by Ashley West
He just hummed, clearly not interested in arguing the point. Soon enough they would get dressed and find something to do. Maybe go for a walk, maybe see about jobs. The money they'd been given for helping the city would run out eventually, and they'd have to find something else to do to keep themselves comfortable with food and other things.
For now, though, it was nice not to worry.
Emma had spent so much of her life thinking about 'what if', and it hadn't changed much with all that had happened to her over the last almost two years. What if her brother had never been killed? What if the Alva had never come? What if Malachi had been given another human woman to buy? What if he'd gone back home?
Everything could have been different, and she might not have had the chances that she had now. It would be foolish to waste them because she was afraid. Because she wasn't just getting by anymore. She wasn't a prisoner, and she wasn't alone. Things could have been better, but they also could have been much, much worse.
Either way, she didn't have to worry.
She had been saved.
Water World Warrior
A Terramates Novel
Lisa Lace
Chapter One
NATHANIEL
The wind whipped the sails of our ship, and we barely held our course. Everyone was on deck to control the ship through the heavy winds.
There was a storm coming up, but we needed this cargo. We would do whatever it took to secure it. Lives depended on us.
"There she is," yelled Vess from high up in the rigging. I scanned the horizon. Yes, a ship. I hoped it was the correct one.
"Hold the course," I ordered, and gave over the wheel to a burly sailor. He could steer the ship as well as I could, and they needed me elsewhere.
Vess came down out of the rigging like an agile monkey, in spite of his huge size. I'm a fairly big individual, and in pretty good shape, but Vess dwarfs me. He smiled and began giving orders to the sailors around me.
Thirty minutes later, we were attached to the other ship and boarding her. My crew all had their swords out, and we quickly took control of the ship without any incidents.
But then I heard a voice behind me.
"Turn and fight, you filthy thief."
My crew had him surrounded in an instant, but I turned to face the man alone, waving them back to their job of tying up the rest of the crew below decks. I pulled out my sword from its scabbard.
Too often, I let the crew do all of the dirty work while I stood back and watched. I enjoyed the opportunity to fight. It kept me from getting rusty.
Our blades clashed, and we danced back and forth across the deck, parrying each other's attacks. He lunged at me with a killing blow to the head that I was able to block. My assailant was full of rage, and I wondered why he was so angry. I appreciated his ferocity. An angry man is never a particularly good fighter. He's too impetuous and easy to get off balance because his emotions distract him from the fight.
A moment later, the fight was over. Too easy. He made a mistake, and I disarmed him, flipping his sword across the deck where it clattered against the wood. Losing his weapon didn't slow him down at all. He ran right up to me and punched me hard across the jaw. I was surprised, and I didn't even defend myself.
My head rocked back, and I dropped my sword, but I remained standing. I had been in way too many fights to be knocked down by that pathetic excuse for a punch. I sized up the man. His eyes looked afraid.
I hit him in the face once, then twice in the stomach. He was bent over in a moment.
"Vess," I yelled. "We missed one. Get him tied up with the rest."
He glared at me fiercely.
"I know who you are," he said, trying to straighten his glasses.
I stood still. I didn't worry about many things but having my identity exposed was a concern.
I smiled, though, still appearing to be cocky. I wouldn't reveal that he had rattled me. Vess came over and began to tie his hands behind his back.
"I don't think so, you government lackey," I said. "You must have me confused with someone else."
I turned and made my way starboard to get on my ship.
"Your name is Nathaniel Lachlan." I swallowed hard but kept walking. I spoke without turning around.
"Vess, on second thought, throw that one in the empty storeroom."
"On our ship, Captain?" Vess said, sounding surprised.
"Yes," I said, turning to give him a hard look.
"Yes, sir. I will, sir," he said, scrambling to get the man transferred.
"You used to be such a role model for us. We believed you were going to save the planet," the man went on as Vess dragged him along. "Now look at you. Nothing but a common thief. Is that what you're doing with your Ph.D.? Being a fucking pirate? Taking supplies from those who need it?"
He gave me a look of contempt that I ignored, letting Vess pull him across to our ship and then towards the stairs that led below.
"I won't forget your face, you know. I'm going to turn you in. You thief. You traitor. You'll go to jail for this." He was struggling, and I could see that Vess, despite his size, was having trouble holding him. Fortunately, Vess managed to wriggle him down the stairs.
I turned back to supervise the rest of the crew who were pretending that nothing had happened. It only took an hour to get everything transferred. I set the government ship on autopilot to take them to the nearest settlement. They would untie themselves in the next few hours no matter what we did.
We didn't make it impossible to escape in case bad weather came up, and they needed to get free. We didn't care about the people or the ship. It was the supplies that were important.
Now we had them. As one of the crew untied our vessel, we drifted away from the heavy supply ship. I activated the autopilot by remote control, and it plodded north to O'Frwad.
________________________________________
"What are we going to do about him, sir?" Vess said, dropping his huge, muscular body into the chair in the Captain's office.
"Well, he can't be a threat if we have him, can he?" I said. I thought I was pretty reasonable considering how shaken up I was over what had happened.
