Young Writers Society

Sing rainwater, sea water
River water, holy water
Wrap this child in mercy; heal her
Heaven's only daughter

On our dear planet Earth, the year is 2502. Things look a little different. There's less people, less plants, less animals, and a lot less freshwater.

Fifteen years ago marked the end of what is now known as "World War Water," a six year chaotic hell of atomic bombs and warfare, directly or indirectly resulting in the deaths of nearly 93% of the human population. Those that have survived to see the aftermath aren't faring well. A great deal of the meager water they have left is contaminated with toxins from the war. Filters are available, but expensive, and certainly not foolproof.

The polar ice caps are gone, and ocean levels have raised significantly, drowning the coastal cities. Los Angeles, New York, Sydney, Tokyo, Venice, Cape Town, New Orleans - they're all just whispered myths of the past, like the lost city of Atlantis.

Many populations have grudgingly settled inland, with cities that have grown downward instead of up in order to escape the sweltering desert heat. Most houses are built underground. Their source of energy is solar power, and their technology overall is futuristic and advanced - you can be creative with that. Their main source of food are cooked bugs, rodents, and birds.

Others, however, have gone the other direction. These are the adventurers; they've moved out to the sea. Small floating communities - although they are fragile against sudden storms, isolated and cramped, and unpredictable in their drifting - offer more favorable weather than the inland desert cities, and certainly more excitement. Their source of energy is hydropower, and their mode of individual transportation are fancy futuristic jetskis. They also have good ol' ships. Their main source of food is fish and seaweed.



Off the north coast of Spain lies Santa Nepomucene, more colloquially known as "St. Nepo." It's a small desert community of about 500 pious, nonviolent people, who want nothing more than to live quietly and worship in safety. They generally believe that the world is ending - a not uncommon thought these days - and hope that by living their lives faithfully, they will be spared on the Day of Judgement. St. Nepo is ruled by a humble monarchy separate from the rest of Spain. The queen's husband is dead, but she has one daughter.

What makes St. Nepo special is the beautiful curse that is hidden beneath their city: the Nepomians have drinking access to a massive storage of holy water under the cathedral, which was kept safe from nuclear radiation during WWW. Quickly, however, they began to realize the curse that the water really was, and the target that it placed on the city and its inhabitants.

Their fears were realized when the infamous Marballos caught wind of the secret water stash.



The ruthless and selfish Marballos (mar-BUY-yos) are Western Europe's most notorious post-WWW gang. Their ocean base is a giant metal floating fortress that drifts along the North Atlantic coasts, looting freshwater wherever they can find it. Picture a rough and tough biker-gang-meets-pirate-crew, with members that aren't afraid of being cruel. Black, waterproof leather jackets. Jetskis. The seahorse logo above tattooed somewhere on their skin.

Although the Marballos are aware that the water stash is hiding in St. Nepo, they don't know exactly where. Impatient, they've captured and tortured several civilians to squeeze the information out of them, but either no one knows this classified information or they won't tell. Angry, the Marballos raided the palace and kidnapped the only heir to the throne, young Princess Ciela. They threaten to kill her unless the location of the water is disclosed.



Here's where the heroes of the story come in.

It's a selfish, dog-eat-dog world, and good people are hard to come by. The Nepomians are hopeless on their own when it comes to defending themselves, but now that the princess has been captured, they know that something has to be done.

Desperate, the queen contacts El Capitán, a brilliant Spanish captain of WWW who was born in St. Nepo and still holds it close to his heart. Slim though their chances of success are, he agrees to try to help get the princess back. He hires to the team six other people of varying backgrounds and skills. With their help, he hopes to strengthen St. Nepo's defense against the Marballos, on land or on sea.

Note: the Spanish titles of the characters are in their default masculine form, but characters can be of any gender. Also, these characters do not necessarily go by this title under any other setting.

1. El Capitán: Edward Hendrickson

@XxXTheSwordsmanXxX

2. El Guapo: Alvaro Carrasquillo

@Sheyren

3. El Cobarde: Asun Mariani

@Wolfical

4. el niño: Sofia Lopez

@PrincessInk

5. el experimento: Victor Bravo

@regismare

6. El tirador: Convel

@FalconryGirl9086

7. el cerebro: Marisol Najiba Sánchez Valencia

@Sonder





Other than the Seven, you can also choose to have a Marballo or Nepomian character:

1. Luca De Santis

@ScarlettFire

2. Cebrián Aldana

@ChildofNowhere

3. Princess Ciela (...) Portuguesa

@Persistence

4. Lucía "Desi" Guerra

@Lael

Code: Select all

[b]Title[/b]: (ex: El Tirador or Marballo)
[b]Age[/b]:
[b]Gender[/b]:
[b]Appearance[/b]:
[b]Personality[/b]: (should have at least one positive and one negative aspect)
[b]From[/b]: (country of origin, current dwelling, preference of land or sea)
[b]Skills[/b]: (weapon of choice?)
[b]Weaknesses[/b]:
[b]Favorite color[/b]:
[b]Other[/b]: (optional)

Link to the WFP.

Asun Mariani

The pilot of the taxiplane was an edgy fellow. He reminded her of the rat she had just eaten for breakfast - long curved nose, wiry whiskers, small black eyes, dirty tawny hair. At least he was good at flying, and quiet. She didn’t like the ones who talked, because then she had to smile and say that her day was going just fine, thank you, no visions of dead friends at all, certainly not, how is yours? Wonderful, they’d say. I have enough water to last me an eternity, and I had steak for dinner last night.

No, this pilot was one of the realists. He didn’t say anything, because there was nothing to say at all.

The flight from South America to Spain was an uncomfortable thirty minutes. Asun was uncomfortable not just because the taxi was old and dirty, with the yellow sponge of her seat spilling out, but because she felt sick. She was stupid, absolutely stupid, for finally saying yes to Ed. She just couldn’t tell him the truth; that would have pained her more.

The pilot landed the taxiplane in the middle of the desert, a considerable distance from St. Nepo. Asun could just barely make out the white cathedral that shimmered in the distance like a mirage, framed by the blue ocean behind it.

“Could you take me closer, please?” she asked. “I paid you enough.”

“I’m not going any closer. Didn’t you see the Marballo flags on the docks?” He slammed the door on her and in another two seconds the taxiplane was gone.

