21The first thing Emmet felt waking up was a splitting headache and a wave of nausea. He opened his eyes and tried massage his head but after a few seconds he realized that half his fingers were metal. He jumped to his feet surprised and looked down at his left hand. Everything that had happened came flooding back and he instantly remembered what had led to him ending up in this…hut. Looking around he saw the circular walls were made of a white mud, cracked in some places and dripping in others. The ceiling was circular too and made of some kind of straw. The door and windows were just holes in the wall, and they were small. Emmet was average in height, but the door barely reached up to his chest. Looking down at it he felt a nice breeze come through, and then he was instantly aware of something. His clothes were gone.
He quickly realized he wasn't naked but looking around quickly he saw that what he had been wearing was tucked away in the corner. What he was wearing now was straight out of a Tarzan movie. He had a shirt and…what looked like a kilt wrapped around his body. Both were made out of leaves and looking at where he was sore the most he saw he also had vines wrapped in some places like medical gauze. He wanted to get changed but when he picked through his wet dirty clothes he found that they were torn up and near unwearable. His flight through the ocean had messed up his wardrobe pretty badly. But that brought out more questions when he realized where he was standing. Where was he, and who had helped him?
Just then there was a crunch behind him. Whipping his head around he turned only to see nothing. He was confused until he felt a tug on his kilt. Looking down nearly caused his eyes to pop out of his head. "What." It was…a watermelon boy. It was a watermelon, in the shape of a boy, about waist high, staring blankly at him with its watermelon seed eyes. It had a zig zag mouth and stubby limbs. Its hands were like mittens with no fingers but it had thumbs. It was colored like a regular watermelon, and when it opened its ragged mouth he could see that it was pink inside too, and absolutely full of seeds. For some reason its head looked bumpy and malformed, like the watermelon had some kind of weird perm.
"What, what are you?"
It seemed to 'speak' in a jumbled series of grunts and mumbles. It went on excitedly and grabbed his flesh hand, before he could protest he was dragged outside into the blinding sun. It took a few seconds for his eyes to adjust but when he could see his jaw nearly dropped. In front of him was an entire village of watermelon people. They came in all sizes, but they all had the same identical shape. He jumped as something barked nearby and he looked to see a watermelon person playing with a watermelon…dog. While another watermelon person was busy dealing with watermelon chickens. As the watermelon boy dragged him forward he realized that the only way to deal with this was to just sort of roll with it. He had a robot arm and was surrounded by sentient watermelons. But they seemed to have helped him out so he figured it would be fine to repay them by not freaking out.
As he was pulled forward he got plenty of curious looks from the villagers. The little watermelon boy didn't notice though, and he didn't stop 'talking' until they reached what looked like the village center. There an older looking melon person was in front of a bunch of younger looking ones leading what looked like some kind of prayer in front of a stone watermelon person statue. They closed their eyes and raised their arms palm up to the sky for a few moments. Looking to his side Emmet noticed that his guide was doing the same. After a few seconds they stopped and simultaneously all turned to him. The sheer number of eyes on him caused a blush and Emmet rubbed the back of his neck shyly.
"Uh, hey everybody," he cringed at the way his voice cracked. "Um, thank you, for you know…helping me out."
Suddenly they all started smiling and speaking animatedly. He felt a pat below and saw his guide give him a wink and a thumb up. Soon they were joined by the whole village. Everyone was talking excitedly before being hushed by the elder melon. He spoke a few words and everyone nodded before opening a path towards the outside of the village. Emmet's guide walked forward before stopping and gesturing for him to follow. Without anything better to do he did. Together they ventured out of the village into the surrounding jungle. Weirdness aside, Emmet had to admit it was a beautiful place. The trees were lush, the grass was soft and the caves they passed were filled with hat looked like geodes causing them to glow beautifully. Eventually they reached the beach and if he hadn't had just come from a village of watermelon people he'd say what he saw there would have been a crazy sight. It was his raft, sitting there at the edge of the surf.
Granted, it had seen better days and would start sinking instantly the moment it touched the water, but it made Emmet feel lighter just by seeing it. Also a little proud, considering all that had happened it was a miracle of construction that it was still this well intact. Walking up to it he ran his fingers along the sides before sighing. It would take forever to fix the thing.
Some grunts and mumbles brought his attention to his guide who stood beside him looking at the boat thoughtfully.
"It's all sorts of busted up," Emmet said sadly. He didn't even know if the watermelon person could understand him but it felt good to talk. He hadn't spoken to another living…person in months. "It might take months to get it sea worthy again."
His guide looked at him confused before gesturing to the island and giving him a confused set of grunts. It took a few moments for Emmet to catch his meaning.
