CHAPTER 4: Hokusai

Crew’s eyes were half-closed, her head resting on her arms as she sat in a hunched-up position on the hard floor. She couldn’t help the soft red glow her eyes cast on her arms, lighting up her face a small bit in the dark. Every so often she glanced out the window, trying to figure out what time it was. Other times she looked at the hooded man who had announced himself as Reever. He had sat quite still the whole night. Crew thought he was dead a few times until she began to notice a slight rise to his chest, indicating he was just taking very small breaths every so often. Now and then she kept an eye on Statik, but not for very long. Statik was a hard sleeper, once she was out. Crew’s only main concern was if she were to roll off the bed and make a loud thud when she’d hit the floor.

                She went back to staring at the floor in front of her, observing the same patterns in the wood she now had memorized from all the nights she had sat in the same spot, looking at the same things. Crew thought back over what Reever had said and hated to admit he had a point. She had never really meant to just bar-hop for the rest of her days. But with the Tide around, what could one do? A sigh escaped her lips as she closed her eyes for a moment, wishing she could sleep instead of thinking through the nights as she did.

                When her eyes opened, she was surprised to see her bare arms where instead she should have seen the sleeves of her coat. Crew quickly jumped up, in full alert �" no one should’ve been able to take the coat off her �" that only happened if the wearer was dead or took it off willingly. She quick scanned the room, looking for a clue to what happened, when her eyes caught sight of a man sitting at the foot of the bed Statik was sleeping on.

                “…Kavon?” Crew asked, softly. The man turned his head to look at Crew. He did indeed have the coat on him; however it looked different than when it was on Crew �" it had more accessories, layers, and a few decorative strips of gold were visible along the collar, while on Crew it was merely a solid black trench coat. “How on earth …” she began.

                He stood up as he spoke, turning to Crew with a slight smirk. “So the great Crew Leader is down to only one crew member, it seems. Oh the adventures you’ve both had! Spending money without a care, going from bar to bar, always managing not to get washed out by the Tide.”

                “It’s called survival, you idiot. Understanding when odds aren’t in your favour,” Crew replied hotly.

                Kavon continued like he hadn’t heard her, instead looking at Reever. “And when someone finally comes along, someone who could bring you out of your booze pit appears, you merely want him gone.” He looked to Crew. “The Raven I raised would’ve led the charge a long time ago.”

                Crew clenched her fists and raised her voice, “The Raven you raised died a long time ago! Give me back the coat!”

                She moved to hit Kavon, yet he didn’t move at all. “Fine, little Raven, you want it back? Take it.” Suddenly the coat flared behind Kavon, growing tendrils that all snapped at Crew at once. When they hit her, Crew flinched, only to find she was still sitting on the floor, and the coat still on her arms. She looked around the room, her eyes casting a red glow wherever she gazed, looking for any evidence of someone else being there. Crew rubbed her eyes and decided she needed to walk around a little bit �" something to keep herself busy. Carefully, she stood to make her way to the window, trying not to make the floor creak if she could help it. If she wanted to be honest with herself, she’d admit she missed living on the Isles. Not just for the fact that she had been on the top of the food chain, but also for the weather. In Renard, it was always sunny and muggy, with a few storms blowing in every so often, though the storms were always directed towards the farming districts, and not really allowed through the urban areas. In the Isles, since it didn’t have a fancy weather control system, the storms off the ocean were allowed full reign through the cities. It often meant that various isles were locked down because a hurricane was coming through, but for young Crew Leader, she loved to sit and watch the storms when she managed to sneak away from Kavon.

                It also didn’t help they were far away from the coast, and couldn’t even see the ocean. Crew brushed her hair in front of her eyes to try and cut down on the light they emitted as she looked out the windows. Most nights she merely witnessed robberies, or drug deals. Sometimes she tried to decide how she could have handled such situations, or if one of the participants were powered. It was a sort of game �" “who were you before”, or “could I do better”. This night, there was strangely little activity. Sure the Tide had a curfew, but that rarely stopped anyone before. Such a lack of people made Crew concerned. What did the people on the street know that she didn’t? A soft flash caught her eye �" that looked like the flash from a Tide weapon. Normals were limited to regular old-fashioned bullet weapons, and there’s no way a powered would risk such a flashy attack, especially at night. Down the street a bit she saw a soldier wearing a Tide uniform, pointing at the building Crew was looking out of. Quickly she realized what was going on �" the Tide had finally decided to sweep through De Occultis.