“Jerk,” Asun said. She tented her hand over her eyes and squinted at the smudge of St. Nepo on the horizon. Besides its grand cathedral and palace, it looked so small and insignificant, another victim of WWW. Was this little village really what she would be fighting for?

With a sigh, Asun trudged toward the city, dragging her suitcase along in the sandy dirt. She was already wearing her chainmail under her clothes. There could be Marballo snipers waiting in the village, for all she knew.

She approached a building at the edge of town hesitantly, and jumped when the door suddenly opened.

“Are you one of The Seven?” a woman asked, peeking out of the door.

“The Seven?” Asun asked.

“Captain Hendrickson’s group. You’re that famous World War Water veteran, aren’t you? Mariani?”

“Oh. Yes, I am. Where’s Ed?”

“It’s an honor to meet you. Come inside.” Asun obeyed.

“I’m not sure where the captain is,” the woman continued, “but we’ll let him know you’re here. Thank you for coming, by the way. We deeply appreciate it. St. Nepo’s last hope was the princess, our esperanza. God bless her.”

The woman led her to a table and then disappeared to another room. Asun sat down, and glanced around at the room. The tiles on the floor were old and cracked, but swept clean. The walls were bare except for a small silver crucifix that was hung next to the door. She spotted a wooden doll tossed haphazardly in the corner; a child lived here. But where were they?

“Captain Hendrickson is waiting underground,” the woman said when she returned. “I’ll show you how to get there.” She went to the door but looked out the window before she opened it, scanning the plaza outside carefully.

Asun reluctantly left the house and followed the woman’s directions to a larger building down the street, where she knocked four times. Ed opened the door.

“Asun!” he said.

“Hi Ed,” she said. “It’s good to see you.” And it was.

Edward Hendrickson

"Blast it's hot!" Ed said as he fanned himself. "Why didn't I make the meeting place by the pier. I could have had a short swim before everyone got here." He wiped the sweat from his forehead. The sun was baking him in his clothing as he stood in the main room. The place was inconspicuous and the idea of people meeting there for a rescue meeting would be absurd. Now he knew why.

There was no air conditioning in the whole building.

He sighed as he hunched over his rifle, replacing the worn firing pin before putting the rifle back together. He hefted the rather weighty weapon and pulled it tight to his shoulder. Checking the drop block and listening carefully to the hammer strike at nothing, he was grinning as he set it down again.

Grabbing a nearby bottle of amber liquid he quickly gulped down a mouthful before hearing the four steady knocks on his the door. Though only a few people were supposed to know about the meeting, that didn't mean that someone wasn't going to try to stop it. Drawing his 1911 colt he skulked over to the door.

He slowly opened it and found...

"Asun!"

"Hi Ed," she responded. "It's good to see you."

Holstering his pistol he gave a gentle smile. HIs bright green eyes remembering good memories of the past. "You too, Asun. It's been far too long." He quickly ushered her inside with her bags and closed the door once again. He threw his arms around Asun, crushing her in a bear hug before letting her go. "It's good to see a familiar face. I haven't seen you since..."

"English Channel. Fifteen years is a long time. But...I just had to get away," she said apologetically. "Too many people reminding me of what happened."

"I know," Ed said with a nod. "So what have you been doing with yourself?"

"Little jobs. Just keeping myself busy. Same as you." She meandered around the room, catching the bottle of whiskey with a sad glance. "I see you're still trying to forget too."

Ed nodded. "We all have our means of coping."

Asun set the bottle down before she smiled. She ran her fingers over the wood stock of the rifle resting on the table. "Now this is something I wouldn't expect. You haven't switched this old thing out for a newer model? I bet the lighter ones would be easier on your back." A coy smirk playing on her lips.

"I've never had a rifle that shot straighter than that one. Besides...I'd miss the weight after a while." Ed was glad that Asun had agreed to join him on the mission. Though he knew most everyone, she was the one that knew him the best. It was a comfort to know that there was someone that had already proved that they had his back.

He jumped a little when another knock came at the door. He drew his pistol, as he had done when Asun knocked, and moved closer. His hand on the handle slowly opening it.

Sofia Lopez


Sofia leaned against the wall of a building to rest a minute from half-running down the street with Mateo on her shoulders. But it would be worth it, once she reached her first goal: meet her comrades for the Princess Ciela rescue mission. “Hot, isn’t it Mateo?”

Despite shading her face, she still felt the sweltering glare of the sun beat down on her.

The door beside her swung open, revealing a middle-aged woman. Sofia jumped. “Well, hello there!”

“Are you one of the Seven?” the woman asked.

“Are you?” Sofia, swinging her satchel, leaped over to her.

“No, but I'm supposed to contact Edward when you reach here.” When she saw the monkey, she put a hand to her mouth. “Lady Sofia, I—you are quite young to participate in this mission. But thank you very, very much. Princess Ciela is our last hope for St. Nepo and we need as much as help as possible.”

Sofia tried not to scowl. Why did the people other than the captain—well, he chose her—think she was too young? As the woman ushered her inside the building, she added in a lower voice, “I am very sorry for this, my lady.”

Sofia swallowed and nodded, managing to form a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. She hated to think about the abduction—thinking that they’d someday meet made her happier. Trying to ignore her sadness, she sat down at the table in the room and looked around.

A silver crucifix—the only ornament in the room—hung near the door, and a wooden doll lay in a corner. Her boots scraped against the cracks in the tiles, but they were recently swept.

“The captain is underground, my lady. I will let him know of your arrival.” The woman exited into another room.

Mateo scrambled to the corner with the doll, squealing. “Mateo!” For the fifth time that day, Sofia struggled to pull him to her side. “There’s no need to get fur everywhere!”

Just as she had managed to get Mateo’s attention diverted away from the doll, the woman reentered and proceeded to explain the directions to get to the building. When she was done, Sofia thanked her, and in the next instant, raced out of the room.

Down the street she skipped, monkey at her heels, till the rendezvous of the Seven, loomed in front her. “Mateo?” She squeezed his paw and swung him up to her shoulder. “Ready?”

He peeked up at her with wide, oh-so innocent eyes that reminded her of a toddler and let out a squeak. Sofia laughed. “You’re always ready, aren’t you?” She knocked the door once. Then one more time.

