Morning – At the ruined ship – Mood: Shocked, horrified, scared, hungry, tired and scared. Wait, I already said scared. Terrified.

After last night, I don’t think I am ever going to be able to sleep again. Ever.

I don’t need sleep anyway.

Yaaaawwwwwn.

That wasn’t because I am sleepy. It’s because I am bored.

I am tough.

Anyway, I’ve found this ship. When I first saw it in the distance, I was sure that it was the Happy-Go-Lucky but as I got closer I began to notice that something was a bit off. To begin with, it was a lot bigger. Like, almost twice the size, no, three times. Hmm. Two and a half times.

It’s bigger, anyway.

Yaaaaaawn. What? A yawn? No, that was all your imagination.

As the wooden hull of the unknown ship towered over me, I noticed it was leaning on its side on the sandy beach, and looking very sorry for itself. It was in a terrible state, worse than the Happy-Go-Lucky when I first saw it. This ship had clearly taken a severe beating in the storm. Holes and cracks littered the wooden blocks that formed the ship, and a big, deep gash that looked like a burn mark scorched its deck. It must have been struck by lightning or something, because it looked bad.

It also looked really, really comfy. Did you know that wooden blocks make good pillows? I didn’t, until right now. What was I writing about?

Oh yeah.

The mast of the ship, usually a large wooden pole that rose up from the center of the deck, was snapped in half, leaning over the edge towards the sea, like a broken bone. In fact, the only part that didn’t seem to have taken any damage at all was the figurehead, a wooden woman attached to the front of the ship with her arms folded, an angry scowl on her face, and a fish tail instead of legs.

Next to her, slightly damaged, were the words: The angry mermaid

It was a HUGE discovery! No, no, not the bad spelling, I mean the fact that this ship is the Angry Mermaid. The exact ship that Scotty set off in from Heredock. It’s the one I was looking for!

When I first realized this, I was torn between horror and joy. It meant that Scotty was somewhere on this island, and I was close to finding him - which is awesome!

But it also meant that... Scotty was somewhere on this island. The dangerous island of doom filled with monsters and horrifying things. To top that, this ship doesn’t look like it is going anywhere soon. I’m not sure if it will go anywhere ever again, in fact.

I looked all over it. The excitement that sparked in my chest at the thought of bumping into Scotty was crushed, because the ship was abandoned. None of the crew seemed to be on board. They have left it here to rot on the beach, hopefully to try and find somewhere safer.

Unless they didn’t make it to the island...

I don’t want to think about that.

I’ve made another discovery, which has caused a lump to form in my throat and remain there. It was a small piece of turquoise cloth, torn off against one of the broken planks of wood.

Turquoise.

The colour of Scotty's favorite t-shirt. I think it looks stupid, but that isn’t the point right now.

I slowly peeled it off the deck and whispered: “Oh Scotty, what are you up to?”

I kind of feel bad for the Angry Mermaid. It clearly didn't want to be seen like this. It looks very upset. Well, not the actual mermaid. She is just staring out at the island angrily, like it’s an insult to everything she believes in.

I can't blame her. I feel the same way.

So, now I am sat by this wreck and trying to figure out what to do. Should I go back into the jungle and try to find Cat? Or should I keep going along the island and try and find the Happy-Go-Lucky?

These hard choices are making me feel really... really slee...

Morning – Back on the Happy-Go-Lucky – Mood: Foooooooooooood!

Big news! The good type this time! I was sitting by the ruined ship (wide awake, obviously), staring at the piece of cloth and feeling sorry for myself, when a familiar voice rose behind me.

“That’s a nice looking piece of cloth. Amazing what you can do with a good piece of cloth.”

I looked up and grinned. Standing next to me, as if he had never left my side, was Abraham, the old wizard, leaning on his staff.

I stood up and threw my arms around his neck. “Abraham!” I shouted happily. I instantly regretted it. His beard tickled my neck, and he smelled really weird. Like something you would find under your bed after a few years, which may or may not have originally been food. I pulled back quickly. Abraham looked a little shocked by it all, his eyes open wide.

“This was Scotty's,” I said. “He is somewhere on this island. I know it.”

