"Why???" Jackie screamed into the void, heartbroken. He was obviously going through the first stage of grief, aka denial. Then, the flashbacks. Oh dear lord the flashbacks. Alex walked over to him and patted his buddy on the back, comforting him. "Hey. You two."
Something spoke. Alex glanced back. It was some guy in a striped tank top. "You guys looking for that flashy car parked out here just a while ago?" Jackie looked back at where the guy was, failing miserably at looking angry. The man tilted his head to one side and shrugged nonchalantly. "Hate to tell ya, amigos. My crew just shipped it off somewhere." Before Jackie could flip his shit again, the guy continued hastily. "I didn't take part in that, okay? I was taking a break and I saw the car parked out here, but after I had gone to buy food it was gone. When I went back to the dock and I saw my crew lifting the car into a ship, but I didn't ask what they were doing as I was afraid. I'm a pirate you can trust, I swear." Upon hearing that, Jackie stood up and looked into the distance, breathing in the crisp salty sea air. Wind blew through his fur, autumn leaves suspended in the air. Kind of like an anime, but if a furry wrote it. The man raised an eyebrow hidden under his bandanna. He pointed awkwardly to Jackie, glancing at Alex. Alex decided to change the topic. "What's your name, exactly?" "Jay." He answered impatiently, shoving his hand in his pocket. Jackie turned back to where they were. "So. Jay. Take us to your leade- Wait, no. Ship." Jay nodded and barged past Jackie. Oh boy, this was going to be fun.
Jay brought Alex and Jackie to a docking bay where a few ships had parked. A dude with a scar on his lip noticed them and rushed over, swooping Jay into a tight hug. This would be one of the many hints that the writer likes shipping gay things because, hey, it's adorable. "Jay! You took a little longer than usual, where were you?" Jay leaned in and whispered a few things to the man, peering over to Alex and Jackie every other second. Having listened to him, the guy conversed back softly, placing a hand on Jay's shoulder. They continued this for a while until finally turning to face Alex and Jackie. "Well!" The man spoke, retrieving his hand. "I'll leave you three to it then! Have the day you deserve, pals!" He took a short bow then ran off to continue with his duties." "Aight, follow me." Jay waved his hand, walking over to a small boat tucked away in the corner of the dock. He hopped in and started the engine as Alex and Jackie followed after. "Where are we going?" Alex shouted over the loud engine. "Chase Island. Your car's over there." Jackie let out an intentional groan. "I'm s O TIRED OF HAVIN G To go evErYWHERE." Alex quickly placed his arm around Jackie and patted him on the shoulder. "You want your car back, don't you, friend?" Alex whispered. Jackie refused to look at Alex, but nodded anyway. Alex nodded back, smiling. All while Jay stared at their soap opera, annoyed. Alex grinned back to break the forming tension. Good one, Alex. Be like Alex. Jay rolled his half-covered eyes and turned back. And so, they were off.
An hour had passed, nothing but the deep blue seas everywhere and the occasional bird... Which attacks Jay. He had lost two tail feathers and was very, very disgruntled. Hunched over, trembling, and exceedingly sweary. Alex decided to have this, quite frankly, humorous cycle stop. Of course, what better way then to ask questions? Ignore that this sailor was already on the verge of contemplating life, there were questions that needed to be answered! "Ey, bucko! Why did your crew take our car?" Jay shook his head dismissively. "Money. What else? Boss is one greedy bastard." Alex leaned on the boat's rail. He raised an eyebrow, looking over the horizon. The sun was slowly setting, the ocean shimmering in the orange light. "Hey, you okay there, buddy?" Jay asked, speaking calmer than usual. "Oh no, it's nothing." "Come on, I know a sad person when I see one." His voice was soothing. It was clear he had reassured someone else before. Alex didn't dare ask.
"Hah, okay, okay. It's just... I'm well, afraid. That kid back there, Jackie. Some life he's living."
"I can tell."
"I'm just worried he could hurt himself, or worse. It's not worth losing someone as amazing as him. Just over some sorry excuse of a so-called realist."
Alex continued.
"Not only that, i'm going to meet my brother soon. And, well, ever since he's gotten his job he's just so... Stern. I really don't want to see him again. But desperate times call for desperate measures. I've avoided properly speaking to him for so long. I just don't know what he's going to do."
"Oh? You care about your friend. And you care about yourself too. That's good. Some people take it too far, risking their life over something simple." Alex nodded, not taking his eyes off the water down below.
"You know that guy just now, right?" Jay asked.
"The one with the scar? Yeah, why?"
"We're in deep trouble too. If we're caught together again, Boss will flip and do bad."
"Gee, that sucks."
"Haha, yeah. Seb says It'll be fine though. I doubt it, this is basically the only job I'm qualified for. Without this, my relatives are going to keep telling me to get another one."
So the conversation went on. Of course, we'd have to edit out all of that. Hey, come on! If I continued with it we would've been stuck here for ages! Besides, none of it was important to the plot at all. Let's just say that everyone had a good time, alright? Here, have a picture that illustrates just that.
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Don't you just love this new format?
"And that's wh-"
"Ah! There it is! Chase! Guys, you're close to getting your car back!" Looks like Jay was back to his former self.
Chase Island was said to be owned by Felix Chase, a wealthy man back before the second apocalypse. It's said to be haunted by ghosts who had worked under Chase during his lifetime. Many travelers decide to explore, but many never come back. Those who do go mad. All tell of exact same story. And thus, no one dared to go near it. Jackie would always call it the typical "haunted island hullabaloo". Who knows, maybe he was right?
The island was now visible. A few large buildings stood planted in the middle. You could see creatures walking along the bay, weapons in hand. Alex quickly woke Jackie up. They circled around the island, cautiously avoiding sight before stopping at a covered area. "Well, he we are, boys!" Jay motioned at the hill up ahead. "Chase Island!"
