The Deadliest At Sea

Chapter Three

I walk across the bridge to the ship with my goods in tow. The sky has turned a shiny pink and I could tell it was almost time to cast off. I look to the far right and see my father at the helm, overseeing all the men and counting the heads. I catch his eye and he nods, thanking me for punctuality.

"OI, CLARK!" A holler from my left and I turn to see a giant of a man standing beside me grinning with his five teeth in.

"James." I greeted as he slapped his giant hand on my back. I stumbled forward a bit. Boy, I would hate to fight this man. He peered at my new found purchases and grinned even wider than before, if that was possible.

"Here look, boys. Clarky went on a shopping bout!" James announced to the rest of the crew and they all began to walk to my person.

"What did you get, Clark?" One of the older mates asked as he poked at my bag.

"Easy, Gin. I couldn't get a whole bunch of food, but I got some meats and look," I reached into the burlap and dug around for a few seconds before pulling out a yellow fruit.

"MANGOES!" The crew erupted into excitement. Fruit was a delicacy and especially imported.

"Boy, how many did you get?"

"Not a lot so well have to dry 'em out." I spoke with disappointment, but that didn't deter them. They were just happy to eat something sweet for a change.

"Departure in fifteen minutes, men!" We sighed and the men began to disperse and resume duties.

"I'll stow the food and then come back up for hoisting." I declared as I went for the under deck. James shook his head.

"No, no." He held a hand in front of my face. "Spoiled us enough, Clark. We'll do the work. Take it easy and do the food prepare." I smiled at his kind offer and nodded my head once. Slinging the bag again over my back, I walked down the stairs. I was grateful to these men. I've known them my whole lives, almost. They treated me like one of their own, although most of the times it was like a child. The men still saw me as that little seven year old running across deck and climbing the ropes. Some of the crew didn't have a family to go home to, never bothered to settle down, so I was that replacement. The crew was responsible for my upbringing when my father was too busy, and I think they did a pretty good job at it. I guess what they say is right, it takes a village to raise a child. I headed to food storage and lay down the sack in the cupboard.

—

"You've really done a number this time Clark." Barth, one of the older crew members said as he scooped up some more of the soup in his mouth.

"Why you keep him on navigation, Captain, I'll never know." The others nodded in agreement and I crossed my arms and chuckled. They were slurping and swallowing faster than I could ladle it into their bowls. My father smiled and leaned back in his chair.

"The boy's a jack of all trades, what can I say?" He joked and I felt my face get red. These men where always doting, making sure I stayed confident. For a bunch of 'pirates', they were all a bunch of soft hearted dogs.

"So what else did my men do once we hit shore?" My father said, opening up the table for some casual conversation.

"Brothel." One of the men said between gulps of liquor. The others nodded their head in agreement. Then there was a pause and I waited for someone else to chime in.

"Well? Anything else?" I inquired. James laughed lightly before wiping his mouth on the back of his hand.

"Clark, you're such a little boy." He stated before looking at me. "We're men, we have needs."

"Hey, that pains me." I clutched my chest in mocking.

"You're the only one who would go out strolling instead of getting a woman." Jean, one of the crew from France, pointed out. I let out a sigh and decided to change the subject.

"Yeah, well at least I got some new books out of it." I hoped that would interest them into shifting the conversation. Their ears perked up and I kept on.

"I got a few teaching books, some novels, oh and she even gave me some-"

"Whoa, 'she'?" The captain interjected. "'She', Clark?" I rolled my eyes. He does this every time.

"Yes, the book shop owner was a woman."

"Well, did you get all chatty with her, boy?" James drilled and the men listened intently.

"Me? No. She ,however, had plenty of questions to ask." And just like that their faces fell to disapproval. We all knew what a nuisance it was when people asked us questions. As if we were out here countering ghosts and forgotten islands every damned day.

"What did she ask?" James sighed unsure if he wanted to hear the answer.

"Ghost ships, killing, the usual strife, mate." I reluctantly explained. My eyes shifted across the entire room. Did I want to bring this up? I thought as my fingers ran through my salt washed hair.

"...and mermaids." After having said that there was a loud groan followed by a string of curses from the men. Wrong choice?

"Damn these women and their mermaids!" Nathaniel, the Irishman, exploded. He shoved his empty bowl to the front. He leaned back in his seat, a permanent scowl on his face.

"At the whore house one of the girls talked my ear off with her mermaid stories. Claimed she saw one while she was by the beach." I nodded my head in agreement then looked around. Everyone else could relate. I even saw my father's eyebrow twitch in annoyance.

" 'It was beautiful and she looked so at peace! Her hair was flowing in the wind! Like an angel, she looked!' " Nathaniel mocked in a high pitched voice that made me double over in laughter. Chances being what that woman saw was not a mermaid at all.

"They all think sirens are these beautiful women that we chase around all day." Demir interjected as he played with his knife.

"Sea whores, man." James said as he sipped from his cup. It sounds funny when he says it in his thick native accent.

"I swear, if someone asks me a question like that again, I'm kidnapping them and taking them out to sea 'till they meet a real mermaid."

"Let's see if they're so giddy then, yeah?" I joked.