With that, he left me sitting alone on the table. I returned to the cabin, red-faced and irritable. Smashing my face into my pillow, I hoped the next morning would come fast, and wash the previous day from my mind.
I’d barely closed my eyes though before I was being shaken awake by the sudden lurching of the ship. I screamed, clinging to the side of my bunk as the room went almost vertical. I felt weightless for a long terrifying moment, before crashing back down onto the mattress. The sound of the hull meeting the ocean again was almost deafening, followed by the sound of water showering down onto the deck.
Outside the cabin, I could hear the sounds of dozens of hooved feet stampeding through, voices yelling. One booming voice roared for someone to get the captain, though it was unlikely anyone on the ship could have failed to notice their vessel almost capsizing out of nowhere.
A fist banged on our door. “Are you alright in there?”
“Y… yes!” I called breathlessly. “We’re fine.”
I crawled gingerly out of my bunk. The floor seemed to be stable again and the ship was no longer lurching. In fact, it was completely silent, the ever-present rumbling of the engines gone and only silence in their wake.
“Risk?” I called, reaching up to tap the raised side of the top bunk. “You ok?”
“Yeah,” he replied, in a much gravellier voice than usual.
“You sure?” I asked, standing on my tip toes to try and peek into the top bunk.
“I’m fine!” he growled and in a flash he was buried completely by his sheets. “Just, give me a minute.”
I backed off, and took the opportunity to pull on my dressing gown and a pair of shoes. Just as I was finishing with the laces, Risk stepped off the bunk, landing with a thud. He was wearing a thick traveling cloak with a hood that concealed his face.
“Where did you get that?”
“Now’s not the time. Come on.”
It was chaos up on deck. Half-dressed crew members were rushing around, trying to unfurl the sails and there were great plumes of smoke billowing out from the ship’s stern.
I surveyed the damaged with wide eyes. What had happened?
Risk grabbed one of the crew by the elbow as they ran passed with a bucket of water. “We hit something?”
“Something hit us!”
I stumbled suddenly as the deck listed sideways again and Risk just barely caught me before I fell. The sound of roaring, rushing water was coming from the ocean around us, rising in volume until it was almost drowning out all the shouting going on, on deck.
“Off the port side!” Someone screamed.
A hole had appeared in the previously calm sea, the water around it swirling inwards to fill the suddenly gaping space, growing larger every second. The ship was caught at its edge and was beginning to slide down towards the watery maw.
Suddenly the centre of the whirlpool blossomed upwards, like the head of a mushroom, sending strong waves out in every direction. They hit the side of the crippled ship, sending it lurching at a diagonal, rocking violently.
The deck around me erupted with fresh screams as everyone tried to grab onto something for safety. Some weren’t so lucky, and as Risk pulled me back, I saw several flailing bodies vanish over the side.
“Man overboard!” screamed the lookout, clinging to the railing of his crow’s nest above us. “Souls off the starboard side!”
The moment the ship righted itself, someone ran to throw life rings over the railing, but there was nothing to see. The crewmembers that had fallen had already been lost beneath the waves.
Risk grabbed some rope from the deck as soon as he could stand, looping it around my waist and strapping me to the ship’s railing. “Don’t move,” he ordered, before rushing off.
How could I?
My feet left the ground as the ship lurched again but the rope kept me from falling, even if it did knock the wind out of me.
With a great ‘whomp!’ the sails unfurled over my head, wrenching the ship forward as they caught the wind. I could just make out the oily man, and a light grey-haired minotaur at the helm, wrestling with the wheel as they tried to get the ship turned away from the growing whirlpool.
“All hands to the sweeps!” roared the deepest voice I had ever heard.
A giant man had stepped out from below deck. He wore a long gold-trimmed red coat over blue and white striped pyjamas. He walked with a pronounced limp on a wooden right leg, with a metal paw foot.
