- 34 -

"Fuck."

"Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck."

The worst thing you can do on a hunt is to panic, but that wouldn't stop Pandora.

There was no doubt. It was Lilith's book. Not another copy of the story; the same exact one. There was report of a youkai attack and now she had found Lilith's book.

Pandora felt light headed.

A piece of rotten meat. Drops of fresh blood. A black feather. The more Pandora looked around the worse it got. All she could hear was that damn gorilla saying, "You should keep better track of your little girlfriend." It played over and over in her mind.

If Lilith ended up dead, she would kill him herself, just to deny him the satisfaction of being right.

"This isn't the time to freeze up," She told herself. It didn't matter how hopeless it felt; how likely it was that Lilith was already dead. If there was even a small chance she needed to act. Her first step should be to find out what happened. She sprinted along the deck, book held tight against her chest. Time dragged as she searched for a security officer, anxiety stretching the moment into an unending hell. The irony was, once she finally found one she had outgrown her need for him. He stood at the edge of a crowd staring up to the sky, each member of the crowd mirroring him. Dozens of sets of eyes, pointed to the small human form atop the ship's mast.

Lily!

The figure hung at least one hundred feet up, making most details impossible to make out, but that didn't matter. Despite the distance, she was sure it was Lilith. The dread constricting her chest made that clear. What wasn't clear was what to do next. Whatever she choose, she would need to decide fast. But her thoughts vanished as if covered by a black mist. An obscuring fog of fear.

Each of Pandora's muscles tightened until she was trembling. Then a single point of light shone through the mist. Lilith's novel. Pandora clenched the binding until her fingertips left indents in the cover. She unfastened the top two buttons of her blouse and slid the book inside. She would channel all her focus onto the book. That was all she could do to chase the uncertainty away.

Lilith will want this back once she's safe. I have to take care of it until then. She will be safe. She will be safe.

She repeated it over and over like casting a curse without the blood cost. It became her mantra as she pushed herself into the crowd. Progress was hard fought. Most of the crowd were too busy gawking to notice her until she shoved them aside. It was like wading through waste high water, but at that moment Pandora would swim the oceans for Lilith.

Stumbling, she broke free of the mass. She needed to catch herself on the mast to keep from falling. The metal was cold, but the relief she felt brought a flush of heat across her skin. I made it, she thought, before looking up and realizing she was half way at best. Then Lilith's leg slipped. Pandora's pulse vanished and didn't return until Lilith had regained her grip on the mast. How much longer would she have?

It wasn't worth considering; that would only waste more time. For now, she needed to focus on finding a way to the top. There was a ladder at the back leading to the crows nest, a sort of bucket shaped lookout, but that only sat a quarter of the way up the pole's length. The rest would need to be free climbed. A challenge only made worse by the mast's metal construction. The texture of a wooden pole wouldn't have given her much grip, but anything would have been better than machined steel.

Without tools Pandora had no hope of reaching the top. She scanned the crowd looking for anything or anyone she could use. By chance, a break in the group gave her a brief glimpse beyond them where something caught her eye. A white cabinet with a glass window mounted to an exterior wall. Inside was a bright red life ring with the ships name printed in sharp white letters. An idea formed and she burst forward, back into the crowd.

With a clear plan in mind, Pandora's panic receded to the corners of her mind where it belonged. Being meek had never gotten her anywhere in life. It was time to start acting like herself again.

"Out of the way! Clear a path!" she shouted.

Her orders were ignored, the people around her more transfixed by the tragedy above to even notice her. She couldn't let that stand, not when even a second could mark the difference between life and death. Reaching to her back, she unholstered Tomorrow and, making sure it was aimed away from Lilith, fired a round into the air.

"Make a fucking path!"

Every head turned to face her. She had the attention she demanded, and after the shock wore off, she had the obedience as well. The crowd parted around her forming a clear path to her destination.

Pandora tossed Tomorrow into the air, catching it by the barrel, and swung it down into the door. The impact was like a thunderclap before the shattered glass rained down to the deck. She didn't know if the cabinet was the type where you broke the glass, but figuring that out would have been a waste of time; it was open now.

Ripping the life ring free, Pandora turned back to the mast. A young man dressed in an officers uniform caught her eye. Whether he was one of Allister's men or some other crew member, she didn't much care. As long as he could be useful.

"I'm going up to get her. Bring me a rope. The longest you can find."

The man didn't bother with a response, simply running off. Good, he understood the situation as well as she did. Despite his haste, she still called after him, "Hurry!"

