REND

Since it wasn’t nighttime yet, and it was super unlikely that the ships going to Red Island would leave, Dario decided we should all try to find out the possible time and date they’d depart. I knew the date but not the time, so I was up for it. Tailing possible Red Island goers was the key. For now, the ‘recognizable’ people we were sure would join the trip were Bianca and the McHunters.

If we’d have nothing by the end of the day, we’d do shifts watching for the Red Island ships. I couldn’t tell them the schedule wasn’t tonight. Tomorrow, Deen and Reo would return to the bowels of the ship for more scouting, something Reo really, really didn’t want to do. 

Reo volunteered to shadow Bianca. Something about enjoying his time because he might die tomorrow. Weird that he still was a fan of hers. Bianca had some shoots lined up today, announced on her Snippet account, so it wasn’t hard to find her.

Myra and Johann went with Reo. Dario divided the rest of us among the decks to search for the McHunters or other possible leads.

“We really can’t expect the McHunters to buy souvenirs,” I told Jubjub and Imani as we walked away from the shops.

I was supposed to be with only Jubjub—I liked her codename instead of her real name, Jubilee, because it sounded funny, so I called her that in my head—but I mentioned that having another person would make us look more like a bunch of girls hanging out. Just like the trick I used to get paired with Reo, I wanted Deen to go with me.

And as expected, Dario wanted to separate us. He assumed I had a plan and wanted to prevent it.

I then suggested what about Imani? Dario didn’t want me to get my way without even knowing my plan and came up with bullshit about why Imani should sit this one out. However, he didn’t have any real objection because it was just a trailing mission. No danger whatsoever. Supposedly. I reasoned that Imani would feel better if she moved around a bit. By dragging her with us, I planned to find out if she was a traitor. It’d also lessen Jubjub’s apprehension that I’d do something to her if there was another person around.

Deen had fortunately the good sense not to jump into the conversation and insist on coming with me. Surprisingly, Imani didn’t need any pushing. She agreed to my proposal over Dario’s hesitation.

What was really up with her? Was I right to bring her along?

“I’m not sure where we should look for them,” said Imani. She had mostly recovered her composure. “It’ll be too suspicious if we ask around. If it was Bianca or another famous person, it’d be fine. But looking for the dangerously infamous…”

“True,” I said. “Asking around for the family members of a confirmed Adumbrae would raise brows. I guess if we pretended to be wacko Adumbrae conspiracy theorists or something? We should’ve brought Reo along.”

“We can check the bars—no, wait.” Imani checked the time on her phone. “It’s too early to drink. If they’re at the pool, the others will let us know. The theaters are next on our list. But if they’re in their rooms or somewhere else off-limits to regular passengers, we’re out of luck.”

“We’ve been lucky so far,” I said, “finding this ship’s secrets. I’m sure we’ll find our next step.”

“This isn’t going to be an easy task,” droned Jubjub, as if talking about the weather. “Deen and Everett didn’t encounter any McHunters when they scouted the expensive bars and restaurants earlier.”

I glanced at Jubjub. She had a neutral face, almost mask-like. She hadn’t shown any strong emotion during the short time I’d seen her.

As she walked beside me, her eyes were half-closed like she was about to fall asleep. Her stark blue irises peeking from behind her lids looked very weird because she had black eyebrows and hair. Either she was wearing contacts or had dyed her hair.  

Dario wanting Jubjub to go with me was probably a message of sorts. I bet that Reo discovering the secret Adumbrae area and ships going to Red Island made Dario even warier of me. Sure, Reo technically found that stuff, but I was also there. At the back of Dario’s mind, he must be wondering if it was too much of a coincidence.

And he’d be right.  

But what was Jubjub’s part here?

They knew I was Red Hood. They should also know Jubjub couldn’t stack up to my pinky. Jubjub didn’t seem too bright either since she got caught by Finlay with flashlights. Comparing the La Esperanza and Las Vegas groups, the latter was far lower in… quality. My well-honed people-reading senses, which worked often enough, told me that Dario was the brains here.

A morbid thought occurred—could Dario be offering his teammate as bait?

If I harmed Jubjub or even killed her, he could use that to turn everyone else against me. But it wouldn’t make much sense. Wouldn’t he rather use me when we reached the Red Island rather than start drama on this ship?

All this thinking was tiring. So much for a relaxing vacation. I enjoyed scheming how to manipulate people, and, yes, that was thinking. But that was the fun sort.

Guessing what other’s schemes were for me wasn’t fun at all. Being on the defensive was tedious.

“So, we don’t have a single lead,” I said. “Not a very great start to our mission.”

“We’ll continue going around and see what’s what,” said Jubjub. “Find other people to tail. We can assume the wealthy-looking passengers are possible leads.”

“We’re assuming that every rich person is a monster?” I said, chuckling. “That’s the way the world works, isn’t it?” Lame joke, but that wasn’t the point.