As he stomped across the deck, he swept a large feathered tri-corner hat onto his head. A head, I noted, that was that of a long-muzzled brown bear. The captain was an Urusi.[7]
The crew snapped to attention in his wake and anyone that didn’t already have their hands full with ropes or wheel, scrambled back below deck, with shouts of ‘Aye Captain.’
The captain went to the helm and took the wheel in a long-clawed paw, holding it easily where the others had been struggling. He spun it confidently, pulling the ship further away from the whirlpool.
A grinding sound of wood on wood rose from the lower decks and I had to bend myself awkwardly in my bonds to see over the railing. All along the side of the ship, long oars were being extended into the water. Once they were all out, they rowed in unison, and I could just hear the barked orders muffled through the decking.
“Sweeps are out, Captain,” reported the oily man, hanging over the edge of the ship.
At first, I thought the man’s belt had come untied, the pale leather flicking around behind him, but quickly realised that what I was looking at was indeed a rat’s tail. The man had merely wrapped it around his waist earlier to keep it out of the way.
“Good,” boomed the Captain. “Status report.”
It wasn’t a question, it was an order.
“Something large hit the back of the ship,” said the grey haired minotaur quickly. “Tore a hole in the upper engine room. We’re lucky the damage wasn’t below the waterline, but both engines are out.”
“Repairs?”
“Possible,” he said. “But it will take time.”
“Right,” said the Captain. “First things first, let’s get out of here, then we can properly survey the damage.” He raised his head to the man in the crow’s nest. “What see you, Mr. Iles?”
“Land, Captain!” replied the man, clinging to the mast for dear life. “Just over the horizon, off the starboard bow!”
The captain spun the wheel again, pointing the ship away from the whirlpool. The sails billowed out, fully inflated, while the rowers below were told to put their backs into it. Slowly but surely the ship pulled away, cresting over the edge of the whirlpool and back into calmer waters. Free from its suction, the ship sped up and everyone on board breathed a sigh of relief.
For all of three seconds.
With the sound of a dying whale call crossed with an orchestra of musical saws, the whirlpool blossomed once more. Except this time it didn’t stop. The water rose higher and higher, until finally it broke revealing a massive serpentine creature. It was covered in deep bluey green scales, and had fiery red eyes and a long mouth full of dagger-like teeth. It roared again, the sound scraping up my spine.
“TO THE CANNONS!” roared the captain, spinning the ship’s wheel and bringing his vessel around to broadside the creature.
A second later there was a series of deafening cracks from the lower decks, before a stream of cannonballs hurtled towards the attacking sea serpent. In a flash the creature dived back beneath the waves, dodging the assault of cannon fire.
Silence fell for a moment, and all that could be heard was the rustle of wind in the sails and the creaking of the deck.
A long dark shadow spread out beneath the ship, crossing underneath the hull before the serpent’s head broke the surface on the other side, rising dozens of feet into the air. It opened its long jaws and blasted a stream of high-pressured water aimed directly at the ship. The jet cut into the deck, sending fragments of wood flying and bending the iron plating with an ear-sp
litting screech.
“FIRE!”
The cannons on the other side of the ship discharged their load, several of them meeting their mark against the serpent’s scaly hide. The creature shrieked in pain, flailing from the force of the impact.
A barbed tail shot out of the water on the other side of the ship and crashed down onto the deck. Planks splintered and the crew members still around were sent flying.
The captain spun the wheel furiously, trying to get the ship out of the way, but the tail was already curling threateningly over the deck.
“It’s going to crush the ship!” squealed the oily man sounding terrified.
“Not mine it won’t!” roared the captain.
Along with the canons, the crew on deck were taking up arms against the creature, drawing swords and pistols in order to protect their ship. The pellets bounced harmlessly off the creature’s scales and the blows of sharpened swords barely grazed it.
The tail swept across the deck, knocking its attackers off their feet. It struck the main mast, which splintered like a toothpick, falling sideways and forcing everyone to dive out of the way or be crushed.
