It’s Hook. He won’t let Calico Jack steal his prize. For some reason, a single thread of relief sews through me. Hook at least took me to Huran for treatment. He didn’t try to … I glance at the bed, then tear my gaze away. Maybe that saying “better the devil you know” applies in this situation.
More yelling comes from the Ranger, but the Jolly Roger slices silently through the water, its lights glimmering in the mist.
Heavy footsteps sound overhead, and then I hear Calico Jack above me.
“He’s coming on fast. Too goddamn fast! Hard starboard!”
Someone yells back at him, “That’ll take us too close to the whirlpool!”
“I said hard starboard, Guernsy! Disobey me, and I’ll spill your guts on the deck!”
“Aye, Captain!” The ship veers hard, and I scrabble to hang onto the windowsill. I don’t. Instead, I go tumbling onto the wooden floor and slide hard up against the base of the bed.
With a cry, I climb away from it, the floor at a harsh angle as the ship turns. Everything in the room stays put, but the dark lantern overhead hangs sideways. I stay on the floor as the ship maintains its perilous tilt. After what feels like an hour but is probably only a minute, the ship begins to even out again.
Now I hear the hiss of the sea, the water rushing against the timber as Calico Jack orders his pirates around on deck.
There’s fear in his voice.
Good.
I want him to be afraid.
I get to my knees and crawl to the door. Right when I get there, my stomach lurches.
I realize I’m going to be sick as I reach for the knob, then make a last-second decision and scramble back to the bed.
My stomach lets loose, tossing up everything it has as I aim right for Calico Jack’s nasty yellowed pillow. When I can finally breathe again, I spit what’s left on his bed, admire my handiwork for only a moment, then return to the door.
The ship is back to rights now, and I can feel its movement. We’re speeding through the water. But I still see the lights through the mist, the lanterns that promise a brief reprieve at the hands of Captain Hook. A laughable thought.
I grip the doorknob and turn it slowly. Cracking the door open, I realize I shouldn’t worry too much about stealth. The pirates are dashing around and yanking on ropes, turning cranks, and staring at the water both ahead and behind. They pay me no mind. The sails are full and tight, the wind pushing us ahead at a reckless pace.
The captain is above me shouting orders, and I ease out and peek up at him. The ship’s wheel is on the top deck above the captain’s quarters. He’s got a death grip on it, his eyes straight ahead, though I don’t know what he sees through the mist. It’s thick and swirling. We could be heading right for an iceberg, and we’d never know it. My stomach threatens to empty again, and I swallow hard, fighting off the nausea as best I can.
A pirate runs past, then scales the mast ahead of me. He moves easily up it, grabbing the ropes and bits of grip until he’s at the very top. Hanging onto it, he leans out and looks ahead.
“We’re too close, Captain!” His yell is barely audible over the sound of the ocean and the wind in the sails. “It’ll swallow us!”
“He won’t take this from me!” The captain yells back. “James Hook can bugger himself right in his own asshole before I’ll give him the girl!”
I don’t dare look up at Calico Jack again, but the ship doesn’t change direction. We’re still hurtling straight ahead toward whatever the guy up the mast is worried about. Wait, didn’t someone yell something about a whirlpool earlier? The blood drains from my face, and I grip the door hard as I try to peer into the fog. I remember a whirlpool on Hook’s maps. Is that where we’re headed? If the map was accurate, then the whirlpool is enormous. Plenty big enough to destroy this ship.
“Captain!” The man on the mast is almost screaming now. “Captain, please!”
A shot goes off.
I jump back inside the doorframe as the pirate falls to the deck right in front of me.
He lands all wrong, his legs twisted and his face down. My gorge rises again, and I dry heave.
“If any more of you decide to go yellow on me, you’ll meet the same fate!” Calico Jack yells.
No one comes to check on the dead man. The others just keep working as if their captain didn’t just murder a man.
“If Hook gets ahold of us, you’ll wish I did you the same!” Calico Jack adds. “Guernsy, is the powder ready? Where the fuck is Guernsy?”
“He’s below, Captain. Cannons are ready,” one of the men yells.
