a pirate invasion: part 1
I hated sailing.
Oh here it comes again. I rushed to the wooden side and tried not to hurl my scrawny frame overboard as I puked violently.
“You alright, son?” A gruff voice to the left of me asked.
“Yeah… maybe.” I muttered. Sighing and completely drained in all respects, I pulled myself up from over the side and plopped heavily on the ship’s deck. Why, why, why do my guts turn themselves inside out every single time I sail?
Knowing for certain that my face was red and tear-stained, I buried it in between my knees. I didn’t need any questions at the moment.
However any attention I might have captured didn’t last for long, as suddenly a blood curdling scream pierced through the usual murmur and the sound of running footsteps erupted, interlacing with the creaking of the ship and the lapping of the waves.
Startled, I looked up and saw the whole ship was in motion. It was as if someone had thrown a rock at the wasp’s nest and each crew member was now buzzing around furiously. And despite my desperate confused questioning of the sailors rushing by, no one heeded me.
Suddenly, I was pulled forcefully backward by the shoulders into the cabins and a voice hissed in my ear, “Stay here and don’t come back up until you’re told.”
I flipped around and seized his arm as he walked out. “Why, what’s wrong? What’s going on?”
Captain Blake’s eyes were solemn and his mouth was tight. “It’s her. One of her ships was sighted in the forefront. She’ll be on us in a matter of minutes.”
My mind was frantically jumping between terrors. “Who? What do you mean?”
“The Lady.”
My heart sank. I had only heard stories about her, most of which I had thought were fictional, if I was being completely honest. She seemed more like a nightmare than an actual living breathing human.
Blake was already turning away from me again when I asked feebly, “Will… will everyone be alright?”
I saw his breath catch in his chest. “I don’t know. We prepare for the worst. So you must stay here.”
“But I have to do something!” I exclaimed indignant.
He turned and stared at me for a moment with an unrecognizable look in his eyes, and then started to laugh. “You, my dear, are one of the most inconceivable women I’ve ever met. Perhaps only second to our lovely Lady. But,” he said, pointing at me with no trace of amusement left in his face, “that means absolutely nothing when it comes to allowing you to participate in fending off a pirate. Stay in this room where you’ll be out of the way and out of trouble. I will come get you if I’m still alive.”
With these last commands, he turned and left, closing the door firmly behind him.
Having no way of disobeying his orders, I sighed heavily, adjusted my cap, and waited.
~dys [This is part one of a story that is unfinished, but I think it'll still be enjoyable, and inspirational in some ways. I wrote the story as a teenager when I didn't think I needed paragraph breaks, so it's been interesting to edit.]