Read Tankbread 02 Immortal for Free Online

her permission. That meant they ended up dead, and she didn’t like killing people unless they were already dead.
    Paddling closer, Else let the skiff drift the last ten meters to the outer ring of small boats. They varied from rubber Zodiacs with outboard motors to an old fishing boat with masts for trawler lines and nets, sticking up like big insect antennae from its back. Along the rail of the ship a heavy rope net had been rolled up and tied off. Else could see no way to climb up the smooth metal sides.
    Turning the skiff, she made her way to the front. A massive anchor chain as thick as her thigh rose out of the water and vanished into the ship through the hawsehole portal high on its shoulder. Lowanna grizzled and mewled. Else lifted her gently and tucked the baby inside the cloth sling. Here, against her breast, Lowanna started to suckle and Else felt the now constant pang of the loss of her own child more deeply than ever.
    With Lowanna secure against her chest and the machete sheathed and hanging across the other shoulder, Else tied the skiff to the anchor chain. Stepping out of the boat, she pulled herself onto the thick chain and climbed hand over hand until she hung above the water.
    The baby’s weight was nothing compared to the ache and sudden cramp that burned in her arms and shoulders. Gritting her teeth, Else moved a hand up to the next link. Feeling the sharp grit of rust digging into her palms, she moved on. One hand at a time she slowly made her way up the chain, the stink of guano getting stronger the closer she got to the deck of the ship.
    Reaching the end of the chain, Else swung her legs up and hooked the back of one heel through the wide portal. Straining, she twisted her upper body and pulled herself the last few feet and finally got a hand on the edge of the deck. Standing on the chain, she peeped over the side and took stock.
    Birds nested in the sheltered corners of the open decks, and someone had set up rainwater-catching tarpaulins in the open spaces. Fishing nets hung in wide sheets from rope lines strung across the deck, and Else could see that the metal plates of the deck had been swept clear of guano.
    Satisfied that there were no signs of movement other than the birds, Else pulled herself up and climbed over the rail. Her booted feet silent on the deck, she moved to the lengthening shadow of the nearest wall. Keeping her back close to the rust-stained steel, she crept along the deck. Her senses tingled and the machete made a comforting weight in her hand. Lowanna lay still and warm against her chest. Else reached the end of the wall; ahead of her the bow of the boat tapered off into a point. More nets hung from rope lines and mysterious containers were stacked in a haphazard fashion across this section of the deck.
    Crouching down Else studied the landscape, looking for signs of evols. Finally satisfied, she started to move across the front of the ship when a movement caught her eye. A flash as something small darted between the stacked crates and coiled ropes.
    Machete held ready, Else left the wall and moved into the maze of boxes, when she heard the soft laugh of a child. Curious, she moved closer to the sound. Coming around a corner she stopped. Ahead, crouched down in the flat-footed way of small children and totally absorbed in something on the deck, was a young girl.
    Else hesitated. The child was dressed in faded clothes. Her long sun-bleached hair seemed cared for, though it was twisted into rope-like plaits and had a number of shells and small metal ornaments woven into it. The pallor of her skin in the twilight looked warm and alive.
    “Look at you, pretty birdy. Look at you, little birdy...” the girl crooned and reached out to stroke something at her feet.
    Else could hear it now, the thin cries of a young seabird, either taken or fallen from one of the high nests. The girl straightened up, her thin legs tanned and smooth.
    “Pretty birdy . . .” she cooed again and Else