You don't know how long its been since the sun went down and you retired to your quarters to sleep, but it feels like hours. The slow sway of the ship is doing nothing to lull you to sleep, instead making your stomach feel uneasy.
[[You might as well go relieve the night watch if you're not going to be sleeping yourself.->leaveQuarters]]
[[Try closing your eyes and clearing your mind. Maybe sleep will find you.->continueRest]]The moon provides a decent amount of light on the deck. At least, enough that you narrowly avoid tripping over the stray plank someone left laying across your path.
[[Be a good person and move the plank.->movePlank]]
[[Leave the plank. Someone might trip on it and reward you with a sliver of entertainment.->findNightWatch]]People count sheep while they're trying to fall asleep, right? You start counting your breaths.
[[Continue...->continueRest2]]At three thousand you give up entirely, glancing out the window. There's no sign of the sun yet.
[[Continue...->continueRest4]] By one thousand you start to question the effectiveness of counting to clear your mind.
[[Continue...->continueRest3]] You groan, getting out of bed. Go be productive if you're going to be awake anyway.
[[Continue...->leaveQuarters]] You kick the plank off to the side before continuing on your way.(set: $plankMoved to true)
[[Continue...->findNightWatch]]There aren't any signs of the night watch wandering the deck. They must have ended their shift early, since it's such a quiet night. Probably for the best that you came out to take over.
[[Continue...->wander]]{
(set: $plankMoved to false)
(set: $abstraction to 1)
(set: $cargoCheck to 0)
(set: $moundCheck to false)
(set: $captainCheck to 0)
(set: $quarterCheck to 0)
(set: $sleepAttempted to false)
(set: $bowCheck to false)
(set: $flip to false)
}The cool breeze is helping to calm your stomach, at least. It's actually kind of nice to just wander around the ship, the only sound being the light tap of your shoes on the old wood and the gentle sloshing of water below.
[[Make your way to the center of the deck.->deckHub]](if: $abstraction is 1)[It's quiet on the deck, not another soul in sight and the only sound being yourself and the faint breeze.](elseif: $abstraction is 2)[There's a strong breeze, but you've grown used to those since starting your journey.](if: $abstraction is 3)[You wrap your jacket a bit tighter around yourself as the harsh wind bites into you, chilling you.](if: $abstraction is 4)[The night air has stilled almost unnaturally and you're caught by how silent it is.]
[[Walk to the bow of the ship.->shipBow]]
[[Check the cargo.->cargoRoom]]
[[Check captain's quarters.->captainsQuarters]]
[[Return to your quarters.->yourQuarters]]
(if: $abstraction is 4)[[[Walk to the stern of the ship.->shipStern]]](if: $captainCheck > 3)[Light is shining out through the crack of the door.](elseif: $captainCheck is 3)[Light is shining out through the crack of the door. The light disappears for a moment as something large moves in front of the door, then the light returns.](elseif: $captainCheck is 2)[No more light is shining through the crack of the door, but you can faintly hear small movements on the other side.](elseif: $captainCheck is 1)[Light is shining out through the crack of the door. Maybe the captain is in the same predicament as you are.(set: $abstraction += 1)](elseif: $captainCheck is 0)[There's no candle light showing through the crack of the door. The captain must have gone to sleep. In all fairness, that is what you would be doing right now if your brain would have let you.]
[[Knock on the door.->knockCaptain]]
[[Open the door.->openDoor]]
[[Return to the deck.->deckHub]]
(if: $captainCheck is 5)[(set: $captainCheck to 4)](elseif: $captainCheck is 3)[(set: $captainCheck to 4)](if: $captainCheck is 2)[(set: $captainCheck to 3)](elseif: $captainCheck is 1)[(set: $captainCheck to 2)](elseif: $captainCheck is 0)[(set: $captainCheck to 1)]You're back in your quarters. Everything is exactly as you left it, but something about it just makes you feel uneasy. (if: $sleepAttempted)[It's still your room, but you feel unsafe here now. Maybe it was just your imagination.](else:)[This is why you shouldn't skip out on sleep. Paranoia is not a great companion on a quiet ship at night.]
