Favourite Crime

Cada

The terrain consisted of a forest and the noises of a rainy night.

The blood on the ground, the deer corpse in front of me, and my claws was slowly washed away.

The deer I was consuming was hunted only moments ago, or perhaps hours. Time wasn't clear to me. All I knew was that it had never been daytime here.

The morning we were supposed to set sail, I sat at the mast of the ship, keeping look out. When your nightmares refuse to leave you, you keep yourself awake. But that didn't mean I didn't think about them; the dreams where I was more a creature than anything else, where I could think abd control none of myself, and where I didn't feel like I was in my own body. There was little else I thought about.

I had stolen a fashionable hat specifically for this trip. There was a decent chance that it would be my last.

"You're early." I heard Haoun's voice.

"You're sneaky." I replied.

He came to stand beside me, an arm's length away.

I looked at him. He had his cane supporting him.

"Will you be going off on your own instead of going straight after after what we want?"

"I won't do anything until you have your drives, Haoun."

"If you have anything to do that is not in the plan, you have to do it by yourself." Haoun said. "I won't risk my money for your detour."

"I know, Haoun." I said. "I don't intend to drag everyone down with me. You aren't all here for me. You're here on a job." I took a breath. "Those people are not trained for battle. They are scientists and scholars."

He glanced at me. "How did they catch you?"

"Hunters, animal traps, you know, the usual."

"They won't be able to repeat that then."

"Yeah? Why is that?"

He looked at me. "Because you aren't a mindless creature. That's what they treated you like then, it's what they will treat you like now. You were a child then, but you are a completely different person now. And you're not alone." He turned and faced ahead. "And since those people are standing between me and my money, they stand no chance."

I chuckled. He was looking at me again. My laughter died as I took in the look on his face. It was like he had an intent look on his face. "You look like people do when they are praying for something, Haoun."

"I don't believe in prayers."

"But you still wish for things."

"Let me hope, Cada." He said.

He had never called me Cada except when talking about me to someone else. I stood up. "You told me hope is not for people like us."

"It's human nature to want what we can't have."

I knew there were several meanings behind his words. "What can't you have? What do you want, Haoun?"

He didn't say anything for a while but he maintained eye contact. Then he said in a very low voice, "For the whole of Carjimatra to do my bidding."

I rolled my eyes. "So you're admitting that there are still people who don't defer to you."

The corner of his lips turned up.

We were interrupted by a bang.

"There we go." I said.

Haoun turned towards the dock. I saw Herou board the ship. "Come on!" She yelled at Forhn and Roy who were climbing up.

"No one told me I needed a clear head for this!" Roy yelled.

"His mouse is more responsible than him." Haoun said.

There was another bang and Joen climbed over. Souren's bald head appeared after.

"Fuel!" Forhn yelled, heading straight for the steering.

A small group of people was running towards the ship. Haoun shot them in their legs.

Everyone ducked and avoided the bullets they fired at us.

"Herou, Roy, assist Forhn." Haoun ordered.

Herou flipped over and landed on her metallic arm, and used the landing to boost herself into another jump and land where Forhn was ducking while also trying to sail away.

Roy was staring after Herou.

"Roy!" Herou growled.

"Coming!" He yelled and started to crawl forward quickly. His mouse, Macorn, sat on his head.

"Who's putting in the fuel?" Forhn yelled.

"Souren." Herou informed.

"No she's not!"

Souren was indeed simply ducking, but she had engineered the ship. All she had to do was provide some mechanical energy, and the ship regenerated it. That's what the bangs had been.

We were out at sea soon enough and the bullets had stopped flying.

The journey was two weeks long. We reviewed the plan multiple times and revised the blueprints.

It was one week later that we were located by another ship.

"It's miles away, it can't do anything." Herou said.

"I can't even see the flag." Joen said. She pulled up her blue screen and tapped away.

Roy took the binoculars from her and used them. Macorn made her way to sit atop them. "It's Carjimatra's." He said, slurring his words a little. "I can't see the flag but I recognise the ship. It belongs to Goruk." He put down the binoculars and turned to us. "We've been followed."

"It's over three miles away." Joen said, looking at the ship through her blue screen. "It's faster than us."

"We can't let it catch up." Souren said. "We need to slow it down. I'll pull out the cannons."

"There's no need for that." Haoun said.

"You want the ship to catch up to us?" Herou asked.

"Oh no. I think Forhn should go out and greet them." He turned to Forhn. "Don't you think it's a good idea?"

I frowned, and Forhn looked terrified.