Ma was busy controlling the ship because of the small valley they would have to travel through to get through the border of Man Country. The crew were all in the dining area relaxing when Ma’s shouts came through the speaker, disturbing the calm atmosphere.
“Pou, Nakai and Bao come here! Emergency!”
Everyone went quiet as they watched Pou lead Nakai and Wang Bao to the captain's control room. Inside the control room, Ma had a headset over her ears and was listening intently. The volume was so loud the three men could hear the coast guards' voice from the doorway. Ma suddenly looked stressed once she placed the headset down, and turned around in her chair to talk to the three people in the doorway.
“The royal guards have set up a block at the border and they’re searching any boats and ships that are leaving. They will arrest everyone on board if we refuse them.”
Pou and Nakai looked at each other then at Wang Bao. Ma stressed how they had to make a decision quickly since the border was coming round the next bend of small islands. Ma had already slowed the ship down but they couldn’t come to a complete stop or they would look suspicious. Pou thought quickly before shouting seriously.
“Don’t worry Ma, I’ll handle it. Keep this speed so we have as much time as possible.”
Nakai and Wang Bao followed Pou back to their room where they were told to pack all of their things and carry them. Lani and another crewmate were told to scrub the room while other crew mates were to scrub the dining area to get rid of Nakai’s and Wang Bao’s scent. Wang Bao was running to keep up with the two Giants in front of him and, he couldn’t help but feel guilty since the guards were after him on his Mother’s orders. A deep look of guilt and shame was written on his face although he tried to hide it. Pou led Nakai and Wang Bao down the metal staircase leading to the second lower deck, however instead of walking into the large work area, they continued going down another set of steps. When they were close to reaching the landing, Pou started talking.
“I’ll be hiding you in the engine room. It will be hot but hopefully they won’t take too long to search the ship.”
Wang Bao could feel his hands begin to shake while Nakai asked.
“What about our smell?”
Nakai was still clear headed and he already knew how poor Wang Bao’s condition had gotten. Before Wang Bao could drop his satchel, Nakai grabbed the strap, carrying both his and Wang Bao’s things. The hatch to the engine room took up most of the floor space, while answering Nakai’s question, Pou squatted over the circular handle while saying.
“The basement stinks of fuel and smoke, even if the engine is shut off, the smell lingers for days.”
Pou spun the thick handle until the door hissed, the warmth in the engine room was felt in the air alone. Despite being so thick the hatch didn’t take much effort from Pou to pull open.With the hatch fully open, Pou let Nakai and Wang Bao climb down the ladder first. Wang Bao scrunched his nose and covered the bottom half of his face as soon as they reached the landing. The stench of fuel clung to the air heavily while beads of sweat instantly formed on his body. Suddenly Ma’s voice blasted through speakers above their heads, Ma’s voice was so loud it was easily heard over the loud grinding of machinery.
“We’re coming up to the border, dropping anchor now.”
Pou pointed to a set of six large pistons beside the motor in the centre of the hot room. With Nakai and Wang Bao on his heels, Pou lifted a heavy grate from the floor, his thick arms shook from the heavy weight while sweat dripped from his bald head through the gaps in the floor. Nakai crouched down first and threw their bags into the hole before sliding in, there was only millimetres of space between his body and the grates above. Wang Bao tried to move his burning body quickly too and crawled after Nakai. As soon as Pou saw Wang Bao crawl under the floor, he dropped the large floor grate in place with a loud thud. Under the metal floor, Nakai pulled his body through the long shaft under the floor until his body was under the heart of the ship's engine.
The engine was large enough to cover Nakai’s and Wang Bao’s body with almost no chance of the guards seeing any glimpse of them. Wang Bao slowly crawled over to where Nakai was laying down, his body was already drenched in sweat and he huddled close to Nakai. The air felt thick from the heat and it made it hard for Wang Bao to breathe, and his body felt like it was being cooked alive.
When Wang Bao felt his ears were on the brink of exploding from the overbearing sound of the engine, the loud noise was cut off.
On the top deck Ma and Pou lowered the gangway and greeted the group of 30 guards and 5 royal hounds that boarded their boat. The head of the royal guards was dressed in a pristine white uniform while a permanent glare was stuck on his face. The head guard looked both Ma and Pou up and down before he gave them an official letter, written on the letter was an order from the king regarding the search of any passing ship. While Pou read the letter out loud for Ma, the guards began their search. Once Pou had read the letter, the head guard asked seriously.
“How many crew mates are on this ship?”
Pou took the lead in answering since Ma’s shouting could be taken as disrespect, she also hadn’t heard what had been said and was focusing hard to read the guards lips.
