High Seas

Part I

Port Island

On the ship, the waves crash on board. The crew were trying to navigate across the North Atlantic, they were trying to make their way to a trade post. One up North, or so they heard. The captain of the ship, Thomas, had been sailing for the past two weeks. Their scout Anton was up on the crows' nest watching. He saw clouds, scary clouds. They were dark like the night sky. A bad sign for travel.

“We should pull into port soon.”

The scout called out to the captain. There was one not too far away, though the only problem was time, food, and drinks. They had been running low, and for a crew of twenty. It would be hard to manage, though so far they have been. The captain goes off the deck and then turns.

“We are turning into port soon; take that time to rest properly. You’ll need it…”

The captain went into the great cabin, he needed to check how much cash they had left. They would need it for purchases. As he entered, the ship was hit with a wave, the money box thrown onto the ground.

The captain runs towards it, getting down on his knees. Looking through the coins, he counts them. There isn't much, and some of them fell through the cracks. In total, the amount of money that he was able to save was $98.26. They wouldn’t need more if all they bought was food. Also, the trading post they would have to be at would give them a comfortable amount regardless of how much they spent.

“Port ahead!”

The scout exclaims from the crows' nest. The port closes quickly. The water is becoming less fierce. The captain puts the money back in the box and then heads up to the deck. The port wasn’t too far away now, and it would only take a few minutes. A big problem would be getting out of there as the crew would like to stay on solid ground for a little bit. Though if they wanted to make it to the trading post, they would have to go out again. Quite soon after as well. The island wasn’t that big, one of those small trade islands that people would go to seemingly for the same reason as them. Yet as they landed, the port seemed well empty, not many people on it. Almost as if they had all run away. Except for the few that had still been left behind. The captain walks up to one of them.

“Where is everyone?”

He asked, looking around to be greeted with nothing.

“They had all gone deep into the island, many sick.”

The man had said. He had tired eyes, like he hadn’t slept in days, and his face was red and purple like he had been beaten. Now and then, there would also be a wet cough.

“What do you mean, sick? With what?”

The man just stood there, thinking about what to say, his face becoming a mix of emotions.

“We don’t know, overnight it seemed, after some ship came by everyone started getting sick. We don’t know what with, but it was bad.”

The captain looked disgusted, like he had just put his hand in a puddle of mud.

“Would we be able to take refuge in this place for only a day?”

The man thought about it for only a moment. His eyes were going around like he was trying to find the answer.

“Yes, but only for the night. After that, you must move on.”

The captain nodded before heading towards the town. Just like the port, this too was empty, besides the odd person who eyes thenm down fom their house. The sickness that was floating around here did a number on the locals. The captain had a looming feeling of dread, though not enough to take them away. Getting to one of the houses, the captain went in. he was going to take this one for himself, as the owner seemed to not be coming back anytime soon at least. As he entered, the smell of something rotting was persistent, yet he paid little attention to it. Sitting on the bed, he took his hat off and rested it against the table. He yawned as he lay down on the bed. His back and legs finally felt rested again after being on the water for so long. As he lay there on the bed, he could feel himself slowly drifting away, even with that smell in his nose. Before he finally fell asleep.

In the morning, the captain woke up to knocking on the house door. He jumped out of bed and put his hat on. Getting to the door, he had only opened it just a crack. It was one of his crew.

“Sir, the rest of the crew are ready to go when you are.”

“Ok. Be on the ship, and I shall join you soon.”

He said as he closed the door to go get dressed. The smell hadn’t gone away either, nor was he ever going to get used to it. After he had gotten dressed, the captain decided to check around the house to try and find where that awful scent was coming from. It didn’t take much searching to find out what it was. Underneath the bed that he had just slept on was a body. Nor was it alive. It was half decomposed; the captain threw up. He couldn’t stand the thought of sleeping on a dead body. It looked like it had some sort of spore on the face as well. Looking at it once again, he saw how bad it was. The clothes were those of a regular person. His face was half gone, and the bone was visible. The flesh is just barely holding onto the bones. The body was at least a few days old. The captain got out of the house and fast. He didn’t want to have to spend another minute in there with that corpse.

