- 16 -

Lilith watched the sun lift itself lazily above the horizon as the breakfast bell was rung. She walked to the second class galley looking out towards the soft orange pink of the sky shifting into the blue it would carry throughout the day.

Thirteen more sunrises until Eden.

Pandora walked along side her. No, it would be more accurate to say she walk slightly behind her. The narrow space between Lilith's left shoulder and the lined up deck chairs was too small to fit a person. Yet, Pandora had squeezed herself in as if the plentiful room on Lilith's right didn't exist.

"I'm shorter than you. I don't think I'll block your view of the sunrise," Lilith said.

"I have a thing about people being on my left."

Lilith drifted over a few feet and Pandora slipped into the free space she made.

"Why does..." Lilith's question drifted off as she ran it through her head again. "Because you can't see well on that side."

"Not too bad, Lilith. I'm impressed."

The conclusion seemed obvious. Lilith tried to examine Pandora's expression, sure that the hunter was making fun of her. When she looked over the woman glowed in the early morning light. She looked like angels did in illustrations; a heavenly beauty backed by a shimmering halo. When Pandora noticed the stare, she gave a wide smile. Lilith turned her gaze away, heat rising in her cheeks.

"You're being sarcastic, aren't you?"

"Usually, but not right now."

"What is there to be impressed with? It's simple reasoning."

"I used to think the same thing. Mocked the first few people to get it wrong. But it kept happening. Over the years I've realized observation and reason might be requirements for a hunter, but they don't make corn grow faster. They don't season a stew, or stitch torn clothes. Most people don't strengthen their mind because they don't need to."

Pandora raised her arms high above her head stretching the muscles. "That's why now when someone asks a stupid question... Well, I still mock them." Her arms fell back from their stretch. Her right hand landed atop Lilith's head on its journey down and began to rustle her hair. "But I appreciate the smart one's like you."

Lilith pulled herself away from Pandora and swept her hair roughly back into place. "Stop, your gonna mess it up."

Pandora beamed. "Who do you think fixed it in the first place."

Lilith stuck her tongue out wringing a laugh out of the hunter. Not looking to be teased any further, she shifted the conversation back to her previous curiosity. "Pandora, how did you lose your eye?"

"I didn't lose it, I know exactly where it is."

Lilith blinked at the speed of the non-answer. There was no awkward silence while she decided whether or not to reply. Not even a pause while she put together her words. She hadn't just dodged the question, but done so automatically. A rehearsed denial. Did that mean she was uncomfortable sharing with anyone, let alone a relative stranger like Lilith?

Lilith had just been praised for her reasoning, so she decided not to get the complement revoked. She wouldn't press the issue. The rest of their walk was spent in silence only broken by the creak of a door. Lilith spun. Pandora held it open, beckoning Lilith inside with a wave. She had wandered straight past the destination. Not wanting Pandora to see her embarrassment, she kept her head low and shuffled inside. She could feel the woman follow her in; the hunters presence like a weight on her back.

Heat rose on Lilith's skin. Her apprehension around Pandora was still holding strong and now the woman was pressed tight against her. She longed for more space but between the outer wall and the crowd waiting to be seated ahead there was none to be found. In contrast to the packed entrance, most of the chairs around the dining area sat empty.

Lilith wondered at the source of the delay. It wasn't a complicated matter. Second class didn't get preferred seating; they were arranged according to their arrival. The only way to sit with a particular person was to come together and hope there were two spots at the current table. The bell had rung quite some time ago, there should be more people seated.

After an extended wait an anxious woman stumbled in from a back room and began seating passengers. As she escorted them 6 at a time her movements were unsteady. She hunched as she walked. Lilith and Pandora crawled forward with the line and eventually it was their turn to be led inside and seated. The woman handed each of them a small printed page with the days menu and beckoned them to follow.

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Up close the lack of color on the woman's face was readily apparent. Lilith's first thought was sea-sickness. But then, someone who got sea-sick wouldn't last long on a ship. She would have to be a brand new employee out to sea for her first time ever. Would they send the new employee out to run the front of house on their first day? Regular sickness made more sense, but not much more. She shouldn't be serving guests.

"Here we are. Please have a seat and your order will be taken shortly."

The hostess gestured towards the line of seats and the rest of the group began to seat themselves. Pandora took the spot at the very end of the table. Lilith spun the chair and sat before rotating around to face the table. Every seat in the hall was bolted to the deck with a swivel seat to allow people to get into place despite how close together the chairs were packed. Lilith figured it must keep the chairs from sliding around in rough seas. It also succeeded in keeping her just a bit too far from the table to eat comfortably. A downside of her short stature.

Pandora leaned over and spoke in a low voice, "Notice anything wrong?"

"The woman who led us to our seats looked ill. You shouldn't have someone sick working anywhere near food, but I understand capitalism. Still, even if they forced her to work sick it's not in their best interest to let the guests see. If they sent her out, it's because all the employees look like that."