“12 crew mates. Ma and I share the role of captain. The ship is Ma’s property.”
The head guard listened to Pou before they walked to the lower deck. The crew were all seated in the dining room drinking water or playing cards to calm their nerves and seem normal. They watched quietly as three guards entered the room; one of the guards held a sensor to scan the room and kitchen. Another guard was using a large hound to sniff everything that had just been scanned. Lani looked around the crew mates and saw everyone was growing more nervous, it didn’t help that they could hear their cabins were being given the same treatment. The third guard didn’t search the room like his coworkers, instead he stood at the head of the table silently, his eyes watching over the crew with a cold face. When the crew mates were on the brink of tears from fear, the head guard stood in front of the nervous crew staring at the mix of identities in front of him.
His constant glare had a hint of amusement when he saw some of the grown men in front of him look away. Just as Pou and Ma came into the tense room, the head guard said sternly.
“The citizens from Man country, provide your ID.”
Two average looking men at the other end of the table slowly left the dining area to bring back their ID. On the way out they looked at Ma nervously and were given a small nod in return. When they returned to the room, the head guard scanned their IDs. The first man’s history came up clear and his ID was handed back, unfortunately when the head guard scanned the second man’s ID, an alert came up. Everyone could see the head guard had been hoping for this and he smiled darkly, his voice also didn’t hide his dark excitement.
“It says here you owe money to the crown in taxes, your last payment was almost two months ago. Under Man country law, you can’t leave the country unless all previous fines have been paid.”
The crew mate clenched his hands while explaining to the guard nervously.
“Mo-Money was short recently, I-I can make more payments after my next job.”
The head guard quickly shook his head and spoke while handing the man’s ID back.
“Too much time has passed, we need the money now or I will arrest you.”
The guard seemed to be enjoying the power he had over the crewmate and held out his scanner towards the trembling man, waiting for the money he knew wasn’t there. The crewmates couldn’t stand to watch this treatment of their friend, and their hands began to twitch in anger. Before anyone could do something stupid, Ma moved her short legs powerfully to the Guard that towered over her and scanned her own card. Seeing a small wrinkly hand swipe a card along his scanner confused the guard, and he looked down at Ma to say.
“That wasn’t your debt to pay.”
Ma spoke in a somewhat normal volume as she stared back at the guard with the stern face of a Mother.
“Who said it isn’t my debt to pay, these boys are all my sons. I don’t care if the King has written a letter or not, you don’t insult me or my family and think I won’t say something. Now how much longer are your guards and muts going to dirty my house?”
A cold silence washed over the room once Ma had finished scolding the head guard. Seeing how all the guards slowly put their hands on their guns that rested on their hips, made Pou feel on edge. Before the tension could rise more, the head guard shouted out to the unit in the corridor, his glaring eyes never leaving Ma’s face.
“How many more rooms?!”
“The first and second lower decks are clear, sir. The engine room is the only room left but we can’t open the hatch.”
The head guard instantly grinned before he made his way to the hatch with Pou following behind. The man that Ma had paid for instantly dropped to his knees and hugged Ma tightly.
On the landing with the hatch to the engine, a crowd of guards surrounded the hatch as they tried to lift the heavy metal door. They could only lift the thick metal door enough to let out some burning hot air before it dropped back down with a loud thud. The head guard screamed at them to hurry up but the guards had almost spent all of their energy. Pou gently made his way through the guards and squatted beside the hatch. All the other men moved away as Pou’s large hands gripped the circular handle and lifted the hatch door open. The head guard was becoming red from anger and jumped down the hatch first, eager to find something. With the door fully open, it was obvious the room was too hot for any sane person to hide inside. The guards all groaned as they followed behind, Pou bringing up the rear. All of the guards tried to use their scanners but the software kept crashing from the heat, they also couldn’t bring the dogs down since they would cook instantly. Pou was the last to enter the engine room and he stood by the ladder calmly, not getting involved.
Under the floor, Nakai was focusing on his breathing to cool his body while Wang Bao slowly began to panic. The mix of heat, heavy air and small space made him feel anxious. He tried to breathe slowly but it felt as if no air was reaching his lungs. Nakai could feel Wang Bao’s body start to tremble and jerk as he tried to gasp for air. The small gasps weren’t loud enough to catch the attention of the guards but Nakai knew a bigger freak out was bound to happen if he didn’t do anything. The guards quickly spread out and took the outer region of the large room first before they made their way into the centre.