Walking back to the port, the captain's speed picked up; he wanted to get off of there as soon as he could. Now the streets were empty, he didn’t feel alone though, like there were eyes on him the whole time that he was walking. Back to the ship wasn’t too far. Though with the current feeling, it felt like it was further. His paranoia is getting to him as he hears the rustling of the bushes and trees to either side of him. Finally, he found himself back on the port, his ship ready to leave as soon as he got on. Nobody was there anymore. Not even the man that he had spoken to. Rushing onto the ship, they released the rope and anchor. The waves started the ship off in the right direction. As he got back onto the deck, he started telling them what to do again. He didn’t quite yet plan for what happened on that island. The sickness there was lingering in his mind more than anything now. Looking back at the island, he saw one of them, though it was hard to tell who they were. Now that they were so far away, he couldn’t see any of their features, only the waving. He was waving like a friend saying goodbye after they caught up with each other. 

As they started to slow, the captain yelled out.

“Lower sail!”

And so they did, now they once again moving at a comfortable speed away from the island and to the trading centre. They would have to take a different way home, the captain thought, as he didn’t want to be anywhere near that island again. One of the crew came up to the captain.

“Captain, sir, how long until we get there?”

He thinks, measuring the distance between here and there. And how fast the boat is going.

“I would say we will make it around a week, maybe a little more.”

The crew smiled before walking back onto the deck. It would be impossible to buy anything now that all of their money had been spent at the little port island. Though they have food and water now, which should last them the way there and back. It's fine as long as they ration it. The money they would get from the trading post would help as well with buying extra necessities on their way back.

Starving to death wasn’t something any of them wanted to do. They were still moving the food to the inside of the ship. They couldn’t let any of it go overboard. Or if another ship or pirate had seen anything of interest, they would be robbed. After that, they would most likely be killed. That wouldn’t happen, though.

Part II

The cough

One of the crew had come to the captain. He looked worried and concerned. His sleeve painted red.

“Sir, I have a rather terrible cough, and I want to know what I should do.”

The captain looked at him, his sorry state that he was currently in. The captain took a little bit of a look at him. On his right arm was a rash.

“I don’t know about this. You should go and check on Emmanuel.”

Emmanuel was educated in medicine. He would be able to tell what he had.

“Ok, yes, captain.”

He walked away, coughing again. It sounded painful, though the captain didn’t quite know what was wrong. Now that he was gone, there was nobody up in the crows' nest, so the captain decided to take it upon his own to check out what was happening. As he climbed the latter, a gust of wind had almost pushed him off. He was able to hold on the ladder, but only just.

Once he had gotten to the top, He could see well into the distance now, and the island was gone. It disappeared into the horizon on the ocean. He took out a piece of paper and a compass. He started looking at it and out into the waters. As he did, the captain wrote things down, he could remember that a long while ago he once taught the crew how to do this. He mostly treated them like family, though he didn’t trust the new crew as much. After filling out the whole into paper in scribbles and markings, he came down from the nest. The climb down was long, yet worth it to know where he would end up. They couldn’t just sail into the water expecting to get to where they wanted to if they didn’t have somewhat of telling. Also, the sextant was useless without the night sky. As it was currently mid day. No stars would be out now. After some time, the captain finally got himself down from the top of the nest. He was slightly scared of heights, but it wasn’t that bad. So long he wasn’t up there for too long. Going to the door that led to the inside of the ship, he took a breath of fresh air. It gets fairly musty after a while. Mostly because of the stuff they would do down there. One of the crew was sitting down journaling, another was sitting against the post, and another talking to Emmanuel. Though their faces laid long and bored. The crew who was talking to Emmanuel seemed content with what he was hearing. The captain goes over.

