Chapter 14

I still held on for dear life, but my grip was beginning to slip, the extreme cold was badgering me constantly, and I could feel myself turning numb. I could feel the ocean itself start to seep into my very bones, and I was beginning to lose strength. Finally, feeling myself letting go, I opened my eyes, trying to stay awake and alert. Still, even with my eyes open, all I see is darkness, hardly being able to see the beast's skin right in front of me.

This stupid fish is undoubtedly the smartest one I've seen yet, and knowing that I can't breathe underwater, it decided to take us down below. Still, even so, I don't let go knowing that if I do, it will just eat me as soon as I do. My breath began to escape from my mouth, disappearing in little bubbles that floated away in the water, I panicked, but there was nothing I could do except hold on tightly to the oar, my only lifeline.

*Snap*

It snapped, my only lifeline. I guess it wasn't the mighty weapon I thought it was, or maybe I just wasn't strong enough to pull out its full potential. Still grasping onto the broken handle of the oar, the other half of it still lodged into the eye of the beast, I began to drift off into the cold, freezing ocean, all the air now escaping my mouth as if an unstoppable leak had sprung.

And as I sunk into the ocean's depths, I looked up into the absolute darkness to see a circle of light shimmering through the top of the sea. The light of the moon illuminated my surroundings and revealed to me the dozens upon dozens of Seakings that surrounded me, every space around me being filled by one, I felt despair set in, and hopelessness fills my being at the sight.

There was no oxygen left in my lungs, and the Seakings began to move in closer to me, blocking out my only source of light. I could see their jaws opening, revealing the sharp sets of teeth held within, which would soon be tearing me into tiny little pieces. The darkness began to seep in from the corners of my eyes, and I allowed it to do so, not wanting to be conscious when I was ripped apart by the countless beasts surrounding me.

Before the darkness entirely covered my eyes, I saw the moonlight above me ripple intensely, and all of the Seakings suddenly moved. And then I woke on the boat. Garp sat across from me, still munching on his crackers as if nothing had happened.

For a moment, I had pondered if anything had happened and If I didn't just end up falling asleep from sleep deprivation and ended up having an intensely realistic dream, but then I looked to my right, where I saw my fingers were tightly grasped around a broken piece of wood, which used to be an oar.

We didn't talk about it, and I didn't try to. Garp merely got frustrated that he had to give me his backscratcher to use as a makeshift oar, even though it was an actual oar. So after that, I put my head down and continued to row, not even stopping to sleep or scavenge for more of Garp's crumbs, and I just kept on rowing and rowing until I got to my destination. I didn't worry about starving, and I didn't worry about not getting enough sleep. all I worried about was getting to Troga as soon as possible.

A few more incidents with beasts occurred, but I never stopped my rowing for even a second. Even when my arms ached and my lungs burned, I never stopped rowing, I didn't stop to eat, I didn't stop to sleep, and I didn't stop when something tried to eat me. Because if there was one thing that was reliable about Garp, then it would be his brutish strength, I could rely on that, and I did so as I continued my travel.

While Garp may not have been reliable when it came to other things, I could always rely on the fact that he likes to be undisturbed, so even when he was sleeping, he would bash away threats. Even when a Seaking burst out of the water suddenly and rushed forward to take a chomp out of us, Garp, still sleeping, stuck his hand out and backhanded the giant sea creature away. I continued the rest of the journey like this, wanting to get it over with as soon as possible and start my proper training.

So it was only natural for me to get off of that boat and onto the land as soon as we beached because while Garp may not have had that taxing of a journey, I certainly did. Garp may be correct when he says it only took a few days to get here, but those few days were full of danger for me, and it was very traumatic. I was attacked by numerous Seakings, dragged down into the depths of the ocean and nearly drowned, and worked to the bone while being starved.

I can't be bothered to argue with the man, though. So I just get up off my knees and turn around to go back to the boat. Garp himself has now landed on the sandy beaches of Troga. He is walking off to do something or other. I don't pay attention in favour of going to the boat and grabbing the huge sack that Garp has been resting on this whole trip which is full of supplies. I just want to set up whatever we will be using to sleep, eat some food and then go to bed.

