HA\LF: Dead nor Alive

“Alright! All the ships have been repaired! Board the ship!” Fanheim said in the middle of the harbor so everyone who was patrolling outside the harbor could hear his voice.

“Are we leaving?!” Elena asked with a big smile on her face.

“Yes, let’s board the ship, you have been asking me when we are going to board the ship ever since you saw them. Now, let’s get on and you can choose where do you want to sleep in the cabin,” Eve said as she held Elena’s hand.

Elena hummed in excitement, and then the two of them boarded the ship.

“Why are you still here? Go board the ship,” Archie asked as he stared at Ivan who was staring at the ships.

“Well, I want to know which ship you will be on. I don’t want to be in a ship where you’re not in it,” Ivan answered as he stared back at Archie.

“Go to the fourth ship, that’s where Eve and Elena went. I will be there as well, so you should go and join them. Get yourself known by the people as well, introduce yourself,” Archie replied as he pointed at the fourth ship, the small one that he boarded back then.

“Alright, I will take that one then,” Ivan said as he walked past Archie.

After Archie took a last look around to make sure they were alone, he took flight and checked the surroundings once more before they set sail.

After flying around for five minutes around the harbor, Archie didn’t find any threat or anyone that was hiding in the forest. He then came back to report to Fanheim, and told him that the whole place was secured and they were good to go. Fanheim then gave the go-ahead to the team, and they were able to safely secure the area and start the mission to go back home.

“Set the sails! Let’s leave this damned place,” Marlon said as he looked at the people on the ship.

They lowered the sails, and started sailing into the sea in the middle of the night. Everyone took a look at the harbor one last time, and some of them hadn’t enjoyed their time in the city yet.

“Looks like we are going to live with no electricity again,” Daniel said as he sighed and went to the side of the deck.

“That won’t be a problem, we can make our own electricity with the knowledge that we got from them,” Tommy replied as he sat and leaned on the railing.

“Yeah, sure, like we know how to make the machine,” Daniel scoffed as he nodded his head.

“You guys don’t have to worry about that, I brought the right person who can make the machine for us,” Archie said as he joined the conversation.

Ruby and Vincent looked at Archie with furrowed eyebrows, taking in the information. Then Ivan came out of the cabin, looking around since he realized they had sailed from the harbor.

“Wait, you brought Ivan with you?” Ruby asked with a surprised expression.

“Yes, Eve and I were planning to bring him with us, but then Ivan was being chased by the Axis Humans. So, we came and saved him, and then I brought him to the harbor and offered him to come with us. Now here we are, he’s on the ship with us,” Archie explained as he looked at Ivan.

“You were being chased by the Axis Humans? Did it have something to do with us and put you in danger because of it?” Ruby asked.

Ivan nodded his head as he sighed. “Yeah, that’s exactly what happened,” Ivan answered.

“Sorry to brought you into this mess, Ivan,” Ruby said and genuinely felt guilty about it.

“It’s fine, I can come back once everything has calmed down. I guess,” Ivan replied as he looked at the moon. “Since I’m tagging along, you guys don’t have to worry about those machines, I’m actually one of the people who knows how to build and operate the machine to produce electricity,” Ivan said as he looked at them.

“Really? You can do that even though there’s a chance there will be nothing that you can scrap to make the machine?” Daniel asked.

“That won’t be a problem since the Sky Station over there is still up, right? I can ask Archie to bring me up there since he can fly. I can scrap the whole sky station and make a lot of machine with it,” Ivan answered with confidence.

“That’s really good news. We can build our place from zero and make it a better place to live for everyone,” Ruby said as she looked at them. “We are going to help and you can rely on us as well,” Ruby continued as she looked at Ivan.

“Yeah, thanks,” Ivan nodded as he looked at the calm sea.

Although the sea appeared so serene and peaceful, they didn’t let their guard down for a second. If they met the same sea parasites last time, it would be a huge problem. The parasites were capable of sucking the life-force out of anyone they touched, and they would be forced to return to shore if they got caught or even worse, died in the sea.

“Keeping an eye on the sea? You’re not going to sleep with Elena and Eve?” Ruby asked Archie who was on his own at the front of the deck.

“There’s no more bed in the cabin, so I will spend my time here watching the sea. It’s calming,” Archie answered as he nodded his head.

“Do you think the fish are safe to consume if we catch them?” Ruby asked as she leaned on the railing as she stared at the water below her. “I’m not sure if we have enough food for everyone if we are going to sail for almost a week,” Ruby continued as she looked at the reflection of the moon on the water.

“I’m not sure, but I don’t want to risk it if I were you. Who knows what kind of parasites that are hosting those fish. The parasite inside Elena’s body is the parasite that can only live under the water, she went out of control because of it and killed the whole village. You don’t want that thing inside you or anyone here,” Archie answered as he sighed.

“Right, I don’t think I want that,” Ruby replied as she turned around and leaned her back on the railing.

“I can bring food from the village, that won’t be a problem, so don’t think about it. It’s something that can be solved easily if Eve and I are here,” Archie said as he stared at Ruby.

“You’re right. Anyway, you should go and get some rest, I bet Elena is looking for you right now,” Ruby said. “Seeing you, Eve, and Elena together, it feels like the three of you are actually a family. For some reason I envy you,”

“Why? You can start a family when we landed, no? I bet Vincent also feels the same thing if you ask him. I guarantee that Faye and Aster are also thinking the same thing. I bet Prince and Resse want that as well,” Archie asked as he chuckled and looked at his fingernails.

Ruby couldn’t help but smile as she looked at the other ships right next to her. They were all so different, but they all had one thing in common: they were all there for the same reason.

“I guess you’re right,” Ruby answered as she walked away. “Just go get some sleep. I will wake you up if anything happens,” Ruby continued as she walked toward Vincent.

Archie went down to the cabin and slept with Elena and Eve.

Four days had passed, and they almost reached their destination thanks to the wind that helped them a lot for the past two days. They could see the island in the distance, and Ruby’s worries about a food shortage ended up not happening.

Elena had been enjoying the journey, and it surprised Archie because she somehow didn’t complain about it. Maybe it was because everyone was so nice and accompanied her everyday that made her forget about how boring the journey was.

The night came, and they arrived at the Easter Nation. Elena was asleep and being carried by Eve down the ship. Ivan looked at the condition of the Eastern Nation and couldn’t believe that there were people that survived the clash of the two King-type parasites.

“We are back home,” Marlon said as he rested his hands on his waist.

“Nothing can’t beat the feeling of coming back home. The air, the smell, the weather, and even the wind are enough to bring back all the memories,” Fanheim replied as he nodded his head in agreement.

“It’s time to rebuild this nation, Fanheim. We will start everything from zero again, and this time we are not going to leave anyone behind,” Marlon said as he patted on Fanheim’s shoulder.