I pushed my soul, in a deep dark hole

And then I followed it in

Chapter 6

I sat out on the porch of 'The Pirates Gospel', it was a rickety old pub the next town down the coast back towards the bridge. This was a very nice town I thought, all the houses looked to be crafted from driftwood, and when you passed someone on the street they smiled at you. I got here a few hours ago and had some food, consisting of local sautéed fish and green salad, as well as a few beers. I was smoking in the shade.

The bar was not popular at this time of day currently there were two other patrons. At the bar was an old man drinking half a beer slowly, talking to the barkeep a large friendly woman with red hair. She had an air of fuck around and find out that I liked. The other patron was a small man drinking iced tea and eating crab cakes also at the bar. Suddenly my throat felt tight, I began to feel the walls closing in. I felt like I struggled to breathe in the hot sticky air as I let in shallow gaspy breaths. I kept one hand behind my back on my pistol almost at all times.

I had just lit another cigarette when I got a call.

GA-Chank was the noise the snail made as I picked up, "ah," rang the familiar epithet of the fat broker "You haven't left the island I hope?"

"No" I replied simply.

"Good… Good" I heard what I assumed were papers shuffling on his desk, "I got the book, can you meet me in Bone Town station in three hours?"

I didn't know the place well but I think I saw Bone Town was not far from Vulding's warehouse.

"I'll be there."

"Fantastic, the price is 5,000, it was quite hard to organise I'm afraid so there will be no movement on the price."

I hung up and pushed my smouldering cigarette onto the table smothering the embers savagely and stood up walking away from the bar leaving the snail on the table.

I made my way to the local train station. The train was due in 10 minutes, there were two tracks and two locomotives that ran in a ring around the island, one going clockwise and the other counter clockwise. Taking roughly 3 and a half hours for a round trip. As I waited for the train I began to ponder my situation, I assumed I would be walking into a trap once I arrived at Bone Town station, because it would be foolish to go there under any other assumption. I have to assume that Vulding would come with the book regardless, as he would want to identify the fruit himself if he planned to take it from me.

I looked over my shoulder, pretending to take in the town for the last time, in reality, I was checking the people around me. Sure enough of the 13 people waiting one of them was the short man from the bar. He was dressed in all black with a thin moustache and fisherman's skull cap.

As the train rolled in bellowing great clouds of smoke across the station I moved quickly. The train screeched loudly and came to a shuddering stop. The train was made up of eight carriages, the first was a dining cabin, which had a bar, and a few seats, it served snacks and was only for the upper crust of society, with its own guard. Next were two standing carriages, they were for public use and were very minimalist. Lastly were seven cargo holds, the first two of which had guards and the rest were left open.

I jogged down the platform, through the mass of smoke and leapt into the second to last cart. As the smoke began clearing I heard a conductor shouting "All aboard next stop in 40 minutes is Bone Town."

As the smoke began to clear I peeked through a gap in the train cabin's wall where the wood was split. The only person on the station was the man in black, he was looking left and right desperately searching. As the train began to chug and slowly pull away from the station he broke into a run and leapt into the second standing compartment.

I checked my watch, 3.30 pm, the sun was low on the horizon. I sat down on a low crate marked GUNDPOWDER in bold letters and watched through the open door, as the sun glittered hollow gold through the parapets of the old castle.

The train shook and began to slow as it rolled back into Bone Town. I stubbed the ends of my cigarette out against the floor and flicked it out the door. I stood up shakily against the wild jerking and rocking of the locomotive, we were approaching a bend to the left. I could say 'left' again now, as I was on a train, no funny words for directions here, that I know of anyway. It would be my best bet to dismount the train without being spotted by either train security or by the dark man who I suspect has been tailing me at the behest of Vulding.

I reached down and grabbed a small satchel, about the size of my head. I had taken the liberty of filling it with good dry gunpowder. I stowed it safely inside my jacket and got ready to jump. The train was moving roughly the speed of a running man now as we came into the bend. It rocked once to the right, then harshly to the left and I let the momentum carry me out of the door, and into the dark soot-covered wall of the footbridge we were passing under. I had caught myself with my elbows, bashing them harshly against the stone wall. Quickly I kicked away and before the train was out of sight I took off running the other way.

