"I like this," William deliberately mumbled as if he were learning how to walk again. He couldn't even remember the last time he traveled at such a speed, let alone the surface. It wasn't equal to the... well, that helicopter sure caught his eye, too.

  This wasn't even that quick anyway, and the engines weren't a sorry excuse for work, nor was it some wreck with paddles or a rough sail.

  Minutes passed. Ellie wondered what words she could use or do, or if there was even something nicer to do. She was able to seize this change, but now, she didn't know how or where to proceed.

  Perhaps she was too quick, drenched in bad expectations, or the timing was off. She was unsure, and there was hardly a way to make herself more open than... Perhaps she had a psychological block, which made this situation this annoying.

  It was like a treasure hunter seeking treasure. The process was exciting and marvelous, yet when one found it, things afterward could lead to disappointment. Lack of further marvels or the end of the journey were other possibilities, and so were stories with bad endings or twists.

  What if she was disappointed with William? Could it even be possible? Overlooking his past, Walker's status and future were different, yet he was fun and young. Ellie was kind of like that, too, and she didn't know every bit of William's feelings.

  But after so long, she knew hers.

  After a while, the engines finally stopped, and the currents left the boat dangling in mild waters, a few hundred feet from Assembly Island and its omens.

  This proximity made the entire fortress and cliff seem enormous, dwarfing their vision and leading to quite a startling discovery. It even moved against the stars and the moon, shading them, and altering the entire color palette of this fortress.

  Tonight, the water was one of the calmest around these cliffs. Usually, getting this close was a gamble, or one had to have a reinforced or much bigger boat. The current and waves would splash, tumble, or push the boats against the cliff.

  This was Ellie's first time this close, and she was shocked by how safe the water felt. Haggard stopped the engines, and sheer silence and stillness felt everlasting.

  "Alright, kids. We have ten minutes, so look, draw things, or sit or talk." Haggard stated, but to his abysmal credit, he didn't have to talk.

  The pair was already on the front open deck. William even brought out his notebook and pen, making quick sketches of this insanity.

  Ellie stood beside him, speechless and a little emotional. Thus, she turned into one side of her heart that was open. She began to talk about what was before him and talk about this place.

  Minutes followed until shouts halted their thoughts, hands, and minds. Haggard passed the time like them, but unlike this pair, he glanced at the waters and discovered a shocking view. There was a floating body not that far away, drifting in the ocean, completely still.

  "Freaking sea god! A man overboard! A dead person?!" Haggard pointed and cursed at how terrible this timing was. This must be a cursed date and night.

  Not only was the body floating face down, but it seemed naked and continued drifting on the small waves. Who knew how long it had been like that? It was hard to tell whether it was a long-rotting, pale, or recently drowned body. Alas, as the men of the sea, Haggard had his standards, and every body better face the earth one more time.

  It was hard to guess the size of the body, but Haggard bet it must be a man. Standing, panicking, and cursing right beside the railing, he glared at that poor soul.

  “What a terrible luck. Did someone fall from the Assembly Island, float here from the Federation, or fall from some ships? With calm waters like today, that seems unlikely to be an accident. That, or the body might be older.”

  By this point, Ellie and William hurried towards Haggard and looked at where he was pointing.

  “Is that really a dead body?” Ellie asked first, mindful of the fact that she had never seen a dead body. She gripped the cold railing and wondered if this situation was real or if Mi-Yung's prank got too oppressive.

  Would she ever put forth such a wicked prank? At this sort of timing?! Ellie couldn't even think straight anymore and refused to think about her.

  William took it much better, but not her comment. That one was worse, so he observed the situation and remained quiet. He squinted, trying to see better, but it didn't help shit. It might be late, with Assembly Island creating shade, but the stars were still there. The water was a surprisingly good surface for most light.

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  The body was drifting, and its shape slowly became more coherent. It was real. Not some sort of mirage or log.

  After thinking, William asked Haggard. “Is it normal?” At sea, what sort of things could happen? Frankly, he had no idea because he had never been to such places and was far from such waters.

  “Hell nah! Almost nobody is freaking dying like this. Drowning, I mean. What a terrible way to die. Poor man.”

  William nodded and realized his idea was as bad as he thought. But again, when he thought about those Rifs and everything around this place, a floating dead body in the waters shouldn't be that weird. The place looked freaky and dangerous, and those cliffs?! Rooms... shades... colors?

  “Could it be a refugee?” Ellie asked. “I heard there are murders in the rougher Districts. Tossing the body into the ocean or letting it drown with a brick attached to the leg hides the evidence. Could this be a failed murder?”

  Both William and Haggard looked at the innocent girl who started to speak nonsense. So much for the novels, it seemed. Their shocked faces and lack of words sounded like silent judgment, which Ellie noticed.

