. Slowly, people were drawn to the sound; peering their heads out from behind closed doors, or taking a few tentative steps out into the rain. “Come. Come closer.” Marshall called out. The rest of the group beckoned people to them, smiling at the confused citizens. Robin grabbed one woman by the hand, and with a wide smile, dragged her to the front of the crowd. However, growing in unease I made a few paces back, creating a thin bit of distance between myself and the group. I looked to Alessia next to me, her hand was paused by her side, ready to grab the knife in her belt if needs be. Marshall looked out to the crowd and smiled. “For the past few months our leaders have been bringing crates to the islands, filled with books. But they don’t do this to share the knowledge with you, but instead, to keep it from you, to burn it. The truth is, the old world was glorious. It was not as we have been shown on the images in the museum. They are lies. There is no great time to reminisce over. We, now, are just as good as they ever were.” He paused, looking at the faces of the onlookers. A small murmuring broke out among the crowd, before it was quickly snuffed out by a growl from the heavens. Marshall reached down to the sack. He threw a few books to the side, before picking one up. He held it in his hand with a wide simper. “Let me read you some facts about the old world,” he announced in a honeyed voice. Marshall flicked through the book. Raindrops landed on the paper, darkening the pages and matting them together. But there was still enough for Marshall to read. “At the start of the twenty-first century, twenty-seven percent of people didn’t have sufficient access to safe nutritional food, and eleven percent were under-nourished. Twenty-two percent of children, that’s right, children, had stunted growth from malnutrition. Even in the richest nation at the time - the United States - four percent suffered severe food insecurity....” I grabbed Alessia’s arm. “We need to get out of here. This could go wrong quickly, and Rachel already doesn’t trust us.” “We can’t,” she replied. “Why not?” I asked. “You offer someone protection, you stand by it,” she replied, her eyes focussed onto the back of Robin’s head. “What?” I asked. Alessia didn’t respond. Instead Marshall’s voice filled the silence. “...There were fifty separate wars between, and within countries. Those wars drove nearly one in every one hundred people from their homes...” “Marshall stop!” The crowd parted as Rachel and others walked through. “It’s too late,” Marshall smirked, shaking his head. “No it’s not. You know how this ends if you don’t.” “People deserve the truth,” Marshall outstretched his arms pointing to the crowd around them. I quickly tugged Alessia’s arm once more. She didn’t budge. “Marshall, please. Please, stop.” The rain poured down Rachel’s face, and it was difficult to tell if it was masking tears. “Or what...?” Marshall said through gritted teeth. “You’re going to shoot me. Me?” He stared at Rachel. She held his eye for a few seconds, until she broke contact and turned her gaze to the mud. “Thought so,” Marshall said. He pulled the book up with a straight arm in front of him. “Prejudice against different groups was rampant. In seventy-one countries...” Rachel pulled the gun from the waist of her trousers, lifted it, and fired. The book flew from Marshall’s hand, its pages landing facedown in the muck. Marshall stared at his chest for a brief second, before he fell back, prone, dead on the floor. Robin ran to his side, screaming his name. She instinctively recoiled her hand as it touched the warm blood of his chest. “I will KILL you...” she screamed. “Arrest the others,” Rachel ordered to those around her. “Seize the books. This ends now.” I pulled hard on Alessia’s arm. “We have to go now.” Alessia resisted. “We can’t.” “There’s nothing we can do, but if we don’t go they will come for us.” I could feel Alessia’s whole body tense through my grip on her arm. She surveyed the scene, and the guards moving in to grab Robin and the others. She swallowed a scream and turned away from the sight. “You’re right. Let’s go.” We began walking away as quickly as we could, sneaking behind buildings to stay out of the line of sight. Our pace slowly increased until we reached the forest and we ran. “Where are we going to go?” I asked. “The boat. We leave now,” “What about the storm?” I looked to the sky as rain flooded my eyes. “It’s beginning to pass. We’ll chance it.” We continued to head along the dark path to the beach, adrenaline allowing us to continue running far beyond what I normally could. My lungs burning, my feet damp from the puddles, we continued to run until the path slowly began to widen as we reached the beach. Alessia slowed her pace to a jog. “We just left them,” she shouted. “What were we supposed to do?” I replied, pulling up alongside her. “Protect her.” “What?” “Protect Robin, you numbskull.” She stopped, bending over with her hands resting on her thighs. “We should’ve protected her.” I paused, looking down and catching Alessia’s eyes. “I wish there was something we could do for them. But there’s not. If we go back that way, we die too. There is no helping. We’re not safe ourselves yet.” I looked back behind us up the path. “Besides, I thought you weren’t one for getting involved.” “I don’t get involved because you pick your fights, Ferdinand.” She stood tall again, the anger boosting her. “When you get involved, once you offer protection, you stand by it. You live by it. You don’t offer help one day, and then turn away as soon as stuff starts going south and your chicken shit.” “We had to leave,” I said softly. “Maybe. Probably. All I know is there’s a girl back there who thought we had her back and were on her side, and now she knows we’re not.” She shook her head. “If you ain’t gonna be consistent in what you do then you’re nobody. No character. And out here, character and consistency is all we’ve got.” “I’m sorry.” “So am I,” she said with a clenched jaw. She took a deep breath. “It’s not your fault. I know you mean well. But just... remember this isn’t an exploration for everyone. For some people it’s their lives.” We both caught a faint flicker of lanterns further up the path coming from the town. We turned, and stared at the distant swaying light. “They’re coming. We should go,” Alessia said with a sudden urgency. We ran to the jetties and jumped onto the boat. I untied the ropes, as Alessia unfurled the sails. With the ropes loose, I pushed the boat away from the jetty with all my strength, desperate to create even a single meter of distance between us and the island. The sails opened, the wind caught, and we began being dragged away from the island. “It’s going to take us a while to get anywhere in this weather,” Alessia said, bracing her face against the rain. “The sea’s going to get choppier as we get out of the bay too.” I felt the unsteadiness of my feet as the boat fought against the sea. I bit my tongue and took a deep breath. “Alessia, I need you to take me to Ringatoy Shires.” “What?” “I need to go to Ringatoy Shires. Can you take me there?” Alessia let go of the wheel, and let out an audible tut, raising her arms. “You know I still have to make a living, right? I’m already delayed?” “I can pay you. I’ll pay you what you need.” I widened my eyes, clasping my hands in front of me. “One of the reasons I left was to find out what caused the Archipelago. That library might have the answers. If it’s as big as you say it is, I might be able to find the answer there.” Alessia turned from me, and grabbed the wheel once more, staring out to the blackness in front. “If I drop you off there, I can’t wait. This travelling together, it ends. I have to sail on.” “I know.” Alessia shook her head. “It’ll add a day to the journey, but I can take you.” “Thank you. Thank you.” “Don’t... Don’t thank me,” Alessia replied, refusing to look at me. “I’m gonna need you controlling the front sail.” I nodded, and headed down to the steps to the front of the ship. The boat pulled out of the bay and hit the open sea. As soon as we did, an ocean wave crashed into the side of the boat, and a tall spray of water cascaded over me. The seas would be rough, but we were on our way. \ This concludes Aila Flagstones. New island starts 4th May.