"But if he escapes, he could expose you. The government would come after you, for sure. And that would put an end to everything."
"I know, Vess, I know," I said, feeling stress rising in me. They couldn't stop us. I wouldn't let them. "But we have him. He can't get away. We locked him up tight. He's obviously just a scientist because he knows about the work I did on the rising ocean levels. As long as we keep him a prisoner, he won't be able to turn me in."
"I need the money this job provides, Nat. I can't have you in jail."
"You could run it," I said with a grin. "If I disappeared for a while."
"Not without you," he sighed, shaking his head.
That might be true. Though Vess was the first mate and did most of the day to day managing on the ship, without me giving the orders, sometimes he didn't know what to do.
"I'm not going to jail, Vess. We'll keep him locked up, and we'll keep doing what we're doing. No one's going to stop us. Least of all the government."
No, they wouldn't stop us.
Vess nodded his head.
"Right, sir. Sorry. I'm just worried."
"I know, Vess. To tell you the truth, so am I, but we have to stay calm. He's only a threat if he gets away."
"He knew your full name, sir. And your work. He even knew about your Ph.D. You took him down, pretty quick, though, didn't you? You know how to throw a punch, Nat," he said admiringly.
I looked at my knuckles that had split and smiled.
"I guess I do," I said, trying to forget about the scientist we had imprisoned. What he said about me was true. What I did now seemed like a waste of my brain. But who was to say that research was better than stealing from the rich and giving to the poor?
I stole supplies. So what? Who was he to judge me? I did what I had to do. And I would not apologize for it.
"Ve
ralia was looking at you again with those eyes, Nat. You should get yourself a piece of that," he said, shaking his head.
I stood up and went to a cabinet. I pulled out a bottle of Eau de Vie — the hard stuff.
"You want a shot?" I said.
Vess nodded, and I grabbed two shot glasses in my other hand, sitting down at my desk once more.
"She is hot. The long black hair, and those legs, and her boobs. A guy could get lost in that cleavage." He sighed, looking off into space and thinking lusty thoughts. I handed him a shot glass, and our glasses clinked together, spilling the green liquid.
"If you think she's so hot, why don't you go for her?" I snapped.
We put the shots to our lips and tilted the glasses back quickly.
"Nah, she's into you, not me."
"She could be convinced," I said. "I haven't given her any encouragement."
"That's true."
"You should give it a shot, man. All she can say is no."
"You only say that because no woman ever tells you no."
I thought for a moment. He was right. I had never approached a woman and been turned down.
"Must be my rakish good looks," I said, grinning. "I am a fucking pirate, you know."
________________________________________
I woke up from a dream. There had been a beautiful woman. A beautiful blonde woman with the face of an angel and a body that tempted men to sin.
The dream had been like a story, which was different for me because usually my dreams are weird and disjointed. But this one had a plot.
The girl was like Cinderella, slaving away all day at work. And I had come to her shop where she was… sewing?
The girl was like Cinderella, slaving away all day. And I had taken her away to a ball. Was it a ball? I was living in the future, and balls were a thing of the past.
Then she disappeared — just like Cinderella — and I had been heartbroken. It killed me to lose her.
I lay there for a minute thinking about how it had felt to hold the woman of my dreams in my arms. I heard Vess yelling, and all thoughts of my dream vanished.
"What do you mean he got away?"
Shit.
I ran for the stairs and raced down them in a moment.
"What's going on, Vess?" I said, but the look of horror on his face told me everything I needed to know.
"He escaped."
The crew member who reported to Vess began to edge away a little, looking nervous. "How did he get away?" I demanded.
"I don't know. It doesn't make sense, sir," he said, looking afraid.
I swallowed my anger. It wasn't their fault. I had checked to make sure he was secure myself.
"Where could he have gone? Are any of the lifeboats missing?" I said.
"We checked, sir. Nothing's gone."
"Did you search the ship? Maybe he's concealed himself somewhere?"
"We searched, sir. Twice. We hoped that he was just hiding."
I bet they did. They didn't want my wrath descending upon them.
"Then he must have gone into the sea."
"Yes, sir."
I nodded, thinking about what to do.
"You are dismissed, ensign. Thank you," I said, and he left as quickly as he could.
"Well, that could come back to bite me in the ass," I said to Vess.
"Yeah, this sucks, sir."
"He's in the ocean."
"Yep."
"How far away is the nearest settlement?"
"At least fifty miles, sir."
"That's Aqua?"
"It is, sir."
"That's a long swim," I said, looking out the porthole.
"Yep," Vess said again. "I wouldn't want to have to swim that far."
"Let's hope for the best."
"There are lots of sharks in this part of the ocean, Nat."
"You're right, of course, Vess. What are the chances of him surviving a swim that far?"
"Slim to none, sir."
"Of course, slim to none."
We looked at each other. I hadn't hired Vess to be a yes man; I had hired him to be an independent thinker. At this moment, I had the feeling that he was telling me exactly what he thought I wanted to hear.
