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 Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2016 9:02 pm
🦈 Journal ~ The Letter
🦈 Journal ~ Soul Capture Pt.1
🦈 Journal ~ Soul Capture Pt.2
🦈 Journal ~ Soul Capture Pt.3
🦈 Journal ~ Reflection
🦈 Meeting ~ High School Reunion
🦈 Journal ~ Lorem Ipsum
🦈 Journal ~ Lorem Ipsum
🦈 Meeting ~ Lorem Ipsum
🦈 Meeting ~ Lorem Ipsum
🦈 Event ~ Lorem Ipsum
🦈 Journal ~ Lorem Ipsum
🦈 Journal ~ Lorem Ipsum
🦈 Meeting ~ Lorem Ipsum
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Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2017 4:16 pm
Ellie took a moment before further examining the package to take off her coat and scarf and hang it at the hook by the front door. During this time she also readied the kettle on her stove and grabbed a knife to slice open the tape on the box. She looked over the box, carefully turning it every which way until it was front side up and the sender in the corner became visible. “Lab 305”. Immediately she was filled with excitement. This had been a huge project she had spent a long time thinking over before signing up and the time she spent waiting had went by way quicker than expected. With one fluid motion she sliced open the box and set the knife on the counter behind her to make sure it wasn’t going to be in the way. Honestly Ellie wasn’t sure how the contents would even be packaged. She smiled with relief at seeing the briefcase. It was much safer inside another box then packaged separately with bubble wrap and peanuts.
The briefcase was carefully removed from the box and set to the side while she checked the empty cardboard for any remaining important documents or papers. Once she was finished with that she looked over the briefcase. She made a note of the metal exterior before opening it and looking over the inner contents. The eyed the bottles for a moment before turning her gaze towards the papers. There is always paperwork of some kind. At least in this situation it was more understandable then requiring a million signatures for a chunk of scrap metal. She took the stack and looked them over before setting then aside for the moment in lieu of the note. After reading it over she takes a moment to flip through the papers, making notes of all the important things mentioned in the letter.
After setting it aside Ellie turned her attention towards the two bottles snuggled down into the dark foam. One was obviously empty but the other one looked very curious so she gently picked it up first. It was the essence bottle and when she held it up she could hear it. Howling wind. It was strange and she struggled to wrap her head around the idea of a concept in a bottle but tried to dismiss it. It was something she could ask about later she figured. After carefully pressing it back into the foam nest she picked up the next bottle. It was the empty soul bottle and she ran her finger and thumb on the cloth making note of the colors. What would she be able to soul capture that is just grey and or white? Cats immediately came to mind but never would she want the trouble of a cat knocking things over in her home. Maybe she could get some help on ideas for this? When in doubt Ellie always turned to her large family as they were bustling with knowledge and ideas. After carefully placing the soul bottle back into its place in the foam and carefully closing it she grabbed her phone and found a seat at the counter. With a large smile on her face she dialed her family and slid the paperwork over to herself to start going over the intricacies.
Greetings, Ellie!
Let me be the first to congratulate you on becoming a Guardian! My name is Zeke, and I am one of the staff members here at Lab 305. Out of numerous applications to our program, we felt that you were best fitted to become the newest addition to our family! So welcome and congratulations!
In this briefcase you will find your Soul Glass, Fel Essence, and a couple of documents - one of which needs your signature and must be returned to the Lab with your Glass and Essence upon your capture of a soul. The other is a list of contact information of every Guardian and Raevan pairing in the Lab. I've taken the liberty of highlighting the names of staff for you, but you will find us at the top of the first sheet!
I know this must be rather surprising for you, so before I go any further let me just state that if you have any questions at any time, please feel free to call, text, or email me and I will be more than happy to provide answers or guidance in general. That being said, let's get on with the show!
As I wrote above, you will find your Soul Glass and Fel Essence inside the briefcase. You are the Guardian to the Howling Wind Essence, which has already been written down on the legal documents you will have to date and sign. Your Soul Glass is that big glass and metal contraption to the left of your Essence Jar, and will be the thing you need to use in order to help us make your future Raevan. Please take note of the cloth between the metal and glass parts as it is important. Souls have colors and the cloth acts as a limiter and something of a fail-safe so that the bottle will not suck up just anything around it. As yours is grey and white, it will only activate around things (be they animal, plant, mineral, metal, etc) that fit one or both of those colors.