Back at the base of the mast, Pandora examined the life ring. A loop of some buoyant material or another wrapped in painted leather with a length of rope tied around it. If someone fell overboard and by some miracle they were both still alive and conscious, the idea was to throw them the ring and reel them in with the rope. As far as she knew, they were designed to wrap your arms through, but the opening looked wide enough to wrap around her waist. At least that was her hope. The goal was to jerry rig a climbing belt.

Only one way to find out. She stepped through the center and pulled the ring up. It caught for a moment on the bones of her hips before slipping into place. This might just be possible.

Next, she addressed the ring's tow line. She spun the ring so that the cord fell from her right hip. Placing her palms against the steel, she stood an arms length away from the mast, then slung the rope around it. She tied the other end to the ring at her left hip and leaned back. The rope went taut, then slack, then taut again as she bounced against it a few times. It seemed it would hold her weight.

Hope swelled in Pandora. Her makeshift belt had turned out exactly as she had imagined. She just needed to trim down the rope. It was far too long to help her to the top and far too short to help her back to the bottom. Pandora unwrapped the barrel of her shotgun and used the bayonet to cut the excess, making sure to leave enough to comfortably tie and untie the knot. Once she was finished, she glanced back toward the crowd. The young officer she had sent away hadn't returned.

Damn.

She couldn't wait. No matter how much easier it would have made the descent, Lilith would be getting tired. She untied the loop she had made around the mast and prepared to start her climb. The ladder would be both a blessing and a curse. It would make the first twenty five feet trivial, but everything after would be more daunting by contrast.

No, what does that matter? How I feel about the climb is irrelevant. It will get me to Lily faster.

Pandora gripped the first rung tight and pulled herself up. Within seconds she had reached the crows nest. She stepped onto the platform and was retying her loop around the mast when a voice called out from below.

"I've brought the rope, ma'am."

Pandora leaned over the basket's side to find the officer standing beside a massive coil. For some reason, she had expected something smaller; it was the size of a small child. She didn't want to think about how much it weighed, especially since she would be hauling it up with her.

"One hundred and fifty feet. Clean and in good order."

"Is that enough to reach the top?" she asked.

"And then some."

"Throw one of the ends up to me."

The young officer pulled the first several feet from the coil and whipped it up to the crows nest. Pandora caught the end and dragged it into the basket. Crouching down, she tied the rope around her ankle. Was that the best way to pull it up? She wasn't sure, but she wanted to keep her hands free for the climb.

Drawing back to her feet, Pandora spared a quick glance up. The steep angle made the mast seem to stretch off into infinity. Her breath trembled, but she grabbed the loop she had made around the pole, ready to start. She pressed the sole of her boot against the metal and leaned back. As soon as the rope had gone taut, she lifted her other foot from the platform.

She only maintained the position for half a second before her foot slipped off to the side and she went spinning. Two sounds followed: her side cracking against the edge of the crows nest and the gasps from the onlookers below. Wincing, she pulled herself back to her feet and tried again. Making sure her foot was dead center on the pole this time she made it a bit further. She was able to get her second foot into position long enough to attempt climbing, but that was it. As soon as she shifted her weight her foot slipped off to the side again.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"Fuck!"

In order for her climbing belt to work she needed a solid foothold. The climbers she had seen using the real thing wore spiked shoes that could dig into the wood of trees. Of course, they wouldn't help with the steel of the mast, but that didn't change the fact that she was asking the impossible from the rubber tread of her boots. No matter how many times she tried her feet were going to slip to the sides. Climbing was impossible and Lilith would fall to her death.

"No! Fuck that!"

Pandora raised her foot and slammed it against the mast, then did it again. She tried to work through her frustration with a dozen solid blows, but even her outlet became its own frustration as the rope tied around her ankle pulled at her foot with each kick. That it had drawn her attention so effectively would turn out to be her saving grace. She took its length in her hand and rubbed her thumb across the hemp as she thought.

She couldn't hold herself against the mast because her feet would slip off to the sides. But what if they were linked? If she tied her ankles together the rope would hold her against the mast even as her feet slipped off to each side.

Pandora dropped to one knee. There was no choice but to try. She pulled a bit more slack in the rope fastened to her ankle and tied a second knot. When she was done the rope ran away from her ankle in two places. One led back down to the main coil, but the other formed a loop roughly two feet long. A few twists left an opening just large enough to get her boot in and out of.

"Please work," she whispered.

This was her last chance. If this failed, she was out of ideas. Pandora stood and slipped her free foot through the loop linking her ankles together. She leaned back until the climbing belt went taut, then took a deep breath. There was no stepping slowly into it this time. She jumped and kicked both legs into the mast.

