An Endless Night; 4001

Based on the 4001 RP 
If you were in the RP, please note that I changed most of your characters lines, names, and personality. 
Alaya is an 18-year-old with hope for the future. She wants to bring both her and her sister to somewhere they can be safe. So when she hears of a supposed 'safe-haven' she decides to go. She hitches a ride with a handsome young man named Jordain but soon learns that the seas are more dangerous than she feared, and death is at every corner.
Mara is a ten-year-old who knows her sister can't do this alone. She sneaks onto Starglide, a ship heading towards where Mara hopes her sister is. She meets new allies on this ship, but deadly enemies as well...
__TOC__
==01-Alaya==
Alaya carefully measured out the sugar into the old tin cup. She planned to make Mara a birthday cake if nothing else could happen this year. "Laya! Guess what! I'm ten now!" A girl flounced into the room, wearing a simple blue dress that was fraying at the edges.
Alaya smiled "Yeah. Now, stop bouncing before I spill this sugar everywhere!"
Mara nodded "Okay. I don't want a grain of sugar wasted."
Alaya smiled weakly at her.
"You can go play outside until the cake is ready."
Alaya poured the cake into an old tin cake pan and placed it into the oven. She checked to see that Mara was gone and pulled out a book bag. She put in her remaining rations, food, water, extra clothes and a map. She pulled the cake out and wrote a hasty note to Mara.
Mara,
I know you probably won't understand why I'm leaving, but I have to. Once I find the haven I'll come back for you. I promise.
-Alaya.
She left the note and the cake on the table, grabbed her bag, and headed towards the sea. Alaya stood at the docks, scanning each boat. Her eyes finally settled on a small houseboat. It wouldn't be too much to rent. She carefully counted her rations in her head.
A young man of about 20 stood in front of it "How much to rent this?" Alaya asked.
"I.I am quite poor, ma'am..I don't think I can.."
Alaya immediately felt sympathy for the man and said "I'll give you all my rations. And..you can come with me."
"Well..that..yes, of course. I'm Jordain, by the way."
"Isn't that a Francian name?" Alaya asked. She didn't know much about the old countries and colonies.
"French, ma'am." Jordain said.
Alaya smiled and boarded the boat.
===1 hour later===
Alaya looked up at the sky. Dark clouds were gathering.
"Looks like a storm is coming" she commented.
"Yeah. That's not really what I'm concerned about. I'm more worried about the animals that come out in storms." Jordain said.
Alaya nodded. She had read about Cetefulgur's, or lightning whales. They could be deadly.
She scanned the distance for the light purple shimmer of a Cetefulgur, but couldn't see any. Jordain started pulling in some barrels of supplies that had been on the deck.
"Do you need help?" Alaya asked.
"Yes, that would be fine." Jordain smiled. She picked up a barrel and, while in the process of dragging it, she tripped and nearly fell off the boat. Luckily Jordain caught her. She blushed hotly.
"Thanks."
"No problem," he said back, taking the barrel from her.
Alaya gave another shy smile and opened the door. The houseboat was small but big enough to fit 2 cots, a small kitchen and a few barrels of food. Jordain came in a moment after her.
Lighting flashed through the sky and Alaya turned to Jordain.
"It's getting worse..."
"Yeah." He said, looking concerned.
Suddenly a loud crash of lightning hit the water by the ship. It caught on fire... Why  aren't the waves putting the fire out? What is happening? 
Finally a wave crashed over the deck, putting the flames to sleep.
"Jordain?" she shouted.
"Alaya! We have to get into the water!"
"What? Are you crazy? We'll be electrocuted!"
He stared at her "Do you trust me? With your life?"
Alaya hesitated before answering "Yes."
And Jordain pulled her into the sea.
The waves were rough and they pushed against Alaya.  She clung to a piece of driftwood with all her might. 
She realized Jordain was no longer holding her hand.
"Jordain? Where are you?" She coughed and inhaled a mouthful of water.
When no answer came, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath before plunging underwater.
She swam for several minutes before realizing he was gone. "No." she whimpered quietly.  A wave crashed over her head, and she fell unconscious.
==02-Mara==
Mara stared at the note and nearly cried. How could Alaya leave her? Looking at the note she suddenly felt a burst of confidence. She was going to find her sister. Mara packed enough food to last her a week and walked down to the docks.
"Tickets! Get tickets to board the one and only Starglide! She's a beauty! 3 meals a day! Only half of your rations!" 
