Growth

The group set out for the bridge. The walk took them from this fishing refuge to an average township. Buildings were as ruined as ever, but inhabited. The fox seemed to be the only animal in town, not that that was much of a surprise.

There was a lot of traffic on the bridge and all of it was overseen by soldiers posted in makeshift watchtowers. Shops and hostels provided last minute supplies and rest. The group considered their options and then decided on taking naps within one before resuming travel. Two hours passed, and it was as good a time as any to begin the trek. Travelers on foot kept to one of the two lanes on either of the two adjacent bridges. Vehicles, usually hauling supplies, passed in the other lane. It was a civilized system.

Watchtowers were positioned within a binocular’s sight of each other. The militia really wanted to keep things in order. At one point, the bridge rose high into the air. Alice did not like that. She kept her eyes glued to the road until the bridge finally leveled out. They took a break when it did. The trip progressed swimmingly. But peace never lasts.

There was a commotion up ahead. Without the option to go around the potential peril, the group kept moving forward with other wary travelers. It soon became evident that a watchtower was under attack. Alice led the way forward, undeterred.

“We aren’t stopping. New Orleans is right on the other side of this thing.”

“Despite the obvious danger ahead?”

“Despite the obvious danger ahead.”

“And if we have to jump into the water?”

“We’ll figure that out when we get there. Don’t worry. This isn’t our problem. We’ll just slip right around the fighting.”

“If we can…”

Figures appeared around the base of the tower. The movement was discovered to be a skirmish between the stationed militia and a group of Crusaders. Their clothing was a clear indicator.

“My comrades!” Marco looked like he was about to fun for it but Alice put a hand on his collar.

“Not so fast.”

“Maybe we should turn around now,” Clare said. “You know they’re looking for us.”

“I agree,” the fox added.

“They have their hands full. Come on, just follow me.” Alice started moving forward, Marco still in her grasp. Clare shook her head and she and the fox followed.

Neither side appeared to be getting the edge over the other during the group’s approach. But exhaustion set in on the part of the soldiers. It was understandable seeing as how the Crusaders had a little something extra flowing through their veins.

“Should we, you know, help them?” Clare asked.

“The Crusaders? No way,” Alice answered.

“Yes way,” Marco said. Clare punched his arm.

“The militia, dummy.”

Alice grinned. “I know, I know. We could but they are distracting the Crusaders.”

The fox stepped forward. “We should help these soldiers. They are caught up in an ordeal that does not concern them. It is us they are after.”

Alice sighed and pulled out their new weapons. “Let’s see here. The revolver has two shots left and the rifle has... Oh, wow. Fifteen.” Alice put the rifle in Clare’s arms. “You’re about to learn to shoot, young lady. As for me…” Alice slipped the handgun into her waistband.

Clare’s eyes opened wide. “Huh?”

“Here’s how you hold it.” Alice first put Marco in a seated position on the ground and then moved behind Clare and made sure everything was where it needed to be. “Next you just look through the scope there. Before you fire-”

Too late. Clare’s nerves caused her to squeeze the trigger. The dart hit a distant Crusader in the arm and it passed out.

“Oh. Not bad. You may be a natural.”

Clare giggled nervously. “Thanks.”

Marco grunted.

“Now let’s see if that was all luck. Try to hit another.”

Clare did her best to reenact her previous actions and managed to succeed. Her next shot hit a Crusader in the neck. It, too, passed out.

“Definitely a natural. Keep it up.”

“This is kind of fun.” Two more Crusaders fell to Clare’s accuracy. The others finally noticed the threat and sent a few to attack the women.

“Cover me,” Alice said. She ran to intercept the attackers.

“And me,” the fox added.

“No problem.” Clare fired again. One more down.

There were five enemies incoming. Alice drew the gun and fired at the nearest Crusader. The bullet struck his leg and he collapsed in pain. Alice’s final shot hit the next Crusader in the arm but he continued his advance.

Clare fired again and again. The Crusaders were dodging the darts, if by a hair each time. One regretfully stumbled and Clare seized the opportunity to take her down but that was all before she ran out of darts. She grunted and tossed the gun aside.