The impact ran in waves up her legs, but the rope held. The theory was sound, now came execution. She leaned her upper body forward until the exact moment the rope at her waste went slack, then she pulled up on it while dropping back into her lean. The result was the loop sat higher up the mast. That done, she jumped again, and when she landed her feet had also gained just a bit of height. A smile broke across her face. It would be a parade of inches, but now the top was within her reach.

This method of climbing was like a dance. Pandora was quick to pick up the rhythm, and with it confidence. The pause between each step in the process grew shorter than the one before. It wasn't long before she reached the halfway point of her journey, and her next obstacle. Multiple steel wires attached to the mast at its midpoint. Pandora assumed it was to anchor the mast against windstorms, though she wasn't certain. She only knew she needed to find a way past them. She had an idea, but one mistake would drop her to her death.

Like it's not the same for Lilith.

Once she had shimmied close enough to reach the lowest wire, Pandora grabbed on with both hands then let herself hang. As she dangled in the wind, she worked to slip her foot free of the loop binding her ankles. A couple small swings built momentum, then she kicked hard to bring her left leg up and around the wire. A second kick brought the right leg up to join it.

The hardest part came next, or at least, the most nerve wracking. Pandora crossed her feet, theoretically locking them together, then let go with her hands. Her heart bounced in her chest, knocked around by the changing gravity. When her body settled and her breath returned she opened her eye to watch her hat drifting to the deck below. Her first thought was that she would kill anyone who tried to steal it. That she was still alive was her second.

The belt.

Pandora curled her body forward and began to work at the knot around the life ring. Hanging upside down made things difficult, and the sweat pooling on her palms slowed the process even more, but she was able to get the rope loose. After it was free, she returned her grip to the wire above. She was tempted to take a moment to catch her breath, but the ripping of fabric sounded from above.

I need to hurry.

Channeling all her strength, Pandora pulled herself up into the tangle of crisscrossing wires. Climbing through the center of the web would have been safest; giving her more to reach for if she fell. But she was careful to climb along the outside so that the rope she was trailing behind her wouldn't get tangled or caught.

When she reached the last anchor wire, Pandora straddled it and went to work reattaching her climbing belt. She whipped the rope around the mast and fed it through the life ring. Before she could tie the knot, a heavy wind struck her side and wrenched her sideways. She threw her arm out and it smashed into the mast. There was a shock of pain before her brain kicked in and she pulled herself in against the steel. It had been close; her life saved only by an instinctual flailing.

Pandora's gaze shot up. Before she considered herself she needed to know Lilith was safe. She had gotten close enough that the sounds of Lilith's panicked sobs could reach her. Pandora hated thinking about her scared and alone at the top, but at least it meant she was alive. She pulled herself upright and, ignoring the shaking in her fingers, finished tying the knot.

Pandora's nerves eased as soon as she had regained her attachment point. Just the idea that she was two or three mistakes from death instead of one was a mental boon. The rest of the climb to the top was simple compared to the midpoint tangle.

The ease was short lived however. One final obstacle stood between her and Lilith. Not the tangled weave of the midpoint, but a single massive cable that ran nearly the ships full length, connecting the forward mast to the rear mast. It's thickness meant she should be able to stand on it, assuming she could get herself on top.

"Don't worry, Lilith. I'm coming."

"Pandora? Is that you?"

"I'm gonna get you down."

Lilith's response came weak and desperate. "Please hurry."

With the plea thickening the air around them, Pandora shuffled up until she could reach the cable. Once again she would need to untether herself from the mast, this time for good. The climbing belt had served her well but it was time to abandon it. She slipped the life ring down until it popped past the bones of her hips, leaving her connected only by the tension of her lean. She rubbed her hands against her pants to dry away any sweat, then reached up around the cable.

She had only begun lifting when she felt her grip slipping. She leaned back into the climbing belt, luckily not yet beyond the point of no return. She adjusted her grip, this time locking her fingers together for extra strength, then tried again. Once she had lifted enough of her weight, the life ring skittered down her legs and dropped away, following the trail of the rope she had towed up around her ankle.

Once Pandora had gotten her legs up and around the cable, spinning herself to lay on top of it didn't take her too long. It's size made it relatively easy to balance on, though she didn't feel safe. A quick glance back down to the deck had made sure of that. The sight made her dizzy, but it was almost done.

Pandora reached down and worked loose the rope tied around her ankle. The weight of the hundred feet trailing behind her made it unruly, and she needed to maintain an iron grip to keep from dropping it. Once it was free, she pulled a few more feet up and wrapped it over the cable. The rope was meant to be her and Lilith's way down and it needed to be secure. Pandora fastened it with a knot Renna had lovingly called 'the constrictor' when she taught it to her. It was supposed to tighten the more force was placed on it, but just to be sure Pandora tied a few extra knots with the excess at the end.

