Ekou's Song: Part Five

"You're going WHERE?" I asked incredulously. Amon glared at me, and made a shushing motion with his finger.

"Don't shout like that, Ekou. You'll wake up Sid."

This conversation was taking place as we were keeping vigil at Sid's bedside. His fever had broken, but he wasn't out of the woods yet. He still spent most of his time sleeping. The doctors said it might be weeks before Sid would be back to his normal self.

Amon had been sitting there, so calm and contemplative...and then he had dropped his bombshell in a perfectly mild tone of voice. It was like he was talking about the weather or something. I had thought, since he had graduated from school, we could finally be together. And now he told me he was leaving yet againཀ

In a quieter voice, I tried again to voice my disbelief.

"Okay, so let me get this straight. Your old school is sending you all the way to Japan as a part of a foreign-exchange student program? Why would they do that?"

Amon paused to rearrange Sid's blankets before answering. I waited as patiently as I could, since I knew Amon always took time to choose his words carefully. When he finally spoke, he did so as calmly as before.

"Yes, I think that you have gotten the general idea. But you make this sound like it's the end of the world. I only have to spend one year at the school, and this is the opportunity of a lifetime. These are some of the most prestigious academies in the world, and I will have the chance to meet all sorts of influential people. Plus, we might not be separated as much as you might think."

I looked at him questioningly; careful not to interrupt him.

"I've also heard some unfavorable rumors about some of the other students that will be participating. I plan to investigate this, and I'll need your help to do that. This will be your first real mission, but I'm sure you'll be able to help me out. Father doesn't realize your true potential."

I was so happy and relieved, I wanted to sit on Amon's lap right then and there and kiss him all over his face. However, I was pretty certain that he would not like that. Instead, I asked, "What sort of things would you want me to find out?"

"I can't tell you yet, Ekou", he replied, "The rumors might not be true, after all. We'll have to wait until we can get some good evidence."

I gradually found out more of the details about what just what this program involved.

There were a total of five schools that would be taking place in this exchange. Actually, as it turned out, it wasn't much of an exchange at all...more like a really long convention. They would all be meeting at an island a few hundred kilometers southeast of Okinawa. This was where the host school was located.

The other four schools were located in very diverse locations. There was Amon's school, of course, which was called East Academy. Another school was situated in Sydney (appropriately enough, it was called South Academy). North Academy was located way the hell up in Siberia or somewhere like that. And finally, there was West Academy. This one was in London, and it was known for taking in a lot of African refugees.

I wondered where they had gotten all these directions from. North and South I could understand, but where did the East and West come from? Wasn't Japan pretty much east of everything? Who knows, maybe the Japanese people have a different perspective of things.

And wouldn't you know it...that Japanese school on that tiny little island was the one that started it all! It was like the parent school, and the other ones were its children. I thought that Amon would detest this idea of his school being lower-level than something else, but he didn't seem to mind.

Naturally, I knew that Amon's school was really the best, since it had Amon representing it. He would show all of those other students who was superior!

I began to prepare for moving away from home. I'd be pretty much by myself. Amon said he would call me and e-mail me on a regular basis, but we wouldn't get a chance to actually see each other until the winter break.

I was worried I would make a mistake. What if I crashed the submarine into a coral reef? What if I didn't get the correct information? I trusted Amon's judgment, though, and I would have people helping me. Still...all of this responsibility was very stressful.

I was also concerned about Mother. She looked so...sad. Of course, that might have been because I was leaving and Sid was ill, but it seemed like it was something deeper than that. I started to think that maybe I should stay here after all, because she didn't appear to be in good health. I felt like she would break in two if I so much as hugged her.

You know how in some sappy movies, there's a scene where the mother and daughter have a heart-to-heart talk and find out everything about each other? Well, no such thing took place between us. And now, it will never happen. I like to imagine that Mother always knew I wouldn't make a good proper lady, and helped steer me down a more suitable path. Alas, I'll never know for sure just what she thinks about me.

Amon and I would have to take two separate flights to reach our destinations. Amon would take a commercial airplane to Tokyo, then get to the island by boat. I'd have to fly in a special private plane; one that would hold my submarine and staff as well.

The night before Amon left, he slept in my room, since we wouldn't be seeing each other for quite some time. I had wanted it to be a romantic occasion, but that didn't happen. We basically fell asleep right after we were done, like an old married couple. I knew better than to complain, though.

