Dangerous Tides - Cassidy Shay (android based ebook reader TXT) 📗

The sun shining through the window reflected off the silverware and into my eyes, leaving me temporarily blind. When they brought Sammy in, I only heard the sounds of it. “I can walk on my own, you know! You don’t have to carry me in!” I heard a soft thump, and finally, I was able to see. Sammy was standing in between two big sailors, and they were each holding an arm. “I’m not going to run.” He looked at me, and then at Juan-Carlos, and then back at me. “Jane, are you okay?”
I didn’t know how to answer that question at first. But looking into his eyes, I decided that even if I wasn’t at the moment, I would be okay as soon as we were together. I was opening my mouth to say so when Juan-Carlos answered the question for me.
“I found her crying on the floor, completely unresponsive. You were the last one in here.” He took two giant steps toward Sammy and stuck his finger in his face, accusing him of doing something. “What did you do?”
Sammy looked at me, and then down at the ground. After a couple seconds of silence, he looked into Juan-Carlos’s eyes. “We got in a fight, and I stormed out. It was just a stupid argument over something that’s not important. I was angry, and I left without even trying to apologize. Probably not the best idea, but I’m not the smartest one around. I didn’t mean to hurt her, sir. You can trust me on that. I am many things, but dishonest isn’t one of them.” This all came out in a rush, so that it took a minute afterward to let it all unfold so that you could comprehend any of it.
If the two monsters of men hadn‘t been holding Sammy‘s arms, I knew that the boy‘s arms would be around me. But luck was not with me, and the two men kept Sammy‘s arms in a grip like a vice. I looked at the men that were holding him, hoping for a way around them. The man on the right was tall and wide, but I could tell by just one look at him that it was all hard-earned weight from years of labor, not fat acquired by sitting around. When he moved, you could see the muscles moving under the skin. His long, black hair was braided in the back, and his thick, dark eyelashes threw a shadow over his eyes. He had a fresh cut on his bottom lip, and a crooked scar under his right eye. His nose was big and misshapen, as if it had been broken once. On his right arm was a large, intricate tattoo, half hidden under his sleeve. His feet were bare, his pants raggedy and ripped, and his shirt had stains of various sizes and colors. His tanned face showed years of being in the sun, and his hands confirmed experience in hard work. The upset look on his face told me he didn’t want to be the one bringing in a child for punishment. I wondered if he’d ever had kids of his own.
The second man, while smaller, was more intimidating. He wore a smirk on his face, as if witnessing children receive punishments that they didn’t deserve was his favorite thing to do, after beating them himself. He was shorter than the other man by about a foot. He looked to be about five feet, three inches. His broad shoulders tugged at the dirty shirt that was stretched across them. His arms were big, and his clothing was tight enough that you could see how well the muscles in his chest and stomach were toned. It occurred to me that he might have chosen a shirt that was too small, if only to make it appear that he was bigger. His pants ended halfway down his calves, which I noticed were also very well toned. His dirty feet were left bare. One of his eyes was dark brown, while the other looked much lighter, the same look a blind eye has. I wondered why it was this way until I saw two scars reaching toward his nose from the inside corner of his left eye. His eyes were pretty far apart, and his eyelashes were either too short to see or not there at all. His eyebrows, although bushy, were nowhere near as thick as the first man’s. His upper lip looked swollen, and I could see a spot of dried blood at the entrance of his nose, implying that he’d been in a fight earlier that day.
A strange smell was emanating from their direction, although I couldn’t tell if it was from the man on the left or the right. It was a concoction of many smells that I was familiar with, because of the years I’d spent at sea. However, I’d never experienced all these smells together in one space, and I hoped for the sake of my nose that I wouldn’t ever have to smell the mix again. By the look on his face, I could tell that Sammy was smelling the same thing that I was. The giants didn’t say anything, but as they shifted their weight, the floorboards creaked with the stress of holding them. The smaller one was breathing heavily, as if he had been running for the first time in weeks.
Finally, I met Sammy’s eye, and I decided that I had to do something before things got out of hand. I could tell by the look on Juan-Carlos’s face that he did not believe a word that had come out of Sammy’s mouth.
“Juan-Carlos, he’s telling the truth. Please do not punish him. He did nothing wrong. He’s not even the one that started the fight! Please just let him go. He didn‘t do anything wrong.” The pirate captain studied my face, looking for any signs of a lie. When he found none, he motioned for the men to let go of Sammy’s arms. The moment that they were free, I was wrapped in them. “I’m sorry about this morning, Sammy. I really don’t want to fight with you. Will you forgive me?” I felt him nod his head, and then he pulled away.
“Jane, I have to go. I want you to sit down and enjoy your lunch. I’ll see you later on, after you’ve finished. Does that sound good?” I nodded my head, and he walked out the door. Juan-Carlos sat down across from me and started eating right away.
The meal was relatively quiet. Occasionally, one of us would attempt to start a conversation, but it would soon die out. After I was done, we both stood up and walked out of the cabin. He turned to his cabin, and I turned to the ladder leading up to the top deck, where I knew Sammy would be waiting.

Text: Cassie Hoene
Publication Date: 08-23-2011

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