"Pandora, are you still here?"

"Yes. I'm just prepping our way down."

Taking the rope in her hand, Pandora climbed to her feet. As soon as she could she turned and grabbed hold of the mast. Lilith clung to it a few feet above her; finally within reach. She needed to be careful about getting her down, though. Even if the cable was wide, it was still rounded. Another strong wind could send them both off the side.

"I'm here, Lilith." Pandora raised a hand up and rested it on Lilith's lower back. A small gesture to let her know she wasn't alone anymore.

"If I guide you, do you think you could start crawling down?"

If the mast had been just a bit shorter it wouldn't even be a question. Lilith's feet would have reached the cable and given her something to stand on. But hypotheticals weren't worth dwelling on. Pandora would have climbed the mast either way.

"My dress is caught."

"Abandon it."

"I can't get my head through. It's buttoned."

Pandora couldn't see the dress's neck from her angle, and wouldn't have been able to reach it regardless. The best she could do was give Lilith the leeway to act on her own. She slid the hand at Lilith's back to the side, replacing it with the full length of her arm. She held her against the mast with as much strength as her fading muscles could give.

"I'll hold you while you undo the button."

Lilith hesitated, then reached her hand back behind her neck. She fumbled roughly inside her hair for a few moments before apparent frustration overtook her. She clenched down hard, then jerked her arm out. There was a shredding sound and a lone button shot off toward the sea.

"I got it," she cheered, whipping her arm back around the mast.

"Good job. Now try to slide down to me. Go slow."

Pandora guided Lilith's descent, arm wrapped tight around her as she inched her way down. As soon as Lilith's feet had safely reached the cable, Pandora spun her around and pulled her into a tight hug. The fact Pandora only had one free arm was all that saved Lilith from being crushed in the embrace, though soon the gesture was returned in equal force. Pandora could feel Lilith's arms trembling, or maybe that was her own muscles failing. Either way, she had what she came for; it was time to leave.

"Lilith, this is important. I can't hold you while I'm climbing down. I know you're tired, but I need you to hold on to me as tight as you can."

Lilith's embrace strengthened. "I won't let go. I promise."

Pandora switched her grip from Lilith to the rope. She tightened down until the braid dug into her palms. Once she had prepared for the descent, she repeated herself once more in the most serious tone she could muster. "As tight as you can!" Then, she stepped off of the cable.

The impact slammed into her biceps. The added weight that Lilith brought was more than she had expected, but her grip had held, at least for the moment. The lactic burn of fatigue coursed through all her muscles, but her arms felt especially weak. She kicked at the rope, wrapping it under her boot then pinning it on top of her toes with the opposite foot. The s shape that formed let her stand on the rope like a platform, taking some of the brunt away from her withering arms.

The descent was quick; it had to be. She was sure that the sudden drop must have been nerve wracking for Lilith, but her strength was nearing it's limit. So she opted to let up the grip, both in her hands and feet, and let gravity do the work. They reached the midpoint tangle in a matter of seconds. Clearing that particular obstacle required much more deliberate hand over hand repelling, but once they were past it they could continue their slide down.

At the first signs of solid ground beneath her feet, Pandora threw the rope aside and pulled Lilith against her. Proof that she was alive. That she was safe. Pandora didn't want to let her go. Didn't want to risk anything else happening to her. She buried her face in the top of Lilith's head and muttered, "I'm so glad your safe," only to her.

The response was short. "Pandora." Followed by a tightening grip at her back.

Before long the onlookers began to swarm around them. As they closed in, Pandora broke from the hug and took a step back. It was a mistake. She shouldn't have loosened her grip on Lilith; shouldn't have let her go until unless were pried apart, but she did. Lilith was shaking, naked, covered in blood. She was scared, probably traumatized. But all Pandora could see was her face. She wore the same expression she did under the stars.

Pandora heard herself say, "Sorry," then she was running, pushing her way through the crowd. She ran the length of the ship. She didn't stop running until her legs gave out and she collapsed to the deck. She could feel tears running down her face, but she didn't know why. It wasn't like she felt sad, she just felt empty. Like she had been sliced down the middle and her heart had fallen out and rolled overboard.

She brought a hand to her chest, half expecting to be able to reach inside. Of course her hand was stopped, but it wasn't by her flesh. Her fingers were halted by the hard binding of a novel tucked lovingly into her blouse. She pulled it free and stared down at the cover.

Wasn't I supposed to give this back to her? Instead I ran away.

The weapon that had saved her life on countless hunts, the hat that belonged to her beloved mentor, and the woman she had risked everything to save. Three things she considered precious to her, and she had abandoned all of them and run.

"I'm such a fucking coward"