Dark Nights

Chapter 2

.....And I was dead again.

Having followed the almost exact same steps as the times before, the only change I had made was the jump.

Instead of jumping up to the crows nest, I climbed over the ropes and landed on the other side of the mast, narrowly avoiding the flames as they licked at the tar-covered ropes.

Having landed on two feet, I ran around trying to damage the deck as much as I could without getting fried from the excessive heat and playing Whack-A-Mole with the hammers being thrown at me.

I felt like being dramatic, so I backflipped over one of the flames, making my skin tingle with the heat from the flames, though this tingle felt a little different. Less like I might burn and more like a slightly too hot bath.

It's then that I noticed it was tiring, and very quickly at that

The flames that had once caught the wood on fire instantly only burned it slightly. The 30-foot columns had decreased to almost 10, reminding me of how close I was to it.

Heart skipping a beat, I sprinted its way, watching as its hands fell to grab another hammer that wasn't there.

Instead, it pulled out a roll of duct tape and held it like a sword as I charged towards it, making me chuckle slightly.

At least this shadow has a sense of humor, I thought as I slashed through its midsection, dissipating it effectively.

I wonder if you can be friends with a shadow.

Of course, it's when I was pondering the most important question of my life that Black lunges from the shadows, instantly making the once bright expanse shrivel down to a midnight tone, the only light from a torch on the right of the cabin door, and even that light was starting to ebb green.

It rolls hard on the ground, making me wonder where it trained.

The thought spurred me from shadow friends to survival. I could give up now, I did complete a new obstacle, but I wanted to see if I could learn a bit more about this mysterious ship.

Darting behind myself, I ran into the cabin door, releasing a breath as I flung it open to reveal a network of hallways I'd have to learn.

Sighing, I ran to the left as I heard Black emerge again from the shadows, hand narrowly missing my arm, instead falling onto the floor where the color was instantly sucked out of it, the somehow cheery dark wood turning an ashy grey.

Turning at the first (and last) right, which was about 2 feet away, I darted down the hallway to get lost as fast as possible while making a mental map.

Doors lined the hallways, each of them only about 6 feet apart, making me wonder how the ship was set up. Several would have to be storage for any sort of journey, while some would have to hold the crew and their belongings. If they brought animals, which they probably would, there would have to be a stable somewhere here.

Thoughts running almost as fast as me, I saw an unusual door, this one almost 15 feet from the next one.

Turning inside, I flung the heavy door open to reveal an empty room.

But it was huge, the ceiling almost 10 feet high, coupled with the 20 by 15-foot room, made the whole space look as big as a cathedral- the only thing missing would be the pews and a priest.

Along the wall next to me ran a shelf full of weapons, everything from a bow to a dagger to a helmet was here, the chaos making it feel homey. I ran to it, putting away one of my blades to grab a handful of daggers, the blades slicing at my rushed hands. I ignored the pain, holding my extra daggers in on hand, making me put both blades away, but kept on in my left hand holding the blade with bloody fingers as I waited for Black to make its move.