All That Glitters Is Not Gold (Work In Progress) (PAGE TWO)
(back to page 1: http://luv-bowie-luver.livejournal.com/59412.html)
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Unfinished. Unedited. Rough Draft.
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UPDATED: December 31st, 2016, 2.51PM (my time)
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The other ship was not a Spanish Galleon laden with treasures, as Shark had hoped. It was a passenger vessel, the best the pirates could hope for was that rich people were onboard. As no pirate ships had been reported this far out recently, there was very little resistance to be dealt with after they finally caught up to the vessel. The pirates were ruthless, Spider remained onboard his own ship along with a select few while everyone else began to subdue the crew and load up the hold (and stuff their pockets) with whatever they could find. Shark was only allowed to wander on over once the situation was given the all clear, Spider would not risk him an injury if he could avoid it. Shark enjoyed nosing around the ship, ignoring the shouts from the now restrained crew and poking around in the below decks. He picked up a stray drumstick of chicken, amazed to see such a thing out here. Most of the fine foods had been scoffed down by the pirates already, they must have missed this one small piece and Shark would not simply leave it be.
Chewing on the slightly salty morsel, Shark wandered into another back room. He had to really throw himself against the door because something was behind it, he looked around in the dimly lit cabin but saw nothing of interest except a large, wooden barrel. Rum, perhaps? Or gunpowder?
He tossed away his chicken bone and approached the barrel, looking it over curiously but there were no markings to suggest what might be inside. Upon further inspection, the lid was slightly off kilter, suggesting it’d already been emptied, but he pulled it off anyway and stumbled back as a woman suddenly stood up. She looked frightened but determined, without a weapon and yet making fists with her hands anyway to try to fend him off but Shark wasn’t attacking her and she slowly calmed down.
“A-Are you a pirate?” she stammered.
“Yes,” Shark replied shortly, it was starting to bother him that it was even questionable after all this time.
“You don’t look like one,” she said to him, checking him over with her frightened gaze.
“I get that a lot,” Shark lowered his head and scuffed his boot on the floor.
“Are you going to hurt me?” the woman wondered.
“I don’t know,” Shark gave a shrug, looking at her again, “suppose I’ll just turn you over to the rest of the crew.”
“Oh no, please no!” the woman pleaded with him, “they’ve already raped the others, I couldn’t take it, please.. Please have mercy!”
Shark pursed his lips, glancing over his shoulder but nobody had bothered to come down here yet.
“Have you got anything for me?” Shark asked her, “jewelry? Coins?”
“I’m afraid not,” the woman spoke quietly, her voice shaking, “everything’s been taken.”
Shark sighed, rubbing his chin thoughtfully and looking her over as he helped her to get out of the barrel when she made the attempt to do it herself.
“What are your knickers made from?” he asked, “silk?”
“What? No.. “ she replied, backing away but he didn’t let go of her arm and she could not go far.
“You’ve got nothing, love,” Shark warned her.
“Please, I don’t want to drown.. “ her eyes filled with tears.
“Don’t give me that look,” Shark frowned at her, “I invented that look, stop it!”
She averted her gaze, keeping it downcast and he reached out, tugging at her clothing and tearing it a little to expose part of her cleavage.
“Mmm, nice.. “ Shark approved, “you have very ample breasts.. “
“Please,” the woman was trembling now, “don’t.. “
Shark hauled her roughly towards him, she stumbled and cried out but softly.
“It’s either me, or them,” Shark told her, “I won’t toss you overboard, but they will. After they’ve all had you.. “
She looked at him again, weighing her options and deciding that he wasn’t so bad looking as the others were and she slowly nodded in defeat.
“But you must bring me onboard your ship and hide me somewhere,” she bargained, “I can’t sail this ship alone and.. and you could ravage me every night if you wanted to.”
Shark knew she was just trying to survive, but the offer was alluring, tempting him to forget the superstition of having a woman onboard a pirate ship being bad luck. What evidence was there to support this anyway?
“Alright,” he finally relented, “get back into the barrel, I’ll have someone bring it aboard. Keep quiet and I’ll come see you tonight. They call me Shark, by the way. What’s your name, darling?”
She blushed as he helped her back into the barrel, relieved to have the chance at surviving a pirate attack but angry at herself for agreeing to let him have her anytime he wanted. What other choice did she have? He was going to turn her over to the other pirates, at least if it was just him, she might actually see the light of another day.
“Marie,” she answered him, crouching down and closing her eyes as she was plunged into the cramped darkness of the barrel once more.
Spider stood watching over the movements of his crew, taking note of the hold getting crowded and almost bursting with loot by now. He hadn’t managed to offload everything during the two day docking in town, now he’d be forced to come ashore again or else the next treasure they stole might end up being dumped overboard. He decided against taking on another ship just now, at least not this one anyway, the upgrades would be far too costly and it’d take way too much time to have it all done. No, if he was going to take over a second ship, it had to be battle worthy and strong. Shark stepped out onto the deck, Ollie was just zipping up his pants and there was a sobbing naked woman at his feet.
“Ollie,” Shark called to him, “would you move this barrel for me, please?”
Ollie rolled his eyes and sighed with irritation, always with the manners, it just annoyed him so much!
“What’s in it?” Ollie called back, approaching Shark but not wanting to help him out for nothing.
“It’s mine, I found it all on my own,” Shark responded with a defensive attitude.
“Then move it all on your own!” Ollie snapped back at him, laughing to himself and lifting his chin in a show of superior strength. Shark ground his teeth and pouted angrily, but he didn’t snark back and instead, just looked out at the ocean. Ollie tried not to see the sadness in Shark’s expression, he was clearly upset with the refusal but didn’t want a confrontation. Finally, Ollie felt bad for what he’d said and moved towards him again.
“Alright fine,” Ollie grumbled, “I’ll move your damned barrel, but you owe me after this!”
“Oh, thank you so much Ollie!” Shark beamed happily, “just drop it off in the pump room.”
Ollie hesitated and looked back around at Shark, who was walking away.
“Hey, wait a minute!” Ollie called to him, “aren’t you going to help me?”
“No,” Shark replied with a smile, “you’re such a strong and fit man, Ollie. You wouldn’t like to be seen getting help from me, I couldn’t break an egg.. “
Ollie narrowed his eyes, Shark certainly may look unassuming and fragile but he sure packed a punch if cornered, he’d found that out the hard way himself..
Shark winked at him, turned and headed towards the ropes, so Ollie swore under his breath and went down below deck to collect his precious barrel. Shark paused as something gripped his ankle, looking down to see the naked woman trying to get his attention. She had heard him speak politely and aimed to appeal to his softer nature, the trouble being that Shark simply didn’t have one.
“Please,” she sobbed desperately, “h-help me?”
Shark knelt down and touched her dirty, tear stained cheek. Spider looked over and saw Shark leaning down to kiss a woman who lay bare on the deck and he shouted out to his First Mate, jealousy in his tone. Shark withdrew instantly, his lips barely meeting those of the woman's, who had tried to flirt with him in order to gain his sympathy and perhaps protection. She screamed profanities at him as he adhered only to his master’s call and left her to be thrown overboard, taking his place with his head lowered right by the Captain’s side.
“What were you doing over there?” Spider demanded.
“Ollie has my barrel, Captain,” Shark replied quickly, “I think he means to take it for himself.”
Spider looked at him, which was the worst thing you could do when Shark was trying to get something from you, those big, sad blue eyes got you every damned time and he knew it.
“I’ll make sure he doesn’t,” Spider grumbled begrudgingly, as he didn’t like to tell the crew what loot belonged to which pirate. It caused unrest and sparked rumors of favoritism, which led to bullying and singling out but Shark could take care of himself in that respect and everyone already knew that the First Mate was allowed privileges that the others weren’t anyway.
“Move it with that barrel, Ollie!” Spider bellowed.
Ollie had just paused to take a peek into the barrel, when the Captain’s shouting startled him and he hurried to get it onboard and down to the pump room as Shark had requested. The call for all hands on deck was given and Ollie had to leave the mysterious barrel behind, it was time to sink the other ship and head to the nearest port. Spider looked around at Shark again, he was sitting down against the back railing of the ship. Spider gave the orders, the cannons were fired and the passenger ship was sunk. Then he made a sharp turn and Shark laughed amusedly as he slid along the deck and softly bumped into the other railing, at least he hadn’t been sitting up on them and fallen down into the water below. Spider smiled and shook his head, the childish behavior further endearing the young pirate to his battle hardened heart.
Spider was doing his best to ensure that the town they docked into next, was as far away from the last one as possible. The hold was nearing its capacity, he really needed to offload it and as much as possible. Most of the pirates had somewhere safe to store their treasures, trusting either loved ones back home by mailing it to them or a frequently visited island whereupon they had it buried somewhere or stored in a cave. But they hadn’t had the chance to stow anything away lately and coins were far easier to carry around than any bulky lot of loot they’d managed to pilfer.
