New Eden

[Sir Beowulf]

A new day. The sun was just over the horizon. A beautiful sight as the oranges and reds blended together out of existence to form the Sun we all know and love. The smell of salt filled the air as it always did. The red patterns of rust covering the sides of New Eden were prominent, showing just how old she was. To any normal person, she would look like a simple, if a little worn down, ship. Taking a more simpler look, she has a mast rising high above the deck, for engines were too unreliable with the meager fuel brought along. The sails were out in full sight as New Eden sailed away, as she had been doing for several months. The ship could easily hold about fifty people, but only passenged twenty. Twenty survivors of a deadly plague that killed millions.

The seas were calm and the slight breeze carried her in the direction she was supposed to. For most, it was a peaceful trip, only a few storms getting in their way, thankfully. Lee Edwards, a passenger aboard this fine ship sat in the Crows Nest, a favorite spot of his. He leisurely leaned against the railing, enjoying the coolness in the air, the salty smell of the ocean, and the several gulls that flew about. Lee smiled as he dreamed the day away slowly, thinking about all his past haunts. The smell of fine sawdust inside a shop. Always getting a delicious helping of ice cream at the Joe and Claire's Ice Cream shop. He also dreamed of warm, hot food, meals that filled your stomach up to the brim. Canned beans and luke warm water never really was his thing.

But, he couldn't help but notice a splotch in the distance.

What was it? He stood up, squinting his eyes to try to see it better. He shook his head and rubbed his eyes, and still, there it was. It was a long, long stretch of blurry brown and green, with some yellow added in. He couldn't even see how far it went. Was it.. no. It couldn't be.

Land.

That had to be it. The surge of emotion running through him made him gasp. He couldn't believe it, after so many months of traveling, they had finally made it! He jumped up in joy at the sight of it, shouting and waving his arms. He just couldn't believe it.

"Land!" He shouted, quickly starting to climb down the mast of the ship. "Everyone, come, come! It's land! We've made it!"

His shouting and calling had quickly gathered up this attention of the passengers, and Lee stood grinning and pointing at the tiny blur in the distance.

[jumjummju]

Larry scratched his beard as he leaned over the railing on the side of the ship. His beard was annoying, unruly, and itchy, but there wasn't much else he could do about it. He continued reminiscing, of his beautiful wife, of his loving daughter, of life in general before the plague. While one may think he was still in a state of denial or severe emotional trauma, Larry had since then moved on. Reminiscing just brought him comfort, comfort that the world might one day return to a better state of being than just 20 strangers on a boat going to wherever the wind decides to take them.

"Penny for your thoughts," said Doc Patricios, who had come up behind Larry and was now leaning on the railing next to him. "Not much, just thinking back," Larry replied. He and the Doc had become decent friends on the trip, mostly since they were both into a branch of biology, even if they were different fields all-together. "Same here," was Doc's reply. They stood together in silence for a bit, before a sudden shout from above broke them both from their respective reveries.

"Land!" Land? Larry was excited about this new thing that came up. He hadn't been on land for what felt like ages; it certainly would be a welcome reprieve from this damned ship. It didn't take long for a small crowd to gather, and the doc got lost in it before Larry could say anything more to him. Larry didn't bother moving, though. He was perfectly fine just waiting to get to the land rather than stand there staring at it for half an hour as it slowly grew closer.

Meanwhile, down below deck, Angela was trying to wake her daughter up. "Just five more minutes..." was the reply from Caroline. "I swear, you spend more time sleeping nowadays than you do awake. Now get up before you become a part of the bed!" Angela said, exasperated and sternly. Groaning, the 12-year-old rolled out of bed, only to land in a heap on the floor. Angela rolled her eyes and sighed, hefting the little girl onto her feet. Caroline stuck her tongue out at her, and they both giggled a little.

At this moment, the warning for land had come, and the duo rushed upstairs to get a glimpse of it. As there was only a crowd of about 15 people, it wasn't hard to push her way to the front and get a view of land; something that excited both Angela and Caroline, both of which were getting sick of the ocean.

[omegadetra]

Sebastien was one of the few already on deck, as well. He was worrying about how much longer they could make the rest of their food last. They had enough to last for a good amount of time, but Sebastien wasn't sure if they would find land before or after they ran out of rations. If everyone ate a little bit less than what they were used to, they would still be eating enough to be healthy and stretching out the rations for a longer period of time would be an easier task. But of course, nobody was willing to give up that luxury, so Sebastien was forced to make do regardless. Not that he would do anything about it. Starvation would almost always be a threat, and who was he to take away one of the few comforts they had left?