The door opened to reveal two: a thin, sinewy woman with copper hair, and a tall grey-headed man armed with a gun. She wasn’t quite sure who was the woman but she knew that the man was Edward Hendrickson.

“Hello!” In true Sofia style, the girl strutted in, and the monkey yapped. “Oh, and by the way, Mateo’s coming too.”

Edward put away the gun. “Well, hello, Sofia. You’re the second to arrive, after—”
“Asun Mariani,” the woman finished.

She and Sofia shook hands. “You must be the famous World War Water veteran! So pleased to meet you! Too bad there’s only three of us yet—why aren’t the others here yet?”

Asun furrowed her brow and flashed a quick glance at Edward. Sofia scowled. She suspected that Asun was asking Edward why such a girl under eighteen was included. But realizing that it made her look more childish instead, she swallowed it quickly.

“I can’t stand the heat here! It’s even hotter in here than outside!” Sofia dug in her pocket for a handkerchief. “I feel like I’m sitting in some volcano. I wonder what it feels like to be in a volcano. Will it—?”

“It depends on whether it’s active or dormant,” Asun cut in. “But I think the heat is appropriate to draw away—”

Another knock reverberated through the room and all three started. Edward grabbed his gun, while Asun stood at close attention beside him. Sofia hugged Mateo even more tightly than usual, watching as Edward slowly turned the knob and eased the door open.

Victor Bravo

Victor watched as the doorknob turned painfully slowly, shifting impatiently from foot to foot as it did. He stood huddled in the doorway of the pretty little house, with its parched-yellow walls and terracotta tiles. It stood faithfully in the sweltering heat, braced and crumbling against the dark heat like the other houses in St Nepo.

People milled around as he waited, sticking the arches and stone walls of the place, sending questioning, curious glances toward him. Though it made his insides squirm as if they'd become desperate snakes, he couldn't blame them - he must have looked a sight. He wore a huge, sombrero-type hat that he'd plucked from a market in the next time over, as well as some dark-tinted sunglasses to shade his eyes from the sun. There was a silken scarf wrapped tightly around his neck to hide his gills, and his fin-like feet were wrapped in bands of fabric to protect against the heat of the ground.

The door finally eased open to reveal Ed, clutching a pistol, in front of two women - one young, barely an adult, and the other older. Victor's eyes glanced to the pistol and then back up to Ed's face as a rush of uncertainty flourished in his stomach.

"Ed!" Victor greeted, enthusiastically bounding forwards to embrace Ed in a quick hug - something he'd seen others do and wanted to try - before he pushed the door shut behind him.

"Hello, Victor," Ed said, putting the gun away with a weary expression as he began to introduce the other two, "this is Asun Mariani, and this is Sofia Lopez."

While both of their gazes were interested, Asun's was slightly suspicious in the kind of way that made Victor suspect he'd done something wrong. Victor's attention was immediately drawn to the monkey on Sofia's shoulder, who chirped at him suspiciously.

"And this is Mateo," Sofia gestured to the creature.

"I'm Victor," Victor said abruptly, taking off his hat and running a hand over his hair as he prayed they didn't think too harshly about his hooked canine teeth. He gave the smallest of sighs as he took off his sunglasses and he could feel Asun and Sofia's eyes drawn to his face and the way his pupils must have been huge and round in the half-light. He unwound the scarf from his neck, leaving his gills quivering and exposed. The fabric had dried them out and they ached for water - he'd have to ask Ed about for water later. With the coverings gone, the beginnings of the criss-crossing scars over his torso and legs were visible on his collarbone. He heard one of them gasp quietly.

Again, his insides were writhing. They'd become crazed eels sliding over one another to try to hide from Sofia and Asun's eyes, slimy with shame and eyes flashed white with fear. The edges of his gills fluttered with each breath, rubbed an irritated shade of red by the scarf.

"I'm an experiment." Victor said, pausing long enough to scold himself mentally - even he could tell that wasn't the ideal way to introduce himself. "I breathe underwater. There aren't many of us - most of us died... Uh, so, I'm pleased to meet you."

"Nice to meet you," Asun replied, taking his social stumbles into her stride and kindly keeping her eyes off of his gills, scars, claw-nails, and fangs. He smiled meekly in return.

Sofia didn't do such a good job of keeping her gaze merciful, and instead stared at his throat while she said hello, eyes fluttering from his eyes to his gills and voice pale with uncertainty. Her monkey squeaked from her shoulder and glared at him with teeth bared. The silence that fell after Sofia's introduction made Victor cringe - was this awkwardness his fault?

"So we're the Seven?" Victor asked Ed, struggling slightly to keep himself from stuttering. He wondered briefly how much of his anxiety was obvious to the other two, how badly they thought of him, how strange he was to them. He tried to push the thought away.

"Yes," Ed said, "but we're waiting for more. They'll be here soon."

"How long do you think they'll take?" Victor asked. " I really need water, my gills --"

A sharp rap on the door stopped Victor's words in his throat. Ed moved to open the door, and all of them tensed.

Alvaro threw open the door before anyone could open it, jumping inside and almost slamming into Ed. He did a spin around Ed, coat billowing behind him, and he stopped on the far side of the room, shaking his head to correct any possible errors in his hair. Ed closed the door behind him carefully, not even phased by his actions, but the three others in the room stared.

“Hello! I am the great Alvaro Carrasquillo, though I'm sure you've heard of me. You have, haven't you?” They continued to stare blankly. “I will accept that as a yes! Good 'ol Ed here has invited me to join the Seven, as I'm sure he has for you too.”

“Um, yes, he has.” The older woman said, looking on confused.

“Oh, I get it. You're confused by my radiant and beautiful face, and my hot and perfect body. Do not be embarrassed... I understand completely. Happens to the best of us, except me, of course. That'd be extremely narcissistic. What is your name anyway, damsel?”

She opened her mouth indignantly, but before she could say anything, Ed got between the two. “She is Asun Mariani, World War Water veteran.” He sighed, seeming as though a crisis had been averted.

“Oh yes, I've heard of you. And you, little girl, whom I am surprised was invited to this? Your name is?”

“Sofia Lopez, and I'm fifteen, thank you very much. I can do anything you or the others can.”

Alvaro laughed. “It's adorable you think that. Now, how about you? And oh, you have gills.”

“I am Victor,” he said, self-consciously hiding his gills under a scarf. “I was experimented on many years ago, with some others, but most of them died.”