[[Return to deck.->deckHub]]
[[Try to sleep again.->sleepAttempt]]
(if: $quartersCheck is 0)[(set: $quartersCheck to 1)](if: ($cargoCheck is 2) or ($cargoCheck is 3))[The large crates sit piled up around the room, just as you left them last. The (if: $moundCheck)[dead rat](else:)[dark mound] you spotted before is gone.(set: $cargoCheck is 3) (if: $moundCheck)[The cat that killed it must have decided to finish its meal.](else:)[Funny how these things just work themselves out.]](if: $cargoCheck is 1)[The large crates sit piled up around the room, just as you left them last. You turn to leave but before you do, you catch sight of a dark mound on the floor at the far side of the room.(set: $cargoCheck to 2)(set: $abstraction += 1)](if: $cargoCheck is 0)[The large crates sit piled up around the room. There's the faint sound of scratching coming from the back corner of the room behind some boxes that stops when you enter, but that's really nothing out of the ordinary. Rats get into everything; that's just a fact of life.(set: $cargoCheck to 1)](if: $cargoCheck is 2)[
[[Approach the mound.->cargoExamine]]]
[[Return to the deck.->deckHub]]
Oh, it's a dead rat. You should have been expecting that, really. This is a ship after all, and the head of rodent control on the ship is know for being both bloodthirsty and cuddlethirsty. Bad luck for the rat.(set: $moundCheck to true)
[[Return to the deck.->deckHub]](if: $captainCheck is > 3)[The door is locked](elseif: $captainCheck is 3)[The door is locked. Maybe the captain is avoiding you.](elseif: $captainCheck is 2)[The door easily slides open and you step in. The captain must have gotten restless and gone to wander like yourself, since there's no sign of them here.](if: $captainCheck is 1)[The door is locked. Of course it is, the captain is probably either sleeping or trying to sleep. You should get back to your watch.]
[[Return to Deck.->deckHub]]
(if: $captainCheck is 2)[[[Look around.->captainExamine]]](else:)[[[Knock on the door.->knockCaptain]]](if: $captainCheck is 3)[There's a loud crash and a thunk, followed by silence. Whatever it was, it sounded big.](else:)[There's no response, just silence.]
[[Return to deck.->deckHub]]
[[Open the door.->openDoor]]The space is nicer than your quarters, that's for sure. You take a step in further, looking around the space. The walls are plastered with maps and every surface has the types of tchotchkes that you'd expect to see. Curled up in the middle of the large bed is the big black cat that really controls the ship.
[[You really shouldn't be snooping around the captain's quarters, return to the deck.->deckHub]]
[[Pet the cat.->petCat]]You pet the cat and it is glorious. The big boy rolls over to expose his belly to you and stretches out. Do you take the bait?
[[Pet the belly.->petBelly]]
[[Let's not tempt fate.->captainExamine]](if: $abstraction is 1)[The breeze feels a bit more like a full blown wind here. Still, the calming illusion isn't broken. You glance down at the small waves below, the stars reflecting brightly back at you.](elseif: $abstraction is 2)[The wind makes you sway slightly, your hair whipping against your face and neck. Still, it's not enough to make you feel uneasy at the edge. You glance down at the waves below, the dark water broken up by the flecks of reflected stars.](elseif: $abstraction is 3)[The wind is howling by, making it difficult to hold your position as you lean into the source. You aren't sure how safe it is to get close to the edge, but something compels you to look. You can't see much except for the occasional glint reflected off of the rough surface, but the spray of water on your face is both a comfort and a source of unease.](elseif: $abstraction is 4)[The air is still. You don't want to but still, you take the step to the edge and look over. The water is like glass. Or, at least, it's reflecting the ship and your own reflection like glass. There is no sign in the black surface of the bright stars you still see when glancing above.](elseif: $abstraction is 5)[The air is just as unnaturally still as before and there is no sound of water down below, but you refuse to believe what you saw before. You have to muster up all of your courage to approach the edge and look over. You're rewarded with a breath of relief when you're met with a slightly rippling reflection of yourself, the ship, and the stars above.
[[Continue...->pre-flip]]]
(if: $abstraction <= 4)[[[Return to the deck.->deckHub]]]That isn't even a question, of course you do. Scratches and bites are but earthly wounds and the potential reward is cosmic. Your gamble pays off as your fingers run through that soft fur and squish that rat-fattened belly without your arm being caught in the beartrap of nails and teeth.
