Chapter 4 Getting used to the Sea

After much deliberation, I have decided to name my new ship, 'The Devil's Queen'. As soon as the decision was made, the ship responded and carved the name on the stern of the ship. I couldn't see it from the deck but my connection with the ship made it so that I passively became aware of it.

I had finally left the damn island and officially started Queen's maiden voyage. The sea breeze on my face was incredible. This feeling of freedom is something that I have always lacked in my previous life.

Finding a job, working the job, finding a house, paying the bills, getting groceries, finding a date, committing to the relationship, getting married, making kids, raising kids, dealing with debt, retiring and lastly awaiting your death while getting older and older.

You don't really notice how monotone and constricting that kind of life is due to the daily hubbub of life. Until the moment when you finally stop and take a step back. That moment is where you ask yourself, is this really the life I want to lead?

By themselves these things are fine but the problem is that nearly all your life you have been told to do these things. That's just what is expected of you as a productive member of the community and society at large.

So when you finally have a chance to let go of everything and for once live how you want to live? Perfection.

As to where I am going right now? No fucking idea. I just picked a direction and set sail. There were maps in Queen's shipwreck but unfortunately when she was beached and stranded all those maps got waterlogged. The amount of water damage rendered them beyond repair.

But down at the lower decks, I did find a still working compass and got curious so I tried something. Standing behind the helm I ordered Queen to make a small stand next to it and put the compass on it. The wooden stand started wrapping around the compass and fully enveloped it, leaving only the glass visible.

When it was done I felt a change through our connection and realised that Queen could now tell which direction is which as she assimilated the compass, so I got interested in what else she could assimilate.

Could she fish for me if she assimilated a fishing rod? Could she shoot a harpoon gun or something if we had it? She could shoot the cannons but those were all in disrepair and I didn't even have ammunition or gunpowder.

Come to think of it, the cannons looked a bit weird to me as they didn't seem to have any compartments for the cannonballs.

But hey, the cannons could be magical. Could be supernatural. Could be some advanced alien tech that looks primitive. Much more likely? Ignorance. I'm not an expert on weaponry or engineering so I wouldn't know if there was a problem or not.

*sigh*

I left the cannons alone and went to the bow of the ship. The view of the horizon was beautiful but I was more concerned with what might disturb that straight line. No land so far.

It's been three days since I left the island. I've already eaten most of the regular fruits I had because I prioritized them since they were perishables.

At least the seas have been calm so far.

"Wait, is that?"

I smiled and excitedly ordered Queen to sail to the ship I could see on the horizon. In my excitement, questions kept popping up in my mind. Would there be humans? Another sophisticated species? Could they speak the same language as me?

I wasn't sure what this would lead to, so I hastily went to my cabin and picked up my harpoon and hatchet.

The closer I got to the ship the more I realised that something was wrong with it. It looked like it was dead in the water and there wasn't any response from onboard the deck or the waters around it.

Eventually, Queen sailed right next to it and after observing no movement on the deck I steeled myself and jumped on the seemingly abandoned ship.

This was beyond weird. Never mind any signs of people there weren't even any signs of conflict anywhere. The ship itself wasn't damaged. It wasn't brand new but it was still well used.

You could see the signs of the passage of time from scratches across the wood in several places. Certain places on the deck and railings looked like they were cleaned regularly.

"What the hell happened here?"