I arranged to meet with Mom a week later to go to the movies. That there was a movie theater across the harbor was lucky. It made my job easier and gave me a credible alibi. I didn’t think I would need one, but it was better to have one than not!

  The movie Mom agreed to take me to was an animated movie that I’d seen a couple of times before. It was new—now—but to me, it was old hat. The only struggle was convincing her that we had to go to the theater by the port. That’s when I remembered about the System Contract I had her agree to. She had to listen to me—which didn’t include email for whatever reason. A quick phone call to ‘say hello’ was enough to get my point across.

  In the intervening week, I picked up enough levels in Flight and Delayed Explosive for each to be in tier 2. I couldn’t test the explosion, so I hoped it would be more than enough to do what I wanted. Flight—on the other hand—I was able to float around at my leisure. The cost in blood for the skill stayed about the same, but the functionality vastly improved. I was able to fly at about 100 yards above the ground at the speed of a car on the highway. Turning was improved as well, but not any better than a car might be able to do. That is, I could turn slowly at high speeds and quickly at low speeds. My internal organs thanked the system for its limitations even if my mind wanted more.

  Heeding Dad’s advice, I used Illusion to keep myself hidden. Pretending to be a bird was strange, but it was a good enough disguise as long as someone didn’t look too closely. Under scrutiny, the whole thing fell apart. The bird was just off. Dad pointed it out after watching me for a little while, but there wasn’t much I could do about it without spending a bunch of experience. I’d much rather save it if I could.

  I was glad when it finally was go day. I’d had to use Sleep on myself so I would sleep through the night. The nerves were downright awful. Mom picked me up mid-afternoon.

  “It’s good to see you again, Eddy,” she smiled.

  “Yeah,” was all I could say.

  My mind was stuck on what I was going to do.

  “Are you ok?” she asked.

  “I’m alright. Just thinking.”

  “Are you looking forward to the movie? It’s supposed to be pretty good!”

  “Yeah,” I lied with a smile. “It does look good.”

  “Great! Let’s get going then?”

  I nodded and followed her to the car.

  The drive was pleasant enough. As comfortable as two hours in a car seat could be. We listened to music and talked. I kept Mom at a distance emotionally. There was no way I was going to forgive her anytime soon. That didn’t mean I couldn’t be nice. She would be replaced by the real one in only a few years anyway. It felt to me like I was simply placating a dying woman rather than hanging out with my mother. A sad state of affairs to be sure, but also one I could live with.

  Mom parked in the lot outside the movie theater. The sun was still up—for now—though it was beginning to inch closer to the horizon. The movie was set to start in half an hour, with sunset happening around the same time. I planned to leave at around the halfway mark of the movie so that I would have enough time to get to and from the ship in the dark that would help my skill—Illusion—blend better.

  “Are you ready?” Mom asked.

  “Let’s go!” I exclaimed.

  The theater was nice enough. The wall-to-wall carpet looked to have been replaced somewhat recently, giving the place a fresh and modern feeling. Mom picked up the tickets from the self-service kiosk—she’d purchased them online—before we got popcorn and candy. When our theater opened only minutes later, we went inside to find our seats.

  The room was smaller than I expected. The rows of seats were steep as well—which meant we were guaranteed to have a good view even if tall people sat in front of us. I sat closest to the aisle. That way I would be able to skedaddle at a moment’s notice.

  “Previews are starting!” Mom said excitedly.

  “Your favorite part?” I asked.

  “Definitely! The studios like to go all out, and they can be so fun.”

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  I shrugged.

  The screen lit up with warnings and exits before starting to show previews. Most of them were targeted towards kids, but there were a few for the teens and parents as well. Nothing too graphic—of course—that would give the censors a heart attack. God forbid little Timmy see a hint of nudity—only violence and gore allowed before the age of majority!

  Soon enough, the movie began. It was a lighthearted animation where the scariest thing was the animal villain. And even that wasn’t bad since he would be vanquished by the hero. All his dastardly plans would come to naught. That kind of thing. Honestly, it was decent. It had its moments. It was funny now and then, but not as much when I’d seen it already and knew the twists.

  My nerves—which had been rumbling in the background—began to build. I couldn’t go too early. The sun might still be up, or it would still be too bright in the moments after it set. I had to sit on my hands, which only made the nerves worse. There was no greater test than having to wait when all I wanted to do was act.

