I had a turtle on my head. Not just any turtle, but THE Turtley the 18th. He was perched atop my head like a little turtle helmet. So CUTE.

I stood in front of my new and improved fish trap with him on my head. I started bringing him around with me when I notice he was seeming down. He's a smart turtle, and can therefore get depression. Yeah, that checks out.

For a dozen weeks, we continuously made better and better food catchers as well as making massive progress on the boat. I've been working hard with Jane to make sure we wouldn't immediately sink. Who knew boat stuff was this hard? I did. And that's why I bothered to keep her around.

We attempted to use wood for the holes made from the plentiful trees on the island. Jane said something about the wood not being dry enough, or the right kind usually used for ships. I let her know that this was our only source of wood, so if she magically found a better kind to go for it. That shut her up.

The next hurdle was cutting anything down. That was a hoot. I split the top of a stick in two using two rocks, one as the hammer and the other as a chisel. Then I slid Mr. Rocky between the split. Using some stored rope from the ship, I tied it all together and made myself a Mr. Rocky axe.

I felt like a survival genius! A real one this time, instead of a stain on the ocean. I chopped my way through tree after tree. Each one took three hours to get through, leaving a very messy cut zone. I was on my 15th tree in three days when Jane tapped me on the shoulder.

"Uhm...I don't...We need planks and nails and oil for waterproofing..."

I look back upon my line of destruction, pleased, but at the same time agitated.

"Well, why didn't you say so earlier!"

"Uhm...Because you had a creepy smile on your face while chopping them down..."

I sigh exaggeratedly. My love for island survival was waning quickly. Turtle reunion velocity had not reached optimal values. I decided to scrap repairing the boat and just build a new one. This time, a raft with a sail. If it was good enough for video games, it was good enough for real life.

Luckily, the sail had remained usable, only the mast holding it had broken. It was a pain in my ass trying to move such an unwieldy sail, but we got it folded and placed to the side. Next, I had stripped all the rope from the broken ship, using it to tie the large tree logs together. Thank the almighty turtle that this wood could float.

I broke down the logs into 3-meter lengths, making a 3-meter by 6-meter raft. My endorphins were through the roof. Even Turtley on my head let out a small cheer and we fist-bumped. It was more like me holding up my hand and him tapping it, but close enough.

While I had been working, Jane was working hard to secure food. She used the fire her friends had made to smoke the caught fish. We would store them in the salvageable baskets from the ship and have a great source of nutrients.

I looked over at Jane every now and then, making sure she wasn't being a roadblock to my plans. She just say by the fire and stared into it, looking hollow; her decaying friends were 5 meters from her in the sand. That's the spirit! Hollow people can fill that void with the love of turtles!

May I interest you in the word of the Turtle?

I chuckled to myself as I resumed my engineering. The sail-holding pillars were affixed and strengthened. Every time I made a major modification, I made sure it would still float and not tip over easily. With my recent change, it was even more stable than before; somehow.

Jane walked over with a basket full of smoked fish. I patted her on the head and brought her over to the waterfall. We brought with us a barrel so we could fill it with drinkable water. We'd be in the ocean for who knows how long.

Water water everywhere, but not a drop to drink.

I put the sail on the raft and made sure all the knots were tight. With that final touch, we were now ready to leave. I loaded up the barrel with the help of Jane and secured it with rope. The baskets of fish were similarly secured and with that, 100 percent completion.

"We're ready to set sail little buddy! We're gonna go find your cousins."

Jane get onto the raft and sat down with her knees to her chest. She was curled into as small a ball as she could make. I walked over to her with a rope.

"You know I gotta do this, can't have my guide falling off accidentally."

She tried to refute, but Mr. Rocky begged to differ. I tied her to one of the posts so she wouldn't fall off. She didn't even register the rope, continuing to curl in a ball. Her eyes had once again hazed over. My more recent threats have seemed to do that to her often

Drama queen.

I look back at the island, my home for the last 12 weeks.

"Fuck you land! You turtle-less piece of shit! See you never! Peace!"

And with that, we set off. I hopped into the water and pushed us out into the ocean, getting us past the waves pushing us back. Once we were sufficiently far out, I hopped onto the raft and got to work.

The sail was raised and we immediately caught some wind. It was pushing us north; luckily. The winds had been blowing that way every day since I've been here, only changing direction when the hurricane came through. The little flag of cloth I made fluttered in the wind, telling me what way to point the sail.

"Ohhhhhhhh! 99 turtles sat on a wall, 99 turtles sat! One hopped down, started clowning around, 98 turtles sat on the wall! 98 turtles sat on a wall, 98 turtles sat! One hopped down, started clowning around, 97 turtles sat on the wall! 97 turtles..."

I continued my modified sea shanty as we sailed across the ocean. The monotony was filled with my out-of-tune singing. Wave up, then wave down, then up again, followed by a down. Shock! Awe! Sheer unpredictability! Wave up. Wave down.

Turtley sat on my head and took a nap, remaining as my adorable little hat. My heart fluttered every time I looked at him. I was like a little girl seeing a bunny. Every turtle-filled second was heaven.

As much as I hated it, I needed to focus on the task at hand instead of turtles. The waves had started to get choppier. It was...odd. I couldn't put my finger on it. The wind was the same speed and intensity and there was no storm, as far as I could tell. The waves just continued to get worse and worse.