Alice and the fox met their opponents. One slipped around them and ran toward Clare.

The nimble fox made the first move, dodging a kick to slip behind the wounded Crusader and bite through its Achilles tendon. The Crusader screamed and clutched its ankle in pain. He tried to do the same with the next Crusader, but this one was quicker. It danced around the fox’s gnashing teeth until it seized an opportunity to grab the fox’s tail and throw it into the water. But before the Crusader could celebrate, Alice’s fist smashed it in the face. It went down hard. Alice wanted to retreat to help Clare but she had one more Crusader blocking her path.

Clare was frozen. She had no crates or trees from which to launch an ambush. The recollection of not having been taught a single fighting technique stuck in her mind. There was that, and then there was her opponent with her twin short swords and armor.

“Found you again,” Dianne said. “Should’ve killed me last time.” She quickly began her attack with a kick aimed at Clare’s face. Clare saw it coming and dodged underneath it, but Dianne followed up with a slash that cut Clare’s shoulder. Clare grabbed her own little blade and their one-sided duel began.

Alice found herself evenly matched with the young man before her. This one was putting up one hell of a fight. Their duel consisted of deflections and dodges; neither could land a blow on the other until Alice saw Clare getting kicked around on the ground in the corner of her eye. She lost focus and took a punch to the face.

Marco had crawled away from Clare and Dianne to peer over the side of the bridge. The fox was alive and was trying to get a grip on a pylon under the bridge. But without thumbs, its efforts were futile and though there was no strong current that would wash him away, he would surely tire out. Marco snapped his rope bonds and jumped into the water. He swam to the fox and let it onto his shoulders to rest while he grasped the pylon.

Things went farthest to the south for Clare. Dianne had her pinned down and was hammering her with her fists. Clare could only cover her face to soften the blows.

And then there was laughter. Clare peeked through her arms and saw Dianne laughing as she beat her up.

The laughter grew deeper and became a man’s.

Ron was now sitting over Clare’s chest. He was laughing as he struck her. She was powerless. She was his.

No.

Clare grit her teeth.

You don’t own me.

Clare’s hand shot up and clutched the Crusader’s throat. Dianne stopped hitting Clare to try to free herself but it was to no avail. Clare had a death grip on Dianne and was not letting go. Dianne gasped for air.

Ron’s face turned to an expression of fear. It made Clare smile. “I am not your slave anymore,” Clare said to him. “You are MINE.”

Clare got to her feet, bringing Dianne up with her. She had the Crusader kicking and grasping in her grip a foot off the ground.

Then Clare noticed Alice’s struggle and snapped out of it. She dropped Dianne to assist her ally. Dianne hit the ground, coughing and wheezing but alive. Clare charged at Alice’s assailant. The man had Alice on the ropes but Clare clumsily tackled him from behind. With it being two against one, the last Crusader was taken out in moments.

The women stood up, huffing and puffing, before Alice shouted, “Shit! The fox!”

The women looked over the rail. The fox and Marco were fine. “A little help?” the fox called up.

The women found rope and dangled it over the edge. Marco held on tight and let himself and the fox be reeled in. Fox and Marco safe on the ground, the group turned to the issue of the soldiers against the Crusaders. With the several that they had taken out, the soldiers were able to begin subduing the Crusaders one by one despite the strength they possessed. Militia training saved the day.

That was that. The women had no reason to linger. They gathered their things and continued along. Alice led the way along the side rail as nonthreateningly as she could: slowly and with her hands in the air. One soldier waved his hand for them to hurry up, which they certainly did. Clare scanned the faces of the Crusaders as she passed. She recognized a few in passing back in Terra, but that was all.

Past the area of the incident, “They really want us in chains,” Clare said.

“That reminds me.” Alice stopped in front on Marco and held out some rope.

“Have I not proven myself trustworthy?”

“You have but why help the fox? Why not run away or help your kin?”

Marco shrugged. “I… I don’t know.” He looked back into the distance. “I should have. We could have won.”

“Obviously you could have broken your bonds long ago, too. If I could do it in the truck, you could have done it at any time before and after that.”

Marco’s mouth moved to speak but he only made a light whining sound before he gave up and looked away. “Let’s just go.”