  She shrugged. “What? I have read many detective novels. This idea isn't as bad as anyone would think. Can I say there are many more gruesome ways to get rid of bodies? Like... dissolving or...” By this point, Ellie realized she was speaking nonsense unfit for this occasion.

  She slapped her mouth and wondered if she should apologize to that unfortunate soul or not.

  “Do we... get it, or what?” Ellie tried to redeem herself, knowing that her thoughts should be appropriate. The bodies of the people could float or sink, even without a rope, brick, or any other object. For days or less, they could remain, or carnivorous fish from the depths below would eat them instead. Yep. That was another gnarly thought rising in her little, shocked brain.

  William kept glancing from the deck and wasn't afraid or dubious. He understood what death was like, and he had seen many bodies in his life to remain calm. That bare body floated far enough to be murky. The small waves played with the limbs, and soft blond hair and muscles at the back proved to be manly, his back facing the sky.

  Haggard sighed and felt sorry. “Sorry, kids. Anyway, William, help me get this poor soul to the deck. That is an unspoken rule for any man of the sea.”

  William nodded, wondering about Haggard's plan. Would he jump and take the body? Due to the size and height of the boat, he couldn't just lean forward and grab something from the water, let alone a flaccid adult.

  The body was getting a bit further, with little waves not working to their advantage. There was no time to waste. Haggard restarted the engines and angled the boat at snail speed towards the drowned man. William and Ellie looked at him and told him how close they were.

  When there, Haggard halted the engine and gave Ellie instructions to keep the boat still at the steering wheel. Then, he went with William to the side deck, and one nasty plan started. There was a lowest point on the deck, where the stairs would stick out, or one could just jump, but it was not enough for this.

  “Help me,” Haggard shouted, leaned down, and couldn't reach the body. So William grabbed his legs, and Haggard dived for the body. He grasped the man's leg and couldn't lift the soul out of his damned throat. Haggard shouted and couldn't even move his leg, let alone the man who seemed naked.

  “Bloody sea! This fucker is heavier than a freaking tuna.”

  William glared at the body and offered to change the spots. It worked a little better, but even then, William was only able to lift the legs—nothing else. He felt as if he was lifting boulders and big sacks of corn up a steep hill. Either it was because of the water, his shitty posture, or he couldn't call his training and life proper.

  With frustration closing, both men cursed the damned body. Both sweated and sized their chances, and William wheezed, feeling this was pointless.

  Then, an unlikely situation occurred. Water splashed far, and the dead body jumped up, but not on its own. There was someone else. Someone whom William recognized with huge surprise and wide-open eyes. Haggard shouted like a girl and nearly fell overboard in shock.

  It was Celeste. She was almost naked, and seized the body and got onboard in a big leap. She was dripping wet when she tossed the drowned man to the ground, frowned, and looked around. “Heavy...” She spat out water, shook her wet hair, and remained totally nonchalant about the situation.

  William was silent and speechless, wondering where she came from. Only when Ellie came over, hesitant and shocked, did they find a fitting boundary and words to say.

  “C-Celeste?” Ellie blurted and wondered where or how... well, it was obvious. “You swam after us?!”

  With being so wet and here, Celeste didn't pretend anything or couldn't find the proper words. So she stretched her arms and eyed the body on the ground because this wasn't normal.

  “Celeste!” Ellie repeated.

  Only then did Celeste look away and realize that her first time swimming had ended, and she grabbed somebody without knowing. Was it a mistake? Should she toss this faceless body back to this big ass pond? She wasn't sure.

  “Yeah. Swimming, I think. It is harder than it looks. This machine is quick, too. I couldn't keep up. Shame...” Celeste said, beginning to regard this boat as a pretty fascinating metal monster.

  Ellie slapped her own face, found a blanket, and tossed it to her to cover up. Celeste took it in silence and wondered what was even going on. The water was weird, wet, and nothing like her own former pond. There was also way too much of it, and running in it was called swimming. It was really weird how much water was around.

  Haggard sat on his ass right beside the drowned man. He poked the body and tried to lift the arm, which felt as if it were made of steel. “What a heavy person. He doesn't look that heavy at all, so.... a Walker?! Don't tell me...”

  Even Ellie had to agree with him today. This wasn't normal in the slightest. The water shouldn't have changed the body like that, and upon closer look, the body wasn't in a bad state at all. At least six feet tall, the man was muscular and tall, and wasn't particularly pale.

  For both William and Haggard to fail to lift him up was abnormal. Yet Celeste jumped with him to the deck as if he were a sack over her shoulder.

  Scruffing her hair with the towel, Celeste glanced at the big black building for the first time and liked how it resembled her mountain and hills. It had rocks, nice platforms, and stuff, but the top was far away; there were plenty of strange and bizarre caves and other monuments too.

  After a while, she wore the towel and glanced at the trio that examined the weird thing she had bumped into.