Mara smiled. Perfect. She reached into her pocket for rations, then remembered she had none. Her heart sank in her stomach. She would have to sneak onto Starglide. Mara neared the ship, which was painted a bright white, and saw hundreds of people hustling to get out of the city.  Of course, the UKU officers stood at every corner, prepared to arrest anyone. Mara stared at them nervously. What if she was caught? When the officers weren't looking, she slipped behind a young couple. Hopefully the UKU would think that she was their daughter. Mara shuffled behind the couple, glancing back every few seconds. Finally, she reached the bridge that led onto Starglide. She started up the ramp, but was stopped at the top."Are you the daughter of those two?" The Officer asked. Unable to reply, Mara just nodded. The couple looked at her, shocked. "This is your daughter?" he asked.
Mara silently pleaded with them to agree. Noticing her look, the couple nodded. When they were out of the earshot of the officer she gave them a small smile.
"Thank you."
The couple smiled and introduced themselves. The lady was 20 and named Arenbella Gray and the man was her husband, 32 years old, named Geodan Gray.  Mara introduced herself as Mary, because she wasn’t sure if she could trust Mr and Mrs Gray yet. She bade them goodbye and slipped into the crowd. About a hundred people had bought a ticket, and most of them were headed to the large sleeping chambers below deck. Mara followed a little girl and her parents down the stairs. The girl started crying uncontrollably. Her parents looked about worriedly, knowing they could get kicked off. The girls cries grow louder. Suddenly 2 UKU officers push through the crowd and slap a hand over the girls mouth. 
“We’re going to have to arrest you for disturbing the ship. Follow us.” One officer says roughly. Mara watches in surprise. 
“Sir, what are you talking about? The child is simply hungry!” Mara blurted out. The officer turned to her, and she saw his name tag read Moron. Suddenly an unfamiliar voice called out "Leave her alone!" the girl shouted. Mara stared at the newcomer. She recognized her as Ember Snow, a wanted fugitive. The officers looked annoyed "This child is a disturbance. And so are you." The second guard rushed towards Ember, obviously intending to handcuff her. Mara slipped away. As much as she wanted to help the people, she was only 10. Mara reached the sleeping chambers for younger children.  About 50 children were sitting or lying on the beds that were all lined up in a row.  The adult sleeping chamber was across the short hallway. She claimed a bed close to the wall, and placed her bag on it. She dumped it out, checking to make sure she had everything. Mara sighed and stared at the only picture of her family she had. There was her father, with his dark brown hair and twinkling blue eyes. Her mother, with her ash brown hair and eyes the same color as Mara and Alaya's. Her sister was young in the picture, and she herself was only a baby. How many times had she wished that she had remembered her mother and father? She put the picture down and pulled out a ripped map. The map had been at the bottom of Alaya's papers. She wondered where Alaya was right now…
==03~ Alaya==
Sand washed over Alaya's body. She sat up and coughed. "Jordain, where are we?" she asked, before remembering what had happened. Jordain was dead. She glanced around. It looked like she was on an island, but she wasn't certain. 
"Hello? Anyone?" she called out. When no response came, Alaya came to a conclusion. She was alone.  Alaya sat there for a few minutes before finally standing up. She pushed a strand of sandy hair out of her face and saw that she was close to a jungle-like forest. She spotted some plants and decided to check and see if they were edible. They had silverish leaves and bright purple berries. She squeezed one and exotic orange juice squirted out, burning her hand.
“Ouch!” she shouted, waving her hand in the air. When it finally cooled off a small purple burn remained. She tossed the berry skin onto the ground and headed towards the sea. She stuck her hand in the water to soothe the burn.  
“Kill her.” 
Alaya whirled around quickly at the sound of someone's voice. 
“Who’s there?” She asked cautiously. To her surprise, a Lady stepped out of the shadows. But what was more surprising was the lady's hand. Or, what was left of it anyway. 
“I am Queen Manna of the Ena Tribe. You are trespassing on our island.” she said.  
“It's a very nice island?” Alaya tried. 
“Hmm.  Well, I do regret killing people, but I have no other choice.” Queen Manna said. 
2 soldiers came behind Alaya and grabbed her wrists. She struggled against them, but it was useless. 
“Take her to the Cave. She’ll have her trial at noon tomorrow.” The Queen commanded. 
The soldiers pulled her along a short path and stopped at a large grey rock. They pushed her through the entrance into the cave.
“Your food will be served in a bit.” One said gruffly, then left, locking the door behind him.  Alaya looked around the cell. Things were getting hopeless. Alaya sat on the cold dirt ground and stared up at the roof that was dripping dirty water. Yeah, she was right. Hopeless. She pulls the ragged blanket that had been lying in the corner over her body and tries to fall asleep, to no avail. 
Alaya looked up. A soldier had arrived at the door. 
"Your supper." He said, shoving a half dead man into the cell. Alaya looked around, confused. As far as she could see, there was no supper in the cell. Funny, she thought to herself. A salty sea breeze flew in through the door and she sighed. Death was not the optimum choice, but how was she supposed to escape this dreadful island? 