“Oooh, unique. I like it. Ed,” He said, addressing the captain, “When will the others arrive? I'm getting bored waiting, and this room is sweltering.”

“They'll be here in a few minutes. Try not to start a fight until then.”

“Okay, Ed, what's the deal? Why'd you invite him?” Asun said, looking... Was that anger on her face? Could she be ungrateful, even in the presence of Alvaro? He laughed off the possibility.

“Despite him having little-to-no filter, and being the most narcissistic human being I've met, he is really good with a whip, and his personality isn't as bad as it seems,” Ed said, and she raised an eyebrow skeptically, glancing at Alvaro. He flicked his hair and winked, but she only groaned in response.

Then there was a knock on the door, and everyone's attention shifted to it.”Finally,” exclaimed Alvaro. “I got it,” he said, dancing across the room and placing his hand on the doorknob. Slowly he turned it and pulled the door open.

Convel

I came inside, putting down the long black case that held my sniper rifle. My almost wine-colored, dark, reddish auburn hair dropping in my face as I leaned over. A handgun rested on my belt.

I looked over the crowd: a man with gills, a copper-haired woman, a fifteen-year-old girl, and an admittedly handsome man with dark hair and brown eyes.

I didn't say a word; instead I simply nodded to them and took off my leather jacket.

"Everyone, this is our sharpshooter, Convel. Convel, this is Victor, Asun, Sophia -" as he was gesturing to the last man, he was cut off.

"And I'm the magnificent Alvaro Carrasquillo, though you may have already known that, you've heard of me, I'm sure," he interrupted.

"It's a pleasure," I told them all, and placed my jacket on the rifle case. "Where's the last one?" I asked Hendrickson.

"Not sure, but they should be arriving soon," he answered.

I grunted in reply and moved my gun case to a bench before leaning against the wall, looking out at the rest of the group.

"So you have heard of me?" Alvaro said. "Of course you have, why am I asking?"

"No," I answered my my soft, quiet voice.

"What do you mean? You must just be confused because you are so dazzled by my presence!"

Oh God, what was happening? "Cap, why is he needed?" I inquired. "I find him quite irritating."

"He's good with a whip," Hendrickson answered. "And you'll get used to it."

I eyed Alvaro a bit skeptically as there was a knock at the door. The captain went to open it.

Lucía "Desi" Guerra

"Things are going smoothly, Second Mate," said one of Desi's new lackeys. What was his name? Paco? "The Nepomians are giving little resistance."

"Bueno," replied Desi. She stared down at the town through her new sunglasses. She had found them in an abandoned "mall" when the Marballos had revisited Barcelona a couple of weeks ago. Though Desi cared little for fashion, she had to admit that the darkly tinted, somewhat oblong lenses hid her eyes--and emotions--well, making her look much more intimidating. Who knew that aviators could have such a use?

She realized that the man was still standing behind her. She didn't bother turning to command, "Get lost, Paco. Make yourself useful."

"Sí." The quickly receding footsteps down the ladder confirmed his departure, though Desi almost thought that she could hear the man mutter, "I'm Luís, not Paco." Ah, well. At least I tried, that unworthy dog.

She slowly scanned the horizon, until movement once, then twice, in the streets caught her eye. Some secret, back-alley work, mostly likely. She couldn't make it out, not with her eyes alone, even from such a high vantage point on El Toro del Mar, the Marballos' flagship.

But once again, the decisions of her padre had saved her a lot of trouble. Again.

Desi pressed behind her ear, and a blinking, red dot briefly appeared in the top right corner of her vision. When it disappeared, she searched for a functioning security camera. St. Nepo didn't have many, most of which were broken or lost connection with a satellite, but the Marballos had secured any still functioning.

There. Now she could see that area more closely. Desi narrowed her eyes as she watched--through the camera--one person, then another, enter a building after looking suspiciously around them. She snorted, though, when she saw a young man in a fedora and a long coat exposing his chest knocking on the door and twirling inside like he was a "movie star" of the old times.

When she saw yet another person walk through the door, Desi was doubly convinced that something was amiss. These people were obviously up to no good, especially now that the Marballos had proven their might and rightfully and successfully completed their conquest of the town.

What exactly were they plotting?

"Second Mate Desi." A large hand closed on her shoulder.

Desi pushed the camera footage out of her real vision and looked up to see Adolfo Colón, Marballo First Mate and her father's long-time friend and ally. The only man who was more powerful than her in all of Capitán Anthony's crew. She saluted him. "Tío Adolfo."

"The princess has finally been settled in El Toro del Mar," said the First Mate.

A corner of Desi's mouth quirked up. "Finally? Took her long enough to get here. She must've been kickin' and screamin' the whole way."

"Your padre wants you to watch over the princess."

Desi gave the older man a disbelieving look. "¡Tío!You're kidding, right?" When Adolfo shook his head, she scowled. "Padre wants me to babysit a spoiled brat?"

The princess had irritated her from the first time Desi had laid eyes on her. Desi didn't even like St. Nepo, with its backwater infrastructure and sweltering weather. She could almost feel the sweat forming on her body at the thought. The only reason why they were here in this primitive place was for their hidden water source. Which the Marballos desperately needed.

"You are a woman, Desi. The princess is probably not going to talk if she feels threatened by a man alone with her in a room."

She sighed. It was infuriating that she was assigned this job because of her gender. But she could never disobey her father. Any Marballo with eyes on her position would leap on anything to claim that she was too young and inadequate of such a high rank of honor under Capitán Anthony Guerra.

"Fine," she said. "Do I need to report immediately?"

Though her 'tío' almost had a sympathetic expression on his face, he replied, "As a matter of fact, yes. He wants you there, now."

Desi Guerra was not about to let those watching her be proved right for any reason.

Valari's talons dug into the flesh of Sol’s shoulder as the young woman stood before the old building. Nerves coiled in her stomach. Sol had not been under anyone else’s command for some time, not since she had proven her worth to the elders. She was her own woman, with her own goals, and even though she knew a hierarchy was necessary in a situation such as this, it still bothered her.

The sun-heated pavement was making the soles of her boots uncomfortably warm as she hesitated still. Taking a deep breath, Sol reminded herself yet again why she was here: to save an innocent life. It was what Dios would want of her, yet, staring through the bright sunlight and sweltering heat of St. Nepo, surrounded by buildings and people that seemed to edge out the sky... Sol couldn’t help but feel like she was in the wrong place.