Amon had an eight-o-clock flight to catch. Therefore, we both had to get up at an obscenely early hour so he'd have time to leave my room and get ready. And then, once we were all finally downstairs, we had a pajama-clad Sid to contend with.

"Will you promise that you'll be back?" Sid whined as he clung on to Amon for dear life. He had a surprisingly strong grip for someone who was still under the weather.

Amon rolled his eyes at me when Sid and our parents weren't looking.

"Yes, Sid", he said with all the patience of a saint, "I promise. I'll try to come back home for Christmas and your birthday, and next summer I'll be back for good. Now, I need you to be a big kid, and stop clinging onto my leg so I can catch my plane."

One of Sid's greatest ambitions was to be treated more like a "big kid", so he did as Amon said. He barely even looked at me as I followed Amon out the door...I think he may have been intimidated by my uniform.

We were mostly silent on the car ride over to the airport. I had many things I wanted to say, but couldn't. Even though there was a glass partition separating us from the driver, we didn't want to take the slightest risk of him overhearing us.

Sometimes I had to remind myself that my relationship with Amon would not be accepted in polite society (or pretty much any society, for that matter). If my parents ever found out about it...well, Amon would be lucky if he was just kicked out of the family.

Once we were outside the airport, we had some more space to stand out of the servant's earshot. Even then, all we could do was talk...no public displays of affection whatsoever.

It wasn't like Amon had much to say, anyway. After some small talk, we just stood there for a few minutes. Then, just before Amon had to leave, he did something unexpected.

"Here. This is for you." he said shortly as he handed me a flat object. Then, without another word, he turned to go inside the terminal.

He had given me an envelope...just a plain white one that people use to send letters. There was no writing on it, but I could hear something inside it when I shook it.

As soon as I was back in the car, I opened the envelope up. Wouldn't you know...Amon had given me a little snapshot of himself! I knew this was a major deal, since he normally hated to have his picture taken at all. I must admit, my eyes got a bit teary.

I knew I would have to keep this someplace special, where it would be protected against the elements and safe from prying eyes. Perhaps in my wallet? No...that would be too obvious, and not special enough for a gift such as this.

Then I remembered about the locket that Michael had given me all those years ago. I never had found anything to put in it...until now. I was a bit worried about the ethics of it, though. Would it be okay for me to put Amon's picture in a locket that another man had given me? In the end, I decided to just hide it beneath the high neck of my jacket. Amon would never have to know.

Life on the submarine was hardly a thrill-a-minute experience. The novelty of living underwater wore off after a few days, and I had been given no assignments as of yet. The other soldiers on the boat kept mainly to themselves. I think they may have been just a bit resentful at being under the command of a female teenager, but they kept their mouths shut.

The submarine was about eighty meters in length. Apparently, that is relatively big for a submarine, but it sure felt small to me. Much of the already limited space was taken up by engines and computers. I did get my own small cabin with a bathroom, which was another thing that the soldiers weren't too thrilled about. They all had to share with others.

Everything on board was so gray and depressing. I realize that spy submarines are not built with leisure activities in mind, but I hadn't realized just how isolated everything would seem.

All I had to keep myself occupied were Amon's phone calls from his boat. According to him, the representatives from the other schools were an eccentric bunch. They all greatly annoyed Amon with their horrible Japanese and their odd customs. One particularly annoying guy carried a live crocodile on his back! Amon said that this beast was overweight, smelled of rotten fish, and was generally irritating.

Of course, he did not tell this, or anything similar, to them...he was much too polite for that. He saved it all for me, and I was glad to listen. It took my mind off of my boredom. Plus, it helped me become more fluent in Japanese, since Amon insisted on conversing in the language as much as possible. He claimed that it would be better practice than doing worksheets.

Once he got to the island, though, the calls all but stopped. I tried to tell myself that Amon was probably very busy getting to know all these people, and he would contact me once he wanted to investigate someone. But I couldn't fight off the horrible feeling that he was growing tired of me.

There had been no one moment where I developed this fear. It had been nagging at me for months. When I had been at home, I had managed to keep it pushed to the back of my mind. Now that I was so far away from civilization, though, it was all that I could think about.