Alice retied the bonds much tighter, and they continued walking.

“I don’t know what started that fight, but thank God it happened. No doubt those Crusaders were waiting for us on this bridge,” Clare said.

“More may be on their way,” the fox guessed.

The remainder of the long walk was smooth sailing and the four made it to the far shore just as the sun tapped the horizon. The base of the bridge was similar to the other side in that it was a great big swamp. The lake flowed into the ruins of the suburbs through many breaches in the levee. A long, long chain of old ruined houses and buildings, derelict boats, and large barges created “land” that stretched to the city from the bridge. Vehicles were able to continue along them toward the city. There were no skyscrapers left at which to marvel but one dome-shaped building was still visible. It was a beacon of light in the darkening horizon.

“It’s so close,” Clare said, “but the sun’s setting. What should we do?”

“I really think we should call it a day. We’ll be safe if we camp out here. Everyone else seems to be doing so.” Alice very gently put a hand on Clare’s face. “Oh, dear. Someone’s going to have a black eye.”

Clare momentarily froze up at the touch but then appreciated the warmth of Alice’s caring hand.

Indeed there were quite a few people around, people who were weary from the long commute from north to south. So the group found its own little spot at the edge of a barge and set up their usual shabby campsite, fire excluded. That meant cold food.

“These beans aren’t so bad,” Clare stated. “I mean, we’ve had them a few times before but-”

“They’re awful and you know they’re awful, Clare.”

Clare sighed and handed her leftovers to Marco, who showed them no mercy. “I really got knocked around today,” Clare reviewed.

“No one’s denying that. Alfred taught me a thing or two about combat but you… Sorry, Clare.”

Clare chuckled. “It’s just been a week or so. I still have a long way to go.”

“Oh, shit.” Alice pointed at two familiar trucks getting off the bridge.

“It’s the mercenaries! What do we do?”

Alice’s heart rate skyrocketed but she said, “Nothing. The sun set, they haven’t spotted us, and there are too many people around here. Fuck.”

“Language.”

“Shut up. I get to be angry.”

“No need to fight, you two. They’re leaving.”

“Leaving with their animals…” Marco added.

“Whew. Good. Damn, Alice, you showed some real self-control just now.”

“I’m tired.”

Alice put a hand on Clare’s shoulder. “They’ll get theirs in the end. The bad guys always do. Ron did, didn’t he? You saw to that yourself.”

“Yes I did.”

“I’ll see to it myself. I’ve waited this long, I can wait a little longer. I’ll get that head of his…”

And then the trucks stopped just a short distance down the road. The woman and a man got out of one vehicle while Alice’s target left the other. They had parked in front of a shack that seemed to be selling cooked lake fish.

“Why didn’t we just eat there?” Clare asked.

Alice wordlessly stood and made toward the mercenaries, moving slowly and snaking around other resting groups. Clare wanted to object but kept quiet and followed anyway. The fox and Marco were right behind her.

The shack was built around the helm of an old fishing boat. Tables had been set up outside and food was cooked within the helm. The mercenaries had found their own little table and were obliviously chewing away when Alice tip toed up behind them. And there she stopped and looked down on her prey like an eagle targeting its next meal. She turned around to the others and pointed at her target’s companions.

Clare nodded and unbound Marco. “Leave the scarred one to Alice, no matter what,” she whispered to him.

Marco nodded and together they grabbed the extra man and woman and dragged them away. Onlookers steered clear of the fight, leaving the business only to whom it concerned. The killer stood and turned around to help his comrades but his route was blocked.

“Remember us?” Alice asked.

The man scowled and swung at Alice. She blocked his fist and struck his throat with a jab. He put his hands to it and backed away.

“Heh. You’ve got fifty pounds on me but that doesn’t matter if you can’t breathe, now does it?” Alice cracked her knuckles. “You don’t remember me. I was in hiding so you couldn’t see me but I sure saw you.”

The killer recovered and drew a knife before attacking again. Alice masterfully deflected the knife, simultaneously slipped a foot behind the man’s legs and grabbed his throat, and then used her weight to slam the man on his back. She then released him and backed away to watch him like a cat playing with its food. He was coughing and wheezing and his face was a little on the blue side. He was unamusingly slow to recover so Alice stomped on his chest. Bone cracking was quite audible.