Safe in my position, still tied to the railing, I scanned the sea of chaos looking for Risk. I spied him across the deck, taking cover behind a stack of crates. Bullet casings littered the deck around him, suggesting he’d been firing on the beast himself since the moment it had appeared, though I’d heard no gunshots.
Risk seemed bigger than usual; his shoulders appearing far broader under the cloak he wore, which still hid his face completely. I only knew it was him because of his clothes and how different his gun was to everyone else’s.
The weapon in question was in his lap, and his leather pouch lay open next to him. His shoulders were shaking and his hands were balled into angry fists. Suddenly he punched the deck. Taking the handgun in both hands, he cracked it open at a hinge near the grip, opening it up like a shotgun. Taking a large shell with a metallic orange casing from his bag, he loaded the gun and snapped it closed.
Breathing heavily, he crouched behind the crate, before lunging out into the open and trained his weapon on the creature’s head, just as the beast opened its mouth to spray the deck once again.
“Barrel two,” I heard him say just before he fired.
The handgun went off with the blast of a cannon, but that was nothing compared to the power of its shot. A massive ball of lightning-wrapped fire exploded out the end of the muzzle. It shot across the deck, blowing a perfectly-round hole in the railing, before catching the serpent in its open mouth.
Blood, burnt scales and broken teeth showered the ocean, several clattering onto the deck. The creature gave a wheezing scream before falling sideways. The impact of it hitting the water sent up a colossal wave under the ship, ripping the vessel out of the grips of the serpent’s now lank tail. The ship groaned, jerking this way and that under the power of the water.
There was a loud crash from below deck, like something large and heavy had been pulled free from its anchoring. The ship shuddered and dipped suddenly in the water, before immediately starting to slide to one side.
A second later, several crew members were running up onto deck. “Engine one has come loose, Captain,” one of them shouted. “It’s going to pull us down!”
The wave was still under them, propelling them forward even with the loss of the main mast. The captain spun the wheel one last time with force, pointing the bow in the direction of the shadow on the horizon and locked the rudder.
“With me, Mr. Skeever!” barked the captain, the oily man jumping to comply. “The rest of you: ABANDON SHIP!”
There was pandemonium on deck as the crew abandoned their posts and rushed to the lifeboats. I struggled against the ropes that bound me, pulling at well-tied knots to no avail. The ship was listing violently now, the ocean behind me closer than ever.
Anytime now, I thought desperately, struggling with the rope. Anytime now, Risk!
I scanned the deck once again, looking for him, but he was nowhere to be found. His previous hiding space was empty and it was impossible for me to tell who was who, amongst the commotion. I could hear the lifeboats hitting the water and the repeated calls for all hands to abandon ship.
Suddenly, a shadow was over me making me look up. Finally! But it wasn’t Risk. It was the black-haired minotaur. He met my surprised expression, then tore the ropes from my body with a roar. They came apart like they were made of paper, and before I could even thank him he swept me into his arms and dived off the side, and into the water below.
The ocean hit me like an icy wall, pressing in on me as I tried to hold the breath I hadn’t taken. A moment later we broke the surface and I gulped in a lungful of air, the tears in my eyes washed away by the sea. My head was spinning, I felt sick. Darkness swam in front of my eyes as unconsciousness took me.
Chapter 6:
The Island
The black-haired minotaur walked to shore with me in his arms. I was awake, though just barely, my arms hanging limply at my side. My brain was a mash of sensations, the sound of voices, the cold of the ocean and the warmth of the bull’s arms. I remembered hitting the water, everything going dark and then suddenly we were wading through the hip deep shallows towards the island’s beach.
“Can you stand?” he asked once we were free of the ocean.
“I think so.”
He gently put me down, my bare feet meeting warm sand, lapped by cool water.
