A Storm on the Horizon

Chapter 4 Eli

I was trapped in a stampede of men, nearly tumbling down the stairs that I shoved until I was below the deck. There were hammocks and spots of blankets on the floor, the common sleeping area. The air trapped in my lungs. The men around me trudged to different spots on the floor and got comfortable. Some of the men were taking off their hats or bandanas before they laid down. I just stood by the stairs with my arms crossed over my chest.

Tiny shoved two guys back up the stairs saying that it was their turn for night watch. They stumbled trying to gain back their balance before rushing up again. I couldn't wait until it was my turn to do night watch. To be able to watch the night sky out in the middle of the water sounded terrific. Then he pointed me towards a space nearby to where we were standing, and the spot was next to this tall, lean man with dark skin. He had long medium size dreadlocks that were pulled back with a string. Anaconda was shoved towards the other end of the room near a corner to go to sleep. He stomped over to his spot without a word, as I just plopped down on mine. Not sure if I should say something to the men near me or not. My cheeks warmed, and I fiddled with the straw below me.

"I'm Billy," The guy said with a very thick accent, his words seemed to swing.

He held out his hand, which was something new compared to the greetings that I had been getting on the ship. Let alone the way people had said 'hello' to me in the past. I grabbed onto his calloused hand and shook it. His grip was stronger than mine, so I tried to tighten my own to match his.

"Eli," I answered and finally thought I'd ask the question that I probably did not want to know the answer."Not that I'm bellyaching, but what happened to the other guys who we replaced."

He chuckled, and so did the rest of the guys who were nearby to hear my question laughed harder. Billy seemed to be sparing my feelings, unlike the others under the ship.

"Let's just leave it at that they're with Davy Jones now," Billy replied with one corner of his lips higher than the other.

I gulped. I had to be careful then. Joining Davy Jones would be the least of my problems if they found out that I was a girl. Discovering that Sly was on this ship made blending in a challenge. It would be worse though if he did recognize me because I didn't know if he was the type to rat me out. We did not spend a lot of time with each other, so I was not sure if he could pinpoint that it was me. However, being around him made my heartache, we barely spent time together, but my emotions betrayed me. Sly had already proven that he preferred 'ladies' such as Angeline. I had enough trouble competing with her when I looked like a girl, now that I was pretending to be a man; I stood even further from the finish line.

"So, Eli, what's your story?" Billy questioned still sitting up, staring at me with his dark eyes.

"Not much of one. I just was a nothing and had nothing there, so I picked up and left," I spoke trying to watch the pitch of my voice.

"Ah," Billy spoke, his voice full of understanding."Aye, you're not the only one here with that story."

"What about you, Anaconda?" inquired Tiny in his deep voice.

Anaconda turned to look up at the ceiling as he lay on his back with a weird smile on his face.

"That place was too boring. I did it all there, and it was time to move on. I made all the trouble that I could do on that God-forsaken island. Everything was the same old boring life, even the women. I needed a change."

The men howled at this. Oh, God, I don't think I liked where the conversation was heading. How do I leave without making it obvious? Could I even avoid this area? I was on a ship of all males I was dumb to think that anything sexual wouldn't eventually come up in conversation.