Fortunately, he didn't have to worry about that any more, as Lee began shouting about land. Everyone was moving to the front of the boat; Sebastien had been seated on the floor towards the rear. He looked up from where he was sitting, but did not move. If there really was land, Sebastien would see it in due time. If there wasn't, there was no point in getting up to look. In any case, Sebastien did not move and had no plans to move from his spot.

Regardless, Sebastien was excited that they might actually get off the boat. Even though he didn't show it too much.

Cameron followed Angela and Caroline up the stairs. But when the two ran off towards the rest of the crowd, Cameron looked over at Sebastien, still seated towards the rear. "Mr. Dey!" she shouted, gaining his attention. "Land!" In response, Sebastien nodded, chuckling softly to himself.

"I told you to stop calling me that, Cameron. You aren't my employee anymore," he called back. His baritone voice boomed across the ship. "You go take a look. I'm fine right where I'm seated."

"Force of habit, Mr. Dey. I'll break it eventually," she yelled as she ran off to join the others. She slowed a moment as she tried to untangle her hair; it had become a lost cause long ago, and the wind blowing into her face wasn't helping at all, either. Cameron gave up, leaving her hair a tangled mess on her head. It didn't take long for her to realize that her height - or lack thereof - was once again going to put her at a disadvantage, since all she would be able to see from the back of the crowd were the backs of everyone else. But instead of making her way through the crowd, Cameron ran to the side of the ship, leaning over the railing slightly to get a good look over the water. And there it was: land. Cameron's smile went right across her face.

[BoostPowah]

The sun bit into blissful sleep. As usual, the two woke up far earlier than the rest of the crew, washed up, ate the ol' slice of bread that was slightly moldy, and had the frequent worries of " is there enough food today? " and " are we going to die of starvation? " and went to the top deck of the boat to see if the island was closing When they saw land fast approaching, they were overjoyed and felt the mixed emotions. They knew it was going to get tougher when they reached land, but also half excited to see solid land again, and not these nausea - causing waves. Sadly, a terrible drowsiness made their party last for only a few minutes. After that, they tumbled on to the floor and were soon asleep, curled up like a baby.

As soon as Hans woke up, he heard his brother, " Bro, we are already the last to get off... " Axon's voice trailed off. Hans replied sarcastically, yet in a tone of guilt, " I know, I know. Slow and steady. Wasn't that what they thought us in that hellish officer tests for the military? " Axon just kept quiet, ignoring his brother. Sometimes, siblings can be such a pest, he thought.

As they got off the boat, they saw a crate hidden in the wilderness of the jungle. Moving cautiously towards it, Axon pried it open with a small trench knife he had acquired on board, and found a stash of guns. But, to his dismay, the gun was out of ammo. " Darn it. " He cursed in his softest tone. Still, it was a great mystery. Who came here before us? Why did they leave it here? They pondered. " Well, we should get going, Let's catch up before the others leave us. " Hans snapped. As the two brothers finally got to an agreement, they broke into a trot and moved into the heart of New Eden, which was nothing but pure unforgiving wilderness. As they had been training in the jungle a few years before that damned plague, they knew what it was like going to be there : mosquitoes biting your " naughty " bits, horrible tropical diseases, and much more.

[InkedWolf]

Orianna lay in her hammock as the waves of the ocean continued to rock the ship. She mused that for the first time in years, she was actually missing the constant chatter of her sisters. The booming noise her brothers made while they rough-housed about something stupid. Even her father's voice as he often silenced the others before grace each night.

Now she was alone, on a strange ship, with a bunch of people who were "immune".

Lucky her, out of her entire family. She was the only one who made the cut. She had met the crew, they all seemed like a good lot. All carrying their own baggage, worries, fears, especially about food. She heard a wretching sound next door as Marcy, the "artist" leaned her bony frame against the door. She didn't want to bring it up, but she had a feeling she was using something. So she'd likely be a burden; still, wasn't her place. She'd seen a lot worse growing up, and who knows why the girl was using.

What was she trying to forget?

"You allright?" Orianna looked towards the girl curiously. Marcy drew an arm across her face as she tried to wipe whatever she just threw up off her lips.

"Yea, I'm fine, thanks..." Orianna had helped the girl when they first met on the boat. She hoped maybe with time, the girl could turn around. At the very least, she'd been helpful when the boat needed repair. She was quick at finding tools and following instructions. If she was using, she was in an environment that would make her next "score" difficult at least.

The girls heard the call for land topside, Orianna quickly got to her feet as she extended an arm. "Let's see what's going on. If anyone asks, I'm saying you are seasick." Marcy looked towards her to argue, "Listen, I don't care what your reasons are. Just if you're using, don't put my ass in danger. Got it?" Marcy nodded as she took Orianna's arm, the mechanic pulled the girl to her feet as the pair went topside.