Just after their dinner that night, Shark took his usual bath but this time, he was left alone to just get on with it. After that, he was keen to visit Marie and he hadn’t forgotten that she might be hungry, so he brought a part of his dinner down to the pump room for her to eat. When she heard the footsteps approaching, Marie closed her eyes and hoped it was Shark and not one of the other pirates onboard the ship.
“Marie?” his voice came from just outside of the barrel. She carefully slid the lid away and meekly accepted his help to get out of it, squeaking when he pulled her up against his body.
“As per our agreement,” he grinned at her, eyes bright with lust.
“Wait, please!” Marie pleaded with him, “I’m so weak with hunger!”
“All the better,” Shark hitched up her dress, “you won’t struggle so much then. Come on, off with your bloomers, missy!”
“Shark, Shark please!” Marie wriggled and squirmed, making it difficult for him to get through her dress and petticoat.
“You wear too many clothes,” Shark grumbled, “hold still!”
Marie twisted away from him and stumbled towards the wall.
“Shark, I-I’ve got my woman’s thing!” Marie warned him, but she was lying.
“What’s that?” Shark wondered, approaching her quickly to pin her against the wall, “you smell so lovely.. “
“I’m bleeding down there,” Marie told him. Shark stood back, letting her dress back down.
“Oh you mean that?” Shark hesitated, then he shrugged, “no matter, I can always take another bath. Now, get those bloomers off.”
“Please let me eat first,” Marie begged him, “where am I going?”
He stood back again, this was true, there wasn’t anywhere she’d be able to escape to. Marie crept over to the food he’d brought down with him and hungrily ate her fill, gulping down the small bit of rum he’d left for her when she was done. Shark just waited patiently, sniffing as he wiped his nose on his sleeve. Marie took out a small, white cloth and handed it to him.
“Here,” she offered, “you can keep it.”
Shark accepted the cloth and nodded to her in thanks.
“Thank you,” he smiled and tucked it away into his pocket.
“You’re not like any pirate I’ve heard tales of,” Marie told him, “at least, not entirely anyway.”
“How do you mean?” Shark asked her.
“Well, pirates aren’t reputed to have manners,” Marie replied, “or baths.. “
Shark rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged, he really didn’t know what to tell her.
“Have you finished then?” he asked, impatient by now. Marie nodded with a sigh, giving up the attempt to resist as he approached her once again, well.. At least she knew he was clean.. Shark was careful not to rip her clothing, she would need it to keep warm overnight and he thought to perhaps bring her a blanket next time he visited. He unbuttoned her dress, untied the lace and let the garments drop to the floor. With face flushed red and eyes averted, Marie stepped out of the discarded attire and hugged herself nervously.
“What are you so scared of?” Shark asked her, taking off his shirt and boots.
“You, of course!” Marie just about scolded him, “you’re going to rape me, doesn’t that ring any bells with you?”
Shark just smiled at her and shrugged, stripping down to the nude.
“You did offer,” he reminded her again, “so it’s not really rape, is it?”
Marie was too intently staring at his well endowed loins, her heart suddenly thumping harder still.
“Uhm, Shark?” She spoke with trembling voice as he stroked his monster length nice and hard.
“What’s wrong?” He wondered, his eyes rolled in self pleasure and he hummed softly.
“Shark, I’ve not known a man of your, erm.. Size,” Marie stated worriedly, “you might hurt me.”
Shark had heard this before, he took pride in the compliment but he’d never hurt anyone with his cock before, so he took little heed to her complaint.
“You may have a little trouble walking love,” he spoke softly, approaching her now as intent set within his eyes and jaw, “but I promise you your screams won’t be for the pain.. “
Marie pressed herself into the wall as he stepped right up into her personal space, waiting for him to throw her down onto the floor or bend her over the barrel. Shark’s fingertips came to rest on her hips, tracing intricate, invisible patterns upon her pale skin. He mouthed at her chin, his warm breath trembling with anticipation, his cock hard and pressing into her thigh. She whimpered, it felt fleshy and hard. Shark smiled against her cheek, flicking out his tongue to lick her face, leaving it wet. He was very excited and she felt less tense the more he touched her in his gentle way, it was unlike anything she’d been expecting from him at all.
Shark was a charmer, he’d learned very quickly simply by observing that he could get anyone to do anything he desired of them, all he had to do was be kind. In his heart, he was ruthless and fearsome, but that wouldn’t get him anywhere near a lot of people in the way he’d like. You don’t trap someone with bait of poison, it had to be something they liked in order to lure them in, draw them close enough to strike. They had to believe wholeheartedly that you loved them, understood them and cared about their feelings, once you had them completely smitten with you, the knife was just there and waiting, ready to slice their throat once you grew bored with them.
Nobody was going to fall for an outright pirate, he had to play it savvy. It’s a good thing people were so jaded by their lives that the mere thought of someone actually being kind to them was slathered upon, victims without realizing it, they’d follow a ‘nice person’ anywhere until it was too late. It was very easy to fool those who wanted to be fooled and Shark had not a single regret for taking advantage of it, so long as his pockets were lined with gold and he had whatever he needed to survive and be comfortable. He used and was in turn used by others, it was all he’d ever known and so it was unlikely he’d ever change.
His kisses ran up over neck, then down to the collarbone and up along the front of her throat. Marie parted her lips as his mouth closed over them, coaxing his lips to open and her tongue was quickly met with his own. She moaned as his hands came up to fondle and squeeze her breasts, he kneaded them and massaged them before breaking away from her lips and kneeling before her. She lowered herself down somewhat and he gazed up into her eyes, as she ran her fingers through his hair and pulled his face closer, her other hand lifting her breast and teasing the nipple at his closed lips. Shark obediently opened his mouth and she shoved it full of her breast, he moaned and continued gazing up at her as he was forced to suckle at her breast.
She sighed and her heart fluttered at the sight of him, his eyes closed and he leaned forwards into her, jaw as wide as he could make it go, taking in as much breast as he could. His fingers spread out as his hands trailed over her buttocks, parting her cheeks close to her entrance and slipping his slender digits in among her folds to slick and prod. Marie rocked her hips against his fingers, coating them with her arousal and leaving them quite wet. Shark felt submissive suckling on her breast, he hummed against the fleshy mound but there wasn’t anything rewarding about it, so he abandoned it pretty quickly and sought to kiss her inner thighs. She covered her mouth to stifle a squeal as he hoisted her up against the wall, her feet off the ground, knees over his shoulders as his face buried into her, licking and nuzzling her heat. His tongue probed and swirled around her clit, fingers shoving in and out, dripping her moisture onto the floor as they squelched into her relaxing entrance, she bucked into her first orgasm and he took no further time.
Shark thrust her down onto the floor as she writhed and moaned, calling to him with hands clamped over her mouth for fear of waking the others. He hooked one of her legs around his waist and plunged his cock into her quickly, stealing her breath away as she hadn’t been expecting it so suddenly. As he inched himself deeper and deeper into her, he moaned and enjoyed how snug the fit was, she clamped and squeezed around his length, as if her body was trying to reject him but he continued to thrust himself relentlessly into her until they were both feverishly meeting one another’s hips with wild abandon. Marie was howling by this time and Shark smothered her lips with his mouth, swallowing her mewls and outcries, stifling his own groans and calls. Marie breathed heavily and threw back her head, he bit at her neck as she screamed into her second orgasm, his hand groping blindly to cover her mouth and she bit down onto his finger.
Shark rolled his eyes closed, the pain jolting through his hand, he bit back a howl of protest and growled against her flesh, bucking a few more times before he finally pulled out and straddled her chest, stroking himself twice before he grunted and spurted his thick, white release all over her neck, her soft mounds, her lips and her chin. Marie gazed up at him with smitten, soft eyes half closed while Shark just threw back his head, moaned and looked back down to admire his artwork. Breathless, they both remained there for some moments, panting, their chests heaving. Eventually, Shark moved away from her and stood slowly to his feet, his legs shaking somewhat.
“Tomorrow night,” he promised to return, “don’t get caught love, I’ll not try to save you.”
He looked her over once more, she felt her face grow hot with humiliation and then he got dressed and walked out. Marie looked around at the room, she wasn’t sure she could take a few days in this cramped, confined space, let alone several weeks or months. She felt unclean, but how could she fix that down here? Shark had told her just now not to get caught, but who would even come down here? Then she grew pale as she realized what he meant, she was to venture around on her own to take care of herself, while everyone was asleep. She shivered, but what other choice did she have?
Marie gathered up her clothes and stole over to the door, her legs were weak and felt rubbery but she had no other choice, she needed to get clean. Thankful that she had eaten and thus wouldn’t need to go looking for food and risk getting caught that much more, Marie opened the door and carefully peered out to listen and watch for any signs of life.
Nothing.
