“My God,” Gail sobbed, staring at the ship. “I just… my God.”
Leviathan had focused all of his rage on the vessel. As they watched, his tentacles encircled it, lifting the ship from the water. He flung it as a child might toss a bath toy, and the ship crashed back into the water, lying on its port side. Unable to cross the mystical barrier, the other creatures swarmed toward it.
“Look!” Henry pointed at the whirlpool.
Sarah and Gail turned back to the vortex. There, in the center of the light, they saw a beautiful blue sky with white, cotton-ball clouds. Below the clouds was a line of green treetops. It was then that Sarah realized what the source of the light was.
“It’s the sun,” she said, squeezing Gail and Henry’s shoulders. “That light… it’s been so long since we’ve seen it. I’d forgotten…”
“Know what else?” Henry flipped his wet bangs. “It’s not raining there. Look close. You see?”
“I can’t remember how it feels to be dry,” Sarah said.
Gail smiled. “You will soon.”
The current swept them forward faster and faster, making them dizzy. Sarah considered closing her eyes to ward off the vertigo, but instead, she continued staring into the sun. Behind them, Leviathan raised both massive fists and brought them down, smashing the ship into splinters. Leviathan roared again, and Sarah felt the pressure not only in her ears, but on her eyeballs and against her lungs, as well. Lightning split the sky, striking the ocean’s roiling surface in a dozen locations. The whirlpool increased.
“Hang on,” Gail yelled. “Oh God… the current!”
“We’re going to be okay.” Sarah did her best to reassure them. “Just stick together and don’t let go.”
The vortex swept them toward its center. Leviathan, the creatures, and even the rain seemed to fade into the background. Henry stared, blinking as the sun grew nearer.
“What happens next?” he asked.
“We start over,” Sarah said. “We get to start over in a world that’s still alive—a world where our loved ones are still alive.”
She smiled, thinking of Kevin and Teddy and Carl and all of the others she’d lost along the way. When she looked up at Henry, the teen was smiling. So was Gail, as the sun in the center of the ocean dried the tears on her face.
Together, they sailed over the edge of the world.
THE END