The Return and new arrivals

Posted on Wed Mar 4th, 2026 @ 12:24pm by New York Survivor Amythyst & New York Survivor Briar Maddox & New York Survivor John ("Dodger") Smith & New York Survivor George Brooks & New York Survivor Jordana Venturi

970 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Safe Harbor
Location: Safe Harbor Island

Amy heard the engine before she saw the boats.

It was faint at first — a low mechanical hum carried across the water, wrong against the usual rhythm of wind and surf. She froze mid-step on the bluff path, head tilting, every instinct snapping awake.

Engines meant people.

People meant danger.

Or hope.

Sometimes both.

She moved without thinking, crouching low and slipping between the scrub toward the lookout point they’d marked weeks ago. The others were already reacting — a figure darting toward the orchard, another vanishing behind the rock wall near the cabins. Good. Training held.

Amy dropped to her stomach at the edge of the rise and eased forward until the shoreline came into view.

Two boats.

Her breath hitched.

The first was the fishing boat — small, familiar, riding low. She recognised its silhouette instantly, the patched hull, the way it pulled slightly to port.

Briar.

Relief slammed into her so hard it almost made her dizzy.

But it didn’t last.

Because behind it — coming in slower, heavier — was the crew boat.

Amy’s fingers dug into the dirt.

That boat didn’t belong here.

Industrial. Functional. Built to haul people, not fish. It cut through the water like it owned it.

Her mind raced.

Did Briar take it?
Or were they being followed?

She scanned the shoreline automatically, tracking sightlines, counting approach angles. No figures on deck she could see clearly yet. No raised weapons. No shouting.

Too quiet.

The worst kind.

Amy slid backward and turned, whispering sharply toward the tree line behind her.

“Positions. Now.”

Shapes moved — George emerging from the brush, older kids fanning out with practiced urgency. No panic. Just speed.

George crouched beside her a moment later, breathing controlled, eyes locked on the water. They were joined by Andrew a few seconds later

“That ours?” Andrew murmured.

Amy didn’t answer immediately.

She watched the boats.

The fishing boat angled first, familiar and careful, like someone who knew the shallows. The crew boat followed wider, heavier, its engine dropping to a low idle.

No aggression.

But no mistakes either.

Amy’s stomach twisted.

“If it’s Briar,” she said quietly, “something went very wrong.”

They saw it then — movement on the fishing boat. A figure standing, raising a hand in a quick, deliberate signal.

One they knew.

Amy exhaled slowly, tension shifting but not leaving.

Alive.

They were alive.

But the second boat still loomed behind them, dark and wrong against the shoreline.

“Get everyone ready,” Amy said, voice low but firm. “No one rushes the beach. No one shows themselves until we’re sure.”

Andrew nodded once and slipped back. Leaving the two eldest behind.

Amy stayed where she was, eyes fixed on the approaching boats.

The fishing boat kissed the shallows first.

Then the crew boat followed.

And as its hull scraped sand, heavy and loaded, Amy realised something that made the back of her neck prickle:

They hadn’t just come home.

They’d brought something else with them.

She looked at George. "You and Me go down first."

George nodded, as he tightened his grip on his goalie stick. He stayed low and followed Amy, the pair moving quietly to the edge of the brush. "What's your gut telling you?"

"Something happened. Something both good and bad." She said as they made it to the path. "Briar gave the all clear but.. there is something else going on"

"Yeah," George chortled softly, then frowned. "Coming back with another boat, with strangers aboard...not sure how I feel about that. We are just barely feeding our own."

"Its not like we have not done it ourselves" Amy said softly as they went down the path. "I am sure there is a reason."

It took them a few minutes to make it to the dock.

Briar was already docking the fishing boat. Austin jumped ashore. He gave George and Amy a grin. "Hey!" he said. "Its all safe."

Amy raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yeah. Briar and Dodger rescued some kids." And with that he headed up the hill. "I am on Dinner duty!"

"Get everyone into the house" Amy called after him and turned to Briar as the other boat docked.

"What happened?" She asked Briar.

"We went to Fort Mason. There were men there. They were apart of a bigger group. They hold children prisioner and move them between the island and the mainland. We .... rescued the kids. Five of them."

"And the men?" Amy asked.

"Drowned." Briar said calmly, factually.

"That's not all." Dodger said stepping out of the wheelhouse of the larger boat. "Brought these back as well." As he dropped the bags containing the guns and ammo on the dock. "Figure they might just come in handy at some point."

Amy stared. "Wow nice haul." She looked behind him.

There, were five children. The eldest looked to be the same age as George and Dodger. then they seemed to go down in age. "Welcome to Safe Harbour." She said pushing for calm.

George said the state the kids were in and immediately stopped thinking negatively. "Welcome," he said to them gently as he helped them out of the boat. "My name is George, this is Amythyst. As I'm sure Bruar and Dodger have told you, this is a safe place. However, we all do our share to keep it that way. No one gets a free ride here, understood?"

Jordana nodded, stepping out of the boat. Walking toward the front of the group, she replied, "I'm JV. This is Eliot, Lisa, Hannah, and Mateo. We can help. Just tell us what you need."

Amy considered the group. “We will discuss it. But first lets get you inside. Up the hill to the house.” She waved them up as Briar and Dodger secured the boats.

OFF

 

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