Brendon paced the narrow confines of the cabin like a caged animal. The wooden floor creaked under every step, the dim lantern on the ceiling swaying gently with the ship's rhythm. The confined space, once a sanctuary from the shock of waking up adrift in a strange place, now felt too small for the storm brewing inside his head.
He stopped and leaned against the wall, arms folded tight across his chest, as if to hold himself together.
"I need to come up with something…" he muttered.
He didn't finish the thought. He didn't want to.
Because the unspoken half chilled him.
Otherwise... what?
Otherwise, whatever monster had orchestrated all this disappearances — whatever hidden hands had manipulated the events that led to attacks on him.... twice, Dr. Grimm's disappearance — would keep moving forward. Undisturbed. Undiscovered.
And if that happened, it wouldn't just be his life shattered. It would be Zoe's. Everyone who had stood up against the creeping corruption in Lagooncrest Isle.
He dropped heavily onto the edge of the bunk, the old mattress sighing beneath his weight. His hands fell to his knees, and his head hung low between his shoulders.
"Even if I get there," he said aloud, voice barely above a whisper, "what am I gonna do?"
His thoughts raced.
He didn't have proof. He didn't have allies. Not anyone who he can contact, not in Lagooncrest. If he just burst back in, made accusations, connected dots only he had seen—they will silence him. Just like they had silenced Mordell fifteen years ago.
And who would listen? A mere missing tourist reappearing suddenly with wild theories and no evidence? No chain of command?
They'll strip me of my badge. Or worse...
Maybe..... Robert can help him.
Brendon now reaches for his phone to his pants pocket. And he now realized that his phone is missing. He then searched the whole room. Yeah... his phone is not here.... maybe he lost it when he jumped off from that cliff to the ocean. His last mode of communication to the mainlands is lost now.
He is passed off. Not only because of lost his phone (which is actually a second hand phone) but he also lost his cigarettes and lighter. The only thing that helps him to keep his mind cool.
He let out a frustrated breath and pressed his palms to his face. The wood-paneled walls offered no answers. The sea, steady and vast outside the porthole, mocked him with its silence.
His thoughts turned, almost instinctively, to his interrogation with Liam.
The name alone made his fingers curl.
Liam Mayers, the smug officer of Lagooncrest Isle PD who turns out to be a part of that cult.
Back in the Dr. Grimm's cabin, Liam had said things—spiteful, sure—but some of them had stuck with Brendon.
"Dr. Grimm's a madman," Liam had whispered, just before Brendon had left the room. There had been fear in his eyes—not for himself, but for something else. Something far bigger.
Why did he say that?
Brendon chewed on the thought.
For him to say that—when he had everything to gain by staying silent—it meant something. A crack in the polished lies. A real one.
But what did it mean?
Is Grimm behind everything? Is someone using him? Or is it all a tangled mess, with no single villain?
"Can I even believe anyone anymore?" Brendon asked the shadows.
He stood again, walking in tight circles.
Think. Think.
If what Mordell said was true, then there had been a lab—an illegal one—fifteen years ago. A lab that experimented on anthros. One the government buried. If Brendon could find it, dig up evidence, records, something...
It would solidify his claims. He'd no longer be chasing ghosts—he'd have something real. Something that even a broken system couldn't ignore.
He stepped to the desk in the corner of the cabin, pulling open the drawer. Inside were old maps, sea charts, tools for navigation. Kellan's notes, written in smudged pencil. Brendon scanned them quickly—not for the open sea, but for something familiar inland.
Then he saw it.
A copy of the Lagooncrest region, years old but detailed. Worn corners. Annotations in blue ink. Brendon traced the shoreline with his finger.
And there it was.
To the north, nestled beyond a thick stretch of forest: Duckinghum Caves.
He narrowed his eyes.
That's it. The place Mordell had likely seen. The location makes sense. Remote. Near the cliffs. Forgotten by most. And this is the place where most disappearances happened in recent years.
"If that lab still exists... if anything's left... that's where I'll start."
His heart pounded with the first spark of purpose since waking on the ship. It was dangerous, yes. Maybe even reckless. But it was the best idea he had. The only idea.
He was gathering his thoughts when the door creaked open behind him.
Captain Mordell stepped in, ducking slightly to avoid hitting the top frame with his tusks. His expression was unreadable.
Brendon straightened. "Captain."
The old walrus grunted.
"Still stewing in here, are you?" he asked, not unkindly.
Brendon shrugged. "You told me to find my own way back. So that's what I'm trying to do."
There was a pause. Then Mordell crossed his arms over his chest.
"I thought about what you said earlier," he said finally. "About the experiments. The hybrids."
Brendon looked at him warily.
"I still won't take this ship to that isle. Not directly. I've got a crew to protect. A promise I swore after losing four good sailors to a mine field planted near that coastline." His gaze hardened. "But I can get you close."
Brendon's eyes widened.
"How close?"
"Fifty yards offshore," Mordell replied. "It's the best I can do without drawing attention or risking another incident."
Brendon nodded quickly. "That's enough. That's more than enough."
The captain narrowed his eyes. "Can you pull it off?"
"Yeah," Brendon said, a little too fast. Then steadier, "Yeah. I'll swim the rest."
"Good. We'll drop you tonight. When the moon's high and the patrols are weakest." Mordell turned to leave, but paused in the doorway. "You're not a bad lad. Just be smart. Don't try to be a hero. Heroes sink."
Brendon smirked, despite the tension in his chest. "I'll keep that in mind."
As the door shut behind the captain, Brendon sat down again. But this time, it isn't with defeat.
It is with resolve.
Tonight, he will return to Lagooncrest.
Not as a runaway.
But as a seeker of truth.
And whatever lay waiting for him in the shadows of Duckinghum Caves… he will face it.
Alone, if he has to.