05-14-2024, 04:30 PM
(This post was last modified: 05-17-2024, 03:09 PM by wetwilleh. Edited 1 time in total.)
Catch Up on Previous Chapters:
Start From the Beginning: Chapter 1
Most Recent Chapter: Chapter 11
Graders Split 60/40 for @lock180/@homercrates
Zenzeroni knew if he wanted to make it onto a ship he was going to have to do it quietly and quickly. The gangways of some of the ships had already been lifted but the main gangway toward the Flying Lasagna was still down.
Trying to blend in with some of the crew who were still loading crates of ammo, food, and materials, Zenzeroni confidently walked side by side with a large buff man with tattoos all over his body. The man gave him no notice as he had bigger things (quite literally) to worry about as he was in the process of loading a giant at least 500 pound box onto the ship. Zenzeroni was about to follow when he saw One Eyed Larry emerge on the top of the gangway overseeing the process.
Zenzeroni went for the only option he could think of and dove off the docks and into the cold cavern waters. Drenched, Zenzeroni’s options were getting fewer and fewer.
“Lift the gangway!” One Eyed Larry announces. The sound of the gangway being lifted brings heartbreak to Zenzeroni but he refuses to give up and swims toward the underbelly of the ship. Unsurprisingly no opening can be found here but Zenzeroni does see an opportunity to climb the siding of the ship and into one of the windows where the cannons are placed.
Zenzeroni’s climbing ability was limited due to his noodle arms but that weakness could prove to be a strength as well. Using his noodle arms as a grappling hook he was able to reach around and tie his arm around a cannon on the inside and hoist himself up and over the window successfully reaching the bowels of the ship.
Taking stock of his situation, Zenzeroni looked around and surprisingly didn’t see anyone on the cannon level. Knowing that wouldn’t last forever, Zenzeroni looked around for a good hiding spot and found one in the dark corner of the room where the food crates were stored. Zenzeroni slid behind the crates that formed a barrier between himself and the rest of the ship and now all he had to do was wait.
While One Eyed Larry had announced the lifting of the gangway five minutes prior, it still took another hour before anchors were brought aboard and the calls to leave the docks were finally made.
Multiple times in the hour it took to leave the cavern various crew members brushed dangerously close to Zenzeroni’s hiding spot who could only hold his breath in hopes they wouldn’t notice him. But none of them did and when the final bell tolled signaling the raising of the rock wall Zenzeroni felt confident that he was about to go on the trip of a lifetime.
Taking stock of her ship Rebel Midnight walked every square inch of The Flying Lasagna. It wasn’t her ship… yet but she was proud of her new position of second in command and felt a responsibility to do her job and do it well. She walked high and low even climbing and inspecting the masts to make sure they could handle a turbulent storm if necessary. Heading below deck was the stockpile and cannon room and under that were the sleeping arrangements. Nice and hard cots greeted most of the crewmates (not that anyone complained as was the life of living on the seas). But Rebel inspected the stockpile room extra closely as they would likely need it to ward off other pirates and who knows what else.
Moving throughout the room she counted the boxes and inspected the cannons before reaching the food stock in the corner of the room. Still yet to leave the cavern, Rebel knelt down next to one of the containers and opened it coming the closest anyone had been to Zenzeroni’s hiding spot. Looking inside the container she found a variety of fruits and vegetables that would have to be eaten pretty quickly if they wanted it while it was fresh. Rebel took one last look at the boxes that lay before her and, apparently satisfied, made her way above deck to wave goodbye to the people below Disappointment Island.
Zenzeroni was bored out of his mind. Having now been stuck in the same spot for 3 hours he realized this wasn’t all that he had thought it would be. In order to stay on the ship he would have to hide the entire time which meant absolutely no fun allowed and staying in his hiding spot 24/7. On the bright side, he had picked a spot with plenty of food and drink to keep him alive but on the downside, he wasn’t getting the true experience he had lured himself into believing he would have.
Various crewmates made their rounds grabbing various supplies and food containers throughout the first few hours but eventually, Zenzeroni zoned them out as his fear of being caught diminished. Then the voices of One Eyed Larry and Rebel Midnight were clearly heard feet away from him.
“I swear if that kid made it onto this ship….” One Eyed Larry’s gruff voice says.
“Relax we would have caught him if he was on here. The barkeep probably just lost him in all the commotion at the tavern. You know how they can get in there, especially at a time like this.”
“Hmph. You better be right. I promised myself and the Gods above that I wasn’t losing that kid and I plan on staying true to my word.” One Eyed Larry defiantly says.
“You are being paranoid. Anyway, we have a lot bigger fish to fry than you worrying about some twelve year old kid. I can’t have you focused on a problem at home that isn’t even a problem when we will likely have problems coming up very soon on this very ship in the near future. Let’s get back on the deck shall we?” Rebel says beginning to usher One Eyed Larry up the stairs.
“Fine but I need a bottle of whiskey.”
“I can get that for you. You head upstairs and I will be up there shortly”. A pair of footsteps slowly walks away and Zenzeroni breathes another sigh of relief.
“So honey,” Rebel says moving the box that is directly in front of Zenzeroni, “here’s what we are going to do.”
Start From the Beginning: Chapter 1
Most Recent Chapter: Chapter 11
Graders Split 60/40 for @lock180/@homercrates
The Book of Zen
Chapter 12: Hide and Seek
ILLUSTRATED BY: Thor Dangerson
Zenzeroni knew if he wanted to make it onto a ship he was going to have to do it quietly and quickly. The gangways of some of the ships had already been lifted but the main gangway toward the Flying Lasagna was still down.
