Mark of the Damned | 18+

Surefire

Song - Surefire (Piano) by Wilderado

Sitting on the floor in my dimly lit room, I work a needle and string through the ripped fabric of my hammock. The sun set hours ago and the single candle lantern hanging above my head is starting to flicker.

I want to peek out of my window but it's probably safer if I stay down here on the floor.

Earlier, as I watched for Silver to return, I noticed many of the crew returning with different items, bundles of candlesticks, bags of beans and pulses, ink, meat...

I can't be sure, but I think under the cover of darkness, they are stealing supplies. It's in the way they carry them. They don't look suspicious or nervous, but there is something in their eyes. A glint of mischief. A flash of trouble.

His eyes flash in my mind. The blue eye, deeper than the ocean, a tidal wave that will sweep me away. The silver, an icy hand on my throat, freezing the blood in my veins. No matter how hard I try, I can't shake the feeling that I know him. I know I don't. It would be impossible to forget meeting a man like that. It's unexplainable and ridiculous but it's as if we share that recognition. I saw it pass through his eyes, blue, then silver.

I'm compelled, draw to him. Longing to peek through the window, hoping for the chance to see him again.

A loud knock shakes the floorboards beneath me. The door, which I'm certain I locked, flies open to reveal the captain.

"Come," he says over his shoulder as he walks away without another glance.

Scrambling up, I follow behind him. Several members of the crew are below deck, moving crates and barrels around to create space in the center of the room. They fill the racks and shelves that line the walls.

"Organize the galley."

"Yes, Cap-"

He's already left before I can finish my sentence.

While I am preoccupied with the task, I can't help but notice the men working around me. Their low, mumbled voices and sideways glances make me nervous.

"Do you know how to swim, girlie?" One of them asks suddenly.

"I don't."

Their snickering laughter strikes fear in my heart. Again, I'm struck by the feeling that everyone around me knows something that I don't. They're in on a secret, a joke that I'm not privy to.

"I'd learn if I was you," an older man with long gray hair raises his brows gently, as if he's warning me.

They continue to laugh and joke while I quickly finish my task. I want to go back to my room. I feel safe there though the lock is apparently useless.

An unexpected warmth blooms in my stomach, spreading up into my chest and out into my limbs. Heat, like the pins and needles of sitting too close to a fire. I look up in time to see him, rage on his face as he grabs me. His hand closing easily around my upper arm, pushing me like a ragdoll into my room.

The small door slams open as he crushes me into the wall.

"I told you to stay in this room with the door locked." his rough growling voice sending a shiver down my spine.

"T-The captain told me to-"

"I told you to stay here." His eyes glow, golden flames flickering as he grips me so tightly I wince.

Each ragged breath brings his bare chest closer to my face. In the dim light, a silvery mark catches my attention. A strange crescent-shaped scar in the middle of his chest. How had I missed it before? It almost glows.