Well Seafox, you convinced me. I figured I tormented you for a month, I could give you an extra chapter this weekend. Cause, you know, I'm just nice that way. (No 8th level for me Del!). Oh, and we can all blame Luckie for keeping me up till 5 in the morning to type this. So mates, as a treat, I give you...
Rescue
Kat and Lawrence just stared at the sandy haired man that had just barked at them. He glared at them through the dirtied bars of the cage. “Well, c’mon you pirates, are you going to help a bloke out or what?”
Kat moved a little closer to the man. “Why should we?” she asked cautiously.
The man met her eyes with a level stare, but they were cold. “I can help you out aboard that miniature ship of yours,” he said silkily. “You think I didn’t hear them laughing at you up there, about the fishing dingy that was attacking them?” Kat flinched at the word
dingy, but the man didn’t see. “If it’s only the two of you, you’re going to need a whole lot more help with whatever you think you’re doing. Besides, I’m obviously not Navy.”
Kat leveled him up. He looked strong and perhaps a little sea worn. This man was not new to the roughness of the seas.
She was opening her mouth to say something, but Lawrence beat her. “Kat!” he said sharply. She turned to see him with his arms crossed, glaring at the jailed man. He motioned her to him with a flick of his head.
“What?” she asked him.
He glanced back at the man before turning his green gaze on her. “You can’t seriously be considering his offer, can you?” he whispered as if she was mad.
“Well, why shouldn’t I?” she whispered back. “Are you saying you wouldn’t appreciate an extra hand, especially with those torn sails?”
“Why is he in jail if he hasn’t done something wrong, Kat? Did you think of that?” he shot back.
Kat glared at him. “You should know by now that the Navy isn’t exactly fair,
Mcrage,” she said pointedly. “This is a place for second chances, and I plan to give him one.” She stepped out of the shadows and back towards the cell.
“What be your name, mate?” she asked the barred man.
“Solomon… Sharkfury,” he told her. There was a touch of hesitation in his voice as he gave his name. Kat noted it, but she ignored it for now.
She put her hand through the bars. “Good to meet you, Solomon.” He grasped the hand strongly, but again, there was something behind it. It was wary. She would have to remember that later.
“Well, shall we get you out of here then?” she said. She examined the door and the lock carefully, then let out a short laugh. “They never do learn,” she muttered. She took a wooden bar – probably from a broken cargo box – pushed it through the holes of the cell door, and popped the door off.
“Well, that was simple enough,” Solomon said, walking out. “There’s some weapons right above us: Bayonets, swords, pistols and such. I’m assuming you’ll be wanting some?”
“Aye!” Kat said heartily. Her and Solomon ran up the stairs while Lawrence followed grudgingly behind.
Kat pried open a box with her cutlass, finding all kinds of naval swords, shining up at her. She picked up one and unsheathed it. “Not a bad blade,” she muttered. She placed the strap over her shoulder for possible use later. Solomon was over at another crate, taking out a bayonet that he slung over his shoulder.
Lawrence came to Kat’s shoulder to look at the swords as well. “Look at these, Lawrence!” she said excitedly. “Think of how we could use these! We could sell them to pirates at Tortuga, or resell to the Navy, or even keep them in storage for ourselves!”
“Aye,” Lawrence muttered, not really listening. He moved to the smaller box next to the swords. The top slid off easily to reveal dozens of small throwing knives. He grinned and picked up a few. They definitely had to take these weapons.
A crash and a rumbling came from above. Three heads snapped up. “I think those soldiers finally broke through,” Kat muttered. She unsheathed her sword and heard Lawrence do the same. Solomon moved to the box of swords and threw one over his shoulder, then readied his bayonet. They waited as the thumping of boots grew louder and closer.
The two Navy soldiers burst down the stairs. Their faces were menacing, but they recoiled at the sight of Solomon. “You escaped!” one of them cried.
“Thank you for that observation,” Solomon said sarcastically. He raised the bayonet up to eye level. “Now, are you going to let us pass, or are you going to get shot?”
The soldiers raised their hands and dropped their weapons. Kat walked behind them and pointed her sword at one’s back. “We’re going to need you to do a little something for us…”
The group made the soldiers load the weapons they wanted into a small life boat, along with a few other valuables. Solomon had laughed at the
Wolf. “
That is your ship?!” he had thundered with laughter. “It’s a wonder you’re still afloat!”
Kat glared at him. “You can go back into the brig if you’d like.” That shut him up quick.
With the supplies loaded, they sent the soldiers back to their ship. Most of the Navy men weren’t dead (Kat didn’t need any more faces on her conscience), but they would have a hard time putting that fiery mess of a ship back together.