“Dios, dame fuerza,” she muttered before knocking on the door with her good hand.

It swung open almost immediately. The tall and slightly intimidating Capitán towered over her, his lips tugging into a smile.

“Ah, look who’s finally here.”

When El Capitán had sought her out, Sol had been hurrying home with her arms full of new treasure.

“¡Señorita! Perdoname,” he had called from across the street from Pablo the bookseller, as if he had known she would be there. His accent was easy and natural, indicating a native speaker.

Sol was immediately wary of this man. She had slowed her pace, but kept moving, not wanting him too close to her. His intentions hadn't seemed negative, so eventually, she spoke to him.

She had seen how people glanced at her in barely-masked suspicion as she passed in her traditional nomad garb. How their eyes lingered on the scars, on Valari, on Sol’s uneven gait. She knew that the entire town was gripped in fear from the Marballos’ recent attack, but it still hurt to be a stranger still, even though her community had been dwelling on the outskirts of town for almost 3 months.

Lucky for her (or unlucky, depending on how she looked at it), this man had not been interested in her societal status, but rather, what she could do for the princess. Sol was no saint, but she knew what needed to be done.

Sol’s eyes widened. “I am not too late, am I?”

Él Capitán laughed, stepping aside to let her enter. “Not at all, I’m teasing you. We are now a complete set of Seven.”

Sol smiled faintly and ducked inside, feeling Valari shift nervously at the change in scenery. She briefly considered removing her headscarf to relieve some of the stagnant heat that choked the air inside, but after seeing the small cluster of people and all their eyes, she decided against it.

“Everyone, this is our last member, Marisol Valencia.”

“Hello,” she said, nodding to them. “You can call me Sol.”

“This young lady is incredible with anything tech and strategy. I only met her not long ago but the stories surrounding her are...” He shook his head. “Sol, it’s great to have you.”

She smiled but her stomach twisted again. She knew how the elders of the community could stretch and twist any story into a bigger-than-life fable. She should have asked for more specifics on the word on the street about her. What had he heard? And how much of it was true?

The others murmured greetings as El Capitán went through with introductions, except for one young man, who seemed to find it enjoyable to be as self-absorbed and loud as possible. He flounced about, preening himself like one of those colorful peacock birds.

“I am THE Alvaro. You may have heard of me. The one, the only, the most beautiful, bla bla bla...”

Sol resolved to ignore him.

Still, she made a point to look everyone in the eye as she tried to connect names to faces. Asun, Alvaro, Convel, Victor. She tried not to pause too long on any of them, but there were some characters here, for sure. The one man, Victor, seemed to be even more marked up than Sol. El nombre del Capitán es Edward. Y-

“...And this is Sofia. She is Nepomian and close to the princess.”

When Sol turned to look at the young girl, she started, because Sofia was staring at her with a mixture of horror and fear. Sol’s scars seemed to pulse in embarrassment. But wait, no, she realized. Sofia wasn’t looking her. She was staring at the suspiciously still being on Sol’s shoulder.

Valari.

Sol glanced at her bird to find that the falcon’s eyes were fixed on the small creature clutched in Sofia’s hands. A... monkey?

It squealed in fear and buried its face in Sofia’s arms.

“Um,” Sofia said softly, her eyes wide. “Will your bird eat Mateo?”

Sol smiled and shook her head. She waved her hand at Valari, the signal that this prey was not for her. The bird relaxed somewhat, but continued to stare Mateo down.

“Nah. She only hunts when I let her, or tell her to.”

“Oh, okay. Well, Mateo is very well behaved,” Sofia announced, drawing herself up to her full height. “They should get along just fine.” Mateo peered nervously out from her fingers and hissed in response.

“Let’s hope so,” Capitán said. “Right now, we can’t have any more distractions. We have a princess to save. Let’s get to work.”

Princess Ciela Napolitana Capricciosa Consuella Trump Borgia Bilbao Espana Portuguesa

Princess Ciela’s small room was slightly rocky and fully made of wood. She thought she was on a ship, though she could see land through the window. They must have been sailing pretty close to shore. “Up to something,” she said. “Whatever.”

She was sitting on a comfortable, not-too-old-looking bed. She had a couple of dry nutrition bars on the stand next to it, as well as an unopened bottle of tequila. She looked at the bottlecap - it looked like the good stuff too. There was a picture of a dog on the wall, then another picture of a giraffe, and two shelves full of books and some the last video games to ever come out, such as Sims 36, Assassin’s Creed 36 and Half-Life 2. Too bad there was no X-station to play them on.

She was well-taken care of, so they clearly didn’t want to hurt her. She had heard stories about how pirates slaughtered entire populations for the fun of it, so if she was going to get kidnapped by pirates, she got kidnapped by the coolest ones.

Which was always a reason to celebrate. She grabbed the bottle of tequila and popped open the cap. She then set the bottle aside and put the cap in her mouth. It really was the good stuff! She started chewing it, her teeth slowly deforming the plastic. It was nice, but she’d had better.

Since she was on a ship, there was little she could do to escape, so she decided to take herself on a tour of the ship. The door was locked, so she took a tour of the room instead.

There was a fire extinguisher in the corner, a small wardrobe with some towels and clothes, and a squeaky door that led to a water closet. It was a small room, though she was sure she would find more things interesting the longer she stayed in it. And it looked like she was going to be in there a while.

The ship suddenly shifted. And it was in such a position that the Sun shone right through the barred window and onto the bed. It was not long before Ciela found it too warm to be comfortable, and started to sweat under her fiery red hair. She took the bottlecap and put it on the bottle — as well as it could fit after all her chewing. She had to get up from the bed to get away from the hot rays. The shadow was where the shelves were, so that's where she went.

She took a look at some of the books: the top shelf was reserved for notebooks, journals, encyclopedias, atlases, and the bottom one for classics like The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, The Lord of the Rings, A Game of Thrones and Ordadus. She slid Ordadus out and held it in her hand. Its covers looked particularly juicy. She wanted to have a try, as when she was nervous her urge to chew increased, but she was conflicted about defacing a beautiful piece of art.

Her mind was made up by the squeaking of wood outside her door. It was not meant to be, so she put Ordadus back and sat on the bed.