“You killed my parents. You beheaded them. You know what I think of that?”

The killer kept panting for air underfoot but defiantly scowled.

“I think an eye for an eye, and a head for a head.” Alice unsheathed her dagger but rather than going for the finishing blow, grabbed the man’s leg and lifted it with ease. She then sliced his Achilles’ Tendon. The same action was performed on the other leg while the man screamed and struggled and begged her to stop. Onlookers backed further away.

“Oops, I got distracted. What was I saying? A head for a head?”

In the most brutal of fashions, Alice ripped the man’s pants down, grabbed his genitals without hesitation, and sliced it all off. The man screamed in agony.

“A head for a head,” Alice repeated. “Enjoy the rest of your crippled, sexless life. Let’s go, guys.”

Clare and Marco dumped their unconscious prisoners right on top of the crying killer and followed Alice back to their campsite.

They ended the night with that. No one wanted to speak unless Alice said something first, which did not happen. Bedrolls were almost unwanted because of the hot southern temperatures. Late summer was in full effect, even at night. The humidity rose with the sun the next day. No clouds spared the travelers its burning rays. And burn, they did. Clare and Alice donned their spare clothes over their heads to prevent excess sunburn since there was no more mud to do that anymore. But the extra weight and cover only made them sweat more. There was no winning this. Only Marco seemed to be able to ignore the weather in his natural drafty clothes. There were cypress and oak trees, but so few covered the boat road and their desired shadows were always as packed as could be with foot traffic. No winning.

Fortunately New Orleans was within reach. They reached the equivalent of a Refuge’s gate: a battleship. It was obviously grounded, but the guns were clean and guards patrolled its length. The boat road moved around it and revealed what New Orleans had become after nature’s fury stuck.

More grounded old ships had been prettied up and converted into restaurants, hotels, bars, etc. and all of them were encircled a massive dome with moss and algae crawling up its sides. The makeshift road continued its service but most of the “land” here was provided by the buildings of old that had all crumbled. But it stank. Litter and foul sewage floated in every body of water.

“This place is something else,” Clare said.

“It sure is,” Marco agreed.

“Alfred described it in brief, but words are nothing compared to being here. I can’t believe how this place is supported,” Alice said like last night never happened.

“You humans are resourceful,” the fox said. “And your forebears were wise to salvage the city. It is at the mouth of the Mississippi River, an important location for commerce.”

“Thanks for the history lesson.”

“You are welcome.”

“Now we just have to find those assholes. If you were someone who threw people overboard into dangerous currents, where would you be?”

“They had good intentions.”

“But they chose a shit way to carry them out.”

“Language.”

Alice grunted.

“They threw you off a boat and you still trust them. Unbelievable.” Marco shook his head.

“Wait, I have an idea. Calvin and Raven are drinkers. Let’s check and see if any bartenders have seen them.”

“It’s a start.”

There were many signs above doorways, but none that really indicated if the establishments were bars or not. They eventually found the Red Light District. It had bars and sin aplenty but the hours spent searching through it proved fruitless. They gave up and found a brightly lit cruise ship in a less sketchy area.

The generous wad of cash bought them a classy room with a good view of the city. Clare was less concerned about the view and more interested in the running water. Alice kept away from the window but Marco enjoyed the view.

“This is amazing!” she called from the shower. “It can even get hot!”

“Your Refuge didn’t have running water?” Alice asked from the chair she was resting on.

“They did but it wasn’t hot like this. It doesn’t even stink. They must have imported it or cleaned it somehow.”

“Well it is a cruise ship after all. We shouldn’t be so surprised. And don’t take so long in there. Hot water runs out eventually.”

“Oh, okay.”

The fox wandered into the bathroom. “May I see the hot water?” it asked.

“Yeah. Hop in.”

The fox got into the shower. “This is amazing. I am so comfortable!”

“Ew, look at all the dirt coming off of us.”

“Would you two hurry up? I want a turn.”

“May I get a turn?” Marco asked very meekly.

