Page 33 of Shinji Takahashi: Into the Heart of the Storm

“What…is this?” Mano growled. He was furiously rubbing a penny between a thumb and forefinger, as if he wanted to press it into copper particles. “This isn’t natural. What is happening?”

“I don’t know,” Oliver said, gazing over the water. “But hang on to your beards because it’s about to get weirder. Look.”

Shinji peered past the railing over the ocean and felt a chill go through his stomach.

A curtain of mist hung before them, blocking out the sight of the sky, the ocean, everything. It hung there, thick and opaque, shielding whatever lay within. The storm raged around it, wind and rain tearing ragged curtains away from the rest of the wall, but the fogbank didn’t move.

“This is impossible,” Mano said slowly. “You can’t have fog in a storm like this; the wind gusts would blow it away. What is going on?”

The Storm Boar,Shinji thought.It’s calming the wind, letting us through.

He did not voice these thoughts out loud. The adults would immediately jump all over him. Phoebe, especially, would want to know everything about the Storm Boar, and he didn’t know much about it, himself. Only that he had been having strange dreams about a boar in the sky, calling to him. Oliver might be angry that he was hiding things. Come to think of it, Lucy might be mad at him, too. It was easier not to say anything yet.

Besides, this was his problem and his quest. The Storm Boar was callinghim.

“Certainly, something unnatural is at work here,” Phoebe said, and she was the only one of them who did not sound wary or confused, but excited. “I would even go so far to say that not only is this unnatural, it has magic written all over it!”

“Magic,” Oliver repeated. He glanced at Shinji and raised an eyebrow, making Shinji’s stomach clench. “These days, magic is typically the realm of our resident guardian.”

“Oh no, this isn’t coming from Shinji,” Phoebe said immediately, making him slump in relief. “It’s far too powerful for anything Shinji has been capable of. My guess would be this is coming from the island or something on the island. We must be very close.”

“You think the island is through that?” Lucy wondered. The wall of mist loomed, towering above them. Shinji watched a tendril of fog curl around the railing like a ghostly tentacle and shivered.

“I think we’re about to find out,” Oliver said. “Everyone, brace yourselves.”

They sailed into the curtain of mist, and the fog closed around them, muffling the sounds of the storm. The rain stopped, the thunder and lightning fading away. It was almost eerily silent now; the only noises were the soft sloshing of waves against the hull, and the thump of Shinji’s heart in his ears.

“Oh yes, this is definitely unnatural,” Phoebe commented, sounding ecstatic. Her voice echoed loudly in the eerie stillness, making Oliver wince. “Very spooky. Do you think anything lives out here? Sirens, perhaps? Or mermaids?”

“Let’s hope not,” Oliver muttered. “Shinji, Roux…” He turned to the pair of them. “What do we do if we hear any strange singing?”

“Um.” Shinji glanced at Roux, who shrugged. “Stick my fingers in my ears and go, ‘La-la-la-la-la’?” he guessed.

“Close enough.”

The ship broke through the curtain of fog, and suddenly the sunlight blazed down on them. Shinji winced, shielding his eyes as he peered over the water. Behind them, he could see the ring of clouds stretching out to either side. He could even see flickers of lightning from the storm that raged on the outer edges. But directly overhead, the sky was clear. Gulls wheeled through the air, calling to one another in the shadow of an enormous volcano. A volcano in the center of a verdant island.

“Uh…that is not supposed to be there,” said Mano, scratching his head. “There are no volcanoes recorded in this part of the ocean.”

“And yet,” stated Oliver with a small, wondrous smile. The huge black mountain rose from a thick canopy of trees that covered the whole island, the tangle making it impossible to see what lay farther in. “Looks like we found our Island That Isn’t There.”

It’s the same island. The island Shinji had seen in his dreams. His pulse pounded in excitement. There was no doubt in his mind now. Somewhere on the island, the Storm Boar was waiting for him.

Shinji glanced at his two friends. Lucy met his gaze and smiled, Tinker peering down at him from her shoulder. Roux seemed at a loss for words; the sickly-green tinge on his skin had faded, and he was staring at the volcano with wide eyes.

“You think that volcano is still active?” he wondered out loud.

“Probably not,” Lucy answered. Tinker scurried to her other shoulder, whiskers twitching as he gazed up at the volcano, as well. “I would guess that it’s dormant. But even if it’s not, what are the chances that it’ll erupt while we’re on the island? That sort of thing only happens in movies.”

“Right.” Shinji winced. “And Coatls only exist in movies, too.”

“Oh my goodness, I’m excited!” Phoebe nearly squeaked. “A lost island that no one has set foot on in who knows how long. What do you think we’ll find?”

Oliver stepped forward, gazing across the water. He was grinning now, Shinji saw, his whole face lit with an eager smile, as if he couldn’t wait to start exploring. “Well, we’re going to find out, aren’t we? Mano, how close can you get us?”

The big man nodded and turned back to the wheel. “I’ll see if I can find a good place to weigh anchor.”

Sailing around the island, they found a small cove with shimmering turquoise waters and a pristine sandy beach stretching up into the rain forest. Gazing out at the calm water surrounding the island, Oliver shook his head.

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