Quickly, she darted out and crept along the ship but she had no idea where she was supposed to be going. Trying to keep a mental map in her head of which way she’d come, Marie tried a few doors until she finally found what one might consider a sort of washroom. She went in and quietly closed the door behind her, looking around she saw some water and a few cloths. She used them to wash herself, just dipping the cloth into the water as she didn’t yet feel brave enough to actually get in and take a full on bath. Once she was done, she carefully dabbed her body dry and put on her clothes with a long exhale. Ship life was certainly not for a woman, she decided, it was far too disgusting. Growing a little bolder, she began to poke around the little wash room and opened some cupboards, finding a few things stashed here and there. She discovered some perfume, scented soaps and the like.
“Shark,” she commented, smiling bitterly to herself, he probably had stolen them from other unsuspecting women in the past.
Deciding not to take anything and risk a dagger in her throat, Marie closed the cupboard and got to her feet once more, keen to get back to the safe confines of her little room. She opened the door, peering out as she did so and stepping out when she felt it was all clear. It’d seem that nobody really ventured down to the lower decks at night, so she felt a little calmer as she made her way back to the room where Shark had told her to stay put. Once there, she leaned against the door and sighed with relief.
She didn’t know how much longer she could keep doing this, the stress was quite high and she was nervous to be raped each night by a pirate, what if she were to bear his child? Would he take care of her or feed her to some actual sharks? What kind of a life was there for a baby on a pirate ship? Heaven forbid she should ask for extra food while it was growing inside of her and she dreaded it to be either gender. As a male would be undoubtedly dragged into a life of piracy and a female, well, she dreaded to imagine what a bunch of merciless pirates would do to a young girl. Then she had to wonder, as she lay down and tried to get to sleep, would they even let her give birth to it? The creaking and groaning of the ship kept Marie awake for a long time, the waves crashing against the sides didn’t help much either but after a while she did eventually fall into a somewhat fitful slumber, if only for a few hours before the sunrise saw the pirates up and about.
Their shouts and laughter soon had her startling awake once more, rubbing her tired eyes and blinking rapidly as she yawned and tried to doze off again. Suddenly, her eyes grew wide as she heard boots stomping towards her door. She held her breath as she looked at the door, a shadow moved along the bottom of it and stopped right outside it. Marie started to tremble, she knew the rules about women (and stowaways for that matter) being found on a pirate ship and she really didn’t feel up to the task of trying to swim in the ocean with the many layers of clothing she wore. Thankfully though, the shadow moved on, after the sound of scratching and a belch met with her ears. Marie finally exhaled the breath she had been holding and slumped down onto her makeshift bed, closing her eyes and somehow, she managed to drift off once more.
Up at the ship’s wheel, Captain Spider and Shark were overseeing the crew as they went about their morning routine.
“Where were you last night?” asked Spider.
“I was in my hammock, Captain,” Shark answered him casually, “sleeping.”
Spider kept looking around, as if he weren’t speaking to anyone but himself and Shark did the same.
“You always come into my Quarters,” Spider pointed out.
“Not always,” Shark corrected him, “besides, I was exhausted.”
“From what?” Spider demanded suspiciously, “are you fucking someone else?!”
Shark opened his mouth to answer, when the cry of ‘Land Ho’ rang out from the Crow’s Nest.
“At last,” Spider grumbled, then he called up to the lookout, “where are we?”
“I don’t know, Captain!” came the reply, “looks deserted.”
“Hmm,” Spider ran his fingers through his hair, “we’ll take a look anyway. Might be some fruits or fresh water, prepare to scout the island!”
Shark looked down as the crew began to prepare to drop anchor close to the island.
“Captain, what if there are Savages?” Shark wondered.
“Well,” Spider put his arm around Shark’s shoulders and pulled him close, “we shall rape their women, kill their men and enjoy a feast with whatever we find in their huts!”
“And then we burn their huts, right?” Shark gazed up at his Captain, “with their offspring still cowering inside?”
Spider looked back down at Shark, those eyes of his even made the Captain shiver sometimes. They were bright and full of mischief, but they were also cold and void of emotion.
“You’re a terrifying man sometimes, Shark,” Spider ruffled his hair and found it amusing when Shark predictably got upset, pulling away to fix his hair back to the way he liked it. Spider’s booming laughter reached even Marie’s ears down below deck, she slowly woke up and wondered what was going on up there.
“Oh what am I supposed to do to stave off boredom?” she wailed to herself, “this is no way to travel. No way to travel at all!!”
*
“What is the matter, Shark?” Spider asked his First Mate.
“Let’s just say,” Shark answered, smoothing back his golden mane, “I really, really don’t like children, Captain.”
He wandered off towards the stern of the ship to see the island and Spider watched him silently, all mirth gone from his expression as he began to second guess his decision to rescue that little waif from town, all those years ago..
*
Despite the Captain’s dubious regrets, Shark was still the First Mate and as such, he was a critical part of the crew. His apathetic nature would ensure things got done, even when nobody else would touch it. Behind every ruthless pirate still beat the heart of a human being, but it seemed that Shark had missed this memo completely. Being the cleanest and by far the nicest looking crew member on board the ship, Shark had his fair share of ‘admirers’ who would try to sate their lust for sexual intimacy by attempting to have sex with him or make him suck them off. Shark had to learn in his early teenage years how to brawl and fend off those who were much bigger and stronger than himself, because Spider wasn’t always around to save him every moment of the night or day. Survival had been his main focus since he was four, this was simply another threat to his comfort that needed to be rectified. Sticking close to Spider certainly helped, but he was more often jumped from behind or pulled aside by surprise whenever Spider was not in sight. After the first few times he’d taken it, left to nurse his bloodied and raw asshole, Shark started to fight back with a lot more tact and used the other’s strength and weight against them. He was soon topping any who tried to fuck him, turning them right around and giving it to them without mercy.
As he stood looking at the island, the rest of the crew were making preparations to go there and explore.
“What was in that barrel?” Ollie’s voice came from behind Shark.
Shark glanced around as Ollie stood by him now, staring out at the island with trepidation.
“Fish, I suppose,” Shark gave a gentle shrug of his shoulders, “smelled that way.”
“Ugh, fish,” Ollie sighed, “why’d you bother? I swear if we don’t get something else to eat soon, I’ll take a bite out of you.”
He leaned in and pressed his face into Shark’s neck, leaning his chin on Shark’s shoulder.
“Mmm, you smell so good,” Ollie growled.
“Don’t you have orders to follow?” Shark pushed at him, but there wasn’t a lot of effort put into it.
Ollie stayed where he was, he wanted Shark and someday, he vowed to have him.
“Ollie!” Captain Spider shouted, “get back to work!”
Ollie grumbled and moved away from Shark, who exhaled long and slow. His eyes glittered with the sparkling ocean as it reflected the sun’s light, Springtime was always his favourite time of the year and the island had lots of lovely yellow flowers dotting the hillside off in the distance. Shark always had favoured this colour, he wasn’t sure why but he had a feeling it was due to the childish thought of gold being coloured yellow that had always stuck with him.
Two of the small boats were sent to shore with their Away Parties on board, Spider remained on the ship with Shark and a couple of others who stayed behind in case of a sneak attack by another ship. Spider walked over to where Shark was standing, trying to follow his gaze but not quite sure what was so fascinating out there.
“Shark,” Spider’s voice was soft, “why d’you hate children so?”
He watched as Shark’s calm expression turned hard and devoid of any positive emotion.
“Before you found me,” Shark responded quietly, watching the boats being dragged onto the sand, “I had to survive on my own. Every morning the children of the town would walk by me on their way to school and throw rocks at me. They would often taunt and jeer at me, threaten me with sticks. In the afternoon it was worse, they would kick me and punch me or pull my hair until I cried and begged them to stop.”
Spider pursed his lips, turning his eyes away from Shark.
“I had no idea,” Spider murmured, “Shark, not all children are so cruel as that.”
Shark gave a faint smile.
“Oh, but they are you see,” Shark reassured Spider, “given the chance, they are. Every last one.”
Spider fell silent after that, how anyone could pick on a small, four year old child was beyond even him. He couldn’t even begin to imagine what harsh realities Shark had had to face at such a tender age, the struggle to survive shouldn’t ever be placed upon the shoulders of someone so young and impressionable. Looking at Shark now, Spider sincerely doubted the damage could ever be undone.
“For what it may be worth,” Spider squeezed Shark’s shoulder, “I’m sorry, son.”
He then turned and walked back to the ship’s wheel, leaving Shark to stare out at the island with barely any reaction at all.
Shark was silent for a long time, then he slowly began to frown and gave a sigh.
“I’m not your son,” he spoke firmly, an icy undertone in his voice that suggested he was a lot more angry than his calm expression would let on, “I belong to no one.”
*
The men who were on the island were sending back things they had found via the boats, fruit being the bulk of what they had discovered, bottles of water (as much as they could fill) and any wild game they managed to track down and kill were first cooked over a fire before the meat was sent back and brought into the ship’s galley. Deeming it safe enough, the rest of the crew were taken to the island and they all took a break to explore as they saw fit. Shark and Spider stayed close to the fire because it was slowly getting dark and there was a wild boar on the spit over the fire. Pulling at the meat and devouring it, the pirates were well fed and in good humour this evening.
“Best roast I ever had,” commented Claude.