“You may go last.”

“Let me scrub the fox real quick. Are these ticks? Gross.”

Alice almost laughed out loud. Marco was not at all different in his demeanor. He would not, or could not, leave the magnificent view from the window. His hands were on the glass by his head.

Clare finally came out of the shower, fully clothed. “Whew. That was great.”

“Why did you shower with your clothes on?” Alice asked.

“To clean them.”

“Get out of those and hang them up to dry. You’ll catch a cold.”

“That won’t work well indoors,” the fox said. The animal appeared much thinner from its wet fur. “I suggest the roof, er, deck.”

“We’ll all go up there together when I’m done, okay?”

Alice did as Clare did and brought her clothes into the shower with her. She got out when the drain showed signs of clogging. Marco refrained from peeping during the duration of the women’s business and got his own shower last. He was allowed to not wear his bonds during. Then they went to the deck together. Alice kept in the dead center of the deck. It was warm and very windy up there. Marco only had his one pair, so he appreciated the quick drying more than the others. A few other guests were up top as well, taking in the sunset and breeze.

“It’s nice out here,” Clare said. “This might be the best part of the trip. I’m clean, I’m warm, and I can go to my big room and sleep whenever I want.”

“Sorry to rain on your parade but this will be our last hotel night. This room was not cheap. We need to find the Protectors tomorrow.”

“Will you come with us, fox?” Clare asked.

“I do not know,” the fox said. “The rainforest is not my environment. I do not think I have a place there, or with human Protectors.”

“I don’t suppose there’s a way we can talk you into a little more adventure?” Alice asked of the fox.

“What about me?” Marco asked.

“Who cares?”

“I think… I am sorry, humans. Your place is at the Great Tree. Mine is north, in the forests.”

“Wait, how will you get through the city and swamp all the way back to the forest?”

The three stood and faced the wind in silence.

“I may need help,” the fox admitted.

“Maybe we can be of assistance.” The familiar voice made the hearts of the young women jump. They turned and saw the smile of Alfred and the three Protectors behind him. Despite the grudges the women held toward the group, they ran and jumped into their arms, Alice into Alfred’s and Clare into all three of her friends’.

“You greatly exceeded our expectations,” Calvin said to Clare, who was bawling.

“Yeah, we thought you’d take another week at least given the shape you’re in,” Raven added.

“How are you, Alice?”

“I’m fine, you stupid old man.” Alice did not release Alfred. “I did it, Grampa.”

“Did what, Alice?”

“I found their killer.” A tear slipped down her face but she smiled and looked up at Alfred. “I ruined his life.”

Alfred patted Alice’s head. “That’s my girl.”

“Don’t you ever leave me like that again.” Clare dried her tears, released her friends, and waved at the fox that stood watch behind her. “Guys, we owe this fox our lives. We wouldn’t have gotten here if it wasn’t for him.”

Felix stepped up to it. “Like we said, we can help you out with that. By the way, I won’t be going to the Great Tree with you.”

“No?”

“I got some orders from the Master. Looks like I’m needed elsewhere. I have my work to do but I’ll escort your fox home first.”

Clare and Alice both got in Felix’s face. “You’d better take great care of him!” they shouted.

Felix laughed. “I will, I will.” He turned to the fox. “How about it? You and me tomorrow?”

“If Clare and Alice trust you, I will do so as well.”

“But that comes tomorrow,” Alfred said. “Have you two dried off yet?”

“No.”

“Alice, I can almost see through your shirt. Show some modesty. I raised you better than that.”

Alice scoffed at Alfred.

Calvin moved passed the women and stopped in front of Marco. “And who would this be?”

“We have a lot to tell you,” Clare admitted

“Start but telling us how you got here so quickly,” Raven said.

Clare and Alice looked at each other. “It involved making some enemies.”

“Uh oh.”

“Well on day one, we found the Crusaders,” Clare started. The Protectors took worrisome expressions.

“So you’ve heard of them?” Alice asked.

“Oh, we’ve heard of them all right,” Alfred answered. “There isn’t one instance in which our factions have seen eye to eye.”

“You’re a Crusader?” Calvin said to Marco. Marco nodded.

