Day Two: You're sailing across the Atlantic when your crew don't want to go over the Bermuda Triangle.
"No." The captain's right hand man glared at him. "I'm not going over it. We'll go around, and that's it!"
Sighing, the captain folded his arms and leaned against the door frame. "You know, compared to the amount of ships and planes that travel over the Bermuda Triangle, only a small percentage go down."
"I'm still not taking the risk."
"What if I order you?" The man turned and glared at his superior.
"You wouldn't."
"I might." They stared at each other, both evenly and neither backing down.
"The crew won't do it."
The captain shrugged. "I'll order them, too. Or, they can take lifeboats and go the long way around."
The right hand man, Tom, clenched his door. "You know, Captain Powell, you are insufferable. Fine, all right." He paused, and pretended to calculate the matter. "I'm still not going over it."
Throwing his hands in the air, the captain turned in a circle and took another deep breath. "Please."
"Why?"
"Because I'm asking politely." He paused. "And I wanted to go and have a look. See for myself. I'm curious, Tom!"
"I don't care. I'm not risking my life, your life, nor the rest of the crew's lives, nor our cargo."
Captain Powell rolled his eyes. "We have safety procedures and lifeboats, Tom-"
"-No. I'm not, Captain, and that is final." Powell looked at him evenly. Whilst he could order Tom to make the ship go over the triangle, it wasn't in his nature. Slowly, he relaxed his back muscles and rested a hand on Tom's shoulder.
"Okay. If it really does make you uncomfortable, fine. We won't go over it."
"Thank you, Captain," Tom said. He turned back to the main console. Captain Powell sat in his comfy chair and folded his arms.
They were silent for a few minutes, before Tom turned to the captain and studied him. "Captain."
"Alex," the Captain corrected, so quietly he wasn't sure Tom had heard. The shipmate shifted on his feet and tilted his head towards the other man.
"Alex," he began again after a moment, "promise me something." The captain raised an eyebrow. "Don't come back here, alone, just to try and prove a theory."
The captain sat forwards. "I want to see it, Tom. Really see it, understand it!"
"Alone, Alex. Don't come alone." Tom gave his friend, his captain, a meaningful look, and turned back around, staring out of the window at the enormous, exquisite sea in front of them.
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To Warm Frozen Fingers // A Short Story Collection
Short StoryI like to write. As you may be able to tell. I haven't been very good at writing lately. As you may also have been able to tell. That's why I've decided to write a short story collection. The stories won't interlink, some may vary wildly and you mig...