Amon had always wanted my full attention on him when we were together, but now I felt as if he were losing focus. Over the past several weeks, he had had trouble meeting my gaze sometimes, and he spoke even more tersely to me than usual. It was as if I had become some sort of addiction that he was trying to kick to the curb.

I began to get very worried as the weeks passed. The stress was taking a toll on me, and I found it more difficult to get up in the mornings. Sometimes, I just wanted to bury myself in my blankets and weep with the hopelessness of it all. I also grew irritable, and I'm ashamed to say that I snapped at my assistants on more than one occasion.

I hoped that I wasn't coming down with something. This was no time for me to be in bed with a cold or flu. With any luck, I thought, the symptoms were all just in my head, and would abate eventually.

It had been twenty-nine days since I had left home, and twenty-five since I had last spoken to Amon. There was no way I could be mistaken about this amount of time, since it was all I ever thought about.

I had spent most of the day sitting in front of the computer and performing routine maintenance checks. There is only so much maintenance that one can do in a day, though, so by the afternoon I was just staring blankly at the computer screen and zoning out. I was therefore quite startled when I heard the telephone ring.

My heart leaped up into my throat. I know that's pretty much a cliche, but it's really what it feels like. Amon was finally calling! I knew it was him, since no one else ever called me (or even knew that I was here).

I lunged for the phone while it was only on its second ring.

"Hello?" I said breathlessly. Then I cursed my voice for sounding so squeaky. Amon would not like it at all if he knew I was just sitting around all day, waiting for him to call me! Relationship or not, he expected me to always act professional. Fortunately, he was apparently too distracted to notice. He had no time for pleasantries, so he got right down to business.

"Is this call coming in okay? Good. I have some data I need you to analyze...I'm sending it over right now."

A picture of what appeared to be some sort of monitoring device appeared on the computer screen after a few seconds.

"I need to get to the bottom of this as quickly as I can," Amon added, "so you should be working on this full-time. Please inform me whenever you get some new information."

Before I could do more than indicate that I understood the task, he hung up.

I tried not to be disappointed, but I just couldn't help it. I had been waiting so long to talk to him, and the whole conversation had been over in the time it took him to submit the data! I knew that the phone was not for intimate conversations, but I at least wished he had asked how I was. But then again, if he had asked, how was I supposed to respond? Should I have told him that I had been feeling like crap for the past few days?

I felt my stomach flop. Those damn submarine rations never agreed with me...or maybe it was just anxiety. Well, at any rate, I had work to do, so I had to put this out of my mind for the moment. I took an antacid and started sorting through the pages of information that were now on my computer.

This thing that Amon found was no ordinary monitor...that much was clear after just a short time of research. With the help of my more technologically-inclined assistants, I found out that the device emitted some sort of odd electromagnetic force field. Said force field seemed to be transmitting something back to one location on the island. Just what it was transmitting I wasn't sure yet, but Amon seemed happy with the information obtained so far when I called him back the next week.

He had been suspecting that a teacher on the island was corrupt, he reported, and this data went a long way towards proving this theory.

"I knew it!" he said triumphantly, "I knew he was up to no good! Now we have to find out more about the source of this electromagnetic field. I've been doing some preliminary scouting around a suspicious area, but there's only so much I can do without getting caught. We are both going to have to improvise a bit to get what we want."

I mumbled out an "mm-hmmm," while swallowing to try to ease the gurgling in my stomach. I was evidently too quiet for Amon to hear.

"Do you copy?" he asked after a few seconds. I replied in the affirmative more loudly, and this time he could hear.

"Good. Well, I'm going to have to go now...the caterers will be arriving soon."

I didn't ask why he needed caterers at a school. To tell the truth, I didn't really want to know. Even the slightest mention of food set my stomach off yet again.

Amon hung up the phone, but I continued to sit at the desk. Just a few more weeks, I thought as I put my head in my hands. This will all be sorted out in no time, and Amon will see that this wrongdoer gets the punishment that he deserves. I couldn't believe that I'd only been on this submarine for a few weeks...it seemed like forever.

I inexplicably got angry. Fuck this submarine. Why did I ever think it was beautiful? It seemed to be built just to torture me. I felt like punching a hole in the wall, but decided that that might not be a very wise option.

Everything about this place was just so depressing. The boredom, and the cramped quarters, and that horrible smell. How had I not noticed that smell before? It was the rank odor of mildew and rotten fish, and it permeated everything. I couldn't focus on anything else...