"Thank god, land!" Orianna felt something that had been in short demand for awhile, hope that maybe things were gonna get better.

[Sir Beowulf]

And there it was. Growing ever so closer, a truly wonderful sight for all those looking among the boat. Their impromptu leader, Doctor Jann Jacksons, the man who actually organized to entire thing, from supplies to the actual radio message being sent out. Jann was a cold and calculating man, the glow of intelligence evident in his bright blue eyes. He spent most of his time in his own laboratory, experimenting with cures and what not for the plague, even though the entire group was immune. Lee had asked 'im a few times about it, but was only answered with a 'just in case'.

The man walked to the front of the crowd, analyzing for a few moments, and then, smiled slightly, a thing he rarely did.

"We've made it, folks. I know you all think of this as something great, but there will be very hard challenges ahead of us." The man cleared his throat as he gave the island a last glance and turned to the crowd, moving his hands in a shushing motion so he could talk. Lee closed his mouth and paid attention. "There will be very dangerous things ahead. We know little to nothing about this land, its food, its predators, its inhabitants. We will be the fathers and mothers of a new civilization if all succeeds and we pass the first winter." Jann was right, Lee bet that the winter would probably be the hardest, the cold, the lack of animals to hunt.

"Either way, we must not give up, we've come this far and we just have to go a little further. " The mans smile grew a little bigger and he continued. "We will be landing in an hour or so, go ahead and pack your belongings, we will need to set up a camp immediately if we want to be warm and not sleep on the cold ground. There is much to do."

Lee was giddy with excitement, and as soon as Jann stopped talking, the crowd quickly began to discuss with each other, some going off to pack, others staying up and watching the land grow closer and closer. Lee grinned and leaned against the railing, smiling happily at their soon to be new home.

[jumjummju]

Land certainly was a wonderful thing. Angela could barely see it from where she was, with some people in the way, but Caroline could easily from her perch on her mother's shoulders. They happily stared at the land for a few moments, before Angela let Caroline down, much to the latter's chagrin, so the two could go down below deck and gather up their belongings. They entered their room and went straight to the suitcases they brought along; one for each. They spent the next few minutes gathering up their few belongings into the suitcases. Namely, a change of clothes for each, a tazer for Angela, which is kinda pointless on an uninhabitated island since anything big enough to be a predator won't really get stunned by one, and a small teddybear for Caroline, despite Caroline expressing plainly that she didn't want it anymore.

All the while, Larry was also in his room throwing his stuff into a suitcase. He didn't have an extra change of clothes, really. It was mostly just full of various books, as Larry enjoyed reading quite a bit. The books were everything from fiction to non-fiction, though he had read every one of them on the three-month journey over they may still be as some use to others. Unfortunately he had no really useful books, like a guide to first aid. The most useful nonfiction book he had was a guide to plants. He found it funny how even after something tragic like most of the world dying, he was still a biology teacher at heart.

Larry hiked back up to the top deck to watch as they approached land, and found his friend, the doc. They idly chatted away the time until they got to land. Angela and her daughter Caroline left their room and just sat together, waiting to reach land.

[omegadetra]

Cameron leaned over the edge for a couple more minutes before heading back to Sebastien. "You heard the Doc, I'm guessing?" she asked, sitting on the ground next to him. Even sitting down, Sebastien looked twice her size. Standing, he looked thrice that of Cameron. "We'll be landing soon. You should probably get ready." Cameron looked up at Sebastien. Since they had each lost their respective families, he had become a sort of father to her, and she his daughter. To be fair, they had always had a similar relationship while Cameron had worked for him; three years of working for the man had allowed them to develop that kind of bond with each other. Except for the part where Cameron called Sebastien "Mr. Dey" and not "Dad," of course.

"Yeah, I heard. I'm ready. Nothing to pack; I came here with you and the clothes on my back. Everything else is yours," Sebastien shrugged. That wasn't entirely true - he had a pocket knife as well as a combat knife on him, but that didn't really count for much in the way of luggage. Not that Cameron had brought much, either. She came with only what she was wearing and a physics textbook, for whatever reason. Sebastien had never understood physics, but he was sure Cameron had her reasons. "Did he say we land in an hour?"

"Yep. Gonna be the longest hour of my life, dammit," she sighed, tilting her head back dramatically. "So close yet so far, right?" Cameron turned to face the land mass once more. "You think we'll find anything there? Like people, or some sign of civilization at all?"

Another shrug from Sebastien. "Maybe. I just want to get there."