Chocolate Cupcake|A Zane~Chan Story

Seabound

I sat on the blanket Aaron gave me, staring at the damp ceiling.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

What made it drip I have no idea. It hasn't rained. It hasn't snowed. It hasn't anything.

"Hyria, " I announced lazily, "Are we sure we're on the right track? Are we sure the other you, the witch, hasn't left? Are we sure she can help us? Or is this just a wild goose chase? It may not even be the man from the cafe. Is all of this worth it? "

She leaned over and placed a hand on my shoulder, "We don't know. But, child, what else is there to do? For now, we have hope. For now, we have a lead. No good cop ever ignores a lead. We need to be better than those sluggers back at home, remember? So come on, help me with this fire. "

"Yeah, yeah you're right," I poked at the heap of illuminating logs with a stick.

But what of Nana? I said we'd be home in a couple of days. This is our sixth day. Almost a week. Instead of finding the witch, instead of finding that man, we're lost. We were captured, imprisoned, and now we're sitting in a cellar. A musty, old, cellar.

Irene knows what's going on over there. In my world. With Nana. Has the 'bitter boy' come back for another round? Is she protected? Is she gaining strength? Is she healthy? Is she again able to hold her own?

But...

I have no clue...

I can only hope she's well.

-. - . -.
Me and Hyria sat by the burning fire, awaiting Aaron's return. He had left early in the morning. He was going to try and find a boat outta here.

The cellar door thunked to a close, making my heart fly.

Came down the stairs was Aaron.

I scrambled to stand up, "Well? Did you find anything? "

He pulled off his hood and faced me, "Yes. There's a ship due to set sail by midday. We need to get ready. Fast. "

I nodded and put on the sleek black cloak laying next to my blanket. Hyria did the same and gathered up the rations and her staff. I grabbed my sharpened rock.

Aaron rolled up the blankets and placed them into his various bags. He squatted and threw water on our fire. We watched as our hard work quickly sizzled out.

"Alright, " Aaron stood from his squat, "Now the tricky part. "

* * *

"Soo... What now? "

We stood, peaking behind a shed on the docks. We stared hopelessly at the ship we were supposed to be on, being boarded by a mass of people.

"You see those boxes, right there? " Aaron pointed to a set of large crates sitting by the ship, "That's our ticket out of here. "

"Seriously? " I exclaimed in disbelief.

"Seriously."

We sat there a minute, waiting for everyone to board.

"Alright, get ready, " He leaned forward, "We're sprinting. Now-"

We bolted forward. The run felt like forever, dreading that someone would see. Once at the crates we quickly looked around. No one.

"Now what-" I was interrupted by Aaron opening the crate door and climbing in.

"Hurry! One in each, let's go! We don't have forever, " He ordered as he closed the hatch.