And now I was going to be sick. Oh joy.

After I returned from my dash to the nearest bucket, I decided that I would have to lie down and think about this. Maintenance could wait.

The damn bed had the same stench as the rest of this place, but there was nothing I could do except dry-heave. I hadn't even eaten that much today to begin with, so my stomach was now empty.

What was this? If it was anxiety, it was a pretty severe case. And I wouldn't have thought that it could spring up so suddenly. Food poisoning? Probably not, since none of the other crewmembers were stricken. Seasickness? I hadn't had any problems with it the first days I had been here, and there had been no drastic current changes since then. Some kind of virus? If it was, it was an extraordinarily long lasting one. And again, none of the other people on here were sick.

Then what was it? I was sure there was something I had missed. I closed my eyes, trying to think. And then...

Shit.

No. Not here. Not now. Not me.

I'd forgotten all about it, seeing as how I was so wrapped up in worrying and research. But now that I was thinking about it, I remembered that something very important had gone missing.

I was late, and I think you all know perfectly well what I mean by that.

This would ruin me, and probably Amon as well. Mother had protected me once before, but I was an adult now. I had to clean up my own messes.

Okay...I should think about how to deal with this as rationally as I could, then. This was no time for soap operas.

The most logical answer, of course, was the one that was most difficult to stomach. We would get a break in December. It would be still be early enough then for me to go back to the mainland, find the nearest clinic, and (to put it very bluntly), nip this in the bud. Simple as that. It might take a while to get permission from that termination committee, but the procedure itself would have minimal risks.

Even so..I knew I wouldn't be able to do it. It wasn't so much a morality issue, I think. It was more fear. I had been through a traumatic experience involving pregnancy and hospitals before, and I never wanted to undergo anything similar again.

Okay, I'll admit it. Maybe the tenderhearted side of me was actually looking forward to being a mother. All my life, I had wanted someone who would love me without question. Amon had Sid, but I had nobody who would give me that kind of unconditional love. This may have been why I never seriously considered adoption.

I knew that I couldn't hide this forever, but for now I would just have to focus on the present. Who knows...Amon might be done with his project earlier than expected. Then we could get married and start a new life. Maybe move to Germany. America. Japan, even. Amon was more than talented enough to be successful without our family's help.

With that thought, I finally began to calm down. Now I could go to sleep, and everything would be fine.

I tried to be optimistic about this, but by the next day it was apparent that that would be easier said than done.

I was now so sick that I hadn't eaten any solid food for nearly thirty-six hours. I had managed to keep some water down, and a small bowl of soup, but that was it. Whoever came up with the term "morning sickness" deserves to die a slow and painful death (even though he or she is probably already dead anyway). "24/7 Sickness" would be a more appropriate name, at least in my case. I had no idea how I kept managing to vomit so much, since I wasn't even eating anything. Mostly I was just bringing up bile.

The assistants had to have noticed something...I'm sure of it. It's not exactly easy to hide constant dashes to the bathroom. But if they figured it out, they didn't say anything.

In between all this, I somehow managed to do some more research. This was good, since Amon just so happened to call that afternoon.

All thoughts of my own ailment immediately flew out the window when I saw Amon on the viewscreen. He looked even worse than I was! It was almost dinner time, yet he was still in his pajamas. I immediately asked if he was all right, but he brushed off my concerns, saying it was nothing. I wanted to inquire further, but knew that Amon would not appreciate that.

Instead, I told him that we had found something interesting. My research team had confirmed that the suspicious area on the island did indeed house something big. Amon believed that it was all being caused by a rare and powerful card. He said he would go investigate this tonight, illness or not. I decided that now would not be an appropriate time to burden Amon with anything else.

Amon didn't send me any more data, so all I could do for the rest of the day was wait for another message from him. I really hoped that he wasn't getting over his head in this, and that he'd find what he was looking for without getting hurt. This did all seem very sudden, after how slowly the rest of the investigation had gone.

We would have to be ready to come to Amon's aid on a moment's notice. I was exhausted, but couldn't rest. At least my nausea had quieted down for the time being. Night fell, and everything seemed to be going according to plan so far. Amon hadn't told me exactly how he was going to sneak into the building with the rare card, but I had faith in him. And no news was good news...right?

It turned out that that was the calm before the storm. Everything would spiral out of control more quickly than I would have thought possible.

