Ahoy mates! I'm going to post this really quick because I won't get home till late tonight. I'll add all of my little side comments later!
Flee!
The group spent the night on their ship before starting the hard work of the next day. They headed to Darby Drydock’s to get the sails. He granted them the supplies and a small team of people to assist them (for a fee of course). Kat went in the boat with Darby’s team, many of which kept glancing at her nervously, leaving Lawrence and Solomon to take the sails.
The crew worked all through the day, making sure the sails were set up properly, as well as providing minor ship repairs that Kat hadn’t taken care of in Tortuga. At the end of the day, the Cutthroat Wolf had gleaming white sails, and there were fewer holes in various parts of the hull. Kat had a time of getting one of Darby’s men from investigating their cargo or wandering through her cabin, but by the end of the day, she was relatively stress free.
They spent another night at Josie’s tavern, just enjoying themselves. Solomon seemed to open up a little more, and Kat couldn’t help but smile at his activity.
There was a sudden pounding at the door of the tavern. “Open up, it’s the Navy!”
Four pairs of eyes widened. “Kat, all of you get up to your room! Get out through the window!” Josie said in a terrified whisper. Kat hesitated, then grabbed Lawrence and Solomon and fled from the main room and up the staircase.
Kat paused at the top of the stairs, to the dismay of Solomon. “Kat, let’s go!” he whispered sharply. She just waved him off. “Kat, I’m not overly fond of nooses! Let’s go!” he urged.
Kat whirled on him with narrowed eyes. “Josie is my friend, and I’m going to make sure she’s safe, so shut up! The room is right there if you want to get out!” she turned back to the stairwell to listen to the going-ons downstairs.
“Good evening gentlemen,” Josie said politely. “Coming in for a drink?”
Kat could practically see the glare of the Navy soldier as he said, “We are here strictly on business ma’m. There was a report filed by a shipwright that you are housing pirates.”
“I can assure you, sir, I am not housing pirates here,” she said in an affronted voice. “Do you believe I would go against the law like that?”
The soldier paused, and then said, “If you don’t mind, we’ll just come inside and search ourselves.” There were thumps that Kat assumed were the Navy soldiers pushing their way through the door.
Kat turned to the men behind her. “Go! Out the window!” she ordered. Solomon bounded out, landing on a ledge just outside of it and then landed hard on the ground. Kat watched him just long enough to see him sprint to their dingy on the beach.
Lawrence turned to Kat. “I don’t want to leave Josie alone, Kat!” he whispered.
“It will be better for her if we’re not found. Now go!” she said, pushing him towards the window. He grimaced, then leaped out after Solomon.
Kat took a moment to open a loose floorboard under the bed and grab a small shoulder bag. She hooked it on, gave a worried glance backwards, and then fell out of the window after the other two.
The ground came towards her quickly, but she landed catlike on the balls of her feet. She ran into the shadows underneath an awning, but stayed a moment to watch the window. A faint light appeared where she had just fallen from and the cold face of a Navy soldier flickered in the candlelight.
“What did I tell you?” she heard Josie yell. “There’s nobody here but Job passed out in room 3!”
The soldier scanned the area outside carefully and Kat shrunk further into the shadows. She apparently hid herself well, because the soldier moved from the window. “Alright men, move out!” he barked. Kat grinned and ran to the dingy where Lawrence and Solomon were waiting.
“Where were you?” Solomon asked crossly, already in the boat. Lawrence just looked relieved to see her. He helped her push the dingy off the shore. They leaped in, and Lawrence took the oars to row them out to the ship.
“I couldn’t really escape with that commander staring out of the window,” Kat said sharply, responding to Solomon’s question. He just grumbled and turned away.
They got to the ship and made haste to set sail. Kat thanked god they had put the new sails up that day. Solomon worked to raise the anchor as Kat and Lawrence released the sails. He continued to make sure the sails were set as Kat took the wheel, steering them away from Port Royal and hoped nobody saw the pearly white sails.
“Let’s hope none of those soldiers wise up and follow us,” Kat said to the men. She pointedly travelled east rather than west, which would have passed them under the fort.
The group sailed in complete silence until Port Royal was lost in the depths of the night. “Alright Solomon, speak up. What’s your story?” Kat finally asked, breaking through the quiet.
Solomon raised an eyebrow. “You really want to know?” Kat nodded. Solomon sighed. “Very well. First, though, what’s in the bag?”
Kat glanced at the bag still slung over her shoulder and grinned. “Rum, of course.”
Thanks for reading!
-Kat Crestshot