"Oh I can't stay here, I gotta go out there." Emmet said pointing out to the sea. "I'm a free man, going where the wind and the waves take me." Sure the island seemed like some kind of freaky paradise, but he never really felt the need to stick around anywhere. Laying down roots meant that responsibilities wouldn't be far behind, and that was no life for him. Besides, he had to find someone willing to look at his new robot arm. Maybe he could find some way to get it off. "I'd like to stay, but the winds a calling me."
His guide looked like he was mulling over the words and after a few moments he walked away back into the jungle. Emmet frowned and sighed, he was disappointed but not surprised. These watermelon people had helped him out and he had responded by saying he was going to ditch him, he felt like a tool but it was what it was. He got to work checking out the damage to the raft before hearing something shuffle behind him. He turned to see that his guide had come back. Trailing behind him was a large leaf with a bunch of other things piled on top of it.
Emmet just picked through the pile of vines and pieces of wood stunned. "Are these all for me?"
His guide just grunted approvingly with a thumb up. Emmet didn't know what to say.
"Thank you…" he hadn't really had anyone help him like this before. He'd always had to do things on his own. When one avoided responsibility they had to deal with the fact that people wouldn't really go out of their way to help with that. But here was a watermelon boy who was helping on top of everything he had done already, just because. "I appreciate it." He sincerely meant that.
His guide's cheeks seemed to darken and he just waved off the words embarrassed. He picked up some materials and lifted them above his head before yelling excitedly. Emmet couldn't help but laugh.
"Yeah man, let's build a boat!"
And for the rest of the day that's what they did. Emmet got a lot of practice with his new hand. It was surprisingly good for tying knots and could grip anything no matter how slippery or small, which made raft making way easier than it had been the first time. Occasionally another watermelon person from the village would drop by to check things out before heading back but for the most part it was just Emmet and his guide. They spoke, well as much as they could, and while his guide talked animatedly about something or other he spoke about his travels. Heading down rivers and living off the land free as the day he was born. Somehow he got the sense that his guide understood Emmet way better than Emmet understood him but he brushed off the feeling and kept working. Eventually it got dark and the two were forced to head back. Emmet wanted to keep working but he knew how dangerous it was to do this kind of thing exhausted and in the dark. He had learned that lesson well enough the first time he had built the raft.
Back in the village he sat with his guide in a circle of all the villagers as they passed around a bowl. When it got to him he found that it was fresh water. He figured that if watermelons ate anything it would be that. He drank but as his stomach grumbled he realized he'd need more than just water to survive. Luckily the others seemed to have thought of that too and he was brought a bowl of fruits, thankfully none of it was watermelon. He ate hungrily as the elder entertained everyone with stories and they cheered him on before everyone went off to their different huts. Emmet's guide took him to his and waved as he split off to go sleep. The next morning they met outside his hut and went back to the beach to work on the raft some more.
The next few days followed this routine. Where he woke, worked on the boat with his guide, headed back, ate and then went to sleep. One day though he noticed that one of the villagers was having trouble keeping their weird watermelon chickens in line. They tried sweeping them back into place but they kept wandering off. So when they returned that night from the beach he presented the chicken farmer with a small fence.
"It's not much but it might help." He had made it from some left over wood from their material pile. The farmer was ecstatic and shouted excitedly as he ran off with it. The next morning he waved at Emmet and his guide as they walked past the next morning. Some watermelon people came up to them talking with his guide and pointing to the fence. It looked like they wanted to learn how to make fences too. So when the watermelon boy looked at him with a pleading look Emmet just shrugged and asked for more material. It was the least he could do.
So he spent the rest of that day teaching the village how to build things using wood. Fences, chairs, and they even managed to get a cart in the works. He had read tons of books on woodworking and crafting when he started building his raft. He'd memorized most of it, back then it was all he could focus on. By night the whole village had a good grasp on the craft. And by the next morning they had a few more volunteers to help with the raft. So many that Emmet actually found the time to take a few breaks, he used them to try and learn more about his arm.
"…protocols…in charge mode…"
"C'mon give me something. At least tell me what you're made of."
"…protocols…charge mode…"
Emmet almost screamed in frustration. The thing would just not cooperate with him. It had been charging for days, he was thankful that the fingers still worked fine but it would be nice to learn a little more about the metal currently stuck on his arm. He decided to give up on it for the time being and looked back towards the raft area. The others were hard at work, but his guide wasn't there. He didn't really know when he'd started to be able to differentiate the villagers by sight alone but it had come in real handy. Especially, now when he was looking around with no sign of where his friend had gone except for some footprints leading off into the jungle. The sandy footprints turned to mud and Emmet followed them to a rocky cove. His guide sat at the edge of the stone looking out to the sea with a far off look in his little seed eyes.