[[Continue...->petBelly2]]You have no idea how much time has passed, but the faint sound of footsteps outside bring you back to reality. You probably don't want to get caught snooping around the captain's quarters.
[[Return to the deck.->deckHub]]You don't even bother to take off your boots, instead just laying down on your bed with your feet hanging over the end. You try to will sleep to overtake you, letting your eyes slide closed.
[[Give up on sleeping.->yourQuarters]]
[[Continue...->sleepAttempt2]]Your thoughts do start to fog. (if: $sleepAttempted)[You don't want to go down this route again, for fear of a repeat of last time.](else:)[Hey, maybe a night walk was all you needed to get your exhaustion to settle in.]
[[Give up on sleeping.->yourQuarters]]
(if: not $sleepAttempted)[[[Continue...->sleepAttempt3]]](set: $sleepAttempted to true)A weight seems to lay over you as your thoughts start dissolving before you can finish them. It's calming, in a way. Still, although your mind can't finish the thoughts, something won't stop nagging you.
[[Give up on sleeping.->sleepAttempt4]]
[[Continue...->sleepAttempt4]]You couldn't get up right now even if you wanted to. That being said, the weight is becoming heavier now. What was comforting at first is now making it hard to breathe. To make matters worse, your thoughts are coming back full force.
[[Wake up.->sleepAttempt5]]You can't break free. As it becomes impossible to breathe, you start to struggle. It's hard to tell how much of your struggle is being conveyed to the outside world, but it's taking all of your mental ability to fight it. Just as you feel like you're about to pass out from the lack of oxygen, it lets go. You want to believe that you broke yourself out of it, but it feels more like you were spared from an outside source.
[[Continue...->sleepAttempt6]]You don't need to think twice about jumping up now that you have control again, opening your eyes and keeping them open. Your whole body is sore and you're gasping for breath as you return your weight to your feet.(set: $abstraction += 1)
[[Continue...->yourQuarters]]You have a moment of relief, blaming the happenings of the night on a lack of sleep and an overactive imagination. Really, what were you so afraid of? Seeing a few shadows in the dark and a bad dream?
The moment doesn't last. As your gaze drifts upwards you notice something about the reflection on the water. Or, rather, you notice something about what should be reflecting on such still water.
[[Continue...->flip]]As you walk to the back of the ship you can't help but notice again how silent and still your surroundings are. Sure it's night time and most people are sleeping, but still. It's dead silent. Not the creak of another nightowl wandering like yourself, not a snore in the distance, nothing. Nothing on a ship full of crew.
You approach the edge and look over before you can talk yourself out of it.(set: $abstraction += 1)
[[Continue...->shipStern2]]You're met with nothing. No, that didn't quite do what you were looking at justice. Where you should have seen ocean was completely devoid of anything. Pure darkness, all the way down. Maybe not a concern on a dark night, but you'd been wandering around in the moonlight enough tonight to know that you should see something.
Just as you were really starting to panic, you saw something down below. A relief if it was water, but you couldn't rationalize that shift of an unknown black mass in the black background as being the water.
[[Run.->shipStern3]]Your body wouldn't have done anything else even if you tried. As quick as your legs will let you, you push away from the railing and start sprinting for the opposite end of the ship, yelling to get anyone's attention.
[[Continue...->run]](if: $plankMoved)[You start to lose your breath as you make it to the far side, but you do make it.
[[Continue...->shipBow]]](else:)[You trip on a plank and fall hard, feeling your head bounce off of the wood below.
[[Continue...->concussion]]]You come to with a throbbing headache, just laying there on the ground while the world spins around you.
[[Continue...->concussion2]]It still seems to be dark out, but there's more color to the swirling around you than you'd expect. Then a human sound, though you couldn't quite piece together the words. Finally, one of your fellow crew members must have wandered out. You would let out a breath of relief, but you're really trying to not lose your stomach on your savior's shoes.
[[Continue...->concussion3]]At least you can lay back, letting your eyes drift closed so you don't have to watch the world spin. The sound returns while your eyes are closed. This time, though, it's decidedly less human sounding.
