The Sound of a Siren's Call

14.) The Kiser Ship

For future reference, before you signal a ship to rescue you, you should first make sure that ship is willing to rescue you. 

When a navy is gearing up for war with another nation, the men in said navy apparently aren't willing to be saved or save men from the opposite navy. Juniper argued it was stupid. If I hadn't been pushing a boat, I would've argued it was a matter of principle. 

However, I was pushing a dingy, and I was pushing it towards a boat that we'd decided may or may not rescue the people onboard the dingy. 

Juniper was bobbing on the surface, her hands flailing wildly as she spoke. 

Occasionally she would swim next to me to summarize the conversation while I tried to look politely interested, and occasionally she would ask rhetorical questions and I'd just shrug. 

"How do you politely tell someone to shut up?"

I shrugged.

"I mean, they're going on about how the ship is from Kiser so they can't accept help from it, and I honestly don't know..."

She met my eyes. 

"Is this a human thing I don't know about?" 

Yes. I shrugged. 

"Do pirates have such stupid standards?"

You have no idea. I shrugged again. 

She sighed, air bubbles shooting up to the surface. She swam back up.

I knew pirates that would rather have died than accept help from an enemy. I knew men that would kill their enemies before they could even open their mouths to ask for help. I understood the problem, and then I realized, Juniper genuinely didn't. 

But, weren't sirens the same way? 

I guess not. For one, they weren't self-aware enough. And they didn't consider humanity an enemy. They just did everything on a whim, which I wasn't sure if that was better. 

Juniper didn't understand that they couldn't get on that ship because they'd either be killed, arrested by a foreign government, or some other less than pleasant thing simply because of malicious intent on both sides. She also didn't understand that to accept genuine help from the enemy always made them a little less your enemy, which wasn't helpful for trying to demolish them. 

The first thing my dad taught me was that no one was my friend. If they were on another ship, they especially weren't my friend. 

"Arriana, you see that flag?" 

He pointed to the top of our mast were a red flag proudly declared just who we were. 

It had been gently drizzling, and I squinted through the mist at him. 

"See that other flag?" He pointed at another ship that was creeping closer to us. 

I nodded. 

"That means that the ship isn't friendly. Never go aboard a ship if it doesn't have that flag." He jabbed a finger back at our own flag. 

I nodded. "Now go back to bed," she said, pushing me towards the cabin. 

I slept well that night, but the next morning, I knew why people feared the Red Revenge, and why people feared pirates. 

I took a deep breath. Childhood reflections weren't going to help anyone. Especially not me. Especially not either boat. 

I stalled, staying where I was. Juniper swam down so her face was inches from mine. "They won't go on the ship. What do I do?"

I took my hands off the hull of the boat.

"We can't trust them, Jun." I didn't know her name sign, so I had to trust the three sloppy letters would do the trick of driving my point home. 

"Why not?"

"They're an enemy ship."

"So?"

"So, they'd sooner kill us than help us."

Her face fell. "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"They already know we're here."

"They do." I agreed.  

"Can we run away?"

"Not likely. We could try but..."

She looked at me with wide eyes. "But," she prompted her fingers flying through the air quizzically. 

"That's unlikely to work." 

She bit her lip. "You're sure we can't get them on the ship?"

I wasn't sure, but I was too confident to risk it, so I just nodded. 

She took a deep breath like she couldn't face me or my pessimism anymore. She swam back up without a second glance at me. 

I hugged myself. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe they didn't want to kill us. Maybe...

"They're lowering a rope."

"What?" I pulled my hands away from my torso, regeristing that Juniper was again inches away from my face. "Why?"

"Should I tell them to suck it up and just get on?"

"Isn't it their choice?" 

She frowned. "I guess." She looked sullen as her fingers formed a fist. 

"Juniper, remember how Castor thought you kidnapped him?"

She nodded. 

"You're straddling the line between rescuing and kidnapping."

She looked hurt, but I realized with no particular guilt, I didn't care. I took a deep breath. 

"Juniper, you have to let them decide."

"But," and I didn't see the rest. 

I swam to the surface. In a moment I realized how much I'd underestimated the size of the ship. It was huge. It could easily fit several Red Revenges inside it and still have room to spare. 

I looked over and there was indeed a rope. No one had moved. I met Castor's eyes. 

I looked away. Juniper was next to me, looking at me moodily. I guess I deserved that, but I don't regret anything. 

There was a resoluteness in the air, and I looked over as the first man stood up, the boat rocking, and started to climb. 

Up and up they went, climbing up the huge hull of the ship. I bobbed, still dazed at the size of the ship. And I had thought we could've outrun it!

Eventually, there were just a few men in the boat. They all looked expectantly at Castor. He waved and said something. go--without. He turned away from me, and I couldn't see any of the rest. 

The two men climbed up, and then he had his hand out of the boat. "He wants you to take his hand," Juniper practically snapped. 

"Why?"

"Like I know."

I looked at him. "Tell him to go."

"You're not going?"

"No. Why would I?"

She shook her head, and then she left. And I was alone with Castor.