                Deciding it wasn’t the time to worry about the creaky floor, Crew quickly went to Statik’s bed and shook her awake. Statik merely opened an eye to look at Crew, a question on her face. “Say nothing, and grab your things. Quick.” As Statik sat up and began putting on her shoes and jacket, Crew went over to Reever, grabbing his shoulder to try and get his attention. “Wake up, we need to move.”

                Reever looked up at Crew, “Oh? What’s happened?”

                “The Tide is going to hit the bar. I don’t intend to be here when they do.”

                “Fair enough,” Reever replied as he stood. Statik had gotten dressed and was standing by the door, a nervous look on her face as she kept looking at Crew, waiting for orders. “Do you have a plan? On where to go?” Reever asked.

                Crew stood in front of the door. “I … I thought of maybe doing as you said. Going to the rebels.”

                Reever clapped his hands together. “Wonderful! I had a good feeling about you two, glad to see I wasn’t wrong. I know where we should head �"“ as Reever tried to finish his sentence, a loud crack was heard as the front door to the bar was bashed inwards, sending splinters everywhere while Tide soldiers quickly stormed in, eager to use the sudden attack to their advantage. “Erm, well, that didn’t sound good.”

                Crew opened the door slightly to try and look down the hall. Seeing no one, she turned to Statik and Reever. “You two stick together �" Statik, keep an eye on Reever, protect him, but if you think he’s led you wrongly, bolt. We’ll meet up elsewhere, Statik knows where. Otherwise, I’m going to give you two some cover fire.” Crew reached into her coat and pulled out an ornate flintlock pistol. “I suggest you two move, we’ll meet up later, once we’re further away from the Tide. Then you can lead us to your rebels.”

                Statik and Reever nodded as Crew quickly slipped out the door, firing a few shots at the Tide soldiers who dared come up the stairs. They soon followed, stepping over the bodies Crew left in her wake from clearing a path. At the bottom of the stairs they ran out the back of the bar as Crew fought off some of the soldiers, soon joined by other powereds who preferred to go out in a fight than simply be shot in their sleep. Of course others ran, like Statik and Reever, only to be intercepted by squads of soldiers coming through the back alleys.

                “I suppose this is not the best time to inform you, dear Statik, that I’m not one for combat?” Reever put his arms up in an attempt to defend himself while Statik raised her fists and charged into the squad. Clearly they were used to targets that ran away, not towards them, as many of them fled at the sight of Statik and her fists covered in red electricity, and many more ran after she started punching some of them into the ground. After a few more punches, there weren’t any soldiers left standing, and Statik looked over at Reever, still standing where he had been.

                “Can’t say I’m that surprised. Let’s get going.”

                Back at the bar, Crew had a smile on her face. While she might not admit it openly, she really had missed this �" the gunfights, the smell of blood in the air, the adrenaline when you realized that even friendly fire could be your death or someone else’s. She had hidden behind the bar, taking shots at those still coming through the door way, or those who had tried to come in through the upper levels �" every so often glancing at the door to the backroom, deciding if it was time she make her escape as well. A few of the other powereds had decided they’d had enough and had started to bolt, meaning the Tide soldiers were really starting to have the upper hand as more and more of them swarmed in. Tide mentality was if you can’t beat them in skill, beat them with sheer numbers �" and more often than not, such a plan worked. Crew peeked over the bar once more, noting that most of the soldiers were paying more attention to those in the main area and had begun to move upstairs. Quickly she ran for the back door �" a few had seen her bolt and fired shots after her. Some of them would have hit her, had her coat not flared behind her and shielded her from the shots as she ran. At the moment, she merely wanted distance, so she ran with some speed, working her way through the alley ways and streets until she felt she was far enough away. She stopped for a moment, leaning against a wall, catching her breath until she pushed off the wall and tried to figure out where exactly she was.