When you capture a soul, the glass bulb will appear to have a smoke-like gas inside of it. When this happens simply return the filled Glass, the Essence, your signed documents, and the case to the Lab. There is a business card tucked in alongside this note for our carrier service. Contact them when you are ready to return your items and they will pick them up from your home. As soon as we get them back we will begin the process of making them into your Raevan!
Whew! I hope I covered everything well enough in this note as far as what you need to do now that you are a Guardian! If not, and as before, please do not hesitate to get in contact with me. My phone is always on and I'm always happy to talk with members of the Lab family!
Hope to hear from you soon and congratulations again!
Sincerely,
Zeke Farris
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Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2018 3:50 pm
After a few moments the plane landed and she excited to the runway, adjusting her hat to block out the bright, warm sun. She let herself take a deep breath and look around the island, enjoying the gentle breeze and the sway of the green palms in the distance. It was only interrupted by the sound of a voice she hadn’t heard in person in years.
“ELLIE!”
She wasn’t able to turn in time before she was embraced in a hug by one of her cousins, then another, then another. Soon she was swallowed by a whole group of relatives. They laughed and escorted her towards the exit, gathering her bags for her. They brought her to her grandmother and they quickly embraced and shared forehead kisses. Ellie awkwardly faced the young man next to her and gave a nervous smile and wave.
“Eh-h-hello??”
Her grandmother returned the awkward greeting with a laugh and gave her a light slap on the back before shaking her head. She motioned him over and shook her head.
“No dear. He’s not a relative you forgot about. He’s a local fisherman who has something you might be interested in.”
The tall man smiled feebly at the old woman before turning his attention to Ellie who had relaxed and was waiting for his explanation. He removed his hat and extended a hand for her to shake, waiting until she did so to continue his explanation.
“M’am. My name is Mason and I’m a local fisherman to the waters and I also carry a concern for the local fauna. You see there is a shark here you might have heard of. Jinbei. He’s been terrorizing these waters for far too long. He’s been caught capsizing boats, tearing down nets, eating excessive amounts of fish from the waters. He’s a tiger shark and he’s been in these waters for as long as my nan can remember. We’re hesitant to kill him because it still doesn’t seem right but...something needs to be done. He’s past him time and a damn nuisance at that! I hope Ellie you can see why I’ve come to you with this.”
Ellie smiled and nodded through the whole explanation, doing her best to reassure the man she was listening and taking all his worries into consideration. She flashed a look at her grandmother. She honestly didn’t expect her to run off and tell the whole town of her plan but what was done was done and if she could help the situation so it shall be.
“Well. I think we can definitely do something about this. If you have the time you should come to our family’s home and we can discuss what we need to do about this. I’m sure you might have some kind of plan but I’m dying to get home and sit down.”
As soon as they made their way up to the top of the hill they were hit with a pleasant sea breeze. It complimented the comfortably warm tropical island, giving a bit of a coolness to the sun baked land. From this point almost the whole island seemed visible. Bright tropical flowers growing from delightfully green bushes lining a dirt path that lead down into the respectably sized village. Palm trees were everywhere and most noticeably the crystal blue ocean sparkled in the distance. They made their way down the dirt path and through the village towards a house on the outer edge near the water. It was an old wooden building a bit damaged probably from a good combination of salt water and age. This building in particular though was relatively large and two storied, the rear porch sticking out over the edge of the sand.
"It's exactly how I remember it." Ellie remarked as she approached the old family home.
She followed everyone else in company up to the door and entered the old house. Inside it was a bit of an over decorated mess. Plenty of sitting space that was for sure. There was also a good deal of decorated rugs and crocheted things ranging from animals to blankets. They could be seen sitting on bookshelves and hanging from the walls. She welcomed Mason into the house and offered him a seat at the table to begin discussing plans.
"So you have a boat?"
