The Haunted- How things have changed

Chapter 10: All Fists on Deck

4 days into the voyage and Drake was getting a serious case of cabin-fever. He was sitting in his little room, big enough for his needs, writing in a journal he brought; something to record his daily movements and thoughts. He couldn't stand the snugness of the room anymore and left. "Some fresh air might do me good.", he thought. Getting up, he walked through the small interior of the ship and made his way topside. There, he found everyone chatting amongst themselves while working. He didn't see Grayson at the helm like he usually is at this time of day. Nor did he see Mia anywhere, as she was usually checking out all the parts of the ship; the guns, the sails, the decks, she was there immersing herself. Drake chalked it up to some bad timing and just breathed in the salty sea air. The wind was fair today, as it was blowing through his messy, short brown hair. 

Despite his dislike of water, Drake had to admit the ocean looked beautiful. The waves crested nicely today and were as blue as his vest. He knew it was his enderman side that despised water. His species had no such thing in their own dimension and whenever they touched water, they felt instant pain, causing them to teleport reflexively. He never had that problem, but he knew that he hated getting wet. And trying to get him to swim, forget it. The topic of endermen in his head turned to his life before Collin had fused with his monster side. Surely, he had a life before that, right? He tried as hard as he could, but nothing surfaced about his past self. The furthest back he could remember was his time in Armen's old house. Deciding that he had no chance of uncovering his past at the moment, he went back to sight-seeing. 

"And then all will be well...", a voice half-whispered behind Drake. Drake would've turned to see who was talking, but his training told him to not do that, instead to see with his ears. "Are you sure about that?", another voice said. Drake listened in, the phrase reminding him of an old professional wrestler. "Of course I am! Have I ever led you astray?", the first voice said. "Nah, but... it doesn't seem to sit right with the others.", the second said, his voice carrying worry. "Have faith, my friend.", the first reassured the second. Drake wasn't sure of what he was hearing. Were they planning something? If so, what is it? Drake suspicions were further increased when one of the men noticed Drake in particular. "Well, well. Seems like our esteemed guest has deigned to grace us with his presence.", he spoke. Drake didn't look at him, trying to tune him out. Soon, other ship-mates began noticing the loud-mouthed sailor and began turning their heads. "You should return to your quarters. Top deck's no place for freaks, anyway.", he said, chuckling with his friends at his insult. A small crowd was beginning to gather around the group. Drake analyzed the men, and they weren't all that impressive. One was sitting on a barrel with his arms crossed, while the other two were standing up. They wore common sailor outfits and were a variety of physiques. Two were built slightly better than the third and weren't easy on the eyes either. "Oh, I know. But then, why are you up here?", Drake replied, earning a few 'ooh's' and 'aww's' from the gathering crowd. The man clearly took offense to the statement and figured of only one way to settle the dispute properly. "Think you're funny, huh? Let's see how funny you find this!", he said, raising his fists, preparing to fight. Drake gave no sign of fear, but he was irritated by the man's idiocracy. The third man, the one on the barrel, at least had the common sense to try to talk his friend down. "That's enough, Graves!", he said. Graves simply ignored him, telling him to stay out of it.

Drake got into a fighting position, his own fists raised to defend himself. Graves gave the first swing, which Drake promptly parried out of the way. Drake stayed on the defensive, blocking and parrying attacks. Only one of Graves' punches connected with Drake's face before the latter started to go on the offensive. Meanwhile, Armen was napping on one of the wooden beams above when the commotion started. Awakened by the racket, he turned over to see what was going on and was shocked to see Drake fighting one of the crew members. Drake started with a hard right hook to Graves' face, followed by him grabbing Graves' shirt for a headbutt. A strong punch to the chest sent Graves to the floor. Armen watched in awe as the hybrid took down his opponent in such few strikes. It made him thank his lucky stars for his ability to teleport. While Graves went back to his old spot clutching his chest, another man rose up and began mocking Drake. "Look at this creature here, eh? Thinks he can just waltz on to this ship and declare himself king of the castle?", he said, riling up the crowd. The man on the barrel once again tried to calm everyone down. "Seriously guys, call it off! If the captain sees us-", he said before getting cut off by the new guy. "To hell with the captain! And to hell with you, Mils! Whose side are you on, anyway?" he said. Drake was getting annoyed with these insults and decided to end this fight fast. The man only took one swing when Drake blocked the attack and countered with his own. He began punching the man in the face, his head moving back and forth with each hit until Drake ended his counter-attack with a finishing punch to the jaw.