“Last night as probably all of you by now know, we had two of our own … who we at least believed were our fellow sailors, unfortunately, fell well short of the trust and bond we all live by. Last night’s assault on one of our crewmembers by these two miscreants broke the code we all live by. If it weren’t for the timely appearance of a few of us including myself to have come upon the scene of the assault in progress, not only would there have been bloodshed on the beach, but a young village girl would most likely have been viciously raped and sodomized.”
The crew broke out in rancorous noise as angry voices spoke up all across the ship. The fact that the captain had witnessed the assault personally made the accusation foolproof to the crew. This official statement lodged directly at Helmut and Leo, by the captain, was all they needed to believe the two sailors guilty of the charge without question.
None of the sailors were saints, but they did not approve of fellow sailors treating another crewmember with such wicked intention. There was a common code that had been violated, and there had to be punishment for it. It was the code of the sea aboard a ship where all on board stood by each other and depended on each other for safety and welfare. Heinrich had just thrown Helmut and Leo on the precipice of enmity among their fellow crewmembers. Several of the crew began to chant the words, “Down with the scoundrels!” and it was duly picked up by them en masse all over the vessel.
As soon as the crew had been again quieted down, Heinrich instructed the sailors massed down on the main deck to back up toward the bulwarks and leave enough room in the middle of the deck. A half dozen section heads helped to direct the clearing of the middle area at amidships. More men were told to climb the rigging to make room on deck. Additionally, men at the bulwarks climbed on top and stood on the wide railings. In due course, space was cleared off.
No one as yet knew what the captain had in mind, but they were all certain anticipating some sort of punishment was in store for the two wayward sailors momentarily. They didn’t have to wait long as two brawny sailors brought Helmut and Leo on deck. The two had their hands bound together in front of them with rope and were led through the throng of fellow sailors to stand in the middle space nearby one of the topmasts.
Sailors around them barraged and harangued the two with a volley of angry remarks. Some sailors shouted out specific punishments to apply to them. None of the litanies of punishment recommendations from the sailors would be fulfilled however, and the sailors still wondered what their captain had already decided on. The two guilty men stood with hunched shoulders and hung their heads not wanting to meet the eyes of their shipmates. They fully knew they had made the biggest mistake of their lives and would now pay for it. Surrounded, they had no avenue of escape. And escape to where? Even if they somehow miraculously found their way off the ship, they had no idea where to go once on the island. The village was not an option; the village men would pounce on them with sharpened sticks and poles, which they used as weapons. The two somber sailors dreadfully awaited their punishment.
Suddenly Reiner and Otto came walking through the crowd from one side and with them was Klaus. The three walked in tandem to a spot facing Helmut and Leo. The crew fell absolutely silent at the sight before them. What was going on? What did the captain plan to do? Even Helmut and Leo when they looked up to see the three standing to their front were now focused on them with puzzled expressions. Klaus faced the two directly staring at them with fierce hatred. Men began to notice the lad’s hostile attitude and they loudly commented to each other in interest. Klaus started to take his shirt off never taking his stare off the two culprits glancing at him with curious eyes. He handed Reiner his shirt, and as he stood there with his feet shoulder-width apart he was a full head taller than the staunch and stocky Otto and just a hair taller than the dapper Reiner, who everyone looked upon with fearful respect.
The lad’s bare upper half showed the body of a man rippled with muscle. The crew, probably for the first time, saw not a shy young boy that had embarked with them on a long journey from Bremerhaven some time ago, who was quiet, almost mousy in his inhibitions, and always envisioned as the young cabin boy that stood in the captain’s shadow. But instead here was a boy-man that stood erect with a confidence that radiated outward in a whole new light. Most had not seen the changes in Klaus as they had busied themselves in their tasks on the voyage west. Days had turned into weeks and weeks into months. How strange appearances could be and change happens quickly at times as this lad had transitioned from a calm and quiet boy into a tall and strong young man within their very midst. The crew stood fixated.
They now wondered if Klaus had been tasked in giving the two rogue sailors the lash? That must be it. The captain must have decided that since the lad had been assaulted, he now had been handed the opportunity in avenging the wrong that had been done to him.