"I do and can have it ready with a crew in a few hours."
"I don't see any reason to wait. Do you have any way to...keep a shark in one place for a bit? A tank or something?"
"There isn't really anything like that on the island but maybe if we get a couple strong nets?"
"That could work! Gather them up and I'll met you by the pier in 3 hours."
Ellie spent the next few hours visiting with her family and enjoying the warm weather on the porch. It was slowly interrupted by a disturbance on the horizon. A small storm was brewing.
“Are you sure about this Ellie? There is a storm coming in.”
Ellie turned towards the voice to see one of her uncles. She smiled and nodded, pressing her hair back out her face as the wind whipped it about. Turning back she eyed the growing darkness on the horizon line. There hadn’t been any sights of lightning yet but everyone knew it was just a matter of when the storm would finally build enough to start striking. Given the strength of the storm and the distance it assured her there would be plenty of time. It would be a quick mission anyways and the water wasn’t too rocky yet.
“I’m sure it’ll be fine. It looks bad but it’s not here yet. Give it another two hours. As long as the boat is already ready we’ll be out to sea and back in no more than an hour I’m sure. Plus we don’t have to leave the bay so it’s not even far.”
He flashed her a look of worry but she reassured him with a quick hug before waving him off.
“I best be going though! Don’t worry too much. We’ll be fine!”
Ellie approached the inside of the house and announced her exit, receiving a chorus of ‘good lucks’, ‘be safe’ and one ‘don’t die’ before she took off. She took the back exit from the house, back on the porch and down a set of stairs that lead to a dirt path towards the docks. She ran down the path until she could see the docks in the distance. Luckily enough she could see the boat already prepared and Mason and a few others crowded around and on the boat. As she approached everyone leapt on and as soon as she joined them they pushed off into the water.
“We’re in a hurry. No time to lose with that storm coming in.”
She leaned over to the side of the boat, eyes skimming the water for any sign of what would be a large tiger shark. The water although vicious was still the same clear blue and everything below seemed strangely calm though the lack of wildlife was notable enough.
“Don’t worry too much about finding Jinbei. We brought a barrel of chum so it won’t take anytime at all for it to attract him once we get out there.”
A few more moments passed before said chum was tipped over and splashed down into the water and the boat came to a slow stop. Everyone crowded to the edges of the boat, waiting in anticipation at his arrival. It seemed to get eerily silent as the boat was tossed back and forth on the water, water lapping at the sides of the boat as it shook. Ellie just about jumped out of her skin as the first rumble of thunder crashed through the sky, stretching itself back towards the island.
“Any other time and he would be here by now. He probably is aware we’re conspiring against him.”
“He’s not an old god he’s just a shark. He’s probably just frightened by the storm.”
“I’ve seen Jinbei do worse during a storm than you’d think.”
Another few minutes passed before there was a thud and everyone shifted forwards to catch themselves. Jinbei was making himself known know. He had obviously taken an interest in the bait but was sure to terrorize between bites as he swam by. Ellie peeked over the boat to catch a glimpse of him. Even through the waves she could see his scars. Bright pink enough against his striped skin.
“Ready?”
Ellie looked to see they had prepared a net and were readying it at the right moment. She nodded and quickly shuffled through what she had brought until she pulled out her bottle. She went to the other side of the boat and prepared the harpoon as they had discussed. No big deal right? Just harpoon him and then the soul capture will be easy. Easy. Easy. This is messed up as hell. She looked to the weapon in her hand and sighed. It’s the only way. The island didn’t really have anything they would need to house him for a slow capture and--
With a hard thud she slipped forwards, falling halfways off the boat and both the harpoon and bottle were sent flying into the water. Ellie screamed and reached for the bottle as it sunk down below the waves.
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Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2018 5:09 pm
Ellie stared in disbelief as it left her sight, totally out of tune with all the commotion and shouting around her.
“He bumped the boat!”
“The net! He ripped right through the net!”
“She dropped it!?”
