Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 56021 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 280(@200wpm)___ 224(@250wpm)___ 187(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56021 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 280(@200wpm)___ 224(@250wpm)___ 187(@300wpm)
I like to watch her work. The way she moves is not only charming but alluring. The human body is such a simple, pretty thing, hers especially. From time to time she looks up from her self-appointed task and makes eye contact with me, checking that I am still here. I am, of course. A little shy smile on her part shows she is pleased by this.
I never imagined I could be content at a crash site having nearly lost my life, and having been flung far into uncivilized territory, but here I am. When I first banished Shan from the city, I did wonder if I could not start a new civilization, a new city of sorts, one free of the corruption of Grave City. One I would lead. Now it feels as though I might not have a choice.
Shan, Lettie, and the infant largely remain in their tent. Sometimes we can hear them arguing, though for the most part they are quiet. I feel a sense of pity for all of them. Nothing that is to come will be easy for them. It would have been better if they had been left in the wilderness in the first place. The rescue which gave Lettie access to power was probably the biggest mistake I’ve seen unfold in decades.
“Allie!” one of the blondes yells out. Cadence, I think.
“What?” Allie lifts her head from the machine at the fire pit which she has been scrubbing. It is not dirty.
“Does the baby have a name?”
“I don’t think so.”
“It should have a name.”
Allie pushes her hair out of her face. “I don’t think it is our job to name someone else’s baby.”
Cadence smirks. “I don’t think it’s your job to act like you’re responsible for cleaning everything, but you still do it.”
“It keeps me busy,” Allie says. “Stops me from thinking too much.”
The other blonde, Casey, pipes up. “You’re supposed to think. That’s why you have a brain. Ever noticed how nobody ever says, oh I put a plastic bag over my face — helps me from breathing too much?”
Cadence laughs. “Exactly. I’ve never understood this horror with letting our brains do what they want to do.”
“That’s because there’s nothing in either of your brains besides goofy shenanigans,” Allie says. “I have other things in mine. Like mass-murder.”
“Giving or receiving?”
“Both, I think.”
“Trauma,” Cadence says to Casey.
“Very trauma,” Casey replies. “I thought the chip being deactivated would wipe the memories of the atrocities?”
Allie’s answer is surprisingly honest. “Some of them, but not all, and Raine… when she said… she reminded me.”
“Raine can be a real piece of work. I’m glad she wasn’t captain for long. I’m pretty sure if she had stayed captain longer we wouldn’t have been pirates at all. She would have turned us into a corporate delivery service,” Cadence says.
“She would have murdered someone and gotten us all fired,” Allie says.
“Plus, it was Sullivan’s ship.”
“Was. Now it’s the mountain’s ship.”
“That’s never going back together.”
“Hell no, it never is. I’ve never seen anything that broken before.”
“We could try to put it back together. But I think salvaging hunting parts is the way to go. We’re going to need to provide meat.”
“Yes! Meat. Shan’s a decent hunter according to Lettie, but he has to watch her and the baby, because who knows what she’d decide to do if she was left on her own. She’s full crazy right now.”
“I know.”
I am impressed with these humans, well, besides Lettie. I suppose even she is impressive in her madness. They are all very effective in their own ways, and they are absolutely not waiting for anybody to fix anything for them. These are independent women who do not need any leadership. The downside of that is that they’re not going to accept any either.
They are also right about the hunting. We need meat. Protein is good for the mind, and for morale.
“I am going to hunt for food,” I announce. “The three of you stay here.”
All three human females look at one another, clearly telegraphing the fact that they have no intention of obeying me without saying a word. I say the only thing I can think of to stop them from following me.
“If any of you three leaves this encampment, I will whip Allie.”
“What!?” Allie gasps. “But I’m not… I can’t stop them.”
I hope that the loyalty of the crew, this silent understanding, will ensure that the other two stay in line.
“This is not safe territory. These are wild lands. There are predators everywhere. Here, you are protected by fire, and by numbers, and by the fact that no creature in these lands has ever encountered such things. Leaving this area is the same as asking to be killed.”
“Okay, drama,” Cadence mutters under her breath.
“I am serious. I will use Allie as a whipping girl for each of you if necessary. She will take the pain.”