Clinging to the rope ladder, Lawrence had slowly climbed up the dark, tanned-looking hull of the Ghost Ship and reached its deck.
As soon as he landed, he bent down, bracing his hands on his knees, and took several deep breaths to catch his wind--an action that made him laugh at himself mockingly as he shook his head.
He really was getting old; he had reached the point where he needed to rest after climbing a rope ladder. If it had been in the past...
Another footstep sounded from behind. Lawrence put aside his stray thoughts and turned to see that Exception 077 had followed him up--the ghastly mummy cautiously stood at the edge of the deck, appearing obedient.
It, or rather he--had been quite cooperative along the way. The fact that a horrific high-level exception was so docile was indeed a strange sight, but once Lawrence thought of this dried-up corpse as his only "companion" for this exploration, his weird feelings subsided as his expression became serious.
