Chapter 3: The Climb (1)

It was only a few, brief seconds of flying with my arms outstretched before I hit the side of the ship, a shock of pain flowing from my chest to my entirety of my body.

I couldn’t even let out a sound as my mouth opened up wide in pain, the air forcibly ripped out from my lungs. I had to get a grip! I struggled to breathe, but I could still recover. Forcing myself through the pain and with everything I could muster, my gloved fingers clawed the side to find a hold of any glimpse of the notches I had seen.

I could feel the heavy weight of my bag dragging me down, and the thought that I was about to drop like a rock down into the rushing water below was coursing through my head. However, before it could happen, my hands managed to finally catch onto a graspable notch.

A feeling of great relief overwhelmed me as I managed to steady myself onto the side, feet settled and hands firmly grasped onto sustainable notches. It’s only the beginning though. I had to continue. The next notch was reachable, but I had to be precise.

I moved my right hand up, as it was closer. I could feel my fingers digging deep into the hole, and it felt sustainable. They must have made climbable notches then. The climb wasn’t fully impossible then. A rare smile graced my face.

I could feel the light ocean breeze as I pulled my right leg up to the notch my hand had left. It felt a bit awkward but it worked, sort of. With a loud grunt, I manage to lodge it in, pushing myself upward in one swift motion, both left hand and foot catching their own respective notch as well.

“I… can … do this.” I wheezed out as I settled down, slightly out of breath. It was rough, but there was a rhythm, a pattern. I just had to repeat it again and again, right? I glanced slightly upwards, analyzing the next position.

Damn it, where is it? I couldn’t see anything. Before I could check further, the side of the ship started to suddenly shudder.

“No!” I could only shout out loud as my grip on the notches started to slip away. The loud roar of steam echoed in my head as I panicked. I’m going to fall this early? I couldn’t do anything as my fingers began to slide off right in front of my eyes. How long will this last?! I was going to fall if it lasted any more seconds.

Suddenly, as if my prayers were answered, the shuddering stopped. The steam above me settled as I recovered my hold onto the notches. I let out a breath of relief. But I knew the peace wouldn't last that long. I had to count the seconds for the next eruption of steam. I barely held my grip when I was fully latched on, so if I was mid-climb, I would be doomed.

Clink. The sound of the harness being prepped from below broke through my thoughts. Shit, the next person was being sent up soon. That was quite bad news. Because sabotage was the name of the game in Albius. And I have a very, very big target on my back now. I couldn’t risk the next person being a nice guy or not. I just prayed they took the ladder as they wouldn’t be able to affect me there.

Desperate, I reached out as far as could with my right hand, feeling for the perfect height. It’s been ten seconds. I patted the sides for five more painfully counted seconds, and finally, I could feel a similar notch. I took the chance, and quickly pulled myself up in a similar fashion to the first.

I could feel sweat already trickling down from my hair and down my neck. It’s been twenty five seconds since the steam eruption. It took fifteen to find a notch, and ten to execute lifting up. Do I risk it? I didn’t know the exact interval steam came out from the warship, but it was pretty often. I was banking it on either being thirty seconds to a minute.

“Screw… it!” I was risking it. I reached out with my right hand, but with a faint idea of where the next notch could be, I found it easier. It was thirty seconds now, and I had the grip on the next notch. My heart pounded in my chest, the anticipation of the coming steam deep in my head. One second later. There was nothing.

So it should be a minute. It could be more. It didn’t matter though, I had time at least. I roared back into action, not wasting another second. I swiftly pulled my body up, mimicking my actions once again. However, this time, I couldn’t feel a notch on my left foot.

“Damn it all!” I was balancing only on my right, my left treacherously hanging in the air. I banged my boot into the sides, but to no avail. How did I lose the notch? Was it uneven? It’s been forty one seconds now, but no steam came, thankfully. This was fine, I just had to use my left hand to find the next notch.

Reaching out as far as I could, my fingers grazed the planks. Found it. Easily grasping it, I lifted my left leg to my hand's former position, and pulled myself up. It’s been at least fifty seconds now, and my exhaustion was catching up to me, sweat dripping down my face. I can rest for ten seconds, to see if the steam will come. I waited in anticipation, eventually calming my breath doing so.

The shuddering came again as I reached counting to roughly sixty. I was more prepared this time however, my fingers deeper into the pores of the ship. The roaring of the steam was a bit louder, as I was closer from the bottom. I need to be past the plates when that happens. If that steam caught me, it was probably a one way trip back home.

The shuddering finally ended after ten seconds, and I resumed my actions again. I could hear something down below me hitting the side of the ship with a low thud. They sent up the next person. I couldn’t be bothered to look down as my right hand gripped its next notch. I propelled my body up again, the pounding of my heart loud.

I could feel my limbs ache, the straps of my bag digging deeper and deeper into my shoulders. Each inhale now felt like daggers stabbing my lungs. The only thing I could process was the rhythmic beat of my climbing, and the only thing I could focus on was counting the seconds. I continued to climb in the same pattern, refusing to rest.

Until I reached fifty seconds again, at least. My fingers were screaming in pain as they gripped onto their new notches. Breathing in and out was also painful. My whole body felt like it was on fire. Even resting here wasn’t the best either. It felt like the weight of the world was trying to pull me down.

At this point, I don’t even know if I can make it. The silvery glint of the feather on my chest pocket was alluring, tantalizing. Letting go was the simpler choice, and failing was the easy way out. I always give up nowadays, ever since what happened two years ago. Why prolong the suffering? No, I must try at least. I can’t give up again and leave my sister alone. I shook my head as I took a brief glance upwards as the shudders began once again.

The obsidian plates were actually close now, as I was nearing the middle now. The steam was surprisingly light this time, the roaring a quiet hiss. My grip was solid even despite the shudders, which was even barely noticeable. I doubt it will be this way next time though. It could be alternating between light and heavy? I didn’t have more time to think about it further, as I immediately began to climb once again.

I had the hang of the pattern now, making a great pace despite the feeling of exhaustion heavily creeping in on me. I was so hyper focused on the rhythm of the climb that the sound of someone climbing below me barely registered in my mind. Barely, but it was enough to break me out of my almost meditative state. Damn it!

I had no other choice. I took a peek downwards, breaking my strategy. Not too far away, was a small figure quickly ascending up the notches at a breakneck pace. Despite the black standard uniform requirement needed, they had a gray hooded cloak covering their top half, hiding their face and body from my vantage point. I could see them staring right back up at me, sapphire globes bored into my soul.