The silence was interrupted by Heinrich’s commanding voice. “As you know, Klaus has personally been wronged by these two scoundrels. Last night when these two wanted to cause him harm and desecrate the lovely young lady he was with on the beach, he stood up to them with knife in hand in protecting her from being soiled and sodomized. He was ready to do battle without the least concern for his own welfare. He will now get his chance to exact some justice from these two. Herrs Kleist and Mannheim, see to it that he gets his opportunity.”
“Aye, aye, captain,” Otto replied and told the big sailor holding his place beside Helmut to move the man to one side away of the middle space. The sailor grabbed Helmut by the upper arm and pulled him roughly along to one side to stand near where other crewmen were aligned at the bulwark railing. To the other sailor watching over Leo, Otto said, “Untie his hands and leave him standing where he is.” The sailor using his work knife slit the rope through and stepped away.
“Now you miserable excuse for a sailor,” Otto barked out, “let’s see how brave you are now facing a grown lad by yourself without a weapon.” To Klaus, he said, “He’s all yours, lad. Just don’t allow him to bite you; you may get infected with rabies.”
The crew probably would have laughed at Otto’s remark if it wasn’t for the fact that they were all stunned now knowing that the captain was allowing Klaus to brawl it out with the two sailors even though they made sure it was done one on one. Almost to a man, the sailors did not believe this was a sound idea for they felt Klaus was at a clear disadvantage being so young, going up against the likes of grown men who were well accustomed to barroom fights over the years. Many of them were shaking their heads in disbelief at what was going to take place. To them, this was not fair at all. But the captain had decided, and there was absolutely nothing any of them could do about it; except possibly pray for Klaus, but not many of them were the praying type.
Before stepping back, Reiner turned to Klaus and whispered something in his ear, then moved aside. If the crew was dumbfounded, Leo was doubly so. He cut a half-toothless grin at Klaus as he rubbed his hands and palms together now that the rope was off. The sailor thought it was surely a joke if this was the punishment dispensed for his foul deed. He began to move in a slow circle around the big lad staring menacingly at him. He may be big and strong, but with no brawling experience to speak of, Leo’s mind assured himself, and he grinned with satisfaction to get a chance to clobber the kid. With but a few feet separating the two, Leo charged with remarkable speed and struck out at Klaus’s face trying to jab a thumb into an eye socket. The thumb missed its mark and landed on the forehead instead. A lighting quick counter punch by Klaus landed squarely on Leo’s chin while still in forward momentum and shook his timbers to the bone sending him a few paces back. A sudden loud cheer went up from the crowd around them. Leo was stunned momentarily by the power of the blow. Klaus followed the punch in and drove a right cross to the man’s chest driving Leo into the nearest mast pole, bouncing off it and making him rethink his strategy. He quickly moved away out of range shaking the numbness of the punches off. Klaus kept moving left to right not giving Leo an easy
target. His footwork was steady and skillful as he was working to get Leo boxed in. Leo was lean giving up pounds in weight to Klaus’s advantage, but he still figured he had some tricks up his sleeve to cash in against the lad’s inexperience – at least he thought so.
“Put him down hard, Klaus!” sailors were yelling. “Knock him senseless, lad!”
