Page 13 of Found at Sea
5
Fletcher
The captain was cold, callous, and arrogant. I didn’t know his real name, even though I’d told him mine. He was infuriating, hateful, and abhorrent. Yet, he was the one I leaned on when meeting the rest of the crew.
Most of them smiled with rotten teeth—and some were missing teeth. Their gazes were hungry, and I felt nauseous.
The captain stayed by my side as we got in the small boat and rowed toward the mountains jutting from the water. There wasn’t a ship in sight, but as we went farther and rounded the corner, I saw it. The night made it difficult to make out many of the ship’s features, but the sight of it on the dark water sent a chill down my spine. It was definitely the one I’d seen earlier that day while sitting on my favorite hill.
It was hard to believe how fast everything had changed.
That morning, I had enjoyed a nice breakfast before taking a stroll through Helmfirth. I’d talked to a few people in town—the baker’s son who always had a smile on his freckled face, and also the girl who sold jewelry in the square. Then, I’d taken off to the countryside, loving the beauty of the rolling hills, green grass swaying in the fields, and the newly bloomed flowers.
And now I’m on a pirate ship, having lost everything.
Once we’d boarded, I stood out of the way as the men jumped to action. One yelled something to the other, and then more rushed to obey the shouted orders. There was a flurry of activity around me.
I didn’t know what to do and struggled to breathe. I hugged my lute tighter, turning my head as men ran by me. One bumped into me, and I stumbled before catching myself on the wooden rail, nearly toppling overboard.
“You.” Someone grabbed my arm and flipped me around. He had long dark hair, and I recognized him as one of the men from the tavern. “Come with me.”
I looked around for the captain and saw him walking toward the stern of the ship. He opened a door and went inside without so much as a glance behind him.
“Forget about that one, lad,” the man said.
“What do you mean?”
“Cap’n Flynn has a dark reputation for a reason,” he answered before walking forward. I followed. “It’s best not to get on his bad side, if ya know what’s good for ya. Now come with me, and I’ll show ya where you’ll be stayin’.”
Captain Flynn. For some reason, I’d been expecting a harsher name.
“Name’s Kristoff by the way, but people call me Kris.” He walked below deck, and I took the stairs behind him. The ship was anchored, but I could still feel the gentle rocking of the water. Never having been on a ship before, I was nervous. “I’m the quartermaster on theCrimson.”
I nodded as he explained the duties on the ship.
Every man had a place—a role—and if he had no useful skills, he was made a swab. Mopping the deck and doing the cleaning didn’t bother me and wasn’t much different than what I’d done at the tavern. Some people might’ve seen it as a lowly positon, but work was work in my opinion.
We walked past the crew’s sleeping quarters. There were bunks scattered throughout, and I feared I’d be sleeping amongst the men. It only made sense for me to, but it made me uneasy nonetheless. I didn’t like the way they looked at me, as if I was a plaything on a string. But we kept walking.
After we’d passed through a small doorway, Kris stopped. “You’ll be sleepin’ here for the time being. Not sure why the cap’n told me to separate ya from everyone, but it’s his orders and I don’t question him.”
The room had a few crates, but for the most part, it was empty. A hammock hung in the corner, and from the coating of dust, I figured it hadn’t been used in a while. For being a prisoner of sorts, it wasn’t the worst possible place to stay.
“Thank you,” I said, turning back to him.
Kris tilted his head and gave me an inquisitive look. “I can see it in yer eyes that you have a kind soul.” The tone of his voice made that sound like a bad thing, though. “To survive on this ship, you’ll need to harden yourself to the world. Not just with men on this crew, but out there. When ya agreed to join the crew, you signed yer life away.”
He left then, leaving me staring after him as cold fear crept up my spine.
Trying not to focus too much on his warning, I smacked the hammock a few times to clear some of the dust before reclining back on it. The rocking of the ship only added to the swaying of the fabric. I looked at the small lamp hanging on the hook, the one that gave me the only light in the otherwise dark room. The flame danced, and I watched it. I was exhausted from the long, emotional day and my eyes grew heavy.
Just as I was falling asleep, I felt a jolt of the ship. We must be moving now. The thought was bittersweet. I was leaving behind the only life I’d ever known and was venturing into the unknown. Fear coiled in my gut.
Closing my eyes, I pictured my favorite tree; the way the branches swayed in the breeze and how I’d sit beneath it, overlooking the water and wondering what waited beyond what I could see.
With the leaving of the ship from Helmfirth, I’d never see that tree again, nor the mountains around it. With every second that passed, I was getting farther from home.
As tears began to fall from my eyes, I wiped them away and cleared my throat. Kris had spoken of dangers that waited for us out in the world. I wondered what he’d meant. With my eyes still shut, I pictured blood and death. Chaos. I had wanted adventure and more than what my life had offered, but now I feared the change. The uncertainty of every day.
