Chronicle of Burden

Chapter 19

As the Immortal Blade Valkyries were escorted outside of the city's limits, a level of normality started to return to the frightened populace and the tension started to ware out steadily.
Meanwhile, in the port, the dockworkers began loading the last remaining cargo they had to haul across the sea. They empty the fenced parking lot where numerous construction vehicles were parked, using a crane to lift and load the vehicles on board the ship where they were lowered into a special hold.
As the last of the vehicles were lowered into the hold, the folding hatch covers closed shut and the ship gets ready for departure.
From beneath one of the construction vehicles, something begins to stir and squeeze its way out. The Captain slowly crawls out from beneath a Front Loader.
Breathing raggedly and stricken with pain, the Captain sits down and leans his back against the vehicle's massive tires. He takes a look at his prosthetic arm, it's now nothing but a mangled piece of metal with its inner workings exposed, and circulation liquid mixed with blood uncontrollably trickling out of it.
There is little the Captain can do after losing his hip-pouch when a metal beam nearly fell on him. Because of the suddenness of the event and his poor condition, the beam clipped the Captain and tore off the hip-pouch denying him what little medical reserves he had inside it before abandoning it.
With a shaking right hand, the Captain reaches inside the chest region of his tight suit and pulls out his last remaining serum vial. He warily eyes the device, the only vial that survived the beam's impact while the others were crushed, but not even this one could escape the damage. A few hairline cracks are spreading across the surface of the vial, it will soon start to take in air rendering the serum ineffective should it be exposed.
Having no other choice, the Captain places the device against the right side of his neck and injects himself with a measure of the serum, leaving inside only a small quantity for later use should he need it.
For the following week, the Captain takes refuge inside this area of the ship where no one is permitted access due to the nature of the cargo and that the construction vehicles were sealed.
Of course, this didn't prevent the sailors from occasionally entering this area, taking advantage of the fact that mostly no one would pass by or check on that storage area. Sailors would spend a good amount of time there where they would drink, play cards, gossip, or kill time when they weren't in the mood to work.
Each time the Captain had the chance to sneak out of the storage area, he would raid the mess hall for food and try to break into the infirmary for medical supplies.
After two days, the Officers on board the ship started to take note of the missing medical supplies, especially the medicine that contained codeine and morphine, as well as other things such as bandages and vitamin pills.
Seeing these random acts of theft, the Commander immediately took measures to prevent any further acts of thievery or abuse.
On the third day, armed guards were stationed at the infirmary. The vigilant kind of people that the Captain couldn't afford to try and tackle or get anywhere near and rarely left their post except when they were replaced by their colleagues after eight hours of guard duty.
On the fourth day, guards were posted at the mess hall and took food stocks at the end of each day. Much like the guards at the infirmary, they also rarely left their post and were very vigilant about who entered the mess hall or what the cooks were doing.
Until the fifth day and to the boundless annoyance of the sailors on board the ship, the Commander sent groups of his most loyal men to perform routine checks on the sailors' private quarters and inspect everything in an attempt to find out who stole from the infirmary and what happened to the missing food. Even if these searches turned out empty-handed, the sailors that used to slack off started to become uncannily active to avoid suspicions.
Because of these security measures, the Captain could not risk getting found especially since he was a few days away from England. He had to bear with the pain and hunger until they reached dry land. The real problem was how far would the Captain's health deteriorate till then.
On the sixth day, the security measures were relaxed a little bit but armed patrols and guards were still stationed at the mess hall and the infirmary, ever vigilant for any suspicious activity. By that time, the Captain was famished, he had no food left and used up any sort of medicine that could relieve his pain or soften the effects of the corruption that has now been left unchecked for nearly a week without the serum to keep it in check.
The area where the prosthetic arm was attached to the Captain's body had begun to redden and swell as an infection started to take root. The arm could only be removed through surgery since it was mounted on the Captain's bones, and he had no other choice but to bear with it for the time being.
In six days, the Captain's health was now just as bad, if not worse, as it was before the Sage gave him that medicine. Soon the painkillers would have no effect and a fever had already started to set in.
On the morning of the seventh day, the ship was nearing the port city of Wexford and was preparing for docking maneuvers. The Captain got ready to try and escape from the ship unseen, easier said than done considering the poor state he was in.
Fortunately, as the ship docked and began to unload most of its cargo, the sailors were far too focused on their duties to pay attention to anything else. This allowed the Captain to pass by unseen and keep his attention on the armed crew members that continued to keep an eye out for stowaways or intruders.
After passing by several containers, the Captain manages to hide in a transport vehicle that was towing a cargo container out of the ship's hold. As soon as the vehicle left the ship and headed towards the warehouses, the Captain jumps off the moving vehicle only to fall into a tumbling mess on the ground. He hits the ground hard and is too fatigued to perform even the simplest of things, even holding onto the vehicle required a herculean effort on his behalf.
The Captain half staggers and half walks towards the safety of the warehouses, hoping he could make his way out of the port, but his body couldn't handle the strain for much longer and the corruption had eaten away too much into him.
As the Captain staggers around a corner, he sees a tall man wearing an immaculate black formal suit. His hair matches the color of his suit and is kept in a slicked-back style. He wears a white featureless mask with a single tinted lens for his right eye. The man seems to be waiting for someone as he stands next to an expensive black-colored Sedan Limo.
The man slightly turns his head to the left and notes the Captain trying to hide from him. The man clears his throat, turns to face the hiding Captain, and says: