The Lost Years

Chapter Two - 'Blood On The Sand'

Peter turned and addressed the rather large crowd of people in front of him.

“Listen, we’re all very confused. Last night we were attacked by a pirate ship and had to brave the sea in rowboats. Luckily, it seems that we’ve all ended up on the same body of land. Now, if we’re to survive and stay civil, we’ll need to work together. I need you all to listen to Roger while I take some men to find the others”

There were a few minor grunts of disapproval, but overall people understood that Roger needed to be listened to.

Peter spotted Donald and Duncan, another sailor, in the crowd.

“Donald, Duncan, come with me” he said. “The rest of you sailors, help Roger. We’re gonna find Richard”

As the three men walked away, they heard Roger call out “Now, try and arrange yourselves into your cabin groups”

In front of him, Roger saw all the people moving around, trying to separate themselves into Cabin Groups A-F. He was worried. There were 10,000 people on the ship, and only seemed to be around 200 people here.

Nearly 10 minutes later, they had seperated into their cabin groups.

“Okay, I need a leader from each cabin group to come forward for a quick meeting”

This took a further five minutes, as people argued and disagreed about things. Eventually, Roger had six people in front of him, representing the six cabins.

“You” Roger said, pointing to a short, pale man with glasses and the slight remains of a beard. “What’s your name and what cabin group do you represent?”

“My name is Geoffrey Islington, and I represent the people of Cabin A. I am an inventor and architect, and should we need to build shelters for the night, I am the man to see”

“Righto, and you?” Roger said, pointing to a built man with mutton chops.

“Paul, Cabin Group E”

Roger waited for more information, but none came.

“And what about you?” he said, pointing to the only woman there.

“Katerina Winstead.  Cabin Group C. I have nursing skills, so if there are any injuries please seek me out”

“Will do, Ms. Winstead. Now what about you, big boy?” he said, motioning towards the tallest man there.

“William, Cabin Group F. I ain’t good for nuthin, but I’s a strong pair o’ arms on me, for workin”

“Good to know, William. Are you Cabin Group C or D?” Roger asked, pointing to a boy of no older than 18.

“I’m Cabin Group C, Mr. Roger. I know how to handle a gun”

“Hopefully we won’t need those abilities, young man. What’s your name?”

“Colin, Colin Dunright, sir”

“Thank you, Colin. And what about you, Cabin Group D? What’s your name?”

“None of your goddamn business, filthpot”

“There’s always one” Roger mumbled to himself. “Right then. The sun is starting to come down, so we can’t get anything done tonight. Geoffrey, do you know of any simple kinds of shelters we can make for the night?”

“Aye, I do” replied Geoffrey. “I can teach it to each Cabin Group, if you’d like”

“Good thinking. Get started on that, I’ll be here if any of you need me.”