Her world came back to her in a rush as one of the fisherman grabbed her shoulders and gently shook her to attention. She looked up at him in a daze as she was dizzy from the sudden rush. He asked her what to do and all she could do was shrug. What a major screw up. All because she had to play a quick game of morals. She was out here to kill the shark as it was. It’s not really important the logistics of how it happens. Right? No, no it totally was messed up. They needed a totally different kind of plan. Maybe this was just a divine chance to rethink their plans.
She continued to sit for a while as the company on the boat talked amongst themselves what the best course of action would be. They could continue to hunt for Jinbei but with the increasing intensity of the weather they expressed worry on hauling him back to shore. After coming to a conclusion Mason approached Ellie, leaning down to her level.
“Hey, We’re going to head back to shore and we’ll try again soon.”
Though obviously disheartened at the situation Ellie was well aware that there was nothing she could currently do at the time. With a heavy sigh she got back to her feet and prepared as the crew readied the boat, turning it back towards the shore and making for record time in an attempt to race the incoming storm.
As they reached shore and stopped the boat on the pier the lightning and thunder were just reaching an uncomfortable distance. Rain was start to sprinkle so she quickly gathered her things and helped them to dock the boat before profusely thanking them and retreating back up the hill to her family’s home.
As soon as she burst through the door she was met with the attention of everyone in the house to which she awkwardly smiled and shook her head.
“It just didn’t work. He bumped the boat and I dropped it. It’s okay though because I’ll get together with the fishermen and work something out. There is probably a couple other ways we can go about helping the island and bringing Jinbei in.”
She was still visibly upset but smiled nonetheless as she moved over to the table and sat next to her family. She leaned into it, resting her head in her hands as she looked from person to person. They were always bustling with so much energy and were probably working hard to cheer her up with questions.
“How big was Jinbei!”The first question came from a younger of the cousins, a small girl in a pink dress.
“He was by far the biggest shark I’ve ever seen.”She grinned
There seemed to be no end of questions from the adults and children alike. They asked about the shark, about the water, about the crew. There was no end to the creativity among some of them. The night dragged on however and Ellie felt the call of sleep approaching quickly from her exhausting day so she held up her hands and called it quits. She was met with groans from the few children that hadn’t started to doze themselves yet. She could only respond with light laughter as she dismissed herself.
She finally pushed herself off the table and to her feet, waving at the remaining members of her family as they all wished each other goodnights. She trudged into the guest bedroom and discarded her backpack to the side of the bed before falling into it with a thud. She stretched and looked towards the window where the storm from earlier was building up onto the island. The pounding of the rain was loud on the roof but it didn’t keep her from quickly falling asleep.
The events of the day and the incoming stress of the next seemed to haunt her dreams. Ellie woke quickly in the morning, daylight just starting to take over the land and she yawned loudly before sitting up. She sat for a moment. Should she even try to get back to sleep for another hour? After debating she shook her head and took to her feet and started to prepare for the day ahead.
Once she was well dressed she started out of the room and found the rest of the house empty. It made enough sense with the younger children being in school still and the older ones in the family having chores or jobs to be done. She peeked out of the house and down the hill, wondering if it might already be time to reconvene for the next set of plans. There was definitely motion along the water’s edge but it was to be expected from anyone being a fishing village. There was only one way to find out and after finding her shoes and throwing her backpack over her shoulder she was out the front door.
Ellie rushed down the hill to the beach, coming to a slow stop as she walked along the sand towards the docked boat from the night prior. She tilted her head curiously as she walked up. She didn’t recognize the man on the boat until he turned and looked at her.
“Oh! Hey! Your name was Thomas, right?”
He smiled brightly and moved down off the boat to shake her hand as she approached, nodding in agreement.
“Sure is. You’re here about Jinbei again today? Everyone else is up at the shack.” After pointing up towards a small white building that was clearly dressed up as a seafood restaurant he gave her a pat on the back.
“I was just about to head up there. I was just checking on our ship here to make sure she made it through the storm without any issue."
“Yeah I think I’ll go ahead and head up there. Thanks for the help.”