This part of the town was filled with ramshackle wooden homes, that looked to be held together with old fishing nets and a healthy disrespect for gravity. Each one leans at jaunty angles as if tipping their heads in greeting. The odd-shaped windows often had women craning out hanging clothes or chatting with those below on the street. While men sat outside, drinking tea, or beer, repairing nets, or working on bits of wood. I strolled through the town, my hat in my bag for now, smiling back at those I passed who smiled at me. This is a nicer town than Loguetown, when you were poor there it felt like you were the only poor person in the world, here it felt like everyone was poor. So it didn't seem to matter as much.

I made my way to the docks, it was a bit of a way from Mr Vulding's warehouse. But I had a clear line of sight to the front and only entrance. I walked over to one of the blokes fishing and asked where I could get a rod. He told me about a friend of his on the pier, who I went to and after a brief discussion I brought his old rod and some tackle. I sat there amongst them, looking every bit the 52 year old man I was. My hair was receded slightly, wiry and sat on my forehead, I had a scraggly beard, with lines on my forehead and crows feet around my eyes. My baitless line rested uselessly in the water as I watched the front entrance like a hawk.

It had been an hour roughly sat here on the dock, some of the men fishing had packed up and left. Others seemed to have mostly forgotten about their rods and formed small groups, talking and drinking. There was a chill to the air, but due to the protection afforded by the shape of the island creating a large cove, it was bearable. Some ships had come and gone, there was one ship flying the Krieg pirate's flag anchored in the bay up near the main city. Some had stopped at Bone Towns port, not many unloading or picking up goods at this point, just a few fishing vessels and sailors making port for the night.

I saw now down the street a group of men including Mr Vulding and the tall bald man, standing outside the warehouse. There were four others. They stood for a while talking, until Vulding, the bald man and two of the others split off, and the other two stayed behind. I checked my watch I had roughly 30 minutes till our meeting was to take place, I lay down my fishing rod, stood up and made my way towards the warehouse.

As I made my way to the corner of the workshop I held myself close to the wall and listened to the two men talking.

"I'm hungry," the first man whined to the other.

"You're always hungry" the other replied.

"But I'm really hungry man."

"Well, we have to be here till they gets back."

"Listen I'll be 10 minutes tops, my missus made Pilchard pie, I'll just run home get some and be back."

"You out of your mind, if John knows you left he will smack you about proper."

"Well so long as you keep your trap shut we'll be fine then," he called back to him already walking down the street.

Well, I suppose that was good luck. Honestly, these guys didn't seem too bright, but all the better for me. Jumping at this opportunity I pulled my pistol out and stuffed it into my jacket pocket and strolled around the corner. I walked leisurely up to the man who stood on his own outside Vulding's base of operations.

"Afternoon mate," I called out to him.

"You alright fella," he replied looking at me curiously.

"You know the way to Bone Town station?"

He pointed right down the street the same way his fellow guard had gone, as well as the small party to meet me, "bout 5 minutes that way."

"Splendid," I replied with a smile, and slid the double-barreled flintlock from my pocket, levelling it at him in one smooth motion keeping the gun close to my side.

"Open the door and get inside or I'll put one in your kneecap," I growled.

"Fuck" he stumbled back looking worriedly up and down the deserted street.

"You know who's this place is, you don't wanna mess with Vulding mate." He tried to reason with me.

"5" I began to count.

"Shit, there's more people inside."

"No there aren't, 4"

"Please mate I need the work"

"2"

"Alright, shit, fuck, you don't know what you are doing." He ground out pitifully as he unlocked the small door and swung it open.

I shoved him inside and followed in shutting the door and pocketing the key. As he went to get up I smashed the butt of my gun into the back of his head. It made an awful dull smacking sound and he fell like a doll whose strings had been cut.

I dashed up the stairs, and into his office kicking the door open. I grabbed my bag of gunpowder and poured half into the room. I turned to leave, but something caught my eye. It was that beautiful Meito; Aji, still lying on Vuliding's desk, on top of the cloth that it had been transported in, just begging to be stolen. Impulsively I bundled up the sword and grabbed it. I then turned and ran back into the shop floor leaving a trail of gunpowder as I went. I kicked open another crate packed with sawdust. Used to safely package fragile items at sea, flicked out a pack of matches, lit one set the whole pack on fire, and threw it in.

I stood there a few moments and watched it grow as it popped and cracked menacingly. I chucked in the empty bag of gunpowder and watched the fire go up with a woosh. The crackling beast began to spread to different boxes, it wouldn't be long before it connected to the trail of gunpowder I had made.

I grabbed the unconscious man, dragging him by his heels out of the soon to be burning building and propped him against a shop front on the opposite side of the street. I ran back locked the door and took off down the road at a sprint.