They checked every small space and hidey hole since they couldn’t rely on their broken tech but found nothing. Nakai heard footsteps nearby and slowly tried to lift his hand that was resting beside his head. Nakai was laying on his back but Wang Bao was curled in a ball above his head. If Wang Bao spread out it would make it easier to breathe but Nakai couldn’t speak since the sound would echo through the grates. Wang Bao loudly gasped again as he tried to breathe, just as the loud sound left his mouth, Nakai’s large hand covered his face. The sound Wang Bao made became distorted with the echo and sounded like air pressure being let out, but it still alerted the guards and they quickly made their way to the centre of the room.
Nakai manoeuvred his hand to try to stretch Wang Bao’s body out but Wang Bao’s body was too stiff from fear. Thanks to the never ending heat, Wang Bao’s whole body and clothes were soaked in sweat and his breathing was getting shorter as more time passed. Nakai focused on the sound of the guards feet while still trying to keep Wang Bao silent by covering his mouth. It wasn’t long before the guards noticed the floor changed from metal sheet to square grates, and they tried to lift the heavy metal but similar to the hatch door, they couldn’t even move it. The head guard had thick beads of sweat all over his face as he pointed a red finger at Pou, all respect was thrown away at this point.
“You, down here now.”
Pou slowly made his way down and stood in front of the head guard, his tall stature creating a long shadow over the guards. The head guard glared at him while pointing to the ground.
“Pick it up now!”
Fu~ Pou sighed before squatting over a large grate, he reached through the gaps in the grate and tried to lift the floor grate but it was too heavy, the guards watched as Pou’s arms shook and twitched from the weight but the floor only lifted a thumbs length in height. The guards all stared in awe at such a strong being but the head guard only screamed at Pou to try harder. Pou suddenly dropped the heavy metal and held the head guards' crazed gaze with a calm face.
“I’m not one of your men, you don’t get to order me around.”
The hot room felt chilled all of a sudden and the guards all looked away. The head guard looked like he was about to explode after his authority was challenged again but held it in, screaming at his guards to head back to the boat they had taken to board the ship. Pou was last to leave as he climbed the ladder, leaving the hatch open. Ma and Pou watched with cold eyes as the guards boarded their own boat, the head guard avoiding their gaze. Once the boat had disembarked, they quickly walked back inside. Pou called out for everyone to get down to the engine room as he picked up his pace. As soon as everyone was in the engine room, they worked together to lift the heavy grate, using thick fishing gaffs to slip through the gaps in the grate. Pou hadn’t been lying when failed to lift the floor in front of the guards, the first time was a one time thing thanks to adrenaline. Nakai had heard the crew telling him they were lifting the grate tile and he instantly started moving.
Nakai clenched the bags between his feet while pushing Wang Bao with one arm, his other arm was used to pull his own body back to the entrance. Wang Bao had fainted once the guards left the room from the heat and stress, his whole body was drenched as if he had stood under a shower but his face was pale. Lani crouched by the hole in the floor and gently lifted Wang Bao out. With Wang Bao out from under the floor, Lani moved Wang Bao’s body over his shoulder gently so he could climb back up the ladder.
Next Nakai exited and handed their bags to random crew mates. His entire body was wet as well but he could still make it out on his own feet. The leftover crew all grunted as they moved the heavy grate back then everyone left the burning engine room. In the dining area Lani laid Wang Bao down on the long table while Ma rushed around the kitchen to grab a bowl of ice and water along with towels. Wang Bao’s breathing was still quick while his pale skin that was visible looked almost burnt from the heat. When Ma returned to the table side, she and Lani worked quickly to undress Wang Bao.
They cut everything off then wrapped large clumps of ice in damp towels before placing them against Wang Bao’s main points. The rest of the crew tried to hoard into the dining area, worried about Wang Bao but Nakai and Pou stopped them from entering once they saw the situation. Pou instantly instructed everyone seriously.
“Everyone back to their dorms until I say.”
Pou shut the door swiftly while Nakai used a spare towel to cover up Wang Bao’s private region. Ma and Lani both gave him a look of confusion.
“He’s shy.”
Nakai didn’t say anything else and walked into the kitchen to drink some water. The ship was low on medical care since it was rare for the crew to get injured or sick, Ma knew it would be best for Wang Bao to have an IV to restore his hydration but all they could do was bring his temperature down and wait for Wang Bao to wake up.