Ellie turned and headed up the hill, trudging up the worn down path of sand and sparse grass. Once she reached the top she looked the building over a bit closer. It was old and wooden like many of the others in the town but this one had a coat of white paint. It looked rather nice despite the salt from the ocean constantly working towards chipping it off. She peeked into the lattice wall porch to check for her company before walking into the restaurant. She made note of the cool air coming from the ceiling fans in the tiny establishment as her eyes scanned over the small crowd inside.
Her company was actually the first to see her in the room, waving her over and welcoming her as she sat her bag on the floor and took a seat next to them. She tucked her hair behind her ear and listened to the men ramble for a bit about this and that. After a bit she cleared her throat and lifted her hand to catch their attention.
“Has anyone had any thoughts about Jinbei?”
Silence fell among the group as they thought. Eventually one of the men towards the back of the table spoke up, stroking his beard as he did so.
“Well I was thinkin’ we could just go about harpoonin’ him like we were considerin’ before.”
Ellie remained silent for a moment, tapping her chin before giving him a worried smile.“I was actually thinking we could also look for the bottle before we try attracting him back around?”
“How are you going to go about lookin’ for the bottle though?” He spoke up again in response before another older man spoke up. “I think ole’ Marshall has some kinda dive stuff.” He turned to look at Ellie as she seemed to light up, placing her hands on the top of the table before pushing herself up. She looked over the crowd and grinned.
“And where should I go?”
“Just head up the hill and take a left to the yellow brick building, he should be home at this time of day.”
With that Ellie nodded and picked up her bag, wishing them all well before turning and making her way out of the quaint building. She looked around the area before turning to look up the hill where she had been directed earlier. After pulling her sunglasses off the top of her head and placing them back in front of her eyes she began to make her way up the slope. It was easy enough to spot the house as soon as she got to the higher road as it stood tall and proud amongst much more natural colored houses. She wasted no time and rushing over and knocking on the door, backing up and waiting at the door for an answer.
It didn’t take long before a young man with his hair piled up on top of his head answered the door, smiling as he gave a curious look to Ellie. He looked her over for a moment before tilting his head and speaking.
“Can I help you, young miss?”
Ellie stood up straight as soon as she heard her voice, nodding quickly in response before she started to speak.
“Yes! My name is Ellie! I’m here on a little trip and lost something of dear importance in the sea. It’s very important I recover it and I was told to come here and get someone named...Marshall? Would they be home by any chance?”
The stranger remained quiet as they listened to Ellie’s story, at the end giving a bit of a defeated look before crossing his arms and shaking his head with a smile.
“My name is Marshall. I have a set of diving equipment you can use if you aren’t too far from shore.” He took a step out to glance at the ocean before turning his gaze back towards Ellie. “I can go out with you, I guess. I would lend it to you, but it’s a bit tricky for someone with no diving experience.”
“Oh! Are you sure that’s going to be okay? I would hate to be a burden on you if you had other plans.” Ellie’s eyes displayed a bit of worry but it was waved off with a smile from Marshall.
“I would be delighted to actually. The sun and sea seem nice and calm and it would do me some good for that fresh air.”
“Well! I do dearly appreciate it! We’re going to try and head out of dock in about an hour if that suits you?”
“I might be able to work with that.” Marshall added a wink, pausing before continuing.“I’ll get everything ready for you and meet you down there in an hour then.” He smiled as Ellie thanked him profusely for his assistance.
Once she was sure she had properly showed her appreciation she turned with a wave and left back out towards the small street in front of the house. She took a deep breath of confidence and looked towards the sea. She was gonna tackle this, get that bottle back and finish this mission with shining success. Though, in the meantime she had some time to kill.
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Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2018 4:21 pm
Ellie wandered down the road towards her family’s house on the hill, admiring the sea as she questioned if anyone would be home at this hour. It didn’t take long for her to find herself at the front step, carefully she pushed open the door and took a peek inside the house. Alone in the house she found her great aunt sitting at the table. Her eyes were fixated on the tv but she didn’t hesitate to greet Ellie by name as she shuffled into the cozy home.
“I want to say I’m surprised you know it’s me.”The younger of the two chuckled as she joined her at the table.
Her aunt turned to meet eyes with her and smiled.“You’re the only one who wouldn’t just throw the door open and barge in.”They both shared a short laugh before she spoke once more.“Did you finally get your situation figured out then?”
