Colliding

Chapter Four: Lucy

The cold air of the night stings at my bare feet once again. I lost track of the days spent in the creaky shed, spending them silently hoping for the waves in my dreams to carry me away.

They'd always snatch my knees from a white beach, dragging me to the bigger waves. I get lost in the cold darkness of the water surrounding me, but I keep breathing, inhaling wonderful memories.

The waves will never come I decide, unless if I go to them myself. The wood of the boat under me creaks, as if in agreement. It's been a few days since the big win, order was still in the process of its healing. People have exited their shelters and went back to their homes, or at least what was left of them. Almost everyone helps cleaning up the mess, already planning a new future.

I find myself returning to the home I have left; a small ship that used to be my father's.

If I stay here I'd be found eventually, torn from the peaceful quietness, and be sent to an orphanage of some sort. But the water keeps calling, wanting me to sail The Margo one last time. It wasn't anything special, just a cargo ship that can carry 12 barrels that my dad used his entire life. The longer I stay in the shed the longer the mourning to sail grows. So by morning, I finally say, why not?

xxx

When the breeze touches my face I realize this is what I always lived for, for the Saturdays I played with the water trying to catch fish and crabs. The waves that greet me are much more peaceful then the waves in my dreams. They dance and topple on my feet as I push the wooden ship into their open embrace.

The ship wasn't so high, so when it's finally floating in the shallow end, the water reaches my thighs. I lift myself with my elbows and topple ungracefully on the floor boards with a thud, face hitting the wood and all. I don't try to stand up letting the ship and breeze do all the jobs and sailing us off of the shore.

After a while, I lean to my side, the sun rays shine warmly at me as they pear from the small sails. I smile and my hair flies. If it was up to me I would spend the rest of my life like this, lazing under the sun like a cat. Sadly I am not a cat. The electric gates that surround our limited ocean got dispatched after the Capital's fall; so no need to worry about the ship stopping any time soon.

With that thought in my head I start to doze off. My senses start to fade as the barrels of supplies I packed earlier begin shifting to the left. Then the ship sways harder, and I am dreaming about a cat swinging on a hammock, which is weird. My dreams are never this cute. So of coarse that doesn't last, since something even weirder happens.

I hear canons.

My senses come back like a slap to the face and I jolt to my feet so suddenly I almost knock myself out. I scan the area, not recognizing it. How long did I dream about that cat?

A canon shoots again so I jerk my head up ahead, and am met by the hugest most beautiful bloody ship I've see all my life holy fish. It was coming towards me, cutting the water gracefully, not stopping.

What the hell sh-

BOOM!

I see two girl swimming to me and they're so close, so-

BOOM!

And I'm frozen next tot he barrels and oh god-

BOOM!

The ship stops moving but it keeps firing. Iron balls break the water around me, splashing madly.

The girls reach for Margo's short sides and my ears are ringing. The first one hops inside much more gracefully than I ever could, and the canons stop. All my senses are back except my voice, which I can't find anywhere.