We went up on deck, and I took out my telescope, looking in every direction for the red shirt he had been wearing yesterday.
There was nothing to see.
It was an impossible swim. He couldn't possibly survive it. There was no way that he was going to be able to follow through on his threat. No way at all.
So why was there a feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach?
Chapter Two
ASHLYN
I stared at the pretty dress. We made it out of a shimmery material that seemed iridescent in the sunlight coming in through the window. I picked it up and fingered it and imagined myself wearing it to a ball. Specifically, the President's Ball, a dance held every year.
I would float in like a dream. All the heads would turn and then they would whisper.
"Who's that?" they would ask.
A tall, dark, handsome man would come up to me, and he would ask if he could have this dance. Then he would take my hand, and he would hold me close and we would spin and spin.
"Ashlyn!" Maura shouted from the front, and I jumped, feeling guilty. "You got that dress done yet? I thought you said you'd have it done today. You know Miss Moody. If she doesn't have her dress done on time, there'll be hell to pay."
I took a deep breath as Maura's head poked through into the workroom.
"I almost have it done, I'm hemming now," I said. "It'll be ready, don't worry. I always get my work done on time, don't I?"
Her stern, lined face relaxed a little.
"Of course you do. I'm sorry, Ashlyn, but she's called three times already this morning. And what with all the other dresses we have to have finished for the President's ball, you know I get crazy. You know these rich ladies like their perfectly tailored dresses — nothing else will do."
"I know. And our shop is the best in the city, so we're the busiest. It's a good thing, Maura. Don't worry, okay? I'll get them all done, even if I have to take some home."
"All right, Ashlyn. I know you'll do it. You always do."
She smiled and went back to the front.
I sat back down at my workbench and took up the dress again. I carefully finished hemming the beautiful frock, and when it was all done, I held it up in front of me and looked in the mirror. I would look like a princess in this dress!
I laughed at myself. As if a girl like me would ever get to wear a dress like this. It was foolish to be thinking about it. The damn thing cost about as many credits as a year's worth of mortgage payments. And I was still taking care of my brothers. I wouldn't be silly enough to waste all that money on a dress I would wear once, even if I had the money to waste, which I most certainly didn't.
I needed to remember I was a seamstress, not a princess. And we weren't in the 1800s anymore. There would not be anyone swooping in to save me. I was a smart, hard working girl.
I would have to save myself.
________________________________________
I shut the door and pulled on it to see if it was locked. Then I turned away from the shop and saw my friend Samantha coming down the street.
"Ashlyn," she called out. "Ashlyn, wait."
I turned to see her running up to me, out of breath.
"Hey, Sam. How was work?" I said with a smile. We began to walk towards our neighborhood.
"It was awful. Just awful. I can't believe those people with such sticks up their butts as if their shit doesn't stink. We're not in the middle ages here. Does it make a difference whether I only pour coffee for a living or work out some old moldy theory in a university? I mean, really? Are those academics that much better than me?"
"Calm down, Sam. What happened? The professor that's been giving you the eye, did you ask him out like you said you were going to?"
"I did. And you should have seen the
look on his face. I wasn't good enough for him. It was maddening, I tell you, Ash. What an asshole. Looking at me like he wouldn't mind throwing me behind the bushes, but go on a date with me? No way. Not with someone who hasn't graduated from high school."
"You have a diploma. Like that matters. If he turned you down, he's an idiot."
She sighed.
"I'm sorry. You had a pretty bad crush on him, didn't you?"
"I wouldn't even care, Ash, if he'd been polite about it." She looked hurt.
I let out a huff of breath. "You can't let them get you down, Sam. These people, the rich ones and the smart ones, act like their money or their brains make them better than us."
"Don't pretend like you haven't got a head bursting with as many brains as them, Ash." Sam turned her anger on me in a moment. "Aren't you the one that graduated top of our class in high school?"
Her eyes were flashing, and I knew I had poked the bear this time. I didn't say anything.
"And weren't you the one who got the scholarship to go to the most prestigious university in the country?" I nodded.
"You were accepted into the environmental science program. It's difficult to get in and only takes twenty students each year."
"Yes," I said. I needed to change the course of this conversation, but there was no stopping her now.
"And aren't you also the one…" And at this point her voice got quiet and a little sad. "…whose mother died, leaving her to take care of her brothers, get them through high school, and pay the mortgage and the bills? Wasn't that you, Ashlyn?" Her voice had calmed down, and she looked at me compassionately.
I stared at the ground as we walked past the huge houses in the neighborhood where all the university professors lived. We had to walk through it to get to our regular houses. I didn't answer her question. She was right, of course. I still felt that if I were so smart, I could have figured out a way to follow my dream of being an environmental scientist.
Sam was not stopping. "And if that hadn't happened, wouldn't you be doing something different with your life? You didn't need to be stuck working for Maura and sewing dresses for the rich women in town so they can go to their silly President's Ball." She held up her hands, then, palms facing away from herself. "Not that that's not honest work, Ash, it is. But I know you wanted more for yourself."