A grin spread across Abraham's face. “Then we shall find him and our quest shall be complete!” He punched the air and then frowned, examining his nails. “I don’t remember that being there,” he mumbled.

I’ve got to admit, I’ve missed the old guy and his goldfish-like attention span.

“Scotty? Why does that name sound familiar?” My eyes widened and I spun around. It was a voice I had never thought I would hear again. It was Cat!

She sauntered around the hull of the Angry Mermaid, staring up at it with a frown, as if last night had just been some kind of crazy dream.

But her torn clothing, the cuts on her arms and her slight limp told a different story. Sally and Bob walked behind her, not quite as casual, glancing towards the jungle with nervous eyes.

I ran over to her and hugged her as well.

“You're alive!” I grinned. “I can't believe you're alive!”

“Ack! Aaack!” Cat said as I accidentally crushed her throat with my shoulder. I pulled back.

“Sorry.”

She coughed a bit and straightened out her collar. “Yes, well, it will take more than a few monsters to kill Cat Danger!” She lifted her sword into the air and the blade fell off its hilt, hitting the floor with a soft clang. She looked at the broken sword in her hand and sighed. “Well, there were a lot of monsters.” She looked up at the Angry Mermaid and shook her head. “This is nasty. I wouldn't wish that on any ship. I hope the crew made it off OK.”

I nodded. “I know they did.”

It turns out that the Happy-Go-Lucky wasn't that far away from the Angry Mermaid. If I had just walked around the corner, I would have found it tucked away in a small cove. Now I can finally get some rest.

I think I can hear Sally making some food. He is singing.

I love that guy.

Morning – The Happy-Go-Lucky – Mood: Back to adventure. Yay?

Wow, I must have needed more sleep than I thought. I could probably have slept for a year if I hadn’t been shaken awake by Bob, who found me curled up in a corner on the deck! He pointed towards the wooden table that had been set up on deck and grunted.

I blinked the sleep out of my eyes and stood up. Everyone was sitting around the table, and a small feast made from fruits of the jungle was laid out on top of it!

My stomach rumbled. I needed to eat!

It turns out getting chased by monsters and nearly dying really works up your appetite. Luckily, we had Sally on board who could apparently make a meal out of anything. He hummed and sang as he placed plates of food in front of us with his thick, trunk-like arms. Then he skipped off below deck with surprising grace to go and get more food. As I stuffed my face, Cat told me what happened after I had fallen overboard.

The Happy-Go-Lucky also took a beating in the storm, but it managed to survive quite well. Luckily, Cat deftly brought the ship into a cove, which served as a natural dock, with a path onto the beach. The Happy-Go-Lucky can float here while repairs are being made, using the wood from the island. There aren't even that many repairs needed, in fact, and we could almost leave right away if we wanted.

That was how the argument started.

“We could sail away from this evil island right now,” Cat said, spraying crumbs from her bread everywhere. “We nearly died last night trying to save you, and you want to go back?”

“It's daytime now!” I said, spraying crumbs back at her. “The monsters aren't around! We can find Scotty, the reason I came here in the first place!”

Sally placed some more tasty food in between us as we continued to argue. That guy can cook!

“Yeah, well, I never wanted to come here, and I've got to think of the safety of my crew first. As captain, I say we go back,” Cat said, shoving some watermelon into her mouth.

“Fine,” I snapped, breaking a carrot in two and chomping down on it. “Go back, see if I care. But you're leaving me here, then.” Obviously, I did care if she left me here. I mean, how was I going to cope without Cat around? I wasn't going to tell her that, though. No. I secretly hoped she would change her mind.

Instead, she said:

“OK. Bye bye, then.”

I sat and stared at her open-mouthed. She was just going to abandon me here!

“I will be staying as well,” Abraham said. “For my quest is to find the light bringer, he who will save the day, he who...”

“Yeah, yeah, we get it,” I grumbled.

It looks like I am going to be stuck on the island with old man Abraham. The guy who talks to walls. That will be really handy when the monsters come out at night. After we had finished our meal, Sally packed us some small provisions and we stepped off the ship. Cat stood and crossed her arms on deck, watching us go.

I waved at her as we stepped off the ship, but she turned away. I guess we are on our own now.