“Because you didn’t, sir. I followed your lead, because—”
“You take your job very seriously,” I finish for him, my mouth full. Barney was right, they do taste better when bitten into rather than broken off. Strange.
“Aye, that and I have nothing against the bilge. They’re good workers, rarely make trouble—well, except for the one who’s caught your eye, that is.”
“She has not caught my eye, Barney.”
“Of course not, sir.”
“Barney?”
“Aye, Lieutenant.”
“Do you know where the bilge…where the workers come from?” There are crumbs stuck in my throat so I take a sip from the mug. The warm drink slides down easily.
“It’s all very secretive, but I assume we trade with foreigners for them. Somewhere beyond storm country.” Barney scratches his head. “Captain Montgomery once told me—he’d been drinking all afternoon, mind you—that they come from a place called fire country.”
My heart speeds up. I knew she was telling the truth! I knew it.
“And what might be traded for them?”
“I’m afraid I haven’t the slightest idea,” Barney says.
“Thank you,” I say.
“You’re most welcome. And sorry again about…the bite marks.” He turns to leave.
“Barney?”
“Aye, sir?” He turns back.
“There are crumbs in your beard,” I say, unable to hold back a chuckle.
~~~
The rain’s been pounding us for days, so strong and endless that all hands are on deck, using buckets to bail it over the sides. The bilge too, only, with no buckets left they have to use their hands.
I don’t look at her, like I’ve done all week. I’m not sure if she knows why I’ve been ignoring her, but I won’t risk so much as a sideways glance in her direction, not when Hobbs continues to lurk. I’m all over you.
Drenched from head to toe, my arms ache as I scoop another half-bucket of water, dumping it over the side just as the ship crashes into a mountainous wave, dumping ten times more water back on top of me. It’s a never ending battle, I realize as I come up spluttering. One of the sailors was knocked clean over by the wave. I help him to his feet as thunder erupts overhead.
Just one more day, I think as I once more fill my bucket. It’s the same thing I’ve thought every day. Only the storm never seems to end.
Although I wouldn’t have thought it possible, the wind strengthens, coming in bursts and blasts that threaten to knock every man and woman off their feet.
Above us, there’s a horrendous riiiip! as if the very sky above us is being torn in two. I look up to find a ragged gash in the main sail, opened up by one of the wind bursts.
And then I see her. Not because I was seeking her out, or because I’ve forgotten to avoid looking at her, but because she’s right where I’m looking, climbing the rain-soaked mast, for once using the ladder, clinging to it like I usually do.
Jade’s headed right for the tear in the sail and it’s clear she’s going to try to repair it.
No, I think. Even with her skill in climbing, attempting to use the rope bridges, which are swinging wildly, is suicide in the middle of a tempest such as this. But what can I do? Hobbs has stopped bailing, too, is watching her climb. He looks at me, right at me—a challenge. Whatcha gonna do, sailor?
Lightning sizzles in jagged streaks above us, so close I can smell burning in the air. I stumble when the ship breaks over a tall wave, plummeting down the steep side, tossed about like a leaf in a whitewater river. Grabbing the railing, I regain my balance and look up. Jade has missed a ladder rung and is hanging by her hands, which are slipping, slipping…
My breath catches as her feet scrabble wildly below her, but then they find purchase, somehow managing to find traction on the slick foothold.
Danger looms from above.
The next wave.
How did it get above the ship? Do waves have wings?
Dozens of shouts rise above the thunder as the wave rains upon us, knocking each and every man and woman and white-skinned and brown-skinned person off their feet.
I’m swimming. I’m on the ship and I’m swimming, gasping for breath, choking on saltwater and pushing seaweed out of my eyes. Still alive, still fighting.
And then the ship lurches over the next wave, tilting so far that the pool of water rushes off over the side and back to whence it came. I slide along the deck, not stopping until I slam into the railing, tangled with another man—the sailor I helped up earlier?—and a hefty woman who works in the kitchens and is known to eat more of what she cooks than those she cooks it for.
But I barely see them, barely feel their arms and legs as we pull apart, because…
Because…
My eyes are glued to the mast, which is swaying, creaking, and finally cracking—with an awful splintering, ear-wrenching CRRRACKKK!—as Jade climbs higher and higher, past the torn sail, all the way to the bird’s nest, where she manages to slip over the side, disappearing from sight.
Still lying on my back and feeling the Big Blue rage beneath the ship, I drop my gaze to the base of the mast, where a thin jagged line of black has formed in the wood. The mast is badly damaged, maybe permanently, but it’s still upright, not broken through completely.
And she’s up there.
I realize someone else is tangled up with me, straining beneath my weight, pushing me away. When I roll to the side and look back, it’s Hobbs, glaring. “Rally the men!” he shouts. “This is too much, we have to make for land, run aground if we have to.”
There’s no time. The mast could collapse at any moment. Another wave, a burst of wind, a lightning strike.
“You do it,” I say. “I have to do something.”
His mouth contorts in anger. “You may be the lieutenant on board, but I’m still your superior officer. You’ll do as I command!”
I shake my head and clamber to my feet, squinting through the blistering rain.
With Hobbs cursing behind me, I run for the mast.
The damage is even worse than I thought. Structurally, the mast is destroyed, splintered both vertically and horizontally, sharp shards of wood sticking out at weird angles. Half of it, however, is still holding strong, as thick as a man’s thigh. I’ll be lucky if I make it to the top before it breaks.
But I have to try. I killed for her. I lied for her. And now I have to save her.
The ladder rungs feel like they’re made of water, not metal. Before I can even get a grip, my fingers slide away. I try again, this time being careful to lock my fingers around them.
My feet slip twice on the way to the top, but each time I manage to regain my footing. Three times I have to stop and just hang on as the ship climbs and topples over waves that seem more like Big Blue’s fists than rolling mounds of water. He punches us, kicks us, but still the ship floats.
There are shouts from below, and I know it’s Hobbs who’s rallying the men, the women, the bilge—saving us, doing my job, or Captain Montgomery’s, or both.
Head down, I climb the last few rungs, hearing a voice from above. “Huck!”
I look up and Jade’s arms are there, stretching to grab me, to pull me into the crow’s nest. I tumble over the side in an exhausted heap. Jade’s hugging me, but not awkwardly or passionately or anything normal. It’s more like clinging to me, and I realize I’m clinging right back.
Water sloshes around us, escaping through cracks in the lookout structure, but refilling faster than it can be emptied.
“We have to get down before it collapses!” I yell amidst a sudden clap of thunder.
Jade’s entire body shakes as she nods, trembling with cold and fear in my arms. Gone is her tough exterior. Was it all an act or has she just reached her limit?
Whatever the case, I must be strong for her now.
I stand, pulling her up with me, peering over the side. The crew, under Hobbs’ command, has managed to turn the ship. The air is so thick with rain and fog that they can’t possibly be sure of the right direction. More likely we’ll be sailing in circles until the storm passes.