"Miss Nayme?" Alaya looked up once more, expecting a guard. Instead it was a smallish girl of about 14.
"Who are you?" Alaya whispered.
"Someone who is getting you off this island of cannibals! Now hurry up!"
"Cannibals.." she glanced at her cellmate, who was half dead and crouched in the corner. She had noted him or her, but thought he-or she- was dead. She suddenly knew what the guard meant by supper. 
"Are you coming or not?" the girl rolled her eyes at Alaya. 
"Yeah..I'm coming." Alaya said, standing up. She knew it might be too blind to just trust a random stranger, but it was her only hope of escaping. The girl grabbed a key from her pocket and shoved it into the door. It clicked and turned. She swung the door open and Alaya glanced back at the cell. 
"If they catch me, I'm dead." Alaya informed the girl. 
The girl smirked, "Then don't get caught." 
The girl led Alaya through the jungle, past many exotic creatures. Alaya kept hoping all the while that she wouldn't get caught. She had no intention of being eaten, by a human or an animal. Alaya followed the girl until she suddenly stopped and put her finger to her lips. 
"What is it?" Alaya mouthed. The girl just shook her head and pointed. Alaya looked and saw a camp surrounded by huts and tents. They had arrived at the Ena Camp.
==04~Mara==
Mara laid down on the bed, the waves gently rocking her. Yet she couldn't sleep. All she could think about was home, and Alaya, and the long forgotten chocolate cake. She had forgotten all about the fact her tenth birthday was today. A loud ringing bell pulled her away from her thoughts. It must be supper. She pushed her blankets off and stood up. She wobbled a bit before regaining her balance. She had never been on a ship before.Mara walked down the hallway towards the dining room. She soon arrived at the dining area. About 50 families had already made it to the room and had sat down at the wooden tables, which were covered in the most food Mara had ever seen. UKU guards stood at every exit. Mara spotted a girl who was sitting at an empty table. Maybe I could pretend she is my older sister or something, she thought. Mara, without giving it a second thought, sat down next to the girl. 
"Hi..I'm Marannye," Mara said, giving her full name. 
"I'm Zaye, whats your last name?" The girl, Zaye, said.
"Nayme. " Mara told Zaye. She trusted this girl, though she didn't know why. 
"Then mine's Nayme too now." Zaye smiled,"I know how hard is it to survive on here alone.Why are you here anyways? You look a bit young to be on your own."
Mara's smile faded "I can't tell you that."
"That's too bad." Zaye grabbed an apple, and crunched it loudly. Mara looked down at the food. It seemed suspicious, so much food in one place, what with the supposed 'shortage' of everything, for as long as she could remember. 
Mara pushed her food away. "I'm not hungry anymore." she declared, standing up. 
"Good night, Zaye." she said. 
Mara passed the Officers at the door quickly, feeling their burning gaze on her back. 
"Keep an eye on her. I should think its strange she has two names." one said to the other. Mara's eyes lowered to the ground. How was she supposed to save Alaya, if she was in danger herself? When she finally reached the sleeping quarters, most of the children were fast asleep. She sat down on the bed she had claimed earlier, thinking through the evenings events. She had met a friend, a ally. But now she knew there were spys, everywhere. She suddenly felt very, very alone. For who was she, but a mouse, in a world full of lions? 
Mara longed for someone to talk to, someone who wasn't a stranger. Someone who wasn't trying to get her thrown off a ship. Someone who wasn't lying to her. She longed to talk to Alaya. She settled down in her bed, pulling her covers overher body.. Mara had just about fallen asleep when a loud banging vibrated through the ship. Mara pushed off her covers, as the others were doing. Mara rushed to the door. She saw Zaye, but couldn't get through the crowd to her. 
"Whats happening?" she asked, echoing the frightened people arround her. A man pushed towards the front of the room. He had wild red hair and smart clothing, as well as a silver star on his jacket, showing he likely was one of the co-owners of the ship. 
"I am so sorry for the inconvenience, we just ran into a little tro-" he was cut off by another bang. 
Sounded like it was a lot more than a little trouble.
"What is it?" Zaye called out. She had now arrived behind Mara, and Mara relaxed slightly. The girl reminded her so much of Alaya. 
"It's a Lightning Whale. A rather large one. In fact, several large ones." He said nervously.
Mara's stomach lurched. Were they smashing into the whale? Were they hurting it?
"DId we hurt it?" Zaye asked, her eyes worried.
"Um..sort of. One is nearly dead." The man looked very uncomfortable. 
"How could you?" Mara burst out, the anger inside her coming out in a rush. The officers at the door shared a look; Would they let this girl get away with yelling at the co-owner of the ship?
"We really didn't have much of a choice..Well..thats all I needed to say. Back to your cabins. All of you." He eyed Mara. "Except you."
Category:RP Based
Category:Dystopian