Leo kept circling left to right, trying hard to keep away from the young chap’s powerful punches. He feigned a few punches of his own to confuse the boy as he searched for an opening through Klaus’s defense. Once in a while Leo would jump in and swing roundhouses that Klaus easily sidestepped. Klaus feigned a jab suddenly, and as Leo threw up arms to block it, Klaus drove another right straight to the man’s midsection and connecting. The punch was delivered with strength, and Leo almost buckled under as the fist struck his body and drove him further back. They both began circling each other around the mast. Leo then feigned a left and right and kicked out with his right foot that caught Klaus unexpectedly in the ribs. It hit solidly and hurt him as he tried covering up. Seeing his chance, Leo, jumped inside and using both hands, tried to poke and scratch at the eyes. He was somewhat successful as a few fingertips found the lad’s left eye socket and made contact with the eyeball, sending Klaus stumbling backward in pain and using one hand to rub at his eye. Leo shrewdly didn’t let up and stayed on the offensive punching and kicking like a wildcat at anything he could come in contact with as Klaus was still reeling from the pain in his eye. Leo was now all over him continuing his attack, hitting him with fists, elbows, feet, and knees as he drove them all into Klaus who seemed at the moment completely overwhelmed. Klaus found that Leo was faster and quicker than he had first assumed. Trying desperately to avoid more contact by rapidly stepping to one side, he stumbled and fell to the deck. Sensing victory, Leo stepped in and continued the beating with punches and kicks. Grunting with each exertion as he struck out, Leo kept his attack up, but now wondering how long he could keep doing it before he would run out of breath. On the other hand, Klaus was wondering how much more he could take before he would pass out. Everything around him was a blur. His mind was now screaming for the blows and kicks to stop, but they kept coming and landing.
The entire crew including Heinrich was now appalled at the scene. They were all shouting support for Klaus and screaming for him to escape the pounding he was getting. Many feared that Klaus was done for. How could he not be done for after so many vicious strikes had landed? Others were still thinking what a dumb decision it was to stage this fight between a man and a boy. What was the captain thinking? Every punch and kick that Leo was now landing seemed to be felt by the rest of the crew as it pained them to no end witnessing the onslaught.
With their focus concentrated on Klaus and Leo, no one saw Helmut as he too was screaming and shouting in excitement watching the one-sided affair. With a mouth empty of half his teeth, he was thoroughly exulting in the beating of Klaus.
Amidst the battering Klaus was taking, a different thought pushed its way forward. It was of Liza sobbing in the crook of his neck. His heart throbbed, or was it just the pain of the beating? He could not bear the sadness of her despair, and he felt anger building and rising within him. No one had the right to hurt her. With a determined will exploding within, he rolled to one side and pushed off the deck with both hands, and came back to his feet. He was free from the punishing attack that would have surely finished him off. A thunderous roar from all around him sounded as the crew went crazy with jubilation seeing Klaus escape Leo’s trouncing. Anticipating his foe to come charging at him, Klaus crouched into a defensive stance, fists up in front of his face. Nothing happened. His blurry vision was clearing up, and he saw Leo bent over a few feet away with hands on his knees panting incessantly.
Klaus took a step forward cautiously checking his ability to maneuver. Leo saw the movement and with whatever energy he had mustered, charged the lad head on. Klaus struck out a fist straight forward expecting it to land as the sailor came at him. All he punched was air as Leo had ducked under it and came up swinging. Again, fists and kicks landed everywhere on him while trying his best to fend off the blows. ‘Move you, idiot,’ his brain shouted out. ‘Do something other than just letting him have his way with you.’
He bent down at the waist covering his head, and the blows kept coming. He sidestepped and again was pummeled by fists and elbows. ‘This was insane,’ his brain screamed with more intensity. He then spun to one side, quickly sidestepped and looked for his opponent to follow. It worked; the move took him away from the attack. He again saw Leo collecting his breath.
Shaking his head to help clear his senses, he waited another moment to gather himself. ‘Think, don’t just react. What have you learned against a single opponent’…, came the words of what Reiner spoke into his ear before the fight. His mind flashed back to the man-to-man combat tactics over the last few weeks.
Leo turned to face him. Klaus shook his arms out to keep them limber and began to approach carefully while moving in a circular motion. One eye was swollen shut and his body ached all over from the punishment taken. He watched intently as the sailor gradually closed the distance between them. As they faced off within a couple of paces between them, Leo unleashed again and sprang straight for Klaus as he had before with the same technique. With a raspy snarl of some wild animal, Leo attacked. Klaus sidestepped successfully this time and struck out with a foot to Leo’s lower legs tripping him up, sending him to the deck with a loud thump. Blustering yells and howls flew from the decks by crewmen sounding their satisfaction. Without hesitating, Klaus flung himself at the man still lying on the deck who was trying to push himself up. It was now Klaus who swung a kick and impacted with a solid thud into Leo’s upper rib cage causing him to grunt in pain. Temporarily stunned, Klaus took the initiative and threw a wicked punch into the side of the man’s head splitting the ear with a massive, resounding clap. Then another power punch to the nose, breaking it.
