I weaved among the bustling workers, my head down as I tried to avoid arousing suspicion. Walking down the row of cargo ships, I felt my worries grow as I doubted any of them would be fast or agile enough to evade a military attack should they find me. I didn’t plan on attracting attention- but I didn’t want to be the cause of a crash if the situation worsened. I was beginning to doubt my plan when I reached the end of the dock and paused in the midst of a milling crowd to survey the last couple of ships.
Unlike the other small cargo ships that were docked beside it, I spotted an aircraft that looked like it could out-run any government issued vessel. It was large for a cargo ship, red and gold decorative fins were chipped away with wear and age. While most other ships were rusted with metal patchworks of repair, dirty from exhaust with large and bulky towing cables to bring in large wrecks, this ship was sleek, without any extra gear to weigh it down or make navigating through tight areas difficult. There were small copper squares along the hull, polished like brass against the dark, shining material of the ship– it was armed with cannons.
As I got closer, seeing the ramp to the cargo hold was open, I noticed that the surface of the airship had large scuffs knocked out of the side. 'Bullet proof,' I thought to myself. Crouching to keep myself inconspicuous, I saw a glint of dark red on the underbelly of the ship, piquing my curiosity. Though I was entranced by the elegant, dark grandeur of the ship, I didn't have time to consider it for long. There was a swell of raised voices behind me, too far to understand words- but close enough to have panic rising in my chest.
Taking advantage of people looking towards the disturbance that was drawing attention, I slipped through the crowd to the bridge which extended to the airship’s hold. I paused, watching the men carrying a heavy cargo box up the ramp, waiting for them to enter the ship so they wouldn’t feel my footsteps on the ramp when I hurried behind them. Keeping myself low as I hurried up the metal walkway, I was grateful the darkness would mask me from any watchful eyes.
My throat was tight with fear as I snuck onto the ship behind the men; their groaning over the heavy box as they shifted it onto the floor, covered the sound of my footsteps. With their backs turned, I was able to hide among the stacks of crates, roped together and tied down with large loops of metal bolted to the floor. I held my breath as I risked looking around the edge of the crate; they had already turned to leave, the cargo ramp retracting before the door sealed closed with a hiss of steam. Their steps were heavy as they crossed the hold and I sighed with relief as I heard the door into the rest of the ship slam shut behind them, locking into place.
I slumped back against the rough wood of the crates, eyes closing as I tried to catch my breath. There wasn’t time to rest. As the ship shifted, preparing for departure, I knew I had to find a better place to hide if I didn’t want to be caught and thrown off the ship midair. Pushing myself to my feet, I headed deeper into the cargo hold.
The quality of the crates changed after the first few stacks of boxes, and a cold feeling of dread settled in my chest as I approached one of the fine wooden chests. My fingers touched the polished wood, tracing over the shipping codes burned into the planks- military codes, a chain of letters and numbers which I knew marked the contents of those crates as newly designed weaponry. Convinced I had to be mistaken, I paced around to the other side of the crate, and stared with dismayed disbelief at the military insignia stamped onto the wood, the edges gilded with bronze.
Somehow, despite all my efforts to evade them, I’d ended up on a military ship.
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