It got to be so late, it was probably the next day already. Despite my best efforts, I dozed on and off. But after a while, I grew too worried to drift off anymore. Amon had said that he would be done by now! If he were done, he would have called to inform us of the successful mission. Enough was enough, I decided. He may think that I was being overcautious, but I just couldn't stand the suspense anymore.

My hands were so sweaty, it took two tries for me to press the buttons that activated the communication system. I could hear someone pick up on the other end, but not say anything.

"Amon?" I asked, "Are you okay?" I had to restrain myself from calling him any pet names in front of the soldiers.

Still no answer.

"Okay, don't worry. We're coming to rescue you right now." I added. His situation must have been very serious indeed, since he did not protest that he didn't need any rescuing (as he would have if he had things under control).

After I turned the communication device off, I saw all the soldiers looking at me; awaiting their next order.

"Don't just stand there like idiots!" I screamed at them, "We have to fucking move NOW!"

They immediately did as I said, perhaps disquieted by my hormone-fueled rage.

We surfaced and moved as quickly as we could. The soldiers pedaled so much, I was surprised that their legs didn't fall off. The submarine had never traveled as fast and far as it was now, and I hoped beyond hope that it wouldn't short out on us.

The amount of ocean between us and Amon seemed excruciating. We kept going and going towards him, but seemed to be making no progress at all. I felt like screaming every time a wave impeded our forward movement even by a few centimeters. In this case, every single bit of forward motion was crucial.

We had to make it...we just HAD to. If I let Amon down, I would never forgive myself. I could see the island now, getting closer to us very slowly. We had been traveling for half an hour at most, but it seemed like an infinity. But now I could see the details of the cliffs...then the forests...then the beaches...I was in such a hurry to get out of the boat that I jumped before it had come to a full stop. My boots got soaked in the ocean, but I hardly even noticed. I hurled myself over rocks not caring about my delicate condition one bit.

We were almost there...just a few more minutes and then everything would be safe...

We were too late. As soon as I sighted the academy's campus, it just...disappeared. I know that sounds completely absurd, but that's what happened. There was some blinding light, and when I could see properly again, there was nothing left to see.

Amon had been right...something powerful was on this island, and it looked like he had gotten the worst of it. I checked the communication link over and over again, but there was only static.

The soldiers caught up with me, but I didn't see them. I just kneeled there staring into space. Looking back, I wasn't even sure what I was thinking. I seemed to have this notion that if I kept staring at the same spot, it would bring Amon back.

I faintly heard one of them say in a panicked voice that the submarine had vanished along with the school, but I didn't care in the least. All I knew was that I HAD to find Amon right away.

My thoughts started going fuzzy again, and the last thing I remembered for a while was the men trying to drag me away from my spot.

When I regained consciousness, it was the next morning. I saw that the soldiers had moved me to another part of the forest. My first, horrible, thought was that I'd had another ectopic pregnancy, but that proved not to be the case. I had just collapsed from exhaustion and sensory overload; or so the soldiers later said.

Then..I remembered that I had to find Amon. I dashed off before I was even fully aware of my surroundings, screaming Amon's name. I heard the soldiers trying to call me back, but I outran them.

It took a while, but I found the place where our submarine used to be. I decided that the only feasible plan of action was to find someone and ask them if they knew where Amon was. Who knows...if I'd thought this out more calmly, I might have found Amon sooner. But I was too emotional to think rationally.

After several minutes, I saw a helicopter approaching the island. Aha...so it looked like they were launching an official investigation into this. For the first time, I realized that Amon might not have been the only person who had gone missing.

The helicopter landed, and I charged the first person who exited it.

"ALL RIGHT, YOU BASTARD! WHERE IS AMON?" I shouted. So much for an interrogation. Before I knew it, two men had pinned me down. I was outraged at my own weakness. Had I been at full strength, I could have taken them down...I'm sure of it!

They kicked me off the island without even bothering to listen to my side of the story, and forced me on the next boat to the mainland. This was definitely my low point. I was headed off to a strange land, I was without my submarine and assistants, and most importantly, I was about to be sick yet again.

Well, it was clear now that I wouldn't be able to find Amon on my own. I'd need someone to help me. This person would have to be wealthy to fund my search, and like me well enough to put up with my mood swings. And I thought I knew the perfect person for the job...

TO BE CONTINUED