Galaxy's Edge Magazine: Issue 3, July 2013 Read Online Free

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    “What are these islands?” Julian asked.
    “They’re the Islands of Hope, Kami’s home.”
    “Are they nearby?” Julian hadn’t heard of them before, but new islands were being discovered and added to the charts every year.
    “Hope is always near.” The captain flopped in his chair. “But it fades…like the islands. When we first set sail there were thirty. Now….”
    Julian ran his hands over the smooth paper, trying to understand the captain’s ravings. “There are only five here.”
    While Julian watched, another island faded until disappearing completely. He tossed the chart onto the floor.
    “It’s coming,” the captain said.
    “What’s com—”
    The captain held the revolver to his head and pulled the trigger.
    Julian jumped back as the body toppled out of the chair. His hands shook as he pushed the captain to his back. Half of his head decorated the wooden bed frame.
    A sudden shift in the ship sent Julian sliding across the cabin. He slammed into the far wall, dislodging a candle sconce. The captain’s body rolled toward him. Julian shoved his foot out to stop it from crashing into him.
    Even then his gaze fell upon the chart resting near his other foot. One island remained and its edges were fading.
    Shouts from the deck above charged his fear-numbed limbs. A howling wind swept down the stairs.
    Wind!
    Salt stung Julian’s eyes as he shoved against the torrent of rain and sea spray on deck. Men shouted to one another to secure lines or grappled with loose objects sliding along the teak surface. A giant wave washed up on starboard. On its way back to the sea, it took four men with it. The winds battered the ship with such a ferocity, it was as though they were pent-up animals, waiting to unleash after these three weeks.
    Julian put his weight into controlling the flapping mainsail. A gust jerked the rope from his burning hands. A piece of the rigging crashed to the deck, its pulley punching through to the floor below. Another large pulley felled Finn. Julian shielded his eyes and looked up in anticipation of more debris.
    Kami looked down at Julian from the crow’s nest. In the lightning he glimpsed Kami’s face, white and smiling…with hope.
    “Take me.” The thrashing ocean drowned Julian’s words. “Take me!”
    In the next lightning flash Kami stood beside Julian.
    “Will you wait for the builders?” Kami asked.
    “Yes,” Julian yelled. “Please.”
    Kami placed a hand upon the mast. His entire arm sunk into the wood, as did his legs and chest, until his whole body melted into the mast. Lightning speared across the sky. With a thunderous crack it struck the mast and split it down the middle. The half nearest Julian separated from the ship and toppled into the sea.
    Julian dove in after it.
     
    ***
    Sand coated the right side of Julian’s face and body. He pushed to a sitting position and vomited salt water and a green slimy bile that left a syrupy taste in his mouth. He took in his surroundings, wondering where he was and how he got there. The sand on the beach reflected a blinding sun and stretched for miles in either direction, framed by a forest.
    Then he remembered.
    The storm. The sea. The mast.
    “Kami!” Julian struggled to his feet and shouted for Kami in every direction. His gaze rested on the forest. Something looked off about it, as though it were…false. He thought he might retch again when he realized the problem. Perfect rows of tall, straight trees spaced exactly twenty feet apart. All types, from hickory to coconut to balsam fir.
    A balsam fir. Here?
    Julian staggered to the nearest pine and stroked its needles with a tentative finger. Its waxy softness sent chills through him.
    “The Island of Hope. Kami’s island.”
    Julian ran from the trees until his feet soaked in the calm sea. The effort had him heaving. What had he done, made a pact with the devil herself?
    You’re still alive. Act like you want to live.
    Julian breathed deeply and closed his