The Dying Chore Boy, Hanji

Among all the ships that were kept side by side in the shipyard the ship Jin was standing on was medium in size. There was a huge ship just next to it caught in a deadly fire just like any other ship in the shipyard. Most of the ships were floating in water including the one Jin was in. He tried looking through the thick smokescreen of the shipyard for an escape route but failed in his attempt.

He wanted to get on the ground but there was no ground to be found in his sight. He saw stairs attached to the deck of the ship connecting it with a lower wooden platform. The wooden platform was again built over water. The place mostly resembled a dock only other than its unhealthy atmosphere.

Jin got on the stairs willing to get down on the wooden platform hoping to find a nearby ground. As he was midway he suddenly got a glimpse of a similar event happening in his dreams. He stood there thinking, "There was this bridge there standing over lava. I had already crossed most of it when suddenly....", and suddenly the mast of the huge ship that was burning next broke down and fell over the stairway. The stairway including the ship was completely broken down to pieces within just a few seconds.

Jin was somehow saved in the last moment once again thanks to his quick reflexes although he fell down on the water. To avoid injury and burns due to the broken burning pieces of wood over the water he swam a little distance from underwater under the the wooden platform. He came over water at some distance just before losing his breadth. He is really a good swimmer after all and that's also because of his lots and lots of swimming races with Marcy.

The new place seemed to be a little better. There were not many ships nearby. As a result the place seemed to be much safer than before. The smoke also seemed thinner there. Jin saw another wooden platform there. He quickly went there swimming and caught one of its wooden columns. He found the ground at a little distance. He felt relieved having found the ground but there was also someone else he saw moving closer to the ground. He couldn't see it clearly because of the smoke.

He got on the wooden platform and moved closer to the ground. He was right. He saw a person. He looked like a frail and weak boy trying to crawl away from the ground towards the water. He had golden yellow hair just like a standard Westerner. By his looks he seemed to be fighting with death every instant.

"Hey are you alright!? What's your name and just what the hell happened here!!??", Jin quickly caught him and asked. His eyes were dark and they looked like they will close any moment for eternity. He couldn't feel Jin as he caught him. "Hey kid can you hear me!?", Jin shouted. The boy's eyes suddenly shined this time looking at Jin's.

"You can call me a kid. But just to let you know I'm 18 years old", the boy smiled and said.

"That doesn't matter at this moment! What's your name and what are you doing at a place like this!? We should escape first, talking can come later", Jin shouted.

"My name is Hanji and I work here, 'At a place like this'", the boy named Hanji said ironically. "And hey aren't you the one who started all the talking?", Hanji said in an even more sarcastic tone.

Next Chapter : The Escape Plans