                Crew walked to the end of the alley, looking at the buildings, trying to find one she recognized. If she had a landmark, she’d know where she was. After wandering about a bit longer, she found one she recognized and smiled. Time to meet up with Reever and Statik.

                “So, you do know what you’re going, right?” asked Reever as Statik ran her hand along a brick wall.

                “Just because I’m hung over and running on three hours of sleep doesn’t mean my memory is gone,” Statik snapped. “We made an emergency safe house in case something happened and we got split. It should be here …” Reever leaned against the wall as he watched Statik get more and more frustrated.

                “If you came to the wrong place, it’s alright to admit it. No one would blame you,” Reever mentioned. “It’s been a trying night for us all.” Statik slammed a fist against the wall and groaned.

                “Were you an alley over, you might have had better luck, Statik,” laughed Crew as she came around the corner. “Did you have any issues? Besides getting lost?”

                “No,” replied Reever. “But now that we’re all together, are we ready to try and find the rebels?”

                Statik shrugged as Crew crossed her arms. “Not like we’ve much else to do, might as well,” stated Crew Leader.

                “You might not like the route �" we have to go through the sewers,” Reever warned.

                “I think by now, Reever, you should realize not a whole lot is going to bother us,” Statik replied, “so a bit of sewer adventuring is not a big deal. Can we just get going now?”

                Reever smiled. “Of course �" thankfully there’s a manhole a little further down this alley. Shall we?” He led the other two to the cover and struggled to lift it until Crew came over and easily lifted it. “Got some muscle under that coat, don’t you?” he asked, sounding impressed.

                “Merely one of my many talents,” Crew replied as Reever and Statik quickly descended into the hole. Soon Crew followed, setting the manhole cover back in place. The tunnel itself had no lights, and the smell was not to be easily forgotten. However, as Crew finished climbing down the ladder and began looking around, her eyes began to cast a fairly bright red glow on their surroundings.

                “Is another of your talents being a rather macabre light source?” Reever asked, chuckling.

                “Oh yes. I’ve never heard that before. So clever. Can we get a move on?”

                Reever raised his hands in defence, “Apologies �" couldn’t help myself. Before we get too far, I warn, I’ve never actually found the rebel hideout myself. I’ve heard second hand on how to find it, and from the sounds of it, it’s quite a challenge.”

                Statik groaned. “You made it sound like you knew exactly how to get there. And we followed you!” She looked at Crew, “We must be really desperate to follow a guy who claims to be pro at getting intelligence, yet doesn’t actually know where he’s going.”

                Crew smirked. “To be honest, I’ve rarely met anyone who actually knows where they’re going. On a more serious note, we can’t exactly go back. Worst case, he leads us wrong, we can fend for ourselves. If there’s a fight, he needs us more than we need him.” She looked at Reever, “Which means if you end up simply leading us in circles for too long, we can just bail and not have any issue.”

                Reever frowned. “You two doubt me so quickly �" before I’ve even had a chance to do anything. There’s a good reason the rebels are hard to find as it is, the entrance moves every so often. Renard is not just built of rock and steel �" the underground moves on its own �" taking certain areas where they’re needed most. The rebels just built into a chunk and move with it.” Reever paused, realizing what he’d just said.

                A confused look crossed Crew’s face. “What is it?”

                “Well … if it moves to where it’s needed, that means they could also be on the other side of the island. Currently.”

                “Which means we could never find them, and end up chasing them around the island, right?” asked Crew. “Wonderful.” Crew ran a hand through her hair and sighed. “Well, in the least, we can search in this area. Who knows �" we might get lucky. What do we look for? If anything?”

                “I’ve heard the calling card of the rebel leader is a symbol from chess �" the king. Apparently he’s really into chess. If we see that symbol, we’re close. Or at least that’s an area where the hideout comes back to, at some point.” Reever shrugged. “What we do when we find one … I have no idea.”

                “At least it’s something,” Crew replied as she began walking, lighting the way with a red glow with Statik and Reever quickly following her brisk pace.