Page 50 of Call of the Fathoms

The island before them was less metal on the surface. At first sight, it looked like any other island he had come across. There was a sand beach that led up to emerald green grass, and a small log house in the dead center. It looked like it was all set up there for someone to see it. As though no one had ever lived within those four walls.

But the strangest part of this place was that no storm ever touched it. He had ridden the massive waves for days on end, watching this house that should have been swallowed up by hurricanes or the wind tunnels that would whip everything off the surface of the sea. But not this place.

This place remained untouched by everything.

He would let go of his anger with her for not believing him, and instead, he followed her to the sandy beach. Just like the last time he’d been here, the metal nipped at his tail. He had to get up onto the sand. Which was odd enough of an experience, because Fortis did not enjoy beaching himself.

It was harder to flee, and there were plenty of things on this island that would hunt him. He watched Alexia drag herself out of the water and remove her mask, pausing only when he barked out a warning. “Be careful. You are not the only one on this island.”

Her brows furrowed. “Someone lives here?”

“That is not what I speak of.”

A horrible cry echoed around them, bursting through the warmth of the sunlight and sending chills down his spine. There it was. The creatures that haunted this place. He had never been able to get inside of that house for long before the horde of monsters attacked him.

Feathered and small, they appeared to be easy to kill. But no matter how many he pulled into dusty pieces with feathers floating all around him, more always appeared. With talons and sharp faces, they attacked him mercilessly every time he’d come here.

Alexia wore a strange expression of confusion as she watched the tiny beast charge him. She just stood there, as though dumbfounded, when he grabbed onto the beast and tossed it into the ocean.

“Are you—” she asked, then stopped herself before continuing. It almost appeared that she schooled her expression into something that wasn’t so obviously stunned. “Are you afraid of chickens?”

“Is that what you call these tiny beasts?” Oh god, more of them were rounding the house. They didn’t care why he was here, they just attacked blindly.

“Chickens, yeah,” she muttered, before stepping in front of the horde that were soon to attack him. “They’re not dangerous.”

“They pick at my scales,” he hissed, baring his teeth in a threat as he leaned around her. “I will kill any of them that come near me. “

“There must be a pen around here somewhere. Just... Go back in the water for a bit. I’ll let you know when they’re contained.”

He didn’t like it. Fortis wanted to remain with her to see her expression and to know the moment she realized he was right. The last time he’d gone into the house had proven all heneeded to know about her kind and how incredibly destructive the achromos were.

But if she wanted to save him from thesechickens, then he supposed he would allow it.

Twenty-One

Alexia

Amassive undine, a depthstrider, with the ability to kill anyone and anything with just the slightest amount of energy, was terrified of chickens. Now that was something she didn’t expect.

Nor was a floating island that was clearly man made. She’d seen the gears and all the strange vents that kept it floating from beneath, but it was the top of the island that surprised her most. This place was eerily similar to pictures she had seen of one of the Original’s houses.

Original Jessup was one of the few men who intimidated her. He was the first to kill if anyone disagreed with him, even an Original. She’d been there the day he had killed one of his own in a message that there would be no infighting. All Originals agreed with each other. End of story.

In his wing of Tau, there were pictures on the wall. Lots of pictures. All of them were from Above, and the life he had lived long ago. One of them looked like this. A small log cabin at the edge of the sea. A bed of emerald grass surrounding it, dottedwith purple and white flowers that spread in a lush carpet all the way to the waves. It was... stunning, really. A beautiful dream that so many people had shared back in those days.

At least, that’s what Original Jessup had always said. To find something likethis, floating where no one should ever find it? It was strange, and perhaps a little too convenient.

Eyes and ears open, she ushered the chickens back into a pen that had seen better days. Though the house didn’t seem to have aged, the rest of the island was showing wear and tear. The pen for the chickens was made out of wood, and even that material had worn throughout the centuries. Time had taken its toll on everything it should have. At least, if she believed this place was built by the Originals, and she... did.

Closing the gate, she looked around to see there were even more animals. Beasts that shouldn’t exist. Three cows were in the field just beyond the house, along with a donkey and what looked like two horses on the horizon. These were animals that had gone extinct long ago, at least according to the Originals.

But here they were. Living on an island that shouldn’t exist.

Her stomach churned. It felt wrong to be here, like she was trespassing and just waiting for someone to come on over a loudspeaker and scream at her. Or worse, a bullet to the forehead.

Taking a deep breath, she walked toward the log cabin. She wanted to know what all the fuss was about. If Fortis believed this would make her help, then surely he had a good reason for that. Her people were terrible. She agreed with that fact. But she needed to know what had made him hate them this much.

The log cabin felt like she was walking to her death. Still, she moved forward. She walked right up to the front door, cringing in front of it as she waited for retribution. But nothing happened.

---