The now group of three escaped as fast as they could from the Navy, but their torn sails were a hindrance. It was just a good thing that the other ship was in no shape to follow. They sailed west for a while until the red and white sails were less than specks in the distance.
When they felt as if they were safe, they stopped to take the sails down and examine them. They had been dealt a bad hand by the Navy’s cannonballs. Kat just felt they were lucky that the mast hadn’t been taken down with the way the sails were.
“Lawrence, go get the needles and thread,” she said with a sigh. “We’ll have to sew them up the best we can until we get to port. Unfortunately, we’ll have to dock a lot sooner than I thought.” She rubbed her hand wearily over her eyes as Lawrence went for the supplies. “Solomon, help me get those sails down. This may take a while.”
They spent the rest of the daylight slowly stitching the sails back together, but they still didn’t finish. Kat didn’t want to risk trying to fix them by the light of lanterns or even the moon, so as the sun set, they put the sails back up. Kat went into her cabin to make some supper while the men did that. It was odd making it for three, rather than two or one. Perhaps the sails were a blessing in disguise, she thought. They didn’t really have enough food to supply three people for months at a time.
She called Lawrence and Solomon in when she finished cooking. Lawrence walked in behind Solomon, and Kat noticed his posture. He wasn’t comfortable around the new man. She couldn’t really blame him, but she’d have to find a way to talk to him later.
Solomon wolfed down the food placed in front of him. Kat frowned. “When was the last time you ate, mate?” she asked worriedly.
Solomon glared down at his empty metal plate. “Four days, maybe five,” he grumbled. “They didn’t really care about me down there.”
“Pompous little…” she muttered. She pushed her plate over to him. “Eat,” she commanded him.
He looked down at the plate and hesitated. Kat looked at him pointedly, so he began eating some more. She smiled in satisfaction. “You keep eating. Lawrence, come help me find a place for him to sleep.” She rose from the tiny table and motioned for Lawrence to follow.
The two walked down into the hold. Kat began rummaging through the supplies, looking for something to use.
“Go easy, Lawrence,” she said with her head inside a box. She grumbled in frustration and closed it, moving on to the next crate. “He really hasn’t done anything you know. Not that we can punish him for at least.”
Lawrence crossed his arms with a frown. “He was locked up in the brig of a Navy ship, Kat. Why should I trust him?”
Kat rolled her eyes. “Lawrence, we’ve both been there. Being jailed doesn’t automatically equate to untrustworthy.” She rummaged through the box, but again found nothing. The lid of the box fell back on with a thump, and a thin layer of dust billowed. She moved to yet another box.
“Kat, I just don’t think it’s good to immediately trust him,” Lawrence argued. Kat sighed and moved some things in the crate aside, still looking for a sheet or something.
“Ow!” she gasped. Lawrence was at her side immediately. She looked at her arm, where an angry gash had appeared from a loose nail.
Lawrence took her arm gently. “Let me see that,” he murmured. He took a strip of cloth from a pocket and gently wrapped her arm in it.
“Thank you,” she all but whispered. Lawrence merely nodded.
She looked up at the young man. “Look, Lawrence,” she said softly. He looked up at her with those blazing green eyes. She couldn’t help but lose her breath for a moment. “I trust you, and you trust me, right?” He nodded. “Then just trust me on this, ok? He’s just a lost soul. You don’t have to trust him right away, but at least accept him.”
He glanced down at the bandage to tie it off, then back at her eyes. “Alright, I can do that.”
Kat smiled at him. “Good.” She grabbed a blanket from the still open box. Her throat cleared lightly. “I’m going to go set up a place for Solomon.” She nodded goodbye, then turned away and went back up on deck, leaving Lawrence in the darkness.
So, there's that for you mates. As always, I love your reviews, but they're not necessarily necessary.
Much thanks for those mates.
I also want to thank KeeperoftheCode for the use of his character, Solomon Sharkfury. I'll be doing my best to capture the essence of him mate.
Really quick, mostly because I don't want to make a brand new thread or blog... Some of you may have heard me ranting about an audition I had for a school play last week. Well, I went for call backs on Friday. Through the entire thing, I was thinking, "Oh wow, these people are so much better than me, I'm not getting a part." Well, I suppose my predictions fail.
I got a part in my school play! So, you may not see me on quite as much mates, but I'll still be here. I'm too addicted to this thing to completely leave, haha.
Well, that's it. Next chapter should be posted on Thursday, per usual. Thanks for reading!
-Kat Crestshot