“I think so! I’m to meet the fisherman down at the docks as well as someone named Marshall who is to help us try and dive for the bottle.”
“I see, Marshall is such a dear. I’m glad you’re able to get your situation taken care of quickly.”
They enjoyed the rest of their tea and carried on conversation until Ellie realized time was beginning to catch up to her. She could feel the excitement as she brought herself to her feet and leaned over to place a kiss on her aunt’s head.
“Thank you for the tea!”She chirped as she turned with a wave to leave.
Once the ship was well out to see Ellie found herself at peek interest at gazing over the waves. At first the water had seemed still and clear, no reflection in its pristine form but the further from shore they got the more choppy it had become. At the point of their stop the water had lost any clearance and she turned to look towards their company. Marshall was already beginning to prepare the equipment, turning to match Ellie’s worried smile with a much more confident one of their own.
“I’m used to the sea. This isn’t even bad, dear.”
And with that they made their way towards the edge of the boat, holding their helm in one hand as their own eyes traced the sea floor.
“I’ll go down and take a look, wander out a bit incase it’s been carried and then bring it back to you.”
“It seems a bit dangerous, but who am I to do anything but take your word for it?”Ellie’s eyes looked over the worn equipment in their hands and managed to fit in a quick well wish before Marshall was over the edge and in the water.
Ellie took to the edge and watched with a bit of curiosity as the figure sunk below the waves and began to move out amongst the gorgeous reefs and colorful fish. There was almost no tell of damage from the wicked storm before aside from the occasional small bits of broken reef. The mismatch of colors under the water captivated her and easily took away the time as she admired them.
After what seemed like ages the familiar figure resurfaced on the side of the boat, effectively scaring Ellie from her dazed stupor. She quickly rose to her feet and rushed over to Marshall, helping pull them the rest of the way onto the small boat. Once they removed their helmet Ellie took a knee next to them, allowing them to get plenty of fresh air as she waited to see if the search was successful.
“Nothing, it’s not out there or the storm stirred it up and buried it deep.”
“Well, perhaps it’s true that he did eat it then, huh?”Came a voice behind them.
The young lady turned her head and the sight of an old iron bucket hit her before the absolute putrid smell had a chance.
“We’ll throw this in the water. Leftovers from the day’s catch. Well, today and yesterday’s.”The hearty laugh was almost disarming as the bucket was shoved into her hands. Her eyes glanced to see two more like it which were taken by the sailors.“Throw it overboard, dear. Mix it up in the sea real good and Jinbei won’t be able to resist.”
Ellie’s face scrunched in response to the smell to keep from gagging and turned, rushing to the edge of the ship so she could quickly toss the bucketload into the water. Her discontented face didn’t cease as she filled the bucket with water and emptied it back. Might as well get all the...juice? The thought almost made her gag.
“Now we just wait for him to come to us.”
As she turned back she found a harpoon offered in her direction. She took the spear gingerly and squeezed it a bit in her hands, feeling the weight as she thought over the last time she had one in her hands. She had failed to spear the shark and it resulted in a lot of trouble for a lot of people. Not the best timing for second thoughts perhaps.
She would nod her head and turned her attention back to the choppy water, eyes scanning through the mess they had placed as little fish began to show to take part in the free food. With the size of Jinbei there would be absolutely no missing him.
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Posted: Tue Jul 03, 2018 2:42 pm
Minutes seemed to quickly stretch into hours and the smaller sharks from the area showed their faces before disappearing again. The buffet was eaten up in no time and yet the star of the show rejected it. Ellie couldn’t help to be concerned not only for the situation herself but for the reaction of the sailors with her. They seemed almost as equally confused as she was and the closer the sun threatened the set the more rowdy they became. She took it upon herself to approach them, clearing her throat before speaking.
“It seems like his interest is a bit waning today.” Ellie laughed a bit to attempt to lighten the mood but was met with silence and light smiles. Though they had been getting some fishing done it seemed overall disappointment still was very prominent.
“Well it seems the day is done. Maybe he moved to the other side of the island. We can try again in a couple days.”