I leaned over the side of the raft and put my head in the water. I opened my eyes in the water, bearing with the stinging pain. I wish I hadn't. Deep in the water, I saw a sea serpent, a dozen meters thick and indeterminately long. Its glowing green eyes looked at me as it opened its mouth. Inside were thousands of teeth shaped like daggers.

My heart stopped as I ripped my head out of the water and ran to the sail controls. I tightened any loose knots after two days of travel and started to yell.

"FUCK! SHIT! BALLS! DAMN! BOLOGNA!"

I looked up to the sky and continued to shout.

"Wind, if you don't pick it the FUCK up, my god will kick your god's ass!"

The wind didn't respond. I noted down this sleight and waited for what was to come. The waves that rose in height were replaced with waves of rolling scales. Their deep blue color made them beautiful, but terrifying.

After minutes of cursing at the air to blow faster, the head of the serpent rose out of the water. I was shitting myself. The thought of never being united with the turtle federation was the worst.

"FUCK THE OCEAN!"

The face of the serpent was a mix between an eel and an anglerfish. The light hanging from the top of its head radiated white light. I hadn't noticed it, but Jane was unable to look away from it. The light had some kind of hypnosis effect on her. I wondered why I hadn't heard her violent screaming.

I stared the beast down and flipped it the bird. This only made it grin, revealing just how far back its mouth went.

"Hello, little minnow. You are far from your pond."

The voice spoke in my head. It felt like I had headphones on, the sound beaming directly into my skull. If it could speak, it could be deceived, and if it could be deceived, it could be killed. Too bad I didn't have a REALLY BIG fishing rod.

"Uh...Sup. You come here often?"

The serpent laughed in my head. Thank Turtle, I wouldn't want to see such a mouth contort for such an action.

"You are an amusing minnow. I find it interesting that you can repel my passive aura. You don't seem powerful."

"I'm gonna be honest with you. First, you are super fucking scary. Second, no clue what you are talking about. Third, I don't care what you are talking about, I just want to get to land without dying. My turtle brethren are calling me."

It laughed again. Get your own damn brain real estate for that; mine isn't your playground.

"Most people do find me a tad scary. Many have even tried to hunt me, always failing due to my strength. I can help you get to your destination little minnow, all I ask is that you answer a few questions."

"REALLY! That's great! Go ahead!"

My personality did a 180. Anyone who helps me on my path to turtles is more than welcome to.

The next moment, the raft was lifted out of the water and dragged to the top of its head. The structure was placed gently on the diamond-hard scales. I could step off the raft and onto such a creature, so I obviously did.

It laid down on its head like I was resting on a blanket in a park, running my hand along the strange scales. I carefully placed Turtley on my chest, watching him sleep. He sure does that a lot now.

"My name is Uilo, the Earth Shaker. And what would your's be little minnow?"

"Max, Max Grand."

"Nice to meet you, Max. It has been quite some time since I have spoken with a person, so it is nice that you don't immediately try to kill me."

"Your welcome?"

"I can sense you don't care for the pleasantries. Very well, first question: How did you get here?"

"I fell. Like, from space, or whatever the hell is outside this planet's atmosphere."

"Ah, you mean the void, a space of danger and corruption. I am surprised you survived it with such a weak aura. You are exceptionally lucky to have landed here."

"I was almost eaten."

"You probably were."

"They were scary serpents too."

"... Next question, how did you get to the void?"

The serpent's mental voice asked the question with a hopeful amount of caution.

"Magic space portal."

"Purple and white sand? Rotating quickly and looking very tunnel-like?"

"That's the one."

"And I am assuming you somehow broke out of the tunnel midway to get to the void."

"Righty-o"

The serpent mentally breathed a sigh of relief. Again, do it in your own head.

"That's very good. So you haven't gotten any messages from the system?"

"The what?"

"The fact that you don't know what I mean shows that you are safe. It's relieving to know that someone not connected to it was the one to find us."

"Still no clue what you are talking about, but great news I guess. You're welcome."

"Haha, little minnow. You don't even know the half of how scared I was."

The serpent arrived a kilometer from shore, moving in a straight line so it could move along the coastal oceans. Deep oceans were probably more comfortable considering its size, but it was exceptionally happy right now, so a little compromise from it was alright. I was amazed that we got to land so quickly. Everyone should get a massive sea serpent if it moves that quick.

"I'll place you and your makeshift raft here. The wind should carry you to shore."

"Thank you big water snake. May the Almighty Turtle smile upon you for helping me."

"Uh...Alright. You seem confused, but that's the spirit. And it truly was YOU helping ME. So as my thanks, I'll give you this."

The serpent moved its little light thingy and dropped a necklace onto my open hand. There was a big milky white gemstone in the center of the pendant that was held in place by blue metal. There were strange symbols engraved into the white stone, so small that it was difficult to look at. It looked like an expensive necklace.

"Bruh, it's covered in slime. You couldn't even give me a dry necklace?"

"You have no conception of what I just handed to you. The whole planet would go to war for the necklace I have given you. It was made in a bygone age, by a close friend of mine. I was supposed to give it to his daughter, but, well..."

"She died, I get it. Can I go to the turtles now?"

The serpent exhaled a large breath with its real mouth, sending a whirlwind into the air. It placed the raft on the water and started to leave. In the last few seconds of our mind conversation, Uilo left me with a warning.

"I can feel the tides changing; the world is in trouble. We have long hidden ourselves from disaster, but I fear that time is coming to a close. We will need a hero to rise above the chaos and protect us."

"Good luck finding them. See ya."