They look over at him as he gets to them.

“Hello, sir.”

One of them says.

“Did you find out what happened?”

The crew looks at Emmanuel. Wondering if he will say something or not.

“I believe this to be nothing more than chaffing and a cold.”

The crew looks back at him, but before the captain can speak, he says something instead.

“But I was coughing blood.”

“Yes, but that is probably because of the fight you got in the other day.”

He sighed, agreeing with that happening and probably being the reason blood was in his cough.

“Though captain, why have you come down?”

“I wanted to see if he was able to get back to work, and it seems so.”

The crew looks at him before walking past and going up to the crows’ nest.

As he was walking past, the crew member was itching at the rash, but nobody seemed to notice it. They don’t usually notice things like that because often they are busy looking out for themselves. They didn’t have much time to look and check in on others. Some of the people on the boat don’t even know each other. The conditions of the ship had been getting worse over the past six months. They have become criminals in some places that they had to flee from bad deals. One of their crew got shot but, thankfully, survived. The captain walks over to him. He sees that he can do things again.

“How is that arm doing?”

The crewman looks at the captain.

‘Just fine now almost, though I must say it still hurts every so often.”

They both let out a light chuckle.

“Yes, I believe you may have that happen for some time. Though you should start pulling your own sometime again.”

He looks at the captain with serious eyes, like he means whatever will come out of his mouth next. The crew very seldom lied to the captain. They could only imagine what would happen to them for that. The captain didn’t like liars. The last time someone did, they got shot. The captain doesn’t take kindly to those who betray his trust.

The crew member smiles, and the captain turns away. He feels good that he now once again has an almost full boat of people. The only problem is the guy with the rash, but then again, colds and rashes don’t last that long. At least they shouldn’t, and the captain knew that. He knew the risk of things just as his crew did. They couldn’t risk anyone getting sick on the ship because then they would have to put a holt on the trade. So, to keep things moving, they had to put that man's poor soul down where the captives would go. They didn’t quite know what it definitivly knew but they had quite the idea. Some of the sick of the ship would end up being thrown off of the side, overboard. Who knows what happened to those people? Maybe some of them survived. Maybe some of them perished in the depths of the sea. There was no way of telling. Who Maybe? Maybe some did make it. Though none of that is of importance now. The only thing that had mattered to the captain now was the trade. Without that, he and his crew would starve or worse. Without any protection, the ship would get boarded and attacked by other pirates.

Leaving the inside of the ship, the captain goes back up top. The sun started to set, and the sky became a particular color of fire and amber. It had looked so beautiful. Somebody with a heart would gaze and enjoy the moment, and that’s what some of the crew had done. They all enjoy it, the captain on the other hand. He thought of such moments as ‘wastes of times’, something useless. The only thing on his mind was the progress of his ship and his people. The captain took a breath before projecting his voice into the crowd.

‘Get back to work, everyone! This ship won't sail and guide itself!”

Some of the people on his ship got back to work without a second thought, and some of them got back to work with a sigh. Regardless, it didn’t matter to the captain; he was just glad that they listened to him. That they listen to him well. Walking up to the captain's wheel, he is followed by one of his men. As he comes up to the captain, he is about to speak. He has to regain his breath from the heavy object that is in his hands, as he is not one of the strongest members.

“Captain, sir, the sextant should be usable now as the stars are out.”

He looks up to gaze at the stars to see if it would be worth it. The stars seem to be bright enough. The night sky after sun-fall was perfect for this. Not a single cloud in the sky. They set up the sextant along a table. The crew member who knew how to use it started working his magic. After only a minute, he came to an answer.

“Sir, we must sail due north.”

“Is that so?”

The captain replies. With a certain tone of irritation at being told what to do, typically that would be his job.

“Yes, it is, and it is getting rather late.”

The captain sighed before answering.

