I am sorry this isn't the longest story, I was having trouble coming up with ideas and was trying to find a plot that wasn't too long, but not too short either. This is science fiction, I would say. It's not exactly clear in the story, but all of the world has been sunk except for a chunk of land, and boats are a lot more advanced. Tell me what you think and if you have any feedback! Thanks for reading. T̲h̲e̲ S̲e̲a̲f̲a̲r̲e̲r̲'̲s̲ E̲n̲e̲m̲i̲e̲s̲ I had to make this connection. It was rare that two ships met and it was essential that I changed ships. That was how running worked. I watched as they moved closer together, closer and closer until finally they touched. This was my chance. I jumped across to the other ship. I had made it. I walked to Cabin 314, and before I opened the door decided on a name. Norwyn. The room had three other girls, they each said their name. "Solya." "Aranokra." "Patris." "Norwyn." Whenever connections happened, you either stay on your ship or jump to the connecting ship. It was your choice, no one had any say in what you did. If you got on the new ship, they would assign you to a cabin. There were three classes: first class, a nice room all to yourself for one hundred welions a night, second class, a room that was the same size but for three people for thirty welions a night, and third class, small rooms that fit four people and cost ten welions a night. I always got third class. You would each introduce yourself, not that anyone used their real names. Perhaps you would bond, or not. Stay there till you lept off at another connection. The sea was where you hid from your enemies. Land was the place for people with power and influence, that could afford to be the enemies. Of course you made enemies at sea, but they would forget you sooner or later, they had other things to worry about besides hating someone you were never going to see again. I had been at sea for seventeen years, I could probably go back to land now. My "enemy" was more of Ma's and I could assume a false identity and try to start a life, an actual life, but I barely remembered land and I knew the sea like the back of my hand. So I kept going. "So Norwyn, know anything about ships?" Patris asked. I looked at her for a second, and with a mischievous smile replied, "What kind of ships?" For a moment I was happy, I'd found some who shared interests with me, but then I remembered I'd have to leave her, just I like I'd left everyone else I'd ever known. I had been getting these moods lately. Feeling like I was sick of running, constantly. I was lonely, but what was I supposed to do? I didn't know a thing about land, and if I kept to the sea, I had to keep running, which means no friends. I walked up to the deck and stared at the sea. It was what I did when I felt defeated. I sat there for a while, but it didn't help so I went back down. "Norwyn, can I show you something? I promise it's worth your time," Patris asked. I didn't have anything else to do, so I followed her. While we were walking, Patris started to tell me where we were going, "So, on the ship, pretty much everyone is running right?" "Yeah" "So, who isn't running?" I thought about it for a while and then shrugged. "The crew. They get to stay on the sea, but they have to work to get a living. They never have to leave the ship!" It was like she read my mind, the perfect solution to my problem was to become a part of the crew. Except it wasn't perfect, because there were almost no open spots. "You weren't here for it, but there was a pirate raid last week and two of the crew members died from injuries sustained. I kept thinking, I could do it! I know a whole lot about ships, but I didn't want to go alone. I wanted to go already knowing the other person, because all of the crew already knows each other. You see what I mean?" "Yeah, you wanna go apply?" We walked up to the deck and gave them our names, or the ones we were using anyways. They accepted us and assigned us to be deckhands after asking us if we knew how. Then a man named Horus showed us to our new quarters and told us to be ready for a shift in three hours. The room was about the same as the third class ones, except you paid with labor instead of welions. It had four beds with storage underneath, two were currently unoccupied but clearly in use and that was it. There was a bathroom that was shared at the end of the hall and any other activities were done on other parts of the ship. Patris left to go to the bathroom. A knock came from the door. I thought it was her coming back, but when I opened the door it was a towering man. "Let me in, Arlana," he boomed. "My name is not Arlana, my name is Norwyn, I am a deckhand," I tried, but he knew who I was. He had found me and there was no convincing him I was somebody else. He had come for me. Credits Story Image Pixabay Music Scherzo for Violin and Swords by Bear McCreary Thumbnail: Made on Canva with image from google