I wanted to show these two I was trying to make the situation light-hearted. The same tactic I employed with Reo. No way Jubjub would let her guard down, but she might assume I was trying to be fake friendly with her. Then she’d try to fake reciprocate, thinking I wouldn’t know and… Urgh, too complicated. This was why I hated it if the other person was also playing the game.

At least, I got a giggle from Imani. “You’re right, Erind. I was going to say we’re talking about real monsters here, but as Mark Twain said, ‘Of all the creatures that were made, man is the most detestable.’ Just allow me to flex my English Literature knowledge.”

“I’m jealous you can quote famous people like that,” I said, genuinely meaning it. Such a cool thing to do. Could be on the pretentious side, but also the badass side. “What’s Mark Twain’s issue with humanity?”

“According to him, only humans have malice.”

“The Adumbrae weren’t around during his time,” I said, hoping I got it right. I was clueless when it came to poets and writers. “But that quote is probably still true today. I’m not sure if the Adumbrae are truly malicious like humans. They could just be acting on instincts. Humans on the other hand…”

“Humans also act on instincts,” said Jubjub. “Instinctually, humans want to do good… good for themselves. Not necessarily for everyone else. Malice is the intention to do evil. Most people who do bad things don’t think they’re acting evil. They have reasons other than just being evil for the sake of it, even if the outcome results in harm.”

Is that part of your explanation of why you killed the survivors of the Greaves Tech Fair? That was what I almost blurted.

We already had Imani on our side. Why did she switch back to Jubjub’s? Did Jubjub succeed in rationalizing killing the survivors we saved? Protecting their identities, probably. 

I could see Imani falling for it and forgiving Jubjub. Imani already lost her two friends, comrades-in-arms; she couldn’t afford to abandon her last one. If it were me, I’d also tell Imani that keeping their identities secret would also help their deceased friends' families, shielding them from investigation as they grieve.

Like, I get it. Why would Imani believe me, Deen, and Myra, over Jubjub, someone she had known for some time? 3Bs—black, blonde, and blue—versus…

I snorted as if holding back laughter, just loud enough to call attention to myself. Jubjub gave me a questioning look. “This isn’t about the evil humanity thing,” I said, stroking my hair. “Look, the three of us have black hair.” We were also the 3Bs.

“All long hair too,” said Imani. “We could be sisters.”

“But Jubjub has blue eyes, unlike you and me, Imani.”

“I sometimes wear contacts to make them black,” said Jubjub. “To avoid prying questions. Some people accuse me of dying my hair black.”

I gasped. “That’s really the natural color of your eyes and hair? I’m sorry, I also assumed—”

“It’s fine, Erind. I get that a lot. This color’s natural.”

“That’s a super rare combination,” I said. “You know, genetics-wise.”

Jubjub could be the main character of a young adult, adventure fantasy movie. The audience self-insert lead always had a special physical trait, like red eyes or even purple ones. Black hair and blue eyes should be cool enough. The child part of me was happy to meet someone with this eye-hair color combination, reminding me of the days when I’d be entertained by the exotic beasts on the Animal Channel.

“Rarer than blonde hair and blue eyes,” said Jubjub in the same monotone. I thought she’d get excited about it. Was she annoyed?

“I hope you’re not offended,” I said. “I thought you dyed your hair black to help your powers. Like, black helps with the shadows? You always wore black, so…”

“It does help,” Jubjub said. “If I had light hair, I’d dye it black or dark brown to help with my powers. I also close my eyes when turning into my shadow form to hide my blue irises. Seeing dark helps me concentrate too.”

Is she bullshitting me? If she didn’t know I was an enemy, it’d be easy to say that I successfully enticed her to share crucial information among friends. Given that wasn’t the case, she must have been acting friendly towards me and feeding me fake information.

Makes me want to transform into Domino and investigate Jubjub. I did save her when she was cornered by Finlay. She should know that was me in my werewolf form attacking that terracotta bastard and giving her an opening. She owed me. Was it possible to whittle some sympathy or gratitude from her?

“Are the theaters even open during this hour?” Imani wondered as we exited the elevator. “They play movies in the morning and close after lunch to prepare for the afternoon shows.”

“Here’s a schedule.” Jubjub leaned on a standing sign beside the corridor leading to the theaters. “Two shows.” She bent down to read it. “Not shows. Talks. One is about the world economy during Adumbrae turmoil.”

“Such a serious topic for a cruise,” murmured Imani.

“Sounds useful for the rich people here,” I whispered. “The rich and the Adumbrae. I can see why they’ll have something like that lined up.”

“The other is about the construction industry,” said Jubjub. “A more random topic to have for a cruise. Would any of the McHunters attend either of these talks?”

“Construction?” I scrunched my nose. Was lady luck blessing me again?  