"Am I allowed to be impressed this time?"

Lilith glared at Pandora who answered back with a wry smile, then said, "Something's wrong, I just don't know what yet."

Lilith turned her attention down to the menu and said, "Should we ask the waiter when they come to take our orders."

"If something is wrong they aren't going to admit it in front of the passengers."

"Think we should skip out on eating?"

Pandora sagged forward and spilled out onto the table. The sight reminded Lilith of wax melting from a candle. There was a sharp exhale and she said, "What a waste. I finally got the end seat."

"Hmm?"

Pandora let out another sigh and rolled her head to face Lilith. "They don't let you choose where to sit. Sometimes not even with a bribe. That means more often than not I end up with someone sitting in my blind spot as I eat. I can't stand the feeling. Even though I know nothing is going to happen my body tightens up and my heart starts racing. It gets hard to breathe. It almost feels like drowning."

Lilith understood the feeling well enough. It sounded quite a bit like how Pandora made her feel. A feeling she longed to avoid as much as possible. That was the reason she pulled for any excuse to leave the meal early. She was trapped with Pandora each night, and the woman would likely invite her to breakfast each morning. But after that she could wander the ship; a welcome break from the constant guard she needed to put up around the hunter.

Pandora jumped to her feet. "I can't believe I'm going to waste my good luck on satisfying my curiosity."

Lilith swiveled in her chair until she faced Pandora. Her question — should I come too? — answered before it was asked.

"You should stay. I'm about to get myself into trouble."

Lilith didn't argue. She swiveled her seat back into place and turned her attention back to the menu. The more time she had away from Pandora the more time she had to think. More time to form some kind of plan for surviving the next two weeks.

"If it's something bad I'll come find you. Otherwise I'll see you tonight."

Lilith bid the hunter farewell and watched her walk toward the front of the restaurant. Turning back to the table, she let out a sigh of relief. She could drop the mask. Lilith could be Lilith again, at least until night fell.

The panicked shouts of a crewman sounded from the direction Pandora had left in. "Ma'am. Ma'am! You can't go back there."

Lilith held back a laugh. Pandora said she was going to get herself in trouble, but that soon? That woman really didn't care what people thought of her.

Except me for some reason.

Lilith waited until a crew member came to take the orders for the table. It was a different woman than the one who had seated them, but she had the same anxiety painted over her face. The food came some time later served up by yet another new face; a young man looking at least as bad as the women. Lilith realized then, it wasn't illness, but fear that showed so openly on the staff. She saw it in the man's eyes. The same look of terror that had overtaken Joshua's face that night.

Lilith's appetite vanished.

After fifteen minutes she had only managed two bites of baked apple and a fork full of shirred egg. She pushed the plate away and stood. It was obvious she wasn't going to eat and the last thing she wanted was to lock eyes with the server when he came back. To be looked at with that fear. Not again.

Lilith moved to the front of the dining hall and pushed her way through the late arrivals waiting to be seated. Breaking free onto the deck, she stopped and took a deep breath. The salt in the air tickled at her tongue. The knot in her stomach started to unravel.

A tall man in a long coat squeezed past Lilith and rushed down the length of the ship. She had been standing dead center in the walk way. She stepped back to stand against the wall, but a detail pulled at the corner of her mind. Something she thought she saw, but couldn't be sure. When the man moved by, as he turned his torso to squeeze past, Lilith caught a glimpse of something peeking from behind his coat. A weapon. A double barreled shotgun cut short.

Did I really see that?

"You've noticed it haven't you?"

Lilith jumped at the sudden voice. Her heart trembled in her chest. She turned to find a man with a heavily scarred face; the one Pandora had been trying to avoid since they boarded. Somehow he had managed to get within a few feet without her noticing.

"Graham?"

The man's eyes sharpened. "Actually it's Gamal."

"Oh, my apologies."

"You've seen the strange way the staff is acting, haven't you? Noticed the armed men patrolling the decks. The crew is trying desperately to keep a secret."

Lilith thought that Pandora made her nervous but a few words exchanged with Gamal was an agony. One made her heart beat fast and the other made her skin crawl. Lilith would happily wrap her arms around Pandora each night if this was the alternative. So, she tried to rush through the conversation.

"And what secret is that?"

Lilith bent backwards trying to escape as Gamal leaned in close. His hot breath blew against her ear as he whispered, "There's a youkai aboard the ship."

Lilith froze. "Wha... What?"

Gamal laughed as he pulled himself back from her. "Keep safe, girl."

Without another word Gamal walked away, leaving Lilith to her thoughts without so much as a goodbye. When he was out of sight her willpower ran out and her body began to tremble. Lilith didn't trust Gamal, but she didn't think he was lying. She had seen the signs too. The crew was on high alert. They were hunting.

They know about me.