“They can be a little… extreme,” Felix added. He started petting the fox.

“That is an understatement,” the comfortable animal said. “They sent a small army to hunt those two humans down.”

“They stole from us!” Marco defended.

Alfred crossed his arms and stared the women down. “Explain.”

Clare answered slowly. “So they have this stuff called Primal. Have you heard of it?”

The Protectors looked to each other but none recognized the name.

Alice continued. “It basically strengthens you and heightens your senses.” She pointed at Marco. “They plan on using it to eradicate mankind.”

“Go on…”

“Well we kind of drank it.”

Alfred grabbed Alice’s shoulders. “You what!?”

“Relax!” Clare said. “We’re okay. It’s what got us here in one piece.”

Calvin put a hand on Alfred’s shoulder. The old man eased up and released his granddaughter. “On with the explanation. Why don’t we hear a thing or two from your Crusader companion?”

“I have nothing to say to you Elixir-drinking morons. Your strength is wasted on humanity.”

“Before you kill him,” Clare cut in, “he didn’t try to escape despite being able to.” She narrowed her eyes and got closer to Marco. “Care to explain why, Marco?”

Marco looked at all of the faces in front of him and then down to the deck. “Well… I had been looking for a vacation excuse for a while now.”

“A vacation? Not to spy? Not to kill us in our sleep?”

“I’ve been cooped up in Terra for years. Mother, I mean, the Overseer, wouldn’t let me leave.”

“No one believes you,” Alfred said. He was right. “We’ll get back to that later.”

Clare continued. “Moving our story along, after we got the Primal and escaped from the Crusaders we bumped into some slavers. They knocked us out and drove us almost all the way to New Orleans.”

“But you escaped their clutches, obviously.”

“We did,” Alice confirmed. “And I got me revenge. It was after that we reached the swamp and ran into a dragon. It was fighting off a snake and alligator so it ignored us. Some Monster Hunters took it down after its scuffle with them.”

“You need to stay far, far away from those creatures,” Raven warned.

“We weren’t there any longer than we had to be.”

“Wise decision.”

“Next, the Causeway Bridge. Some Crusaders were waiting for us in the middle but for some reason or another they got in a fight with the militia. So we took out a few, the militia took out a few, and that was that before we found my parents’ killer on the south shore.”

Alfred’s expression changed from worry with a bit of anger to one of some relief during the talk, as did the expressions of the others. “Well, you both arrived in one piece. I suppose I can revel in that.” He put an arm around Alice. “I can’t say I approve of mysterious potions, but that’s a discussion for another day. You’re here, you’re alive, let’s take it easy. Have you youngsters eaten yet?”

“Not yet.”

“Then let’s feast. Life is worth celebrating. Let’s go, everyone.”

Alfred led the way out the door and feast, they did. They found a great joint willing to serve four Protectors, a weirdo wearing grass, and a wild animal. Clare got to try the bacon that Alice spoke so fondly of and knew that becoming a vegetarian would never be an option. Bellies filled, they took the party back to the cruise ship for a good night’s rest. The weary young women could not have been happier.

The wonderful night gave way to a delightful day. Cloud cover prevented overheating and humidity was barely tolerable. The smell of the city was still not so grand. Now that she was not searching for anyone or anything and had the protection of powerful allies, Clare took the time to get a better look at New Orleans as they walked. The downtown area was not that different from that of Memphis in that ‘ruins’ was a more appropriate term that ‘city’. The connections between boats was well done and vehicles could easily traverse the city, though such routes were few in number.

Felix and the fox was the first business of the day. Everyone saw to their departure at the edge of the city. Felix assured the young women that the fox was in capable hands. He would protect him from any suspecting Crusaders during their time together as well. There were furry hugs all around, and then man and fox went northward.

For a bit.

Clare’s group was walking away when they heard a small familiar voice shout, “Wait for me!” They turned and saw the fox running full speed to them. Clare and Alice dropped to their knees and embraced him when he arrived and jumped into their arms.