“The construction talk is given by Spence Hugh,” said Jubjub, glancing at me. “Ring any bells?”

“Not really,” I said.

“Says here he’s the CEO of HMCI,” said Imani. “It’s a construction firm. Ronan used to do part-time at one of their construction sites before.” Her face turned somber as her voice fizzled towards the end of the sentence.

Ronan? One of her friends who died? A distraction.

What was important was this Spence Hugh guy—I had seen him before. Well, I could barely make out what he looked like when I visited the exclusive bar with Jeffrey in my Domino form. Jeffrey pointed out Spence Hugh talking to Raphaela McHunter to show off that he knew important people. Jeffrey also mentioned that HMCI was interested in developing the lands of the McHunters that were embroiled in legal battles.

“Let’s try this economy and Adumbrae talk,” said Jubjub. “If the McHunters are going to attend any of these programs, it’ll be this one.”

“Do we have to pay—oh, it’s free,” said Imani.

“We should split ourselves,” I said. “I’ll go to the construction talk just to be sure. If the McHunters aren’t in either, we can take note of the important people who might be Adumbrae. Imani, which one do you want to attend?”

Jubjub placed a hand on Imani’s shoulder. “She’s going with me.”

Imani just nodded, not meeting my eyes.

I smirked as I turned around and headed to the other theater. Jubjub must feel good for ‘foiling’ my ‘plan’ to be alone with Imani. My real intention was to go into the construction talk alone without inviting suspicion—and it succeeded!

Playing ‘the game’ with an active player was tiring. But small victories were sweet.

“Excuse me,” I said to the woman outside the theater. “Can I still enter?”

“Yes, ma’am. It’s only been fifteen minutes since it started. An hour more to go plus an open forum. Please go in.”

I made the snap decision to break away from Jubjub and Imani instead of convincing them to come here. If I was right and some of the McHunters were inside, it’d be good having those two along to corroborate anything I’d learn. But! It’d be so fucking suspicious, especially after Reo’s discovery with me by his side.

More importantly, the way I intended to get close to the McHunters was better off not witnessed by Jubjub and Imani. I was going to copy the way Deen and I approached Bianca. Reduce, reuse, recycle.

Personally, I wasn’t that invested in finding out the Red Island ships’ departure time. If Big Marcy wanted me to trash his brother’s place, he’d find out and tell me about it. The problem was if he didn’t tell me, maybe betraying me, or just knowing about it too late. And if Big Marcy eventually did tell me, how was I going to convey it to the others? I couldn’t just say I heard it from somewhere.

And so, I had to do this. If only I could swim to the Red Island.

The theater was dim except for the stage, with spotlights focused on a well-dressed man talking animatedly on it. The place was slightly bigger than the lecture halls of Cresthorne. Maybe around three hundred seats divided into three groups. There were around fortyish people, most sitting in the first few rows of the middle group of chairs, and the rest peppered elsewhere.

Jacked men in suits stood near the walls. Guards. I came to the right place.

Some people turned to look at me when I entered, including the guards. This was why I hated being late. Didn’t like the attention. Worse, I looked very out of place. It was like I entered a corporate meeting wearing a shirt, shorts, and flip-flops.

Wait. Not like. This was exactly that situation.

Most attendees were middle-aged people, with a few younger ones. I couldn’t see old, old people, the white-haired, white guys expected to be present during stuffy business gatherings. If that wasn’t proof these people were Adumbrae—most of them, anyway—then I didn’t know what was.

I craned my neck, looking for anyone recognizable, but my gaze settled on a seemingly familiar guard. Out of all the guards, only he glared at me, trying to make eye contact. I couldn’t place where I had seen him before, but if I had to guess, he was probably with Big Marcy during our first meeting.

Was he telling me not to start some shit? I wasn’t going to.

He also wasn’t moving to head me off, just staring. Probably didn’t want to provoke me.

I waved at him while descending the stairs and continued scanning the audience.

Jackpot! I spotted Raphaela McHunter in the front row. I should go to the casino and gamble with this much luck on my side. Or not, because such luck was bound to run out.

And it might be running out because what was I to do next? I couldn’t approach Raphaela. She had people sitting beside her. Why would she entertain a random girl like me?

Then someone else caught my eye. To my left, five seats into a row, a woman sat alone, her almost white hair like a beacon in the dim theater. She turned to me when I stopped by her row, leafy green eyes looking questioningly. The screen on stage flashed a white slide, illuminating the place, and revealing the woman’s pointy chin and roundish cheeks. I couldn’t forget this bitch’s face—Yara McHunter.

I recalled Jeffrey’s friends badmouthing the McHunters. I didn’t quite catch what their actual issue was with them. They were all on the same side—the monster side. Could be general unpleasantness? The daughter has shown her bitchy side to me as Domino. If it was just that, then there should be no problem.

I sidled into the row. “Hello! I’m Erind.”