Grabbing hold of the sack, I turn around and walk back a distance on the sandy beach, not wanting to open the sack too close to the sea and risk any of the supplies being washed away by the ocean currents. I get busy trying to undo the knot that holds the bag closed, but I have some difficulty undoing it. Whoever did this knot pulled the string so tightly that I could hardly even pull at the thing. My nails couldn't seem to find enough purchase to loosen the knot.

"Oi, Brat! What the hell do you think you are doing? Put that back right now!" Garp yells from a distance, walking out of the tree line and towards me. I continue to struggle with the knot, not paying him any mind as I just want to sleep, I am finding it very hard to stay awake right now and could drop dead at any moment, but I need to set up my bed and eat something before I do.

"Relax, old man. I am just opening up the bag to get the supplies out and set up our tents or whatever you've got in here, then get some food and go to sleep. After all, I haven't slept in a few days, and I haven't eaten either, you know- Ah, finally opened the damn thing." So I say when I finally loosen the knot, and then I grab the top of the bag and pull on it to open the sack wide. I am too tired to look through the thing, so I just grab the pack from the bottom and then pour everything out onto the sand.

"AH, YOU DUMB IDIOT!! MY SNACKS, YOU'RE GETTING SAND ON MY CRACKERS!!!" Garp shouts as the contents of the bag are thrown all over the beach, a literal waterfall of crackers having poured out onto the sand, with nothing else coming out of the bag. I let go of the sack, letting it blow away with the wind, shocked that there was nothing else inside. This colossal sack that I thought held a bunch of supplies actually only had a literal mountain of crackers inside and nothing else.

Garp emerges from nowhere, holding the sack that I just let go of and dropping to his knees. He begins to shovel packet after packet of crackers back into the bag like a man possessed, cursing me all the while for dumping his precious crackers on the ground. I don't care. I turn around and walk a distance away from him before sitting down on the sandy beach. I then flop backwards and rest my back on it.

We have just come to a tropical island out in the middle of nowhere that looks to be completely deserted, with no sign of civilisation on the island at all. We have no supplies to speak of, and we have nowhere to rest. Furthermore, there are undoubtedly a number of dangerous animals on this island, not to mention the fact that the surrounding seas are full of gigantic Seakings.

We are going to die. Wait that is not correct. I am going to die. Garp will be just fine, but I will not. My stomach rumbles as I lay on the coarse sand staring up at the bright blue sky without a cloud to be seen, the evening sun glaring down at me.

My hunger is painful, but the slumber's call is much more enticing. It is vastly more potent than my hunger. So I- I am going to sleep.

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My stomach dangerously gurgling is what brings me back to Earth. Is this Earth? I don't care anymore. All I know is that my hunger has brought me out of deep sleep, and I need to eat something. But when I open my eyes, I am not treated to the same sight I saw before I slept. Instead of the bright blue sky, I expected to greet me, I saw a canopy of green trees and foliage covering my vision.

Sitting up, I look around to find myself in a clearing in the middle of a forest, surrounded by trees on all sides, with no clue where I am. Even when I look up, I find it hard to spot the sky through the absolute litany of trees that occupy my surrounding space. I panic, not knowing how I arrived here and knowing I did not fall asleep here, which means that someone must have moved me while I slept, and the only other person on this island, as far as I know, is Garp.

Putting my hands on the ground, I push myself to stand up, and as I do so, I catch a glimpse of a boulder behind me. Now on my feet, I turn around and walk over to the boulder, upon which is inscribed a message. It seems to have been carved into it with some sort of circular tool, something in the shape of a finger. Disregarding that fact, I look towards the message within the rock, which hopefully holds the reason I am out here in the middle of nowhere.

[Brat.

The training begins now.

Find your way back to the beach.

Hurry, or this book of yours goes into the ocean. Garp]

Goddamit, that book cost me quite a bit, and this bloody oaf is just going to chuck it into the sea. Not to mention the fact that he has stranded me in the middle of this stupid island while I am still tired and suffering from starvation, with no clue as to where the hell I am.

Which way is the goddamned beach?