Nerves shocked from the intensity of the blows, Leo couldn’t respond just yet until the effects wore off, which unfortunately for him would take way too much time; time he didn’t have. Klaus now stood over him, bent down and grabbed the man; one hand clamped his long hair, while the other slipped between the legs and bodily lifted him with a strength of a bull to chest high. Then with a grunt, he raised him entirely above his head, turned halfway around facing the mast, he took one step toward it and hurled Leo’s body against the thick wooden pole. Leo’s back hit the pole with a sickening snap. The cracking sound of bones breaking riveted the massed crew of the See Wolf into stark silence as they stood looking aghast at the unmoving broken body at the base of the mast. It was as if the entire ship had been cast a spell and no one moved – no one made a sound; so chilling was the scene before them. Klaus stood over the still body of Leo like a Roman gladiator as a sweaty sheen glistened off his skin in the sunlight and splotches of blood marred his face and chest. The lad stood with legs apart, fists clenched at his side, lips pressed together in raging enmity over his prey. Doc Siegfried hustled over and checked Leo; it didn’t take long. Siegfried looked up towards Heinrich’s direction, caught his eye and shook his head slightly indicating solemnly that Leo was no more. Then he looked around at Otto and stared at the man for a moment in some way asking, what now and why?
Otto barked out a command for a couple of sailors nearby to pick up the body and to bring it alongside a bulwark for the time being. The two sailors rushed over picking up the lifeless body and carried it away. Reiner stepped up to Klaus and spoke to the young man in whispers, with Klaus nodding occasionally. Heinrich still standing on the pulpit platform on top of the afterdeck housing now watched the scene with uneasy thoughts. He was not concerned about Klaus’s physical state. The lad could certainly take a load of punishment. Leo had given him a wicked beating. He was thinking more about the lad’s mental state being the center player of this raw brutality. Had he been wrong in putting the lad up to this? He decided he must keep a
close eye on Klaus in the weeks to come. The apparent end of Leo’s life was taken with a grain of subdued empathy. No one would celebrate the end result, and yet no one would be grieving either. It was one of the consequences of violence. Some combatants prevailed, while some die as a result. Heinrich believed that the demise of the guilty sailor was the bitter consequence of his own doing.
Reiner left Klaus and gave a nod to Otto who waited on the side to continue. Before doing so, Otto turned his head toward Heinrich leveling an intense stare. Heinrich sensed right away that Otto was questioning the logic to continue after Leo’s death. Heinrich turned his head away to one side signaling that he was not stopping the game plan. Otto’s face turned into a scowl in reaction, and he whirled his head around giving full attention to Helmut. He motioned to the sailor guarding Helmut signaling to bring the man forth. The sailor pushed Helmut to the open fighting space. No one knew what was going through Helmut’s mind after witnessing his mate’s unfortunate demise? The brawny sailor cut the rope that tied Helmut’s hands and left him standing alone. The next battle was ready to commence. Klaus wiped his face with a wet washcloth and quietly stood readying for his new opponent, his chest rhythmically heaving taking in air. Helmut was taller and slightly bigger man than Leo. Klaus cautiously measured him as they looked at each other across the short chasm of space. If Helmut was scared, he didn’t show it. Seeing Klaus staring at him, he glared right back with a look that gave away nothing, but hate. Helmut stretched a bit, cracking his knuckles. He then took time to glance around at his fellow crewmates with a scowl slowly that most likely questioned their relationship together and now here he found himself sequestered on deck to face his due justice.
Surprising everyone, he shouted out, “I hope all ya mates aren’t ta disappointed wid da amusement here today. We’ve known each otha fo sum time an thought we had a better personal bond than what I am seeing here dis morning. Ya blood thirst I see exceeds our friendship. I hope ya are all proud ah yourselves.”
Winds of Fury Page 42