Suicide Mission

"Okay. We decided to find that treasure. But our problem remains the same. It's that we only have six days remaining and the captain is missing. So what's the plan?" George asked.

They were still at the Horsey Inn in Strawford Town. They planned to leave soon. So before nine, George insisted they must have a solid plan by then. And a plan B in case the first one failed. And hopefully a plan C too.

"We have less than six days actually. Even less since we also have to rest and eat." Diego corrected him.

Both fell into deep thoughts.

"You said I needed to stack merits up to become a Phulas resident, right? Must we really have to acquire it from the town captain though? Is there, I mean, no other way? Maybe, uh, feeding the town folks perhaps? Or cleaning the whole town? Or… Oh! I got this! What about monster sub—"

"Okay. Stop there. I think you misunderstood. Not just any merit. It must be big enough for the king of Phulas to grant you a residency. Big enough he can't ignore you." Diego cut him off.

"And correction. If we succeed, you won't become a Phulas resident. You will become a graveyard resident. Meaning, the certificate of residency you'll get can only be used in the graveyard or cemetery you entered with. In your case, the Bonaville North Cemetery. You show it to Fobela Taki-Taki and he will let you in."

"Ugh! What's the difference? I get to enter anyway if I become either of the two. And must I remind you? We still haven't got a plan." George grumbled.

"No. There is a big difference. To become a Phulas resident, you must die first. And ah! I don't suggest doing this and I will definitely forbid you. If you die now and ask your family to bury you outside, you will become a Phulas resident no questions asked. And by outside, what I meant was in the land of the living."

Diego chuckled deprecatingly after saying that. He felt like he already said it before. To a friend. To someone he used to be close with. He just couldn't remember when and why and to whom. But he could feel it.

And the feeling of knowing a certain event did happen in the past but couldn't remember it sucks. It's like how your tongue would keep searching for your long extracted tooth. You know your tooth was no longer there, but your tongue still kept searching for it.

Just like how he knows some of his memories were taken from him but he couldn't just shake the feeling off.

"—go! Dieeego! Are you even listening to me? Oooy!" Then a crumpled paper hit his face. It was George who threw it at him. "Finally got your attention, huh. You zoned out. And you weren't listening to me, were you?"

"Oh! Uh, I did? I'm sorry. Where were we again?" He asked, apologetic.

"I was asking you to tell me whatever this death whisper thingy is. You said the town captain might be in there, did you not?"

"And… Why are you asking me this?"

"C'mon! Just tell me already."

Diego sighed. Mulling over which version should he tell George. There were countless of them!

There were some for kids. Adult's version too where two unmarried couples were apparently caught by this evil ship while they were doing the nasty by the seaside. There was also one that was saturated with gore with flesh and blood flying wherever you land your eyes. And in Diego's opinion, they were all exaggerated. So he decided to just tell George the most common version he knew and simplified it.

"To put it simply, Death Whisperer is a mystical, living pirate ship that kidnaps people and turns them into lifelong servants. Also, I want to remind you that that ship is an anomaly here in Phulas. It doesn't follow the rules. Rather, it has its own rules."

"And those are?"

"Don't ask me. I don't know either."

George became silent for a while. There was one thing he didn't understand.

"How does it kidnap people though? Like, it grows some arms, grabs the nearest human and disappears? What about the donkey rider earlier? If it kidnaps people for forced labor then why wasn't he taken?"

Diego facepalmed himself. "Oh! Shoot! I forgot to tell you the most important stuff. It was called the Death Whisperer for a reason. Because it literally whispers death in your ears. Cries of men asking for help. Shouts of pleas to just kill them. Then this ship apparently abducts you just like that. I'm guessing the town captain must have heard it first so he pushed that dude off the boat. I'm sure the dude was aware of this."

"So what are we gonna do now?" George asked.

"I have a plan. Care to listen?"

George nodded.

"I was thinking about getting kidnapped. You and I. Then you turn the ship to dust. Since it is alive, it should be possible. You said you can only turn living into dust, right? Doesn't work on non living. Because if that was the case, your gloves would have long turned into dust."

George stared at him, a little skeptical, before shooting him an awkward smile.

"Got other plans?"

"I do!"

Diego paused a bit. He stared at George to decipher what he was thinking.

"And that was to cause chaos in Phulas." He proudly declared.

"And?" George asked. Hoping that wasn't the end of it.

"And you save them, of course. You will become the brave hero who saved Phulas from its near destruction. If that happened, there is definitely no way the king will ignore you. Just be sure to make your entrance a bit dramatic so people would remember your face so they would tattle to the king."

"That's it?" The look on George's face was hard to describe.

"That's it." Diego replied.

"Are you crazy?" George blurted out. "Not only was that unrealistic. If the king found out, we'll prolly get executed instead."

"Obviously. And you will die for real while I spend ten years in the void. You won't become a Phulas resident either since you didn't die in the land of the living so there's that. The safest bet is the third option."

"And that is?"

"To give up on the residency. Give up on the treasure. Give up freedom. But hey! It isn't that bad, you know?" Then he smiled. He was sure George wouldn't choose the third one.

"You must be kidding me, right? I'd rather have you kill me in Bonaville and have you bury me next to your grave so I'll become a Phulas resident than the third. And between the first two, the second one is just ridiculous! If we cause chaos, we might as well do it on the ship, why don't we?"

"Hmm… You have a point! And I knew you'd say that. But—"

"But?"

"Heh! Sounds like a suicide mission to me."