Hours go by as my body just lies semi-conscious against the bedside. Before I could even get into a proper deep sleep, my body is reawakened as a loud reverberation breaks and enters into my eardrums. Of course it’s the storm that wakes me up, my night can’t seem to get any worse. As my view sluggishly darts around the room, the creak of the door shivers its way through the room. “God damnit, I left the door open again!” As I get up to shut the door, I can see what looks like a small crimson stain on the docks. I could’ve sworn that wasn’t there when I got there. Alongside it, Crook’s ship is completely missing. “He’s usually not out at night, why is he out now?” I step out the door and slowly inched myself towards the docks, my vision blurry from the dark skies above casting little to no light. 

He has to be alright, there’s no way he isn’t. But why would he go out at this time of night, he hates the dark. Against the better judgment of my aching body screaming that I should resume my blissful slumber, I step onto the boat and sigh as I turn on the ignition and hear the mechanical engine whir to life. I look up at the lighthouse, before reversing my boat out and driving away into the sea. The moonlight lit the ocean waves again, the inky black with hints of navy swarming each other. I flick my masthead light switch while the water in front of me brightens to a blinding degree of white. I know it’s not the brightest idea for me to be out at this time of night but it’s a worse idea to let something happen to Crook. The water continued to splash against the side of the ship with the crashing somewhat rhythmic in nature. 

My vision was a ping pong ball, constantly bouncing around. As I got further away from land and the night became my only home in the ever-expanding ocean, I saw what looked like a little pin prick of light. I honked my horn, hearing it shout across the tides. The engine began to go full speed ahead as I cranked the boat into a higher gear. I was approaching The Criminal fast and I don’t think I’ve ever been as happy to see that ship in my life. 

I managed to get as close to the ship as I could without getting any damage, which is kind of a shock considering just how wavy it is out on the waves tonight. The closer I got, the more evident it was that there was no one there. “Crook?” I say softly, realizing what is happening but refusing to accept the situation for what it is. “Crook, say something!”