I looked around, feeling dazed as I tried to catch my bearings. The island we had landed on seemed pretty large, the golden beach stretching off for an eternity in either direction. Palms and ferns dotted the sand’s edge, and in the distance I could see a mountain peak rising above a jungle canopy.
A row of boats were lined haphazardly along the beach, while the crew were pulling pre-stowed emergency supplies from secret compartments within them so they could set up a makeshift campsite. The bear-like captain was immediately obvious, where he stood speaking with the oily man and the grey-haired minotaur.
“We’ll wait ‘till she settles,” he was saying. “Then we’ll head out to check the damage and bring back more supplies.”
“Aye, Captain,” replied the oily man promptly.
Wait until what settles?
I cast my gaze back out to the ocean, eyes widening at what I saw. The Seacow was there, just beyond the island’s sheltered bay. The serpent’s wave had carried it the entire distance, before it had caught on the reef that surrounded the island, and come to a halt. Listing violently, it looked like it had only been stopped from capsizing completely by the solid rocks now wedged beneath its hull. On one side was the jagged reef, on the other, open ocean.
“You!” snarled a sudden familiar voice, suddenly forcing my attention back to the campsite.
I had never imagined Risk could get so angry. True we had known each other only a short time but he’d always appeared fairly laid back, occasionally sarcastic or frustrated, but never expressing the fury he did now.
“You’re alive!” he said, and through his anger there was relief.
“Yes,” said the minotaur. “Maybe next time you won’t tie her to a sinking ship.”
“Why, you—” growled Risk starting towards him. He was interrupted by a large long-clawed paw slapping down onto his shoulder.
“Captain,” the minotaur acknowledged respectfully.
The captain pulled Risk around and gripped him firmly by both shoulders.
“In my long years, never before have I seen such a display of marksmanship,” he said slowly, as if at a loss for words. I wasn’t used to reading non-human faces, so I could really tell if he was happy or angry about it. “That gun of yours is surely something. Everyone on this ship owes you their lives.”
“Not everyone,” the minotaur grumbled under his breath.
The reality of the situation was slowly starting to occur to me. This minotaur, this man, had actually saved my life.
I bit my lip
and gave a shy smile. “I guess I owe you now as well. Although I admit you did give me a bit of a fright at first.”
“Yeah about that,” he reached up to nervously scratch at the back of his neck. “About that stuff on deck in front of the crew. I was just showing off for the boys. It was just… stupid shit.”
“And below deck?”
“Like I said, I thought you might be sneaking around,” he said. “Shouldn’t have taken it as far as I did. I was just, fuck, we haven’t had a shore leave in months. Thought you might be down for it.”
Was he embarrassed? I laughed, and he averted he gaze.
“Are you apologising?”
He nodded.
“Alright, I accept it. And thank you,” I whispered to him, laying a gentle hand on his arm. “I mean it. I’m glad you were there.”
The bull looked down at me, his orange eyes shifting between my hand and face, then returned my smile.
Meanwhile the captain was offering Risk a job as a security officer on the Seacow. “You’d make a great addition to the crew.” He was saying. “Once we’re back on the ocean again of course.”
“Thanks,” said Risk. “But I’m already on a job.”
The captain laughed. “I’m confident I’ll give you better than whatever that museum’s paying you.”
“Maybe,” said Risk with a shrug. “But I’ve got a reputation with my guild to uphold.”
“Shame,” said the captain, but he gave an understanding nod. “Well, you let me know if you ever change your mind.”
Something about the way Risk said ‘sure’ made me suspect he’d no interest in doing so.
The rest of the day was spent setting up the camp using what materials had been stored in the lifeboats. While Risk helped out, I walked the perimeter of the camp, letting the island sun warm me and dry my clothes. I was still in my nightie, my dressing gown and shoes were long gone, likely lost to the sea. Shame. I’d rather liked those shoes. It was strange how the mind picked its priorities after your life was no longer in immediate danger.
The Island of Wolves Page 6