Trying to blend in with some of the crew who were still loading crates of ammo, food, and materials, Zenzeroni confidently walked side by side with a large buff man with tattoos all over his body. The man gave him no notice as he had bigger things (quite literally) to worry about as he was in the process of loading a giant at least 500 pound box onto the ship. Zenzeroni was about to follow when he saw One Eyed Larry emerge on the top of the gangway overseeing the process.
Zenzeroni went for the only option he could think of and dove off the docks and into the cold cavern waters. Drenched, Zenzeroni’s options were getting fewer and fewer.
“Lift the gangway!” One Eyed Larry announces. The sound of the gangway being lifted brings heartbreak to Zenzeroni but he refuses to give up and swims toward the underbelly of the ship. Unsurprisingly no opening can be found here but Zenzeroni does see an opportunity to climb the siding of the ship and into one of the windows where the cannons are placed.
Zenzeroni’s climbing ability was limited due to his noodle arms but that weakness could prove to be a strength as well. Using his noodle arms as a grappling hook he was able to reach around and tie his arm around a cannon on the inside and hoist himself up and over the window successfully reaching the bowels of the ship.
Taking stock of his situation, Zenzeroni looked around and surprisingly didn’t see anyone on the cannon level. Knowing that wouldn’t last forever, Zenzeroni looked around for a good hiding spot and found one in the dark corner of the room where the food crates were stored. Zenzeroni slid behind the crates that formed a barrier between himself and the rest of the ship and now all he had to do was wait.
While One Eyed Larry had announced the lifting of the gangway five minutes prior, it still took another hour before anchors were brought aboard and the calls to leave the docks were finally made.
Multiple times in the hour it took to leave the cavern various crew members brushed dangerously close to Zenzeroni’s hiding spot who could only hold his breath in hopes they wouldn’t notice him. But none of them did and when the final bell tolled signaling the raising of the rock wall Zenzeroni felt confident that he was about to go on the trip of a lifetime.
Taking stock of her ship Rebel Midnight walked every square inch of The Flying Lasagna. It wasn’t her ship… yet but she was proud of her new position of second in command and felt a responsibility to do her job and do it well. She walked high and low even climbing and inspecting the masts to make sure they could handle a turbulent storm if necessary. Heading below deck was the stockpile and cannon room and under that were the sleeping arrangements. Nice and hard cots greeted most of the crewmates (not that anyone complained as was the life of living on the seas). But Rebel inspected the stockpile room extra closely as they would likely need it to ward off other pirates and who knows what else.
Moving throughout the room she counted the boxes and inspected the cannons before reaching the food stock in the corner of the room. Still yet to leave the cavern, Rebel knelt down next to one of the containers and opened it coming the closest anyone had been to Zenzeroni’s hiding spot. Looking inside the container she found a variety of fruits and vegetables that would have to be eaten pretty quickly if they wanted it while it was fresh. Rebel took one last look at the boxes that lay before her and, apparently satisfied, made her way above deck to wave goodbye to the people below Disappointment Island.
Zenzeroni was bored out of his mind. Having now been stuck in the same spot for 3 hours he realized this wasn’t all that he had thought it would be. In order to stay on the ship he would have to hide the entire time which meant absolutely no fun allowed and staying in his hiding spot 24/7. On the bright side, he had picked a spot with plenty of food and drink to keep him alive but on the downside, he wasn’t getting the true experience he had lured himself into believing he would have.
Various crewmates made their rounds grabbing various supplies and food containers throughout the first few hours but eventually, Zenzeroni zoned them out as his fear of being caught diminished. Then the voices of One Eyed Larry and Rebel Midnight were clearly heard feet away from him.
“I swear if that kid made it onto this ship….” One Eyed Larry’s gruff voice says.
“Relax we would have caught him if he was on here. The barkeep probably just lost him in all the commotion at the tavern. You know how they can get in there, especially at a time like this.”
“Hmph. You better be right. I promised myself and the Gods above that I wasn’t losing that kid and I plan on staying true to my word.” One Eyed Larry defiantly says.
“You are being paranoid. Anyway, we have a lot bigger fish to fry than you worrying about some twelve year old kid. I can’t have you focused on a problem at home that isn’t even a problem when we will likely have problems coming up very soon on this very ship in the near future. Let’s get back on the deck shall we?” Rebel says beginning to usher One Eyed Larry up the stairs.
“Fine but I need a bottle of whiskey.”
“I can get that for you. You head upstairs and I will be up there shortly”. A pair of footsteps slowly walks away and Zenzeroni breathes another sigh of relief.
“So honey,” Rebel says moving the box that is directly in front of Zenzeroni, “here’s what we are going to do.”
Howdy! I am responsible for quite possibly the greatest kicker to ever grace the ISFL and am the most accomplished media writer the ISFL has ever seen (no need to ask anyone else regarding either of those claims)
Important Media You Must Read If You Want To Be Cool Like Me
The Villainous Jreed12: The Case Against the WEAKly Mirror|Jreed is a multi|Coming soon
The Truth About Baron1898: The Self Proclaimed Queen|The Evil Queen|The Curse of Venus|The Truth
The Year of the Joker: Year of the Joker|Doubling Down|Bye to Losers|Win or Not?|Last Dance
Read the full 56 Chapter Book of Zen Catalog here: The Book of Zen
Miscellaneous Articles: The Clown Car Four|The Nauseating Nine|1 Star Mcdonalds Prospect Analysis