I haven’t slept well lately. I’ve been rattled since that incident with the ships colliding. If you have super strength, aren’t you supposed to be able to rescue people? Some boats did come out and pull people out of the water. But not all of them. Over the next few mornings, bodies would wash up on the shore with pieces missing. Sharks, people said.
Working on the docks has helped me know my new limits better. I can lift a ton without exerting myself too much. I mean that literally. I picked up a 900 kilo crate and raced against a forklift. I can’t knock down buildings like Angel can, or could before she died anyway, but I’m pretty damn strong. I tried to go to some bars to hustle people by lifting heavy stuff but there must be enough NBH’s around here that hardly anyone falls for that.
I never get tired either. Not physically tired I mean, I still need to sleep. But I can work as hard as I want all day and feel fresh as a daisy. If I didn’t hate running, I bet I could run at full speed forever. This makes me one hell of a stevedore for whatever that’s worth. Not much in terms of wages definitely. Bad news is that I can now out-drink several frat houses combined all by myself. The other day I drank a quart of Jack Daniels and I didn’t feel anything.
More items on the downside, my GOD, I am hungry all the time. I found a place that has grilled fish and fried chicken and I feel like I spend all the money I make there. When they see me coming they look at me like a fisherman who’s hooked a tiger shark – both fear and excitement. Is it unworldly of me that I was surprised they have fried chicken here? Worse than the hunger though is that my head is constantly pounding. If I drink enough coffee and smoke enough, I can get it down to the level of a moderate hang-over but it never goes away completely. Never.
There’s nothing like a continuous unrelenting headache to make you want to seek revenge. I’m definitely going to find this Duke Eaglevane person and rip his guts out. I don’t care if he’s the baddest man on the planet. I’ll see how immortal he is.
Working on the docks for fish money isn’t going to make that happen. I’ve been here almost a month now and that’s a month too long. The “good” news is that I’m out of a job anyway. A couple days ago, I saw Omar and another guy arguing. When I asked him what it was about, he wouldn’t say at first but I got it out of him. The other man, Tuah I think he’s called, wanted Omar to translate for him to talk to me about some kind of pit fighting. Omar didn’t like that.
Two days after that, Omar didn’t show up for work. When I went to his house, his wife at first refused to let me speak to him – she had come to my place once to scream at me because she thought we were having an affair – but I smooth talked my way past her. Omar said that Tuah had told the Shadow Lords where I was and he didn’t want to get caught in the middle. I was pissed that he didn’t give me a heads up, but I guess he has his own problems to worry about.
Then this morning a woman showed up at my door before sunrise to warn me not to go to work. She was a friend of Elvis’ and she said that I shouldn’t go back to work. She looked like a local, I mean to the area, hardly anyone seems to be local to Madripoor, but she had a US accent and she said her name was Mary. Madripoor is a crossroads and a lot of people here seem like they’re at a crossroads too. I think that makes sense.
She hovered in the doorway while I started making coffee “The Shadow Lords are onto me huh?”
She nodded “Yes. You should probably move out of this place too.”
I gestured at the nothing I had acquired “And give up all this? I’m getting real tired of these shadow men.”
“Shadow Lords, the shadowmen are something else.”
I laughed mirthlessly “Of course they are. You seem like a smart girl, how do I get these guys off my back?”
“Do you have a lot of money or drugs to give them?” I shook my head “Then no, I can’t think of anything.”
I swung my empty coffee cup for emphasis “I’m super strong, can’t I beat them all up or something and then they’ll leave me alone?”
She thought about it for a moment “Does being strong protect you from bullets?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Then no, probably you can’t.”
Rocket Cat 