After the fond reunion, they went on the usual shopping spree to resupply. Even Marco was given a few rations. Extra rations were purchased just in case their ship would come into trouble during the trip, a ship provided by Captain Rogers. He was in possession of a large ocean-worthy vessel that could take them all the way from the mouth of the Mississippi across the Gulf of Mexico, through the Caribbean Sea, and along the coast of South America to the mouth of the Amazon River. Clare hoped that none of those so-called hurricanes would pop up along the way.

Little time was wasted. The sun was still moving towards its pinnacle when the group met Captain Rogers at the massive boatyard. The docks were sizeable long ago, but there was no comparison to what they were today.

Captain Rogers’ ship was a modified tanker. It was made more livable just like his ferry had been. Very large harpoon guns had been stationed along the sides as well. They boarded the magnificent vessel just as cranes loaded cargo containers onto the deck. Clare kept her distance from the work but looked on with wonderment at the power of machinery.

Captain Rogers snuck up on her. “Yeah, I gotta get my money’s worth if I’m sailing across the ocean.”

Clare jumped but kept her head. “What do you mean?” she asked.

“The cargo containers. I would barely break even if I were just taking all you folks. With those things, I can keep my whole operation running.”

“What’s in them?”

“All kinds of things. Food, medicine, guns. You know, money-makers.”

“I see.”

“Would you like a tour of the ship, little lady?”

Clare looked into the eyes of the weathered Captain. He showed no ill intent. “Yeah, I’ll go.”

“Can we come?” Alice came jogging up with the fox.

“Absolutely!” Captain Rogers said. “The more the merrier.” They started walking along the sides of the vessel. “Truth be told, I just like bragging about this baby. I won her off a bet. A bet! Can you believe it?”

“I’m having a hard time with it,” Alice said.

“It’s true. I can prove it. Happened years ago on Hunter Island.”

“Where?” Clare asked.

“Cuba,” Alice answered.

“Formerly Cuba. Now Hunter Island, as they call it,” Captain Rogers added.

“So what, it’s literally just a big paradise for hunters?” Clare asked.

“Yes. It’s all jungle with plenty of big game to hunt down, dragons included. An acquaintance bet I couldn’t bag a jaguar. Proved him wrong. Check this out.” Rogers pulled up his sleeve and revealed four claw scars. “Supposed to be the deadliest animal there. Not deadly enough for ol’ Captain Rogers.”

“And you did this alone?” skeptical Alice asked.

“You tell me.” Rogers cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, “Butcher!”

A roar resounded across the ship and docks. Everyone looked up to the captain’s cabin and watched an enormous jaguar stride into the sunlight. No one ran away, or did anything for that matter. Fear of the magnificent predator froze them in place. The fox moved behind the women.

“What do you want?” Butcher the jaguar yelled down to Captain Rogers.

“Remember when I caught you?” Rogers shouted back up.

“I remember you, Carlos, Miguel, and Ronny all working together.”

“You don’t remember jack, stupid cat!”

“Fuck you, human!” Butcher flashed the big cat’s equivalent of the middle finger and returned to the cabin.

“He don’t know nothing,” Captain Rogers said to the women. “He’s just a bitter old cat.”

“That bitter old cat can kill everyone here,” Alice said. She, and everyone else, was shaken.

“Calm down, ladies. Butcher knows not to eat my paying customers.”

“Why did you name it ‘Butcher’? Why not something nice?” Clare asked.

“Are you going to run away from someone named ‘Daisy’ or someone named ‘Butcher’?”

Alice tried to move things along. “What are the harpoon guns for?” she asked.

“Harpooning things.”

“What things, smartass?”

“Fish, these days. Used to be for boarding other ships.”

“Were you a pirate or something?”

“No… Yes. But those days are over. Almost. Used to be I didn’t even have to board. I’d just let Butcher hop over and watch him have his fun.”

“What’s your relationship with Butcher? He’s not your pet is he?”

“Like I said, I captured him by myself.”

“No you didn’t!” Butcher’s voice shouted from above.

“I was captivated by his sheer magnificence and made a deal with him: stay by my side as a friend and crewmate, and you’ll get free meat in return. Also I won’t turn you into a rug.”

“I’d take that deal,” Alice said.

“As would I. Now let’s get below decks. I’ll show you how to make sure a ship’s ready for takeoff.”