[[Continue...->concussion4]]Your eyes shoot open immediately and the world goes silent again. At least your vision isn't spinning anymore, though you notice that there's no one around you. There is, however, a small puddle of blood that your head had been resting in. You quickly make due with a rag to press against the split you feel on your head as your memories come flooding back.
[[Continue...->concussion5]]Your body feels heavy as you force yourself to your feet, but you press on. You're driven by the need to reach the bow of the ship.
[[Continue...->shipBow]]The sky is black. No moon, no stars, nothing. As you turn back around to face the ship you'd been wandering around all night you try to push down the panic. The deck is as it was - as it always was. You try to keep your eyes down, focusing on the familiarity under your feet rather than the unknown above.(set: $cargoCheck to 0)(set: $captainCheck to 0)(set: $quarterCheck to 0)
[[Continue...->deckHub2]]There's no bracing yourself for the swallowing darkness. Your reaction is out of your control now, not that you'd know what to do anyway. It's a bit funny that you don't see your vision darken, but you do feel your knees give.
[[Continue...->end1]]You fall, of course, but you keep falling. The wind whipping past you is something of a comfort at this point, and you can see the side of the boat shooting past.
[[Continue...->end2]]You hit the water hard and it knocks the wind out of you. There's not much fight in you but whether you put up a fight or not, the waves easily drag you down farther.
[[Continue...->sleepFinally]]Unconsciousness embraces you comfortably(if: $plankMoved)[ again, hurried along by your quick bleeding from your earlier injury]. Finally, sleep.The night air is still, though the cold leeches down to your bones.(if: $bowCheck is false)[
[[Walk to the bow of the ship.->shipBow2]]](if: $cargoCheck is 0)[
[[Check the cargo.->cargoRoom2]]](if: $captainCheck is 0)[
[[Check captain's quarters.->captainsQuarters2]]](if: $quarterCheck is 0)[
[[Return to your quarters.->yourQuarters2]]](if: ($cargoCheck is 1) and ($captainCheck is 1) and ($quarterCheck is 1) and ($bowCheck is true))[
[[Take a deep breath.->pre-end]]]No, you don't want to get close to the edge. There's no telling what you might see next time your gaze drifts down.(set: $bowCheck to true)
[[Return to the deck.->deckHub2]]There are no boxes. There is no visible rat, nor mouse, nor any other familiar pest. Before you can process whether to find comfort or fear in the discovery you hear the scratching sound again. Same corner of the room, no longer with boxes in the way to explain why you cannot see the source of the sound.(set: $cargoCheck to 1)
[[Return to the deck.->deckHub2]]The door is ajar, no candle light filtering through and no sounds from within.(set: $captainCheck to 1)
[[Knock on the door.->knockCaptain2]]
[[Open the door.->openDoor2]]
[[Return to the deck.->deckHub2]]You try to open the door and walk into the familiar space, but the door won't budge. There is no lock, you've never had a lock. You press your ear to the door to listen, but hear nothing.(set: $quarterCheck to 1)
[[Return to deck.->deckHub2]]There's no response, just silence. You didn't expect any differently, but you did hope.
[[Return to deck.->deckHub2]]
[[Open the door.->openDoor2]]The door takes a bit of force to push open even though there doesn't seem to be anything physically in the way and the hinge does not audibly complain.
[[Return to Deck.->deckHub2]]
[[Look around.->captainExamine2]]The room is furnished, at least. That's about the extent of what you can say, though. The only signs of anything having been on the shelves and desk are the differences in wear where the old knicknacks once sat.
The only thing out of place is the disturbed bedsheets. There's a slight indentation at the center of the bed.
[[Return to the deck.->deckHub2]]
[[Examine the bed.->examineBed]]There are no signs of cat hair, which doesn't bode well for you finding any signs of life other than your own. When you reach your hand forward and touch the fabric, however, you can still feel the lingering warmth in the space.
[[Return to the deck.->deckHub2]]The wind stays still, but it feels like the swaying of the ship grows longer and more exaggerated. You don't have much desire to continue your searching in fear of things veering further from what is familiar, so instead you let your eyes drift closed.
[[Continue...->pre-end2]]When you open your eyes the last remnants of familiarity slip away most literally. You open your eyes to blackness. There are no scuffs on the wood beneath your feet, no wood there to begin with.
[[Continue...->end]]