The streets seemed to have suddenly turned dark now, the odd oil lamps' warm flame barely illuminated the streets, casting long shadows reaching out at suspicious angles. Each one filling my mind with fear of who or what could be hidden within. My shoes smacking against the cobblestone street was the only noise other than my gasping breath. I arrived in a few minutes at the station, the same way I spied on the two men guarding the warehouse, I now peaked out at the Bone Town train station.

The station was largely unfurnished and devoid of people aside from the four men waiting under an oil street light. The area between myself and them was an open dusty expanse that through the day would be a teaming hub of people, loading and unloading the two trains that snaked around the island. Now this empty dark distance seemed like a killing field, each step potentially able to trigger my death.

I took the sword I had stolen and stashed it in a dark corner beside me. I looked behind me, to see a thin stream of darkness, twisting into the night sky, it was almost invisible, only discernible due to the absence of stars within its periphery, and a slight orange glow at its base.

I stepped out into the empty lot and began to walk over to the group slowly. When they noticed me, the short and fat Mr Vulding said something indiscernible, and the two men began to move towards me, while Vulding and the bald man stayed within the warm glow of the streetlight. I tried to calm my breath, in through my nose slowly, hold it, out through the mouth, Like smoking a cigarette. The two men and I met in the centre of the open space and looked at each other briefly. They both had a cutlass at their side.

"Hand over the bag and any weapons" the one on the right told me, while the one on the left held out an open palm.

"That wasn't mentioned to me, I won't do it" I informed them, though I had been expecting something like this.

I glanced at Vulding who looked on at the proceedings dispassionately, close enough to hear what was being said.

"Hand it over or we take it," the one on the left grits out.

I shuffled nervously, and the man on the right, reached for his sword, I faintly heard a click as the sword began to leave the sheath slowly.

BOOM

A great blast shook the ground from somewhere behind me

Shlick

In a flash I had cut through the man on the right, the hand that was holding his sword handle was no longer attached to his arm, and his midsection began to piss blood.

Multiple smaller explosions began to pop and crackle behind me now, as I smelt smoke and ash in the air.

I grabbed the man on the right by his jacket as he began to fall towards me, and shoved him into the man on the left. On reflex, he caught him and looked towards me in snarling rage

BANG

I had whipped out my flintlock in a blur of speed and loosed one bullet into his forehead, I looked away quickly, only hearing a splatter and fud as both men collapsed to the ground in a pile both deceased now.

I heaved out a heavy breath and looked towards the two living men. Both seemed stunned in varying degrees. Vulding barked an order at the bald man, and took off as fast as he could across the courtyard, not quite a run but as close as the fat man could manage. I dare not pursue, I can feel the bald man's intent, his eyes locked on me.

I watch as Vulding leaves the courtyard, then look over to the bald man. Huh.

I felt it in my legs first, strangely enough, the feeling of a massive force reorienting my body.

My back hit the floor, and I felt nothing, my knees now swung and smacked my head.

I didn't know I was so flexible.

I quickly tried to re-orient and defend myself against his attack. Just in time, a large caloused fist came flying towards my face with the intent to harm me greatly. I swung up my arms and clumsily blocked the next three quick hits.

Now he swung a foot at my side, which I blocked with my knee. I grabbed my gun as another kick hit my head and shot. Bang. it was loud right by my ear. I really didn't have the time to worry and jumped up and away from him. I backpedalled fast. My ears were ringing. keeping my eye on the deadpan man. He seemed to be allowing me a moment to recover. There is the rapier just behind him, and just behind that the bodies of those two men.

Nope, not the time. Oh fuck. As my focus came back, with it came pain. I spat and saw briefly a splatter of blood on the floor as a result.

I took in a shallow breath and drew Hejira, dearly hoping my shoulder would hold her. For now, it seemed it would.

"I'm gonna kill you, old bastard," he growled in a gravelly tone.

He advanced again, drawing his fists close under his chin. Now he was running at me, I saw his right side dip low, and in my mind, I saw his right fist screaming up into my ribs followed by a left into the side of my head.

He swung with his right and I stepped to one side. Now came the left like I had seen it. I held up my sword quickly and firmly, not daring to swing it, into the path of his fist. I couldn't believe it, he struck and screamed immediately. He drew back a fist split completely down to the wrist. For a second we both looked at it pouring blood, and then he looked up at me. Cradling it.

"WAI-."