“It is,” Shark nodded, “we named this one Ollie.”
Rowdy laughter rose up to shatter the stillness of the night around them, Ollie poked at the snout of the boar and frowned.
“It don’t look nothing like me,” Ollie grumbled, eliciting more laughter from the crew.
“Ollie, the other end,” Shark mused and Ollie went to the other end, his face burning red as the crew were almost in stitches by this time.
“Are you calling me a pig’s arse?” Ollie accused Shark.
“So what if I am?” Shark wondered, “you couldn’t possibly have a beef with me then.”
Ollie covered his face with his palm, Shark had a thing for puns and any chance he got to use them, he would.
“What’s wrong Shark?” Ollie spat, “missing your momma?”
Shark looked at him and the crew fell silent, Ollie regretted it at once and took a few steps back when Shark got up and approached him. Spider didn’t usually interfere when this sort of thing happened, he generally only would step in if Shark looked like he was getting his butt kicked.
“I’m tired of you saying that,” Shark grabbed Ollie and thrust him towards the fire.
Ollie struggled to get away, but within seconds he found his face firmly planted between the boar’s ass cheeks, his lips close to it’s hole. His muffled screams from the searing flesh burning his face were heard by all but nobody moved to help him. One of the drawbacks from being a bully, nobody was going to save you when you got what was coming to you. Shark held Ollie there for a long time, until his frantic movements became sluggish and his shrieks became sobs. Finally, Shark pulled Ollie’s head out of the pig’s arse and threw him to the ground. He knelt down and leaned over Ollie, who looked very badly sunburned indeed.
“You will not mention my mother again, is that clear?” Shark spoke in a hushed tone.
Ollie nodded quickly, trying not to cry because it only stung his burnt flesh. Nobody tried to stop Shark at all, even Spider watched silently and worried for his own safety. Shark was getting stronger, more confident and less patient with his fellow crew members. He knew that someday, it’d only be a matter of time before Shark set his eyes upon the Captain’s position. Spider wasn’t ready to give up his ship or his crew just yet, but if he had to lose to anyone, he would be honoured to lose to Shark. Shark stood up and stepped back as Ollie slowly pulled himself up onto his feet, keeping his gaze lowered in shame.
“Ollie,” Shark spoke once more.
Ollie slowly looked up at him, his body shaking from the pain and the shock of it all.
“Tell me,” Shark grabbed him by the throat and squeezed, “who’s your daddy?”
An uproar of laughter suddenly exploded all around, if it wasn’t already red, Ollie would have been seen to blush with further humiliation. Shark squeezed harder and shook Ollie, demanding a response.
“Y-You are!” Ollie stammered.
Shark spun him around and bent him over, striking a pose with Ollie to embarrass him beyond belief.
“Don’t you ever forget it,” Shark thrust once against Ollie’s rear, then pushed him face first into the sand and stalked off into the dense thicket.
“Shall we go after him, Captain?” Claude wondered.
“Leave him,” Spider shook his head, trying to ignore Ollie’s screams as the sand scratched his raw skin, “he’ll come back when he’s ready.”
But as he watched the darkened line of trees where Shark had vanished into, he became less and less certain of that.
*
The moonlight was more than enough to light his way for the most part, Shark picked his way through the trees until the undergrowth became too dense and he had to resort to using his cutlass to clear a path. It got steadily darker the deeper he ventured inland, so he was careful about keeping his guard up. Shark didn’t want to run into anything that might consider him a snack, though at some point he did mistakenly lop off the head of a giant python when he thought it was merely a vine in his way. Shark paused to watch the reptile thrash and writhe, it seemed like it’d be such a waste of material and flesh. Looking back to the way he had come, Shark knew it wouldn’t do to stay out here too long anyway. He sighed and knelt down, hoisted the python onto his shoulders and struggled as he dragged the carcass back towards the beach.
It was quite noisy at the camp fire, though most of it was laughter and sea shanties being sung, Shark was undetected as he formulated an amusing plan in his mind.
Ollie was laying not too far away, his head wrapped in seaweed to help with the burns on his head and face. He was in a sorry state, as the salt rubbed into his raw flesh and made him whimper. Either nobody heard him, or they just didn’t care and it was quite likely that he might even be left behind, abandoned to his fate. There was no room a pirate ship for someone who couldn’t pull their weight, everyone had a job to do and only the fittest would survive in any case. Ollie’s future looked grim and he knew it well, he was fearful as he lay there in the shadows by the tree line, he didn’t want to be left stranded and alone on this island. Suddenly, he was set upon by a large, scaly beast and he screamed in terror. He couldn’t understand what all the laughter was about as he struggled to keep from being squeezed to death by the python’s coils, it took him far too long to figure out it was dead and he sat there panting to catch his breath. Shark dragged the python away from Ollie and over towards the others, the skin would fetch them some gold and the flesh would be a welcome treat for all.
Spider gave Shark his space as he watched the pirate slink back off towards the trees, but Shark didn’t vanish into them this time and instead sat down to watch the festivities.
Sometime after midnight, everyone had fallen asleep and were so full and drunk that they’d not awaken until well after sunrise the next morning. Only now did Shark arise from his position and wander about the remains of the party, picking at the leftovers and assembling them onto a plate that he then took in to serve to Marie. She was too hungry to have been asleep, able to smell the aromas of food coming in from the shore and it did take Shark a little while to row back to the ship on his own.
“It’s about time,” Marie grumbled, “I’ve been starving all night.”
She made a grab for the plate and Shark held it just out of her reach, pushing her firmly back with his free hand.
“That’s hardly gratitude,” Shark scolded her, “I should eat this myself.”
“Likely your belly’s already full enough,” Marie bit back, eyeing the plate and licking her lips.
“I could stand to eat some more,” Shark threatened. Marie considered to call his bluff, would he eat all that by himself? Could he?
At her silence, Shark sat down and began to help himself to the meal without another thought to her hunger. Marie watched him in disbelief, Shark ate with large bites and what seemed to be quite painful gulps, as if it might be stolen right out of his mouth if he didn’t swallow it fast enough. She shook her head and just stared, perhaps this is really how Shark had gotten his name..? Marie soon snapped out of her near trance and settled down beside Shark, putting her hand on the plate and pulling at it gently.
Shark paused, mouth overstuffed with food and she almost expected to hear him growl like a savage dog. But he didn’t, he let go of the plate and she thanked him quietly at long last, moving back over to the corner to enjoy her meal, for who knew when the next one would ever arrive?
Shark watched her as he finished his last mouthful, licking his fingers and sucking them clean.
“There will be fruit for some days,” he told her, standing up and walking back to the door, “I’ll try to bring you some. Be sure to have your manners handy.”
Marie looked over at him and Shark left, he had to get back to the island before he was missed.
Shark made it back to the beach and walked over to the still slumbering pirates, he yawned and rubbed one eye as the sounds of snoring and belching reached his ears. Such familiar sounds of the night made him feel tired and easily helped him to get to sleep, so he settled down near the waning flames of the fire and rested his head upon Spider’s chest. The beating of his heart and the sounds of flatulence from a few others soon had Shark fast asleep, only blinking awake the next day to sounds of shouts and orders. He sat up and squinted, watching everyone loading the food and water up onto the ship.
His attention was diverted to Ollie, who was still on his own over by the line of trees. The man was clearly in pain, pus was beginning to ooze from his blistered and burned face and nobody was paying any attention to his desperate pleas for help. Shark knew they could hear Ollie, but as each pirate walked anywhere near the pitiful man, they would put their head down and completely ignore him. Ollie’s eyes were wide and filled with tears, he was terrified because he knew what was to become of him. This had happened before, the demeanor of the crew was a dead giveaway, he was a lost cause and nobody was allowed to help him. Desperation filled his tone as he continued to call out, begging to his shipmates, pleading for his life. He was unable to eat or drink since yesterday and he was now in the full sunlight, quickly dehydrating, his lips dry and cracked as was his tongue. His voice sounded like gravel and dry leaves crackling by the time almost everyone had walked by him, eyes downcast and faces turned away as they headed back to the ship.
Ollie’s gaze slowly lifted as a shadow fell over him, providing him with a little relief from the glaring harsh rays of the sun and the burning sand.
“Please,” he croaked, his vision blurry now and his eyes sunken in a little, “Shark, help me.. I don’t want to die here like this.”
Shark stared down at him and produced a bottle of water, Ollie tried to lick his lips in anticipation, opening his mouth and lifting his head slightly. A groan escaped Ollie’s dry throat as Shark began to pour the cool, refreshing liquid… out onto the sand. Ollie’s head dropped back down and he sighed defeatedly, his chest tightened and heaved as he tried to sob but he had no moisture enough left to form any tears now.
Shark smiled and knelt down beside Ollie, setting the empty bottle down into the quickly drying sand.
“I’d not piss on you at this point, Ollie,” Shark hissed at him.
Slowly, he got back to his feet and began to walk towards the last of the group of pirates, ready to leave the island.
“Shark!” Ollie called to him one last time.
