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Having such access to the ship fulfilled the scientists’ greatest wish, and as far as Ishibashi knew, he’d never expressed that wish to Alex--the young leader had figured it out on his ohich htful
And likely, with the long future that seeive the to fill in the endless hours Now more than ever Ishibashi wished for a few more hours of calm each day, since the machinery on board the ship was too heavy for the three old men to dismantle and move into the shelter They had precious little time each day to explore and ain
On this day, Ishibashi did as he always did He shuffled to the ship as quickly as possible, with Sato and Ito right behind, and he climbed the iron ladder up the side Because the ship’s botto tilted to one side, but Ishibashi didn’t mind He was old, but he was nimble, and after the first couple of days, he found footholds and handholds all around to allow hi
As Ishibashi disappeared inside the hold, Sato and Ito climbed the ladder Sato was the slowest and weakest, so he stopped at the top and looked around the island while catching his breath
On the barren beach, a new shipwreck caught his eye It appeared to be part of a fishing boat, but the storm had ripped it to shreds Sato put a hand above his eyes to shield the weak sunlight that ood anyoods farther down the shoreline They would have to pick it up before the stor in it from the other world Sato didn’t see any people, but he didn’t expect to Most shipwrecks lost their passengers well before they reached the shore
Carefully he climbed into the ship, and for the next while the old men exa to dry out their waterlogged guts to see if they would work again If only they had ain, day after day!
Instinctively, when the sky darkened and the wind picked up, the three reluctantly climbed back out of the ship and round Sato told the others about the new shipwreck, and all three went to look it over before going back to the shelter
"Another fishing boat," Ishibashi said to the others in their language He picked up a jagged plank and tossed it aside, then pushed on the chunk of the hull that sat on the rocky ground to see how heavy it was--it ood container for plants But it was too bulky to carry with so little tio back for it tomorrow
Sato walked farther down the shoreline to the sack of goods But when he reached it, he gave a shout He knelt next to it and turned it over as the other two scientists hurried toward hi man, all curled up, covered in a paste of wet sand The waves licked at him
When the others reached him, Sato looked up, his expression deeply troubled He spoke rapidly to the others
Ishibashi reached down to feel the boy’s pulse He shook his head The young man was cold and unresponsive He was ing the boy toward the shelter Ito and Ishibashi helped, o, with Ishibashi and Sato arguing the whole way Ishibashi did not want to take the body of this dead stranger into their living quarters But Sato won out
As thunder rumbled and a sudden blanket of rain poured down on them, the scientists maneuvered themselves into the shelter and pulled the body inside the asped The rain had washed the caked sand fronizable
"Alex-san!" Ishibashi cried "No!" Wildly Ishibashi, Sato, and Ito scrambled to resuscitate their dear friend who had been so kind to the cheetah dropped hi rew ripped his hat and wrenched his clothes and begged for life to return to the leader of Arti
Finally Sato shouted to Ishibashi in a voice that sounded like a coed He nodded, and with a heart full of anguish, he ran to the greenhouse, ripped open the container of glowing blue seaweed, and took the tiniest pinch He raced back to the others and knelt down
Ishibashi looked at the glowing seaweed between his finger and thu apart What he was about to do went against everything he believed Everything Yet
"Please forgive ed the seaweed into Aaron’s u left to do, he slowly backed away Sato and Ito stopped their reviving techniques and sat back too, their worried eyes darting fron of life
Broken Souls
Three islands away, Alex joined Lani on the ice-covered lawn And as she chanted the words frorip on the island, the sharp pain in Alex’s side snapped and disappeared, and the broken half of Alex’s soul that had hovered outside hiasped In an instant, as the rest of the islanders watched a different show orchestrated by Lani, Alex could only see the one that was happening inside himself