The door unlocked and the handle tilted. In came a shorter girl, and she looked younger too. She looked unusually strong, and the gang tattoo on her wrist made her more even intimidating.

Princess Ciela had a tattoo as well! One on the back of her hand. She started looking at it and remembered the time she got it: a clear summer day when she was only 14, and…

The pirate girl said something. She sounded mean, but there was something else in her eye as well. “Sorry, what?” Ciela asked. The pirate girl repeated herself.

Captain Edward Hendrickson

With everyone arrived in one fashion or another he moved over to a table that was filled with scraps of paper with notes and roughly sketched drawings of the ship that they were going to need to board.

"All right enough of the chit chat. We have work to do. Those of you that don't know, this place is St. Nepo. This just so happens to be my home. I've asked you here to help with a very important mission. Princess Ciela has been kidnapped and is being held by the Marballos."

"As in the Marballos pirates? The most ruthless gaggle of sailors on the waters?" Convel inquired.

"Yeah, those are the ones," Edward answered.

"The Marballos aren't known for taking prisoners, or kidnapping without a reason," Asun cut in. "So what are they after?"

"What is everyone after now-adays?" Edward responded. The room went quiet for a moment as he let the idea sink in. "I don't have all the details,and that's probably a good thing, but St. Nepo has access to a clean water supply."

"You're kidding me," Sol sighed.

"Well at least we know why," Sofia mentioned. "I mean with how important clean was is for everyone, I'm surprised that something like this hasn't happened before. It was only a matter of time that people from all over would try to find the location of the water."

"Why is she here?" Asun finally asked.

"Where do you think all the information on the Marballos ship came from?" Ed replied. "She is young, but she is very observant. When I was approached about this mission, Sofia gave me everything she was able to find." Asun shook her head but remained quiet. "As it is, we know that the princess is on the ship but we don't know where."

"That ship isn't small. We won't be able to just force our way aboard the ship and search for her with only seven of us," Asun stated.

"That's why this is going to be a silent operation," Ed said rolling out several parchments that detailed the outside of the boat and the water levels at different times. They keep their ship away from the dock, but within the bay. We are going at night and at low tide to keep them from sailing off. Victor," the experiment jumped up a little at the call of his name. "Here is what I need you to do. I want you to go underneath the ship and disable the rudder chain. That way they can't steer out of the bay. Covel will take up a position in the church tower and watch our backs while myself, Asun, Alvaro, and Sol head onto the ship and find the princess as quietly as possible."

"What about me? I'm not just some wall flower!" Sofia pipped up.

"Do you have any experience fighting?" Asun questioned.

"No, I'm a lady of..."

"Have you ever killed someone?" Asun interrupted.

"No," Sofia said in a smaller voice.

"Then it will be a danger for you to be there. If you are captured then they can use you to put leverage on the rest of us. You're staying," Asun said with a 'that's final' tone.

"I am sure that once the pirates have one look at me they will be in so much awe that they will not have will to bring harm to me," Alvaro chimed in.

"The point is to not be seen Alvaro. As in at all," Ed commented.

"What's the point of withholding myself from the masses. Obviously they will be grateful to witness me in my glory."

"Obviously," Asun muttered.

"Rather than argue I suggest you get your rest Alvaro. We're pulling this off tonight," Ed said collecting this papers.

"Tonight? That isn't enough time," Sol stated.

"They are threatening the princess' life if they aren't given the location of the water. I don't know when they plan to try and pull that off, but we can't let it happen. She is the last heir to the throne. If she is killed, St. Nepo will fall into chaos. You have until tonight. Meet here at sunset."

Ed left the table and began putting his rifle into the leather bag that he used to carry it in.

Asun Mariani

Sunset was only a few hours away, but for Asun it felt like a long, long time, as she waited and dreaded the attack on the Marballo ship. Anxiety was settling in her stomach and creeping up her neck, making her hands shaky, and her eyes were dry from sleepless nights. She wanted to look brave in front of her comrades, all of whom were younger than her, but it was hard. Now that Ed was done talking, her mind couldn't be occupied with strategy. It was left to dwell on the approaching night and fester with worry. She wanted to crawl into a hole and fall asleep. She wanted to jump into the ocean and drown. She wanted to—

Suddenly Asun noticed that behind her the girl Sofia was watching her curiously. Asun thought everyone had gone underground already, but either Sofia hadn't or she had come back up. Asun had been leaning against the wall and looking out the window to the docks, trying to calm herself down, but now she quickly straightened herself and smiled and tried to look normal.

“You’re scared, aren’t you,” said the girl.

Asun’s smile willingly disappeared. “Yes,” she admitted. What good would lying do? “It’s been a while. Since World War Water.”

It wasn’t so much the prospect of fighting that she dreaded, although that was far from exciting; Asun feared that come nighttime she would make a fool of herself on the Marballo ship and ruin Ed’s plan. She had felt okay when Ed, business-like Ed, had been explaining the plan of action because it had reminded her of the old days when she was fresh on the scene of fighting and wasn’t corrupted with the terrifying and bloody experiences that would continue to haunt her forever. When he was talking she felt that she could slip into those brave and innocent shoes of young Asun again, but when he and the others left, the full weight of the approaching night crushed her.

“Are you afraid we’re not going to win?” the girl asked.

Asun wished it was that simple. “No. I trust that Ed knows what he’s doing. As long as we all perform our part, we’re likely to get the princess back in no time.”

Sofia narrowed her eyes. “There’s something else, then. What’s going on?”

This was the last thing Asun needed right now - a persistent girl who had no business asking about her emotions. So she ignored her question and turned toward the stairs. “Y’know, you’re going to need to learn how to fight one of these days.”

Sofia looked annoyed that her question had been ignored. She crossed her arms. “I can use a slingshot.”

“That’ll save the princess,” Asun said, and immediately regretted her sardonic tone. “Sorry. I’m just not… not in the mood right now. I’ll be okay by tonight. I just need to be alone for a little while.”

“That's fine.” Sofia stepped to the side to let Asun go by. “Will you teach me how to fight some time? If we don’t save the princess tonight?”

Asun paused at the foot of the steep stairs and smiled. “Yeah. Sure, Sofia. I’d like that.”

The Seven were given rooms underground, which were hardly more than narrow little stalls, with just enough space for a bed and a nightstand. Asun put her suitcase at the foot of the bed and took out her crossbow, which was in pieces in her case. In a matter of seconds, she had it snapped back together and waiting on her nightstand, along with her quiver and her favorite three machetes.

