7. Shipwreck

Ran felt stinging pain on his foot. He had no idea how bad it was, but he prayed that it wouldn't break. The tough expedition team leader braced himself. Checked the condition of his teammates one by one. All of them suffered minor injuries except Cindy. She looked fit and fresh. Ran wasn't surprised at all.

Everyone saw this as a miracle. Their path was blocked by a river of lava. Chased by a grotesque dragon like creature. Saved by a tree that happened to have a nest hole in it. And most importantly, this big tree was also the one that crossed them to the beach while escaping from the pursuit of this horrid creature. This was a miracle! A scenario that only God could write!

Cindy checked Ran's legs, which looked painful. It was okay. Just a few scrapes from wood chips. Cindy cleaned the wound and then bandaged it. Even though he was limping, Ran was able to stand back up and ask Rabat and Ben to explore the beach.

Rabat and Ben started checking the area. This beach was gentle even though large rocks were scattered here and there. The sea looked peaceful after the storm. The coastline was very long. It would take all day to trace the shoreline from end to end. Meanwhile, it was getting dark.

The sun would soon set. It'd be better if they looked for food and a safe place to stay.

The two of them searched carefully. They found some large rocks extending into the sea. Some were in formation. The sloping beach became even more interesting because of the scattered coral clusters. The two of them moved into the reef to seek shelter and catch fish if possible.

Ben was the first to see. Boat! His shout startled Rabat. Rabat looked in the direction Ben was pointing. Right. It was clear that the large figure of the ship was leaning between two large rocks. No wonder it hadn't been seen before. A ship that if judged from its shape was a ship of the Middle Ages...! A large wooden ship with many masts.

The ship looked solid. It had holes here and there, but it didn't look like it was falling apart. The two men approached the ship. It seemed to be supported by two rocks, so it was quite easy to reach.

It was a battleship. There were some rusty cannon muzzles on the ship's left wall facing the mainland. Ben threw himself into the sea. The ship was quite close. After a little swim in the calm water, Ben climbed onto the reef and watched. There was something strange about the ancient ship. But what was it? Ben waved to Rabat who was waiting on the bank.

Rabat approached Ben. The two of them stood on a rock and were right in front of the hull of the ship. Oh, here it was! A medieval sailing ship with a steel propeller in the bow. Weird! Didn't the ancients move boats using oars and there was only a rudder blade in the bow. It was the most absurd ship they had ever seen.

One more thing, after so many centuries submerged in sea water, this ship should be mossy. Overgrown with coral and becoming a reef for fish. It wasn't. This ship, although torn in several places, was still as smooth as when it came out of the shipyard. Insane. It was an unbelievable discovery.

Rabat was looking for a way to enter the mysterious ship. A ladder or a hole or whatever. Found it! There was a hole that tore the stern of the ship. Rabat tapped Ben's arm to follow him. The two walked carefully. The rock was very slippery.

They crawled in to enter the ship. Once in they were taken aback. What they encountered was more shocking than the ship's propeller. The stern of this ship was filled with large tubes made of fiberglass!

Ben and Rabat were tempted to investigate further. But that would take some time and it was getting dark. They were reminded of the other team members who must be waiting for their scouting to find a place to spend the night. Ben grabbed the walkie talkie by his waist. One of the pieces of equipment that was not left behind when they were chased by the legged snake.

"Wolf 1 monitor... Fox 2 is here to report..." Ben brought the walkie talkie to his ear, afraid that Ran's response couldn't be clearly received. Ben was right. Only the rusty sound came out of the walkie talkie speaker. After trying for a while to no avail, Rabat and Ben decided to continue the investigation so when they returned, they could bring a conclusion.

Rabat and Ben were even more astonished with the contents of the shipwreck. In the wheelhouse, they found all the advanced navigation equipment. They entered the deck and checked the crew's bedrooms, they found luxurious and comfortable bedrooms. They even saw modern cooking utensils in the kitchen.

"This is a modern ship, Rab. Not an old sailing ship," Ben said with certainty. Rabat didn't answer. He was busy checking the kitchen closet to find stocks of canned food or the like. Nothing.

"We have to notify the team. This ship is perfect for tonight," Rabat finally spoke after finding what he was looking for. Several boxes of canned food were stored in the cabinet at the bottom of the kitchen set.

Ben nodded. They had to move fast. It was almost completely dark. To get to this ship they had to swim even though it wasn't far. But if the weather worsened, or the sea was high tide, then it would be challenging.

----

Ran was worried. Ben and Rabat hadn't come back yet. He couldn't possibly ask Tet to look for them. Being apart was not the best option at this point. They didn't know what danger lurking in the dark. Their equipment was left on the other side of the lava river. They didn't have flashlights with them anymore. The only thing they had was walkie talkie and his was rattling. Someone tried to contact them, but the sound wasn't clear. Might be Ben or Rabat. Who else? Ran was getting worried.

"...monitoring? this is...bah 2..." well this was a bit clearer. Ran hastily replied, "This is Wolf 1....voice is not clear...over Fox 2."

"Ran, we found a four-star hotel to spend the night. Go to the left of the beach. Keep exploring until you find large rocks on the right and left. We are at the top of the rock on the right," Ran almost shouted with joy. Rabat and Ben were still alive. In fact, they brought great news. But a four-star hotel? Ran thought they might be experiencing some hallucination from the intense pressure.

Ran asked Cindy and Tet to walk along the beach to follow Ben's instructions. No moon tonight. So Ran decided to walk exactly on the edge of the wet sand on the beach. It was the only way not to get lost without light.

Ran stared in disbelief! Cindy led the way in front of him. Two bright spots of light illuminated the path in front of Cindy. At first Ran thought that Cindy managed to save one flashlight, but she didn't. The light came out of Cindy's eyes!

Cindy didn't actually realize that light was coming out of her eyes. She only saw that the road in front of her was bright. So, she took the initiative to lead Ran and Tet who seemed to be lost in the dark. Relying only on the touch of the last breaking waves on their feet.

Tet saw the same thing. But he decided not to think about it. His brain could burst seeing all of Cindy's oddities since the bush thorn poisoning. Well, who cared anyway? The important thing was that she wasn't turning into some monster and ate them alive.

Ben and Rabat high-fived each other as two parallel lights drew closer to

them who were standing on the top of the rock. That's them! Not long after, the five of them rejoined. But Ben and Rabat, who were standing at the forefront of the cliffside, were confused now. It was pitch dark! In which direction should they swim? The ship was completely invisible.

"Let Cindy swim first. Let's just follow her from behind," Ran shouted. Ben and Rabat were completely unaware of Cindy's newly discovered capability. They still thought Cindy was wearing a headlamp.

Cindy herself was not at all aware that her eyes were glowing. She dived and began to swim towards the ship that was clearly visible to her. It was not far away. Shortly, they got to a large rock that supported the ship's body. Ben and Rabat pointed out the entrance through the hole they had found.

They wanted to guide their teammates in. But they needed light if they were to walk ahead. Rabat was about to ask Cindy to borrow her headlamp. But he stopped short when he saw up close what the headlamp was. The same thing happened to Ben. He was speechless and could only wonder. What kind of creature had Cindy turned into?

----