Shark stopped and looked around at him.
“This is my fate for having lived a life of terrible deeds,” Ollie’s voice crackled, “it is the fate of all pirates to die horribly, take a good long look at me, Shark.. Someday, it’ll be your turn.”
Shark gazed down at him for several long moments, Ollie coughed and shook as he tried to get to his hands and knees.
“Perhaps it will be someday,” Shark finally spoke again, “but not today.”
He turned and continued on back to the ship, ignoring Ollie’s screams of his name and the profanities that soon followed once Ollie realized the fruitlessness of his efforts.
Once everyone was back onboard, the food was stored and the water taken to the coolest deck of the ship. It wasn’t very loud or boisterous right away, everyone seemed to be in quite a depressed mood despite their spirits having soared last night. Part of it was attributed to the general feeling of sickness, having overeaten and drank themselves into a stupor. But much of it had to do with leaving a fellow human being behind to suffer a slow and painful death, as it could just as easily have been any one of them.
It was a sobering thought to remember that none of them were irreplaceable, they were all expendable and when it came down to it, it truly would be every man for himself.
Fruit was an important part of a diet, especially at sea. Scurvy was a very real threat if fruit was not regularly consumed, so the haul was a good one. It was a fragile and perishable substance, so it’d not last more than a few days out here. This meant that anyone could take as much of it as they pleased, so long as none of it went to waste. Nobody questioned Shark then, as he gathered up an armful of the stuff because he was well known to have the appetite of a swiftly growing young lad and he was thus able to keep a steady supply of fruit going down to Marie.
However, within a few days of the fruit turning bad and having to be dumped overboard, some of the pirates began to show symptoms of fever. The ship was almost at a standstill as more than half the crew came down with the illness and when the first death occurred, Shark went to see Spider in his Quarters.
“Captain, we cannot continue on like this!” Shark insisted, “we’ll all perish!”
“Damnit Shark! Don’t you think I know that?” Spider slammed his fist down onto his desk, “what do you suggest we do? Hm? We’re too far from anywhere to get them to a doctor!”
“We must throw them off the ship,” Shark insisted, lowering his voice, “it’s the only way!”
Spider lifted his gaze slowly to meet with Shark’s, truly the man had no conscience to speak of.
“We can’t just go throwing every sick man overboard!” Spider argued, “there’d be a damn mutiny!”
“We do it in the night,” Shark suggested evenly, “when everyone’s asleep. We say they died and that’s the end of it!”
Spider shivered but not visibly, he didn’t want Shark to know that deep down he was afraid of his First Mate.
“Sir?” Shark demanded with an air of impatience, his blue eyes fixed upon Spider and intently so.
“Alright,” Spider relented, for he knew that even if he disagreed, Shark would somehow find a way to get the job done anyway, “we’ll do it tonight.”
Shark nodded with a sigh of relief.
“You’ve made the right decision,” Shark told Spider, “it’s the only way.”
He turned and walked out of the room, leaving Spider to feel knots and churning in his guts for the remainder of the day. It’d been bad enough having to listen to Ollie plead for his life some days before, but now they were about to throw many more living people overboard and into the ocean.
Shark stood at the stern of the ship, overlooking the glittering sea as the ship was basically just barely moving with the wind and the tide. Claude wandered over and leaned against the railing beside him, giving the blond pirate a quick glance over.
“Do you think we might have a woman stowed away?” Claude wondered.
Shark tensed a little, shaking his head slightly.
“What makes you think that, Claude?” Shark asked him.
“It’s this damn fever,” Claude worried.
“You don’t honestly believe in bad luck, do you Claude?” Shark questioned his sanity. Claude fidgeted and shrugged, not really wanting to commit to an answer right away.
“We’ve just visited a strange island,” Shark explained, “we probably picked it up there.”
“Right, right,” Claude agreed quickly, “yes, you’re right Shark. I guess I’ve just been listening to too many tales lately.”
“Do you fear for your life, then?” Shark asked.
“Of course I do,” Claude admitted, “we all do, Shark. Some of us have families we don’t want to leave behind. Myself included. I’ve got a little girl back home, she’d be heartbroken if her father were to suddenly die. My wife lives on whatever I can send home, they’d die on the streets without me, she’s too proud to whore herself..”
Shark nodded silently, he understood his reasons for not wanting to die of this fever and that everyone was on edge because of it but that didn’t mean he had to give a damn. He had to do what was best for the healthy members of the crew and that meant getting rid of all trace of the disease. If they continued to allow the dying pirates to stay onboard, the illness would just keep spreading to everyone else until there wasn’t a soul left alive. Shark set his jaw, steeling his resolve. This had gone on long enough, it was time to become the cure and send this run of bad luck down into the depths of the deep blue.
“Are you not afraid?” Claude wondered, breaking into Shark’s silent thoughts.
“Why should I be afraid?” Shark asked him, looking at the other pirate with a curious expression.
“Oh I forgot,” Claude waved it away, “you don’t have a family, do you?”
Shark turned his gaze back over to the sea.
“Everyone aboard this ship is my family, Claude,” Shark told him quietly, “it’s the only one I’ve ever known.”
Claude gave Shark’s shoulder a gentle but firm squeeze.
“I’m sorry,” Claude apologized, “I didn’t think. It must be difficult for you.”
Shark lowered his head and nodded.
“Try not to worry,” Claude reassured him, “once the fever breaks, it’ll be clear sailing from then on.”
Shark pursed his lips and Claude moved away to help with shifting the sails, but could they wait that long? What if the fever did not break? What if the disease simply continued to spread? Spider had been talking about there being too many men onboard, perhaps this was simply nature’s way of culling the unfit so that the strong could survive.
*
After dinner that night, Spider reclused into his cabin until after midnight when he heard a soft tapping upon his door. His heart thudded and his stomach flipped, dread filled his chest with heat and he began to perspire.
“Captain,” Shark’s voice came through the door, “it’s time, sir.”
Spider slowly got up out of his chair and opened the door, meeting Shark’s gaze with his own. Shark instantly noticed the reluctance in Spider’s eyes, but he was determined to see this through.
“Let’s go,” Shark insisted hurriedly, “before anyone gets wise.”
“One more day,” Spider tried to argue, “let’s just give it one more day.”
“And see you or I fall next?” Shark wondered.
Spider fell silent, defeated. They walked quietly down to the lower deck where the sick pirates were kept isolated from the rest of the crew, but they were met with a curious sight indeed. Many of them were sitting up in their beds, their eyes clear and their bodies no longer shivering.
“What’s going on down here?” Spider demanded.
“We’re getting better Captain,” Peter answered with a smile, “the fever’s broken, sir! We’ve beaten it!”
Spider felt his knees just about turn to jelly, he wavered and Shark grabbed the Captain’s arm to hold him steady.
“Sir?” Shark hissed. Spider turned and led Shark back out and up to his cabin, shutting the door behind them.
“It’s over, Shark!” Spider scolded him angrily, “we very nearly went and drowned innocent men!”
Shark balled his hands up into fists.
“It was us or them!” Shark defended his actions, “we weren’t to know!”
Spider took some deep breaths, the more intimately he got to know Shark, the less appealing the lad became.
“Perhaps I should throw you overboard,” Spider grumbled. Shark barely even flinched at the threat, instead he simply inclined his head and looked at Spider with his most innocent stare. Spider always got weak at those big, blue eyes and now was no different than any other time Shark used them on him.
“I’m sorry, that was uncalled for,” Spider uttered softly, but was it? Shark moved closer and reached out to Spider, who swatted the boy’s hand away.
“Get out,” Spider spoke sharply.
Shark looked bewildered but slowly left the cabin, knowing better than to stick around once the Captain used that tone of voice. He wandered down into the Crew’s Quarters and got into his hammock, letting the familiar snores and grunts lull him into a deep sleep once more.
Spider took a long time to fall asleep that night, he lay there with his eyes wide open and startling at every sudden noise. He slept fitfully, dreaming of the day when Shark turned against even him, the end of the dream had him sitting bolt upright in his bed, drenched with sweat and shaking like a leaf. He was breathing heavily, his heart thumped madly in his chest and his eyes were darting around to see if Shark was somewhere in the cabin, waiting to jump him from out of the shadows. But he thought he was completely alone and he sighed, slumping back down in relief.
“Captain,” Shark’s voice suddenly had Spider tensing up again, “I really don’t enjoy being threatened, sir.”
Spider lifted his head to see the blond pirate standing there at the foot of his bed. Spider swallowed dryly, this was it..
He was a dead man for sure.
****
(Page 3: http://luv-bowie-luver.livejournal.com/64293.html)
***
Unfinished. Unedited. Rough Draft.