Ma and Lani had placed ice bundles at the bottom of Wang Bao’s feet, inner thighs, armpits and back of the neck. Every now and then they would refill the ice since Wang Bao’s body was melting it so quickly. Pou’s only way of helping was mopping at the large puddles on the ground while Nakai was forced to sit back with ice on the back of his neck. Nakai’s body was in better condition compared to Wang Bao but he was still severely dehydrated, and Ma was strict in watching him get better. When Lani wasn’t replacing the ice for Wang Bao, he was sitting at the table side to hold Wang Bao’s sweaty hand in his own. With all the water on the floor mopped away, Pou sat down beside Nakai and refilled the empty jug while looking over at Lani. His voice barely above a whisper.
“Shouldn’t that be you holding Bao’s hand?”
Nakai looked at Pou with a bored expression but his reply was directed at Lani since his voice was louder than a whisper.
“The point of the ice is to cool him down, holding his hand is doing the opposite.”
Lani lifted his tender gaze from Wang Bao and glared at Nakai, everyone could hear a hint of bitterness in his voice when speaking to Nakai.
“He needs to feel supported in order to get better.”
For a strong Werebeast, Lani had a pure way of thinking. Hearing such words made Nakai roll his eye’s just as Wang Bao groaned. Ma instantly pushed Lani out of the way and held Wang Bao’s face in her hands. Lani slowly picked himself up from the ground and stood on Wang Bao’s other side, picking up the hand he hadn’t been gripping tightly. Wang Bao’s head pounded while his throat felt as dry as a desert. He tried to open his eyes to look at Ma who was holding his face but his vision was doubled, making his head hurt more. Wang Bao quickly closed his eyes before he could hear Lani saying something, but he couldn’t hear what was being said.
Nobody seemed to be connecting his bloody chapped lips and Wang Bao’s need for water, he tried asking for a drink but it came out as a raspy cough instead. Before Wang Bao could start crying from the intense thirst, he felt a thin straw push past his chapped lips. Wang Bao sucked the ice cold liquid as quickly as the thin straw would allow, the cold water was like heaven and Wang Bao quickly downed half the glass. Nakai held the cup before motioning for Lani to hold it then walked to his room, a large pitcher of ice water in either hand.
Pou watched everything play out before he sighed for many reasons. Everyone’s stress levels had decreased now that Wang Bao was awake, and they also noticed his skin was no longer covered in sweat. Pou walked out of the dining room and quickly returned with a damp sheet, draping it over Wang Bao. After Wang Bao had downed three large cups of water back to back his throat no longer inhibited him from talking, and his headache had dulled to a light throbbing. Pou felt he could let the rest of the crew in and he called to come see Wang Bao was okay. The sound of loud footsteps rumbled through the corridor before they all huddled around the dining room table, asking if Wang Bao was feeling better. Wang Bao forced his tired eyes open to look at everyone while speaking with a raspy voice.
“I’m fine, what happened with the guards? Where’s Nakai?”
Lani squeezed Wang Bao’s hands at the mention of Nakai’s name but told Wang Bao everything that had happened. Leaving out the part of almost roasting to death by saying Nakai was tired and went to bed early. With everyone focused on Wang Bao, Ma squeezed her way out of the crowd and entered the kitchen, declaring she would cook dinner. Everyone surrounding Wang Bao froze as nightmares from before Wang Bao had appeared flashed across their eyes. The crew all voiced their rejection by saying they weren’t hungry but Ma wasn’t taking no as an answer and grabbed out a pot. Pou sent everyone back to their room again to wait for the meal then helped Wang Bao sit up, speaking as he did.
“I think it would be best for you to go to bed and rest properly.”
Wang Bao agreed since his eyes were beginning to hurt again and he tried to stand but his legs had turned to jelly. Lani caught his waist in time and held most of Wang Bao’s weight. Lani guided Wang Bao into his own room where his roommate was sitting patiently before the sea person was kicked out to sleep in Nakai’s room. In the now empty room, Wang Bao was gently laid down on the bed that smelled of Lani. The sheet that was wrapped around his body was gently taken away before he was tucked under the blankets.
“I’ll sleep in the other bed tonight, call me if you need anything.”
Lani got undressed and headed into the shower while Wang Bao drifted off to sleep. In the end bedroom Nakai was lying on his bed naked while reading the cooking book Wang Bao was gifted, Lani’s room mate had knocked on the door to tell Nakai about how they would be rooming for a night thanks to Lani, but quickly changed his words to saying he would room with a different person when Nakai revealed his nude body.
In the quiet room, Nakai’s ice water had been drunk in less than 10 minutes but it didn’t matter since his body had almost fully recovered. After shutting the door, Nakai returned to his bed to continue reading but his mind wasn’t on the words or pictures in front of him. Nakai stared off into space as his mind went blank, he quickly caught himself starting to think about Wang Bao and if his body was okay but quickly shook the thought away and got dressed, heading to the dining area for dinner.