Now that this ritual was over, her anxiety increased; she didn’t know what else to do. She found an old e-reader in a drawer in her nightstand, and on the device were only two books - the Bible of course and Don Quixote. Asun dropped onto her bed and opened the latter.



The book was like a sleeping pill. She hadn’t even finished the first sentence and she was out.

She didn’t wake up until she heard a knock at her door.

“Asun?” Ed called. “It’s time.”

Asun jumped off the bed in terror, but because there wasn’t much room to jump in the first place, she bumped into her crossbow that was sticking off the edge of her nightstand and it clattered to the ground, along with two of the three machetes.

“Asun?”

“I’m coming! I’ll be right there!”

She scooped up the fallen weapons and slung the crossbow over her shoulders. She strapped the biggest machete to her waist and the other two she slipped in the sheathes in her boots. Her heart was beating as fast as a hydromotor, and she was so startled that she nearly forgot her helmet.

When she climbed the stairs to at last join the group, she felt foolish. Not only was she late, but her outlandish armor, especially the helmet, must have looked silly, even in the dim lighting. Victor, for comparison, looked normal, and was dressed for swimming.

But safety was more important than fashion, so she took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and smiled at her comrades. She ought to look brave, like the WWW veteran that she was, even though there was a hurricane caged in her ribs.

Alvaro stood before the heavy wooden door which served as an entrance--and exit--to his room. He stared at the shiny golden hinges to it, admiring them. They blunted magnificently, easily the most beautiful part of the door. And yet, they silently stood to the side, hiding between the door and the wall, doing their job without ever being asked. He both admired and hated them for that. How could beauty be ruined by lack of confidence?

On the other side of that door, on the other side of those beautiful hinges, were the comrades he'd fight beside. And this was the first time they'd see him prepared to fight. He looked over his smooth jacket, picking off a piece of lint from his left shoulder. Damn, I missed one, he thought, before approaching the mirror and combing his hair. Checking it off his Looks Management List--which was actually apart of the book he was writing, A Guide to Looking Hotter than the Weather--he confronted the door again. Alvaro slipped on his hat and at last placed his hand on the doorknob. He threw it open and pranced through, holding his chin high.



Looking around, Alvaro counted five of the group. He grinned, knowing he had arrived with what most considered to be the best timing. Second to last. Perfect. He winked at each member of the group, and even pulled out a lollipop for Sofia, delicately handing it to her. She responded with an indignant grunt, which he interpreted as "oh thank you you're so awesome and gracious and elegant and ohmygodyouaretotallymyrolemodel". At last, Asun Mariani entered the room, completing the group.

"Well, we're all here," started Ed, addressing the rag-tag team. "I want to thank you all for helping me, and know that whatever happens tonight, we will succeed, in some form or another. And also know that I refuse to give up until the princess has been saved. Now, who's ready to kick some Marballo a-"

"Ed!" Asun interrupted. "Careful of your language!" She said, with a meaningful glance at Sofia.

Sofia groaned. "Just how young do you people think I am? First a lollipop, now censorship."

"I thought you were, like, eight?" Alvaro ventured, looking her over.

"She's obviously eleven, fool," commented Marisol.

"I could have sworn she was, like, six," Victor explained.

Convel shook her head. "Please, let's just get on with the plan. We're losing hours here, and the Marballo ship is fast approaching."

"Yes, she's right. We should head to the surface and take our posts. But first, I have gift for each of you. A gesture of good luck," said Edward, smiling. He crossed the room to his bag, the contents of which were unknown to Alvaro, and, he presumed, the rest of the group, judging from their interested faces. Ed slipped the bag open and reached inside, pulling out six metal containers with a plastic screw-on lid. They were passed out between the crew.

Alvaro curiously opened the container. To his astonishment, it was filled with pure, clean water. "These are called water bottles, and are quite rare nowadays," said Ed. "Few but the Aristocrats have them."

"These must have cost you a lot," pointed out Convel, in as much shock as Alvaro.

"Oh yes, they did. In fact, I'm nearly broke. But once I lead the squad of heroes who saved the princess, and get acknowledged for such, I expect to become rich and famous." He winked, and Alvaro liked knowing he wasn't the only one expecting a reward. "Now, we must head to our posts. Dismissed."



Alvaro stood in the shadows of the dock, carefully watching the dark waters. His nerves were kept in check by the gentle splashing of the waves against the wooden dock, and focusing on them reminded Alvaro of when he was a child again, before World War Water tore apart his peaceful family life.

He was so caught up in the memories that he didn't notice Asun tugging on his sleeve. Suddenly poised and alert, Alvaro turned to her. She lifted her arm slowly, pointing out to sea. Alvaro and Marisol follwed her finger, and they saw what the group expected, but wasn't ready for.

Out on the ocean was a massive Marballo ship.

When Desi walked into the princess's cabin, she was not expecting to see the fiery-haired girl who sat on the room's bed. She looked older and taller than Desi.

And to think I called her a brat, thought Desi, frowning. Being shorter than the princess was not beneficial to that kind of intimidation tactic.

The princess merely gave her a curious appraisal, but quickly began to study the back of her hand with the exact same amount of interest.

Desi rolled her eyes and took the princess's moment of distraction to glance around the cabin, which she herself had part in furnishing. Although . . . whoever chose those decorations was much too lavish. Even Desi didn't have such increible wall hangings.

Next, she quickly assessed the room for potential weapons. She eyed the books on the shelf and the fire extinguisher, but she wondered if the princess was very strong at all. Probably not.

Then she glanced at the night stand and--Who was stupid enough to give her tequila? And--ew, what did she do to that bottle cap? Maybe la princesa wasn't as harmless as Desi initially thought.

But still, she seemed just like a regular chica, much like Desi herself, as much as she was loath to think so.

Desi shook herself and said in her most convincing "scary pirate" voice, "Welcome to our stronghold, Princesa."

Princess Ciela glanced up. "Sorry, what?" she asked. Her tone seemed rather pleasant and not quite frightened at all.

"I said, welcome to our stronghold, Your Highness."

"Oh, why thank you," replied Ciela, with no less than a hint of a smile on her face. Then, after a brief second of silence, she added, "You guys must be the coolest pirates ever."