***
UPDATED: December 31st, 2016, 2.51PM (my time)
***
The other ship was not a Spanish Galleon laden with treasures, as Shark had hoped. It was a passenger vessel, the best the pirates could hope for was that rich people were onboard. As no pirate ships had been reported this far out recently, there was very little resistance to be dealt with after they finally caught up to the vessel. The pirates were ruthless, Spider remained onboard his own ship along with a select few while everyone else began to subdue the crew and load up the hold (and stuff their pockets) with whatever they could find. Shark was only allowed to wander on over once the situation was given the all clear, Spider would not risk him an injury if he could avoid it. Shark enjoyed nosing around the ship, ignoring the shouts from the now restrained crew and poking around in the below decks. He picked up a stray drumstick of chicken, amazed to see such a thing out here. Most of the fine foods had been scoffed down by the pirates already, they must have missed this one small piece and Shark would not simply leave it be.
Chewing on the slightly salty morsel, Shark wandered into another back room. He had to really throw himself against the door because something was behind it, he looked around in the dimly lit cabin but saw nothing of interest except a large, wooden barrel. Rum, perhaps? Or gunpowder?
He tossed away his chicken bone and approached the barrel, looking it over curiously but there were no markings to suggest what might be inside. Upon further inspection, the lid was slightly off kilter, suggesting it’d already been emptied, but he pulled it off anyway and stumbled back as a woman suddenly stood up. She looked frightened but determined, without a weapon and yet making fists with her hands anyway to try to fend him off but Shark wasn’t attacking her and she slowly calmed down.
“A-Are you a pirate?” she stammered.
“Yes,” Shark replied shortly, it was starting to bother him that it was even questionable after all this time.
“You don’t look like one,” she said to him, checking him over with her frightened gaze.
“I get that a lot,” Shark lowered his head and scuffed his boot on the floor.
“Are you going to hurt me?” the woman wondered.
“I don’t know,” Shark gave a shrug, looking at her again, “suppose I’ll just turn you over to the rest of the crew.”
“Oh no, please no!” the woman pleaded with him, “they’ve already raped the others, I couldn’t take it, please.. Please have mercy!”
Shark pursed his lips, glancing over his shoulder but nobody had bothered to come down here yet.
“Have you got anything for me?” Shark asked her, “jewelry? Coins?”
“I’m afraid not,” the woman spoke quietly, her voice shaking, “everything’s been taken.”
Shark sighed, rubbing his chin thoughtfully and looking her over as he helped her to get out of the barrel when she made the attempt to do it herself.
“What are your knickers made from?” he asked, “silk?”
“What? No.. “ she replied, backing away but he didn’t let go of her arm and she could not go far.
“You’ve got nothing, love,” Shark warned her.
“Please, I don’t want to drown.. “ her eyes filled with tears.
“Don’t give me that look,” Shark frowned at her, “I invented that look, stop it!”
She averted her gaze, keeping it downcast and he reached out, tugging at her clothing and tearing it a little to expose part of her cleavage.
“Mmm, nice.. “ Shark approved, “you have very ample breasts.. “
“Please,” the woman was trembling now, “don’t.. “
Shark hauled her roughly towards him, she stumbled and cried out but softly.
“It’s either me, or them,” Shark told her, “I won’t toss you overboard, but they will. After they’ve all had you.. “
She looked at him again, weighing her options and deciding that he wasn’t so bad looking as the others were and she slowly nodded in defeat.
“But you must bring me onboard your ship and hide me somewhere,” she bargained, “I can’t sail this ship alone and.. and you could ravage me every night if you wanted to.”
Shark knew she was just trying to survive, but the offer was alluring, tempting him to forget the superstition of having a woman onboard a pirate ship being bad luck. What evidence was there to support this anyway?
“Alright,” he finally relented, “get back into the barrel, I’ll have someone bring it aboard. Keep quiet and I’ll come see you tonight. They call me Shark, by the way. What’s your name, darling?”
She blushed as he helped her back into the barrel, relieved to have the chance at surviving a pirate attack but angry at herself for agreeing to let him have her anytime he wanted. What other choice did she have? He was going to turn her over to the other pirates, at least if it was just him, she might actually see the light of another day.
“Marie,” she answered him, crouching down and closing her eyes as she was plunged into the cramped darkness of the barrel once more.
Spider stood watching over the movements of his crew, taking note of the hold getting crowded and almost bursting with loot by now. He hadn’t managed to offload everything during the two day docking in town, now he’d be forced to come ashore again or else the next treasure they stole might end up being dumped overboard. He decided against taking on another ship just now, at least not this one anyway, the upgrades would be far too costly and it’d take way too much time to have it all done. No, if he was going to take over a second ship, it had to be battle worthy and strong. Shark stepped out onto the deck, Ollie was just zipping up his pants and there was a sobbing naked woman at his feet.
“Ollie,” Shark called to him, “would you move this barrel for me, please?”
Ollie rolled his eyes and sighed with irritation, always with the manners, it just annoyed him so much!
“What’s in it?” Ollie called back, approaching Shark but not wanting to help him out for nothing.
“It’s mine, I found it all on my own,” Shark responded with a defensive attitude.
“Then move it all on your own!” Ollie snapped back at him, laughing to himself and lifting his chin in a show of superior strength. Shark ground his teeth and pouted angrily, but he didn’t snark back and instead, just looked out at the ocean. Ollie tried not to see the sadness in Shark’s expression, he was clearly upset with the refusal but didn’t want a confrontation. Finally, Ollie felt bad for what he’d said and moved towards him again.
“Alright fine,” Ollie grumbled, “I’ll move your damned barrel, but you owe me after this!”
“Oh, thank you so much Ollie!” Shark beamed happily, “just drop it off in the pump room.”
Ollie hesitated and looked back around at Shark, who was walking away.
“Hey, wait a minute!” Ollie called to him, “aren’t you going to help me?”
“No,” Shark replied with a smile, “you’re such a strong and fit man, Ollie. You wouldn’t like to be seen getting help from me, I couldn’t break an egg.. “
Ollie narrowed his eyes, Shark certainly may look unassuming and fragile but he sure packed a punch if cornered, he’d found that out the hard way himself..
Shark winked at him, turned and headed towards the ropes, so Ollie swore under his breath and went down below deck to collect his precious barrel. Shark paused as something gripped his ankle, looking down to see the naked woman trying to get his attention. She had heard him speak politely and aimed to appeal to his softer nature, the trouble being that Shark simply didn’t have one.
“Please,” she sobbed desperately, “h-help me?”
Shark knelt down and touched her dirty, tear stained cheek. Spider looked over and saw Shark leaning down to kiss a woman who lay bare on the deck and he shouted out to his First Mate, jealousy in his tone. Shark withdrew instantly, his lips barely meeting those of the woman's, who had tried to flirt with him in order to gain his sympathy and perhaps protection. She screamed profanities at him as he adhered only to his master’s call and left her to be thrown overboard, taking his place with his head lowered right by the Captain’s side.
“What were you doing over there?” Spider demanded.
“Ollie has my barrel, Captain,” Shark replied quickly, “I think he means to take it for himself.”
Spider looked at him, which was the worst thing you could do when Shark was trying to get something from you, those big, sad blue eyes got you every damned time and he knew it.
“I’ll make sure he doesn’t,” Spider grumbled begrudgingly, as he didn’t like to tell the crew what loot belonged to which pirate. It caused unrest and sparked rumors of favoritism, which led to bullying and singling out but Shark could take care of himself in that respect and everyone already knew that the First Mate was allowed privileges that the others weren’t anyway.
“Move it with that barrel, Ollie!” Spider bellowed.
Ollie had just paused to take a peek into the barrel, when the Captain’s shouting startled him and he hurried to get it onboard and down to the pump room as Shark had requested. The call for all hands on deck was given and Ollie had to leave the mysterious barrel behind, it was time to sink the other ship and head to the nearest port. Spider looked around at Shark again, he was sitting down against the back railing of the ship. Spider gave the orders, the cannons were fired and the passenger ship was sunk. Then he made a sharp turn and Shark laughed amusedly as he slid along the deck and softly bumped into the other railing, at least he hadn’t been sitting up on them and fallen down into the water below. Spider smiled and shook his head, the childish behavior further endearing the young pirate to his battle hardened heart.
Spider was doing his best to ensure that the town they docked into next, was as far away from the last one as possible. The hold was nearing its capacity, he really needed to offload it and as much as possible. Most of the pirates had somewhere safe to store their treasures, trusting either loved ones back home by mailing it to them or a frequently visited island whereupon they had it buried somewhere or stored in a cave. But they hadn’t had the chance to stow anything away lately and coins were far easier to carry around than any bulky lot of loot they’d managed to pilfer.
Just after their dinner that night, Shark took his usual bath but this time, he was left alone to just get on with it. After that, he was keen to visit Marie and he hadn’t forgotten that she might be hungry, so he brought a part of his dinner down to the pump room for her to eat. When she heard the footsteps approaching, Marie closed her eyes and hoped it was Shark and not one of the other pirates onboard the ship.
“Marie?” his voice came from just outside of the barrel. She carefully slid the lid away and meekly accepted his help to get out of it, squeaking when he pulled her up against his body.
“As per our agreement,” he grinned at her, eyes bright with lust.
“Wait, please!” Marie pleaded with him, “I’m so weak with hunger!”