The crew began to head back towards shore and Ellie felt herself deflate. It wasn't very encouraging to have to wait even longer. Not knowing the whereabouts of the bottle itself was concerning and the thought of having to send a message to the lab seeped back into her mind again, causing a shudder.
Ellie moved back an found a home for the harpoon safely on the floor of the ship between her feet as she sat down on the worn seats. She let out the sigh she didn’t know she was holding in as she felt herself sink down against the bench. Her eyes were closed for a minute as she worked over all the thoughts in her mind, only opening them again when she felt the seat next to her move. Marshall was there and giving her a warm smile before patting her on the back.
“Don’t worry too much about it dear, there is always another day. It’ll give you some time to enjoy the island,yeah?”
“You’re right. I just hate to waste people’s time over this.”
“I wouldn’t worry too much about that. People are willing since Jinbei is a hassle for the whole island.”
After a brief conversation they once again found themselves at the docks. Ellie helped unload what there was and after once again profusely thanking the sailors she announced her retire for the night.
She made her way back up the hill towards the house and offered a defeated shake of her head at her curious family who peeked up at her entry. She decided to follow Marshall’s advice and take some time to enjoy the island and her family. Laughing and visiting with them until she couldn’t fight sleep any longer.
At some point during the night she must have drifted because she was jolted awake by the sounds of shouting and thuds in the next room followed by pounding on the bedroom door. Ellie immediately ripped herself out of bed and opened the door to see one of her young cousins at the door, out of breath and pointing towards the beach.
Without even waiting for a response she grabbed her hand and began to lead Ellie out of the empty house and down the hill. As soon as they began down the path she noticed the large group of people on the beach and sure enough a large shark laying lifeless on the sand. Immediately she took off down the hill, skipping the path and sliding down the dirt and onto the beach.
As she approached, people moved out of the way and she hovered over the corpse. She could see clearly now the overgrown shark that had an obviously tough life. Layered over his dark grey stripes were healed over pink scars stretching from the tip of his nose down across his tail. Otherwise there was no signs of fresh death.
Relatively speaking he seemed rather calm. No fresh injuries were visible. No blood. He was far gone by the glazed over eyes and suddenly a strange thought came into her mind and she became immediately frantic.
“A knife! I need a big knife!”
She looked around at the crowd, taking the first hunting knife offered to her. She got down onto her knees and ran her hand over the belly of the shark.
Ellie wasn’t the most experienced on shark anatomy but she knew enough to find a bloated belly. She turned to get a nod of approval from someone before turning back and carefully diving the knife down into the skin. It took more effort than she expected but after steadying herself the pulled the knife back and down towards his nail, successfully splitting him open.
Immediately his heavy guts poured out and onto her lap. She pulled back for a moment before rolling up her sleeves and plunging her hands into his sliced stomach. It was still slightly warm and it mushed around in her hands as she searched causing her to grit her teeth.
After a few minutes and absolute quiet amongst the gathered crowd her heart began to race as her fingertips brushed something hard and absolutely inorganic. She dug in deeper, pressing herself against its body as she confirmed it to be the bottle by the perfectly round and smoothed shape.
Ellie’s heartbeat quickened as she grabbed it and yanked it out, holding it in the air to proclaim her victory. Her eyes lit up as she admired the swirling within the bottle, showing off that it was true that Jinbei had been captured in the bottle.
She wiped the glass clean as she cradled it gently in her hands. It seemed strangely so much more delicate now that she knew it held the soul of the dead beast in front of her. She was interrupted by the occasional clap and cheer. Mostly from her own family but she stood up and gave them a smile.
“We got him. Thank you so much everyone.”
“Not only that. Think of how much food this will be for everyone.”
The voice came from one of the fishermen from on the ship earlier and she nodded and looked back to the large shark as everyone moved in to relocate and begin the butchering process of the animal. All in all a good deed was done. Even if it hadn’t happened the way she had originally intended. The trip back to the house was made exciting by the exciting tale of how she dropped the bottle now that she was no longer upset by it. The evening was spent enjoying it with her family before she prepared for the leave on the next day.
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