“Ye,s dear boy, please rest up as we have quite the big day ahead.”

Even while saying all this, the captain had no idea of what to expect.

As the crew had all gone into their sleeping quarters, the captain stayed awake for only some time later. He turned the wheel to the right instead of left. Now, the captain had set them on a path to nowhere. Uncharted territory of the waters. As he did, unknowingly, the captain goes into the great room, his bed was near to the end of the room. He made his way back there after closing the door. Each step was quite loud, yet that didn’t matter. He didn’t care if he woke up his crew, just as long as they would be willing to work the next day. The captain would be damned if they wouldn’t want to work. As he lay in bed, he could feel himself growing more and more tired. His eyes grew heavy, and he was rocked to sleep by the waves. The warm blanket on atop of him kept him warm from the cold air of the sea. After only a few more seconds of this, the captain had fallen into a deep sleep.

Part III

The sickness

The knocking on the door had rudely awoken the captain. He got out of bed and put his hat on. Sliding open the door, one of the crew had been standing there. His rash from yesterday was growing more now. As well as odd and odd lumps forming on the rash. The crew member looked sick and weak. Like he could barely carry himself to the c, his, hiss face fell into shock and surprise as the concern grew louder.

“Captain, sir, I don’t know what is happening.”

“Uh… G—Go see the doctor, see what he has to say.”

The captain had no idea what was happening to the crew member, and the only thing is that it seemed to be getting worse over time. There wasn’t much that he could do about it either. The crew member nods his head and heads down to the doctor, Emmanuel. As he was walking away and into the bowels of the ship, the crew member was coughing. Now, the captain can feel some dryness in his throat. Inside the boat. The doctor concludes that the crew member has a fever now.

The captain remains upstairs and in the great room. He got dressed, then headed out onto the deck of the ship. So far, everything looked normal to him, but then again, the sea looks the same no matter where you look. Rain starts to fall, not much, but just enough to be noticeable, turning the once warm morning into a cool and damp day. The air filled with mist and moisture. Even with the terrible day, the ship couldn’t stop its travel, and this whole time, the captain was unaware of the fact that the ship was headed in the wrong direction. The doctor comes up to the captain, worry spread across his face.

“Captain, sir, many of the crew is out with a sickness; so far, it seems to be nothing more than a high fever.”

The captain looks at Emanuel with a disappointed look, but not one that would be directed at him.

“This is going to slow the travel to the trading post. It will be difficult to navigate these high seas without them.”

The captain didn’t like the idea of sending his men to rest instead of working, especially with how long he will have to do it for. The crew won't be able to work for quite some time. Half of them are still able to work, but only just. There wasn’t much the captain would be able to do all by himself that would be time-efficient. He is able to sail the boat all by himself, though that would be a hard task. The doctor turns away and then heads back into the ship where the sick are. The healthy crew were up on top, they were advised to stay up there so they too wouldn't get sick. Now, what they had to do was bring the food from the inside of the ship to the top. He got some of the healthy crew to bring it up for him as he didn’t want the sick up from there.

The captain went up to the wheel and rested himself upon it. He watched as they brought the food and water up from the inside and put it on the deck.

“Bring it into the great room!”

The captain says as it is the last place they would be able to hide it from the prying eyes of others, whose food and water was but theirs.

“Yes, captain!”

They cried out as they lifted all of it again and brought it into the room. At least they had something to be able to drink and eat. Every single one of them was praying silently to themselves that the rations had not become infected with the sickness. The captain found that his back had started to ache even though he wasn’t using it very much. The doctor comes back out, he had some terrifying news. Especially to the ears of the captain.

“I’m working on what they might have. Some of them have developed pustules; they also are experiencing back aches. Some are also blisters that form on the rash.”

Most of that to the captain flew past, except for the back aches.

“They all have back aches?”

“Yes, most of them, if not all. Why do you ask?”