  As I sat there, I debated how to get Mom to go along with what I had to do. After much thought, I settled on going to the bathroom. Once inside, I could use Disguise Self before leaving the theater. Due to the cameras I knew were everywhere, I would have to use the skill again before floating over to the ships under Illusion.

  The minutes ticked by until I couldn’t take it anymore. I moved my head next to Mom’s ear to whisper. There were other patrons. The last thing I wanted to do was to attract attention to myself.

  “Mom,” I whispered, “I need to go to the bathroom. Also, I’ll be gone a while, so don’t panic and act like everything’s ok. I’ll be back before the movie ends.”

  “Ok, dear,” Mom whispered back.

  I looked at her and could see the glassy-eyed look that indicated she didn’t want to follow what I’d asked her to do. I mentally shrugged before rising from my seat and excusing myself past two other moviegoers. Down the ramp I went and into the main section of the theater. Once there, I found the bathroom.

  One quick Disguise Self and it was time to exit the theater. Combined with Illusion, I made myself look like a teenage girl—it would be easier to hide my voice that way. I walked out the doors without anyone giving me more than a passing glance.

  The way I had to go was down the side of the theater and passed the truck entrance in the back. I changed the Illusion on myself to be mostly hidden. While I couldn’t hide completely, it would do for anyone not paying attention.

  I considered flying right away. The problem was that it wasn’t enough past sunset for the sky to hide me. I would have to fly low over the water—when I got there—and couldn’t really fly until then.

  I changed my Disguise Self to look like a heavyset teenage boy as soon as I crossed the street behind the theater. That way, I would look different from the girl I had been pretending to be when leaving the theater. Any cameras around would have a hard time matching me with either persona. The easiest way to hide—I’d heard—was doing it in plain sight. If I looked like I belonged, no one would notice.

  My nerves were still somewhat frayed after waiting for so long. Instead of the hurry up and wait of the last few hours, I was finally on the move. The anxiety of worry had been replaced with the anxiety of anticipation. That was one I was able to handle much better. At least with action, I would see it through one way or another.

  The streets at dusk were fairly busy. The old wharves on this side of the harbor had been replaced with restaurants, shopping, and other such commercial spaces. I wove my way through the crowds and onto a pier that was much less crowded. The last thing I wanted was for someone to see me jump off the end and thing I was going to drown—or see me flying, which would be even worse.

  The harbor had boats and ships traversing it at all times. Most were small pleasure craft, but there were tugs, barges, and even the bigger container and tanker ships. The wind was stronger than I would have liked. It had kicked up the waves some. It was a harbor, so the waves weren’t too high. That didn’t mean they wouldn’t present a problem for me. Because the sky was still light—meaning I had to fly low—I risked running into them if I flew too low. At the same time, I couldn’t fly too high, else I would reveal myself. Even with Illusion going, a dedicated observer would notice something wrong.

  Standing at the end of the pier, I took a deep breath. I went through the plan in my head again. Then one more time. I climbed the railing of the pier as soon as I thought no one was looking. Illusion turned me into a bird as soon as I launched off the side.

  The familiar—and awful—sensation of blood-powered Flight came over me. I tried to float four feet over the surface of the water. It was difficult to do accurately. The waves’ undulating motion threw off my sense of distance. It only took me getting splashed once before I gave the water a little more room. I still bobbed up and down as I flew. I simply didn’t have enough control to maintain a perfectly level flight.

  Skimming just above the water was thrilling. While I had been afraid of heights for as far as I could remember, this was different. Because I had a skill I could trust, I knew I was in no danger of falling from the sky and hurting myself. That wasn’t true if I ran—well, flew—into something.

  Crossing the harbor to where the ships were was a distance of about three miles. I picked my way across carefully. Each ship and boat needed a wide berth, just in case. I would much rather be overly cautious than screw it up over something small like that.

  Due to my excessive care, the trip took almost twenty minutes. That left me in a bit of a time crunch. I would have to place the explosives and return before the movie ended. As the movie was around two hours, that gave me only an hour—now thirty minutes—to finish and get back to the theater.

  My heart raced as I approached the big ships. Unlike the small pleasure boats, these monsters rose like cliffs from the water. There wasn’t just one or two. There were tens of them! Some would be empty while others would be full and ready to leave. I had limited time and I needed to know which was which. To get my plan done and return before I was missed, I would need to take a risk.

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