Two days until the ship reached Komodo island:
Hendrix woke up surprisingly late, grabbing his head as the sun shined in full bloom through his porthole window.
The effects of last night were still weighing heavy on his head, AKA his first hangover.
He freshened up and went up to the deck of the ship to see if he could help with any chores in spite of the headache that was getting more painful with every turn of his head.
Instead, he found the deck basically empty, except for one figure leaning over the guardrail.
Hendrix took a few more steps up the stairs to get a closer look.
Smoke bellowed from the figure's nose and mouth as the boy noticed something in the figure's hand.
After a few more steps, Hendrix recognized the beanie and the thick mustache and goatee, it was Biggie.
Hendrix hesitated for a moment, deciding whether he should sneak past Biggie or try to be cordial with the teen.
"I didn't know you smoked." Hendrix blurted, immediately regretting it.
"God, I sound so awkward." Hendrix thought as he reluctantly leaned against the guardrail not too far from Biggie.
Biggie scoffed, shaking the ash off of his blunt before putting it back up to his mouth.
The two sat in silence for a few deathly awkward moments, Hendrix trying to make up an excuse to leave without admitting social defeat.
Biggie sighed, realizing Hendrix wasn't going to leave. "Jason doesn't know either. I managed to get a little from inside the city before we left."
Hendrix nodded, trying to think up something to say in response.
Biggie puffed a cloud of smoke out of his mouth, stretching his back after holding the blunt with his mouth.
"Are you sure that's good for you?" Hendrix said, gritting his teeth and looking away as he tried to avoid cringing at himself.
Biggie chuckled with a condescending tone. "I'm done with your awkward bullshit. Don't waste my time."
"Okay." Hendrix nodded and admitted defeat.
Biggie stretched one more time, taking a few steps away from Hendrix-
"Hello." Ratu spoke.
Both of the boys jumped in surprise, spinning their heads towards the girl.
"Hi." Hendrix waved while grabbing his head, trying to quell the hangover.
"Oh, great. Here comes freak number two." Biggie threw his arms up, his blunt in one hand.
The blunt slipped from his fingers, tumbling over the guardrail and into the ocean below.
"Fuck me!" Biggie clenched his fists to try to avoid punching the nearest object in frustration.
"No smoking on board." Ratu shook her head at Biggie.
"Ugh! What the hell do you want?!" Biggie exclaimed.
Ratu searched her pocket for something as she turned away from the boys.
Nala clawed her way towards Ratu, her eyes trained on the girl's hand as she pulled a dead, frozen mouse from her pocket.
"Alright, that's it. I'm done." Biggie shook his head, utterly disgusted.
"Charlotte calls. Captain's quarters." Ratu said as she tossed the dead rodent towards Nala, who caught it between her reptilian jaws.
Hendrix nodded.
Ratu started the journey towards the captain's quarters, Hendrix right behind her as Biggie tried his best to stay out of Nala's path.
After a two minute walk, Ratu opened two big wooden doors that led to a round table with another door behind it.
The room was almost entirely wooden, a stark contrast to the metallic feel of the rest of the ship.
"I'll fucking kill you!" Chase pointed at Slim from across the round table, trying to stand up before Amora grabbed his shoulders.
"C'mon, babe. It was a mistake." Amora muttered as she sighed.
The rest of Hendrix's friends were surprisingly already seated, all laughing at the altercation unfolding in the middle of the table.
"What the fuck?!" Biggie's brow furrowed as he walked over to Slim. "What're you doing?!"
"He tried getting into my girlfriend's room!" Chase pointed at Slim.
"It was a mistake. I was getting back from the shower and I thought her room was mine." Slim gritted his teeth in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, Amora."
"It's fine-" Amora was interrupted.
"It's NOT fine! You were getting dressed!" Chase exclaimed. "He probably has that image memorized by now!"
"It's probably not that big of a deal, Chase." Akilah sighed, her eyes trained on the pages of the book in front of her.
"Yeah, he's not even attracted-" Biggie was interrupted.
"Are you saying she's not hot?!" Chase's brow furrowed. "Because she's the hottest girl in the world!"
"Chase!" Amora exclaimed.
"I like guys." Slim muttered, putting his hands over his face.
Chase went silent, mulling over his mistakes thus far.
He put one finger up and took a deep breath.
"I, for one, would like to apologize for my rash behavior." Chase said, trying to sound as delicate as possible.
The entire room burst into laughter, except for Chase and Slim, who both cringed at the entire situation.
"So loud…" Charlotte muttered, coming through the door on the other side of the table while grabbing her head.
She had a cup of coffee in her hand and sunglasses on her face.
"You are a drunk." Ratu said as she sat down in an empty seat between Amora and Akilah.
"Thanks for your input." Charlotte sighed. "Let's get started."
"What'd you need us for?" Akilah asked, shutting her book.
"I wanted to go over the plan for the next few days." Charlotte dropped onto her seat, resting her cup of coffee on the table as she opened a drawer under her.
She pulled out a rolled up piece of paper and set it on the table before laying it out.
It was a map of the States of Asia and Australia, fully decked out with island and city names.
"So, we'll stop at Komodo island first. That part should only take a day, two if we're unlucky." Charlotte drew a red circle somewhere in the pacific south of Japan, labeling it 'us' as she drew a red line from the dot to Komodo island.
"Why are we going there again?" Biggie asked, annoyed at the thought of an extra pit stop in the home of Nala's species.
"To win." Ratu stated.
"The fuck? How?" Biggie said, even more annoyed.
"Ratu, work on your communication skills, girl." Charlotte chuckled, turning to Biggie.
"Ratu's people had a Spirit weapon they passed down from generation to generation. She never got to see it, but she knows it's still on the island." Charlotte explained. "We'll go searching for it. We need everything we can get to take down those terrorists. It's a small island, so it shouldn't take long-"
"Why don't we just ask her people where it is?" Biggie's brow furrowed.
"They are dead." Ratu stated plainly.
The room fell silent as Biggie let out an awkward sigh, looking down at the table in front of him to avoid eye contact with the quiet girl across the table.
"The Correctional Forces cleared the island after the people's weapon garnered enough Spirit to show up on their radar, but they were never able to find the weapon." Charlotte broke the silence. "I found Ratu by chance, stopping on the island after seeing the commotion the night before. She was all alone, hiding from the Forces for a week with nothing but baby Nala in her arms."
Charlotte's gaze locked on the map, focusing in on Komodo island as she remembered the day.
"Enough talk." Ratu said.
"Right, after that, we'll head straight for Sydney. The compound isn't too far from the shore, so we can take our time heading there." Charlotte continued the red line from Komodo island to Sydney.
"And that takes…?" Kai said, trying his best to keep his head up despite his worsening seasickness.
"We'll get to Komodo island tomorrow night, then it should only be four more days to Sydney." Charlotte pointed to Sydney on the map.
"Four days…" Kai groaned. "Babe, hold me."
Kai reached for Akilah, who swatted away the boy's hands with her sheathed sword.
"Ew, don't throw up on me." Akilah chuckled. "Just suck it up."
"Ooh, you made her laugh!" Taro poked his brother as he laughed, while Akilah groaned.
Charlotte chuckled. "Alright, well that's all. Just be on your toes tomorrow, we'll go straight onto Komodo island when we get there."
Charlotte stood up, grabbing her cup of coffee as she headed back through the door she came out of.
The kids looked at each other, Charlotte's last warning catching them off guard.
"On your toes? Isn't the island empty?" Vida thought, remembering the story Charlotte told about Ratu.
The kids reluctantly stood up, mentally preparing for their visit to Komodo island tomorrow night.