Emmet approached and he was about to call out to his friend before realizing he had never learned his name. He'd just thought of him as his guide the entire time. The thought made him feel like a jerk. He sat next to his little buddy and together they looked out to sea.
"Nice, isn't it. How big it all seems. How big it means the world must be." As he said the words he could see his guide nodding lightly. The little guy gave a small sigh, Emmet didn't know if watermelons needed to breath but he understood the tone well enough. It was the sigh of someone who wanted to be free. An idea popped up in his head. "You know the raft is almost done." His guides head dipped down a bit sadly as he nodded. "But the ocean isn't anything like river sailing. It's way more dangerous, especially for someone alone." He saw his friends head perk up a bit and couldn't help but smile. "I mean a captain needs a first mate you know. Every skipper has to have a right hand man…or you know watermelon boy to help out. Can you think of anyone interested in coming along?" He didn't know how he would explain a watermelon boy or what his needs would be but they were friends, and he had helped out in making the raft enough to earn a spot on it.
His guide raised his hands and grunted enthusiastically as Emmet chuckled. "Alright, fine you can come. You'll be my number two." Hey how was that for a title? "I'll be the captain and you'll be my faithful number two, how about that?"
The newly minted number two shook his head so enthusiastically that Emmet thought his little melon head would just toll off. He quickly found himself being hugged around the neck, hard.
"Ah," he gasped out, for a melon number two was crazy strong. "Number two let go, can't breathe."
Number two let him go and Emmet gasped for breath for a few moments as his little friend danced around a bit. The moment ended though when the sound of a gong rang out over the jungle. He recognized it because he had helped make it. Earlier that week one of the melons had brought something that looked like a shield. Together they had made a gong they had placed at a hill overlooking the village. He hadn't heard them ring it since it had been built, so whatever it was they were signaling must have been important. Looking over to Number two he saw that he looked…resigned? It was weird and he acted like that the whole way back to village. They met up with some other villagers who acted the same way. It was really starting to freak Emmet out.
When they all reached the village everyone gathered in front of the statue in the center. There the elder stood in front of the crowd and shook his little staff Emmet had helped craft for him. With a rattle everyone closed their eyes and began to touch their noses. He felt a small hit and looked down to see Number Two urgently poking is nose.
"Oh!" Emmet quickly did the same and soon everyone had done it. All except one who scurried into the crowd covered in dirt and sand. Emmet remembered him from the raft crew, slow mover but friendly. He looked around erratically before realizing he was the odd man out and looked down sadly. The elder pointed his staff at him and with a nod the others moved into action.
It was quick but a within a few minutes the chosen villager had a flower crown place on his head and a golden star painted on his chest. The other villagers rushed to hurry as a sort of tremor echoed throughout the island.
"What is happening?" Emmet asked number two, but the little melon just stayed silent as the others finished up and guided the chosen villager away. Number two followed and Emmet was right behind him. They watched as the chosen villager sat on top of a small throne and lifted on sticks by a few others. Emmet had also helped build that too, it was weird but he figured the elder had needed help getting around sometimes. Clearly that wasn't the case.
They followed until they reached one of the geode arches at the edge of the island. They went under and the chosen villager was let down, the others ran back behind the arch as the chosen villager walked to the edge of the cliff and stood there arms out and palms up. Before Emmet could comment on how weird this all was another tremor rocked the island, this one strong enough to nearly cause him to fall. It was weird but before he could register anything it happened.
He felt it before he heard it. The tremors started and they didn't stop, before long he heard the crash of water and the sound of water rushing of something, something big. After a few moments something rose above cliff face. It was white and flowing, after a few terrifying seconds Emmet realized that it was hair. It was covering dark green skin and as whatever it was loomed over the chosen villager he could see that it had eyes. It had so many giant eyes, green as its skin and bigger than his torso. And they were all looking in different directions, either looking pained or sleepy. But one locked unto the lone villager the other followed and zeroes in on him. Its pupils dilated with such…hatred. With a horrible roar it lifted its gigantic arms and Emmet could hear the clinking of massive chains. It was cuffed at the wrists by….water? He didn't to really see the extent of the chains before another roar rocked the area.
"Steven." It spoke, for a second he thought it had been another roar but he had recognized the word as a name. Who was Steven? And what had he done to make whatever this thing was so angry? With another roar the sea beast charged forward mouth open and devoured the villager whole. Then as soon as it had come it returned to the ocean, leaving Emmet completely stunned and the other villagers waiting in fear. After a few minutes they walked away back toward the village. But Emmet was stuck in place, still processing the existence of a living sea monster that ate living watermelon sacrifices. He barely registered that Number two had grabbed his hand and was pulling him towards the village.
Number two dropped him off at his hut and split off leaving Emmet to lay back and look at the ceiling while replaying the day's events in his head. He didn't get any sleep that night.