"Er . . . gracias," said Desi. What was she supposed to say to that? Pirates weren't seen as cool, but it definitely wasn't offensive. "Anyways, I am Lucía Guerra, la hija del Capitán Anthony Guerra, but I would much rather be called Desi."

"Oh, you're the Captain's daughter? That means you're sort of like a princess too!"

"I am in charge of you while you are imprisoned here," said Desi, ignoring her comment. "That means I will be checking on you periodically each day. So if you have any requests, those will be the best times to ask - though I can't guarantee they will be granted." A corner of her mouth quirked up in a smirk. "Then, if you don't have anything you need right now, I'll be going. You'd better hope your people turn over their water quickly."

Desi stalked forward and grabbed the bottle of tequila and quickly deposited the deformed cap on the nightstand (Pirates can't afford to be germophobes, she thought to herself) before exiting the room with a dramatic slam of the door.

She locked the door behind her, though she doubted that Princess Ciela could manage to get past the two burly guards stationed there. Then she let out a long breath as she walked away down the hall.

"How was your first meeting with the princess?"

Desi turned to see Tío Adolfo by her side. With a small salute she answered heavily, "Not what I expected." She carefully rubbed the top of the open bottle with the edge of her shirt, though she didn't know how well that would help any possible germs to come off.

"Oh?" He raised an eyebrow. "¿Porque?"

"She seemed much more human in person," she said dryly. "Charming, almost. More that strange, at the very least."

The First Mate chuckled. "Really? Well, I suppose that won't matter later if her people do not give us their water."

Desi could feel her gut shrink, even though she had threatened Ciela with similar words. "So . . . she will be killed?"

"Like any other hostage we've had before, sí."

"They all deserved it," said Desi, albeit a little weakly.

"Right," replied Adolfo, clapping her on the back. He took the tequila from her and walked forward, still chuckling.

Desi stopped, watching his receding figure. Surely the judgment of her father and tío was sound and reasonable. Those people deserved what they got. The Marballos were the good guys. We have to be.

Except . . . for some reason, the things the crew did still didn't always feel quite right.

Desi headed up the stairs up to the main deck, putting her sunglasses back on. The sun was beginning to set, casting oranges, reds, pinks, and yellows across the sky. It was the only thing that Desi would openly admit was beautiful.

She glanced over to her right, where a scrawny guy with a mop of dark hair was leaning against the railing. She smiled, a slight feeling of maliciousness growing inside her.

"Hey! Starfish!"

Princess Ciela Napolitana Capricciosa Consuella Trump Borgia Bilbao Espana Portuguesa

Why did she take the whole bottle of tequila? It would have made some fine glass to chew on.

It's not that she swallowed the glass. Ciela just liked the crunch. Her father had vintage Coca-Cola glasses of various colors, and she could have sworn they tasted differently too. Though, the yellow one did not taste like banana or lemon, and the red one tasted far from like strawberry. The green one did taste like cucumber, though. In any case, swallowing glass was a big no-no.

She liked the Lucia girl. She seemed pleasant enough, despite being a pirate. At least in the stories, pirates were known to be scary and deformed; maybe a little scurvy, maybe a little eyelid missing here and there. But this Lucia Desi girl didn't seem so scary.

After Desi left with the glass booze bottle, Ciela flopped on the bed. The ship was still docked. It was docked the whole time, and not sailing anywhere. To make it absolutely clear: the ship had not left the port.

The Marballos were noisy on the deck above. They moved back and forth, stomping on Ciela's ceiling. Something big was going down.

Maybe this was it. Maybe her stay with the Marballos was short-lived and they got what they wanted already. Maybe this was them letting her go. They wouldn't kill her.

Just like when she was twelve and her cousin wouldn't pull her hair in front of her parents. He only ever did it when no grownups were looking. He was all talk.

People used to think Ciela had some sort of mental disability or something, but that was not the case. Apart from the chewing things. She did well at school, and she was always accused of cheating because nobody would believe she could do well. She read a lot, too.

And she had a great many books at her disposal in her pirate confinement. She decided to pick one up and give it a shot. The first page was blank, so she tore it and started nibbling on it. This time she decided to swallow. Paper was rare, and if she gets off the ship soon, she might not get another chance to chew so much for free.

The book was full of short stories of all kinds. She began to read one of them.

"There was once a car who wanted to be a boat. It wanted to sail and float and splash around in the waves, even though it sank faster than you can say "honk". It had four tires and four doors and double windshield glass, but it still wanted to be a boat.

"It wasn't the fastest car, or the best-looking, or the most expensive. But it thought it could become one if it so tried.

"Everyone else, however, wanted the car to be a train. To ride a certain track and keep going on the same railroad for all eternity.

"It had nothing against trains, but the car just didn't want to be one. It didn't exactly want to be a plane either, but a boat would have been just perfect.

"The boats always told the car that it should only ever want to be a car, but the car couldn't accept it..."

Ciela turned a few pages and got to a different story.

"If you like badgers, then you will surely like Germo. He's been my friend since third grade, and I can't help petting him every time he hisses at my brother.

"Germo is the pet of your dreams. He likes to play a lot. And let me tell you about Snorko – that's Germo's brother - and how he's an absolute gem. They are like best friends, only they're brothers, and Germo's MY best friend, so...

"I feel like if Germo and Snorko got too close to each other I'd probably just eat Snorko.

"But let me tell you about Snorko. He loves playing with me and he's really cute, but then Brimbo comes and ruins all the fun. I've never seen a badger who likes to pee on stuff as much as Brimbo.

"And then what about Tanro? He sure loves him some dog food. He's not a badger; he's a dog."

She turned to yet another one.

"There's a limitation to what you can say when you're being convicted of second-degree murder. It's like: you can't celebrate, because you're going to jail for a while, but you also can't call the judge names because if you make the judge and DA hate you they can just lower the degree to first and then you're in the deep for sure."

Ciela closed the book and looked at the cover. It read: "Award-winning Short Stories From the early 2020s". A classic. Art sure was better back then.

The Sun had been down for a while now. It was an abrupt change since she did not notice the time pass as she read. She missed the sunset, but she had seen plenty of those in St. Nepo. The stars were out, and if they had been at sea, which, again, they weren't, their light would have been able to help them navigate with great ease.

A loud bang came from the top deck.