The captain thinks for a moment; if he goes down with whatever the crew has, he won’t be of any use. He does not want any of that to happen to him. It’s not even a thought that he wants to think of right now, so he chalks it up to just the fact that his bad had been rather stiff lately.

“No reason, I just found that kind of strange.”

“Yes, that it is, but I’m starting to believe that this is a form of smallpox.”

The captain's face goes pale as he remembers back on the island. He walks over to the side of the ship and puts his hands on the railing. He takes deep breaths. He had never before needed to deal with a sick crew. And if there was one that had been sick, they wouldn’t be out for too long.

The doctor follows behind him.

“And you are sure that it is smallpox.”

The doctor looks at him, not wanting to think that.

“Yes, I do.”

The captain feels disgusted and scared. If this illness truly was smallpox, then he would have to kill off the crew. As well as himself.

“Come with me.”

The captain says as he walks towards the great room. Emmanuel does so without hesitation. As they make it inside of the great room the captain goes to his holster. Inside of it was his gun, he knew what he would have to do. There was no avoiding this. He took out the gun.

“Captain sir, what are you to do with that.”

Emmanuel asks. His confident smile now drooping into a stone cold face. Like he had been turned into a statue. The captain turned and aimed it at Emmanuel.

The doctor, Emmanuel, looks at him with fear. Already, he can feel what will happen within the next few seconds, and it won't be a pretty sight.

“Please, Avery.”

Emmanuel pleads.

“You don’t have to do this.”

Avery ignores his pleads, instead taking the trigger of the flintlock and pulling it. The ball shoots out, carving out a tunnel in Emmanuel's skull. Blood splatters everywhere, and brain matter goes all over the place. Bits of bone also go flying in every direction. This was not anything quiet, and the crew heard this. One of them comes up from the lower deck to go check out what the noise was.

“You are sick. why are you here…”

The captain asks. The crew member stands there, shocked at what he is seeing, the doctor that he was once just talking to moments ago lying in front of him. Dead, his face unreconisable.

“I wanted to check on the noise…”

Before anything else could happen, the captain once again shot one of his own. He had a new mission now. He could forget about the trading post now. That wasn’t an option anymore. He left the great room and looked around.

Some of the sick and healthy crew were standing with each other. He lifted his gun.

“All of you! Get inside the ship now!”

“But captain—”

“I don’t want to hear anyone else speak now.”

Saying that is what made the crew go down into the inside of the ship. All of them are going in like sheep being corralled into their pen. As they got in, he followed them. Closing the door, he locked it. Then, he took a barrel that was sitting nearby and pushed it in front of the door just as an extra measure. Then, after that, he went over back into the great room and took one of the lanterns. It was lit, and the fire was there. Nobody was there to tell him any different now. Not that it would make a difference. Every few seconds now, the captain coughed. The sickness, too, had gotten to him. Opening up the hatch to the inside op the ship, he raised the lantern above his head, some of the crew looking up at him. They didn’t say anything but just watched. They watched him as he threw the lantern inside the ship, igniting everything inside. The rain wasn’t strong enough to put out the fire, it was raging on like an unstoppable force.

He tried to ignore the screaming of his crew as he shut the hatch. Doing so muffled their screams of pain. He didn’t know what else to do. There was no saving the ship now. The insides of it had become a literal depiction of hell. The damned inside screaming to be let free of the torture. The captain. Avery couldn’t stand it. He went into the great room. Sat at the desk where he and his crew would be. Making plans of what to do next or what the next course of action would be. As time went on, the screaming started to slow, and then eventually it stopped. By this time, he could feel the water soaking his feet. And he could feel himself being lowered into the water along with the boat. Soon, it was up to his ankles, then his knees, then at his stomach. He picked up the glass of wine in front of him and took a drink, finishing the rest of the glass not moving an inch, just letting himself be taken along with the ship. His mission had been successful; no matter what the cost was, he had stopped the sick from spreading. He died with a smile on his face.