“All the better,” Shark hitched up her dress, “you won’t struggle so much then. Come on, off with your bloomers, missy!”
“Shark, Shark please!” Marie wriggled and squirmed, making it difficult for him to get through her dress and petticoat.
“You wear too many clothes,” Shark grumbled, “hold still!”
Marie twisted away from him and stumbled towards the wall.
“Shark, I-I’ve got my woman’s thing!” Marie warned him, but she was lying.
“What’s that?” Shark wondered, approaching her quickly to pin her against the wall, “you smell so lovely.. “
“I’m bleeding down there,” Marie told him. Shark stood back, letting her dress back down.
“Oh you mean that?” Shark hesitated, then he shrugged, “no matter, I can always take another bath. Now, get those bloomers off.”
“Please let me eat first,” Marie begged him, “where am I going?”
He stood back again, this was true, there wasn’t anywhere she’d be able to escape to. Marie crept over to the food he’d brought down with him and hungrily ate her fill, gulping down the small bit of rum he’d left for her when she was done. Shark just waited patiently, sniffing as he wiped his nose on his sleeve. Marie took out a small, white cloth and handed it to him.
“Here,” she offered, “you can keep it.”
Shark accepted the cloth and nodded to her in thanks.
“Thank you,” he smiled and tucked it away into his pocket.
“You’re not like any pirate I’ve heard tales of,” Marie told him, “at least, not entirely anyway.”
“How do you mean?” Shark asked her.
“Well, pirates aren’t reputed to have manners,” Marie replied, “or baths.. “
Shark rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged, he really didn’t know what to tell her.
“Have you finished then?” he asked, impatient by now. Marie nodded with a sigh, giving up the attempt to resist as he approached her once again, well.. At least she knew he was clean.. Shark was careful not to rip her clothing, she would need it to keep warm overnight and he thought to perhaps bring her a blanket next time he visited. He unbuttoned her dress, untied the lace and let the garments drop to the floor. With face flushed red and eyes averted, Marie stepped out of the discarded attire and hugged herself nervously.
“What are you so scared of?” Shark asked her, taking off his shirt and boots.
“You, of course!” Marie just about scolded him, “you’re going to rape me, doesn’t that ring any bells with you?”
Shark just smiled at her and shrugged, stripping down to the nude.
“You did offer,” he reminded her again, “so it’s not really rape, is it?”
Marie was too intently staring at his well endowed loins, her heart suddenly thumping harder still.
“Uhm, Shark?” She spoke with trembling voice as he stroked his monster length nice and hard.
“What’s wrong?” He wondered, his eyes rolled in self pleasure and he hummed softly.
“Shark, I’ve not known a man of your, erm.. Size,” Marie stated worriedly, “you might hurt me.”
Shark had heard this before, he took pride in the compliment but he’d never hurt anyone with his cock before, so he took little heed to her complaint.
“You may have a little trouble walking love,” he spoke softly, approaching her now as intent set within his eyes and jaw, “but I promise you your screams won’t be for the pain.. “
Marie pressed herself into the wall as he stepped right up into her personal space, waiting for him to throw her down onto the floor or bend her over the barrel. Shark’s fingertips came to rest on her hips, tracing intricate, invisible patterns upon her pale skin. He mouthed at her chin, his warm breath trembling with anticipation, his cock hard and pressing into her thigh. She whimpered, it felt fleshy and hard. Shark smiled against her cheek, flicking out his tongue to lick her face, leaving it wet. He was very excited and she felt less tense the more he touched her in his gentle way, it was unlike anything she’d been expecting from him at all.
Shark was a charmer, he’d learned very quickly simply by observing that he could get anyone to do anything he desired of them, all he had to do was be kind. In his heart, he was ruthless and fearsome, but that wouldn’t get him anywhere near a lot of people in the way he’d like. You don’t trap someone with bait of poison, it had to be something they liked in order to lure them in, draw them close enough to strike. They had to believe wholeheartedly that you loved them, understood them and cared about their feelings, once you had them completely smitten with you, the knife was just there and waiting, ready to slice their throat once you grew bored with them.
Nobody was going to fall for an outright pirate, he had to play it savvy. It’s a good thing people were so jaded by their lives that the mere thought of someone actually being kind to them was slathered upon, victims without realizing it, they’d follow a ‘nice person’ anywhere until it was too late. It was very easy to fool those who wanted to be fooled and Shark had not a single regret for taking advantage of it, so long as his pockets were lined with gold and he had whatever he needed to survive and be comfortable. He used and was in turn used by others, it was all he’d ever known and so it was unlikely he’d ever change.
His kisses ran up over neck, then down to the collarbone and up along the front of her throat. Marie parted her lips as his mouth closed over them, coaxing his lips to open and her tongue was quickly met with his own. She moaned as his hands came up to fondle and squeeze her breasts, he kneaded them and massaged them before breaking away from her lips and kneeling before her. She lowered herself down somewhat and he gazed up into her eyes, as she ran her fingers through his hair and pulled his face closer, her other hand lifting her breast and teasing the nipple at his closed lips. Shark obediently opened his mouth and she shoved it full of her breast, he moaned and continued gazing up at her as he was forced to suckle at her breast.
She sighed and her heart fluttered at the sight of him, his eyes closed and he leaned forwards into her, jaw as wide as he could make it go, taking in as much breast as he could. His fingers spread out as his hands trailed over her buttocks, parting her cheeks close to her entrance and slipping his slender digits in among her folds to slick and prod. Marie rocked her hips against his fingers, coating them with her arousal and leaving them quite wet. Shark felt submissive suckling on her breast, he hummed against the fleshy mound but there wasn’t anything rewarding about it, so he abandoned it pretty quickly and sought to kiss her inner thighs. She covered her mouth to stifle a squeal as he hoisted her up against the wall, her feet off the ground, knees over his shoulders as his face buried into her, licking and nuzzling her heat. His tongue probed and swirled around her clit, fingers shoving in and out, dripping her moisture onto the floor as they squelched into her relaxing entrance, she bucked into her first orgasm and he took no further time.
Shark thrust her down onto the floor as she writhed and moaned, calling to him with hands clamped over her mouth for fear of waking the others. He hooked one of her legs around his waist and plunged his cock into her quickly, stealing her breath away as she hadn’t been expecting it so suddenly. As he inched himself deeper and deeper into her, he moaned and enjoyed how snug the fit was, she clamped and squeezed around his length, as if her body was trying to reject him but he continued to thrust himself relentlessly into her until they were both feverishly meeting one another’s hips with wild abandon. Marie was howling by this time and Shark smothered her lips with his mouth, swallowing her mewls and outcries, stifling his own groans and calls. Marie breathed heavily and threw back her head, he bit at her neck as she screamed into her second orgasm, his hand groping blindly to cover her mouth and she bit down onto his finger.
Shark rolled his eyes closed, the pain jolting through his hand, he bit back a howl of protest and growled against her flesh, bucking a few more times before he finally pulled out and straddled her chest, stroking himself twice before he grunted and spurted his thick, white release all over her neck, her soft mounds, her lips and her chin. Marie gazed up at him with smitten, soft eyes half closed while Shark just threw back his head, moaned and looked back down to admire his artwork. Breathless, they both remained there for some moments, panting, their chests heaving. Eventually, Shark moved away from her and stood slowly to his feet, his legs shaking somewhat.
“Tomorrow night,” he promised to return, “don’t get caught love, I’ll not try to save you.”
He looked her over once more, she felt her face grow hot with humiliation and then he got dressed and walked out. Marie looked around at the room, she wasn’t sure she could take a few days in this cramped, confined space, let alone several weeks or months. She felt unclean, but how could she fix that down here? Shark had told her just now not to get caught, but who would even come down here? Then she grew pale as she realized what he meant, she was to venture around on her own to take care of herself, while everyone was asleep. She shivered, but what other choice did she have?
Marie gathered up her clothes and stole over to the door, her legs were weak and felt rubbery but she had no other choice, she needed to get clean. Thankful that she had eaten and thus wouldn’t need to go looking for food and risk getting caught that much more, Marie opened the door and carefully peered out to listen and watch for any signs of life.
Nothing.
Quickly, she darted out and crept along the ship but she had no idea where she was supposed to be going. Trying to keep a mental map in her head of which way she’d come, Marie tried a few doors until she finally found what one might consider a sort of washroom. She went in and quietly closed the door behind her, looking around she saw some water and a few cloths. She used them to wash herself, just dipping the cloth into the water as she didn’t yet feel brave enough to actually get in and take a full on bath. Once she was done, she carefully dabbed her body dry and put on her clothes with a long exhale. Ship life was certainly not for a woman, she decided, it was far too disgusting. Growing a little bolder, she began to poke around the little wash room and opened some cupboards, finding a few things stashed here and there. She discovered some perfume, scented soaps and the like.
“Shark,” she commented, smiling bitterly to herself, he probably had stolen them from other unsuspecting women in the past.
Deciding not to take anything and risk a dagger in her throat, Marie closed the cupboard and got to her feet once more, keen to get back to the safe confines of her little room. She opened the door, peering out as she did so and stepping out when she felt it was all clear. It’d seem that nobody really ventured down to the lower decks at night, so she felt a little calmer as she made her way back to the room where Shark had told her to stay put. Once there, she leaned against the door and sighed with relief.
She didn’t know how much longer she could keep doing this, the stress was quite high and she was nervous to be raped each night by a pirate, what if she were to bear his child? Would he take care of her or feed her to some actual sharks? What kind of a life was there for a baby on a pirate ship? Heaven forbid she should ask for extra food while it was growing inside of her and she dreaded it to be either gender. As a male would be undoubtedly dragged into a life of piracy and a female, well, she dreaded to imagine what a bunch of merciless pirates would do to a young girl. Then she had to wonder, as she lay down and tried to get to sleep, would they even let her give birth to it? The creaking and groaning of the ship kept Marie awake for a long time, the waves crashing against the sides didn’t help much either but after a while she did eventually fall into a somewhat fitful slumber, if only for a few hours before the sunrise saw the pirates up and about.
Their shouts and laughter soon had her startling awake once more, rubbing her tired eyes and blinking rapidly as she yawned and tried to doze off again. Suddenly, her eyes grew wide as she heard boots stomping towards her door. She held her breath as she looked at the door, a shadow moved along the bottom of it and stopped right outside it. Marie started to tremble, she knew the rules about women (and stowaways for that matter) being found on a pirate ship and she really didn’t feel up to the task of trying to swim in the ocean with the many layers of clothing she wore. Thankfully though, the shadow moved on, after the sound of scratching and a belch met with her ears. Marie finally exhaled the breath she had been holding and slumped down onto her makeshift bed, closing her eyes and somehow, she managed to drift off once more.
Up at the ship’s wheel, Captain Spider and Shark were overseeing the crew as they went about their morning routine.
“Where were you last night?” asked Spider.
“I was in my hammock, Captain,” Shark answered him casually, “sleeping.”
Spider kept looking around, as if he weren’t speaking to anyone but himself and Shark did the same.
“You always come into my Quarters,” Spider pointed out.
“Not always,” Shark corrected him, “besides, I was exhausted.”
“From what?” Spider demanded suspiciously, “are you fucking someone else?!”
Shark opened his mouth to answer, when the cry of ‘Land Ho’ rang out from the Crow’s Nest.
“At last,” Spider grumbled, then he called up to the lookout, “where are we?”
“I don’t know, Captain!” came the reply, “looks deserted.”
“Hmm,” Spider ran his fingers through his hair, “we’ll take a look anyway. Might be some fruits or fresh water, prepare to scout the island!”
Shark looked down as the crew began to prepare to drop anchor close to the island.
“Captain, what if there are Savages?” Shark wondered.
“Well,” Spider put his arm around Shark’s shoulders and pulled him close, “we shall rape their women, kill their men and enjoy a feast with whatever we find in their huts!”
“And then we burn their huts, right?” Shark gazed up at his Captain, “with their offspring still cowering inside?”
Spider looked back down at Shark, those eyes of his even made the Captain shiver sometimes. They were bright and full of mischief, but they were also cold and void of emotion.
“You’re a terrifying man sometimes, Shark,” Spider ruffled his hair and found it amusing when Shark predictably got upset, pulling away to fix his hair back to the way he liked it. Spider’s booming laughter reached even Marie’s ears down below deck, she slowly woke up and wondered what was going on up there.
“Oh what am I supposed to do to stave off boredom?” she wailed to herself, “this is no way to travel. No way to travel at all!!”
*
“What is the matter, Shark?” Spider asked his First Mate.
“Let’s just say,” Shark answered, smoothing back his golden mane, “I really, really don’t like children, Captain.”
He wandered off towards the stern of the ship to see the island and Spider watched him silently, all mirth gone from his expression as he began to second guess his decision to rescue that little waif from town, all those years ago..
*
Despite the Captain’s dubious regrets, Shark was still the First Mate and as such, he was a critical part of the crew. His apathetic nature would ensure things got done, even when nobody else would touch it. Behind every ruthless pirate still beat the heart of a human being, but it seemed that Shark had missed this memo completely. Being the cleanest and by far the nicest looking crew member on board the ship, Shark had his fair share of ‘admirers’ who would try to sate their lust for sexual intimacy by attempting to have sex with him or make him suck them off. Shark had to learn in his early teenage years how to brawl and fend off those who were much bigger and stronger than himself, because Spider wasn’t always around to save him every moment of the night or day. Survival had been his main focus since he was four, this was simply another threat to his comfort that needed to be rectified. Sticking close to Spider certainly helped, but he was more often jumped from behind or pulled aside by surprise whenever Spider was not in sight. After the first few times he’d taken it, left to nurse his bloodied and raw asshole, Shark started to fight back with a lot more tact and used the other’s strength and weight against them. He was soon topping any who tried to fuck him, turning them right around and giving it to them without mercy.
As he stood looking at the island, the rest of the crew were making preparations to go there and explore.
“What was in that barrel?” Ollie’s voice came from behind Shark.
Shark glanced around as Ollie stood by him now, staring out at the island with trepidation.
“Fish, I suppose,” Shark gave a gentle shrug of his shoulders, “smelled that way.”
“Ugh, fish,” Ollie sighed, “why’d you bother? I swear if we don’t get something else to eat soon, I’ll take a bite out of you.”
He leaned in and pressed his face into Shark’s neck, leaning his chin on Shark’s shoulder.
“Mmm, you smell so good,” Ollie growled.
“Don’t you have orders to follow?” Shark pushed at him, but there wasn’t a lot of effort put into it.
Ollie stayed where he was, he wanted Shark and someday, he vowed to have him.
“Ollie!” Captain Spider shouted, “get back to work!”
Ollie grumbled and moved away from Shark, who exhaled long and slow. His eyes glittered with the sparkling ocean as it reflected the sun’s light, Springtime was always his favourite time of the year and the island had lots of lovely yellow flowers dotting the hillside off in the distance. Shark always had favoured this colour, he wasn’t sure why but he had a feeling it was due to the childish thought of gold being coloured yellow that had always stuck with him.
Two of the small boats were sent to shore with their Away Parties on board, Spider remained on the ship with Shark and a couple of others who stayed behind in case of a sneak attack by another ship. Spider walked over to where Shark was standing, trying to follow his gaze but not quite sure what was so fascinating out there.
“Shark,” Spider’s voice was soft, “why d’you hate children so?”
He watched as Shark’s calm expression turned hard and devoid of any positive emotion.
“Before you found me,” Shark responded quietly, watching the boats being dragged onto the sand, “I had to survive on my own. Every morning the children of the town would walk by me on their way to school and throw rocks at me. They would often taunt and jeer at me, threaten me with sticks. In the afternoon it was worse, they would kick me and punch me or pull my hair until I cried and begged them to stop.”
Spider pursed his lips, turning his eyes away from Shark.
“I had no idea,” Spider murmured, “Shark, not all children are so cruel as that.”
Shark gave a faint smile.
“Oh, but they are you see,” Shark reassured Spider, “given the chance, they are. Every last one.”
Spider fell silent after that, how anyone could pick on a small, four year old child was beyond even him. He couldn’t even begin to imagine what harsh realities Shark had had to face at such a tender age, the struggle to survive shouldn’t ever be placed upon the shoulders of someone so young and impressionable. Looking at Shark now, Spider sincerely doubted the damage could ever be undone.
“For what it may be worth,” Spider squeezed Shark’s shoulder, “I’m sorry, son.”
He then turned and walked back to the ship’s wheel, leaving Shark to stare out at the island with barely any reaction at all.
Shark was silent for a long time, then he slowly began to frown and gave a sigh.
“I’m not your son,” he spoke firmly, an icy undertone in his voice that suggested he was a lot more angry than his calm expression would let on, “I belong to no one.”
*
The men who were on the island were sending back things they had found via the boats, fruit being the bulk of what they had discovered, bottles of water (as much as they could fill) and any wild game they managed to track down and kill were first cooked over a fire before the meat was sent back and brought into the ship’s galley. Deeming it safe enough, the rest of the crew were taken to the island and they all took a break to explore as they saw fit. Shark and Spider stayed close to the fire because it was slowly getting dark and there was a wild boar on the spit over the fire. Pulling at the meat and devouring it, the pirates were well fed and in good humour this evening.
“Best roast I ever had,” commented Claude.
“It is,” Shark nodded, “we named this one Ollie.”
Rowdy laughter rose up to shatter the stillness of the night around them, Ollie poked at the snout of the boar and frowned.
“It don’t look nothing like me,” Ollie grumbled, eliciting more laughter from the crew.
“Ollie, the other end,” Shark mused and Ollie went to the other end, his face burning red as the crew were almost in stitches by this time.
“Are you calling me a pig’s arse?” Ollie accused Shark.
“So what if I am?” Shark wondered, “you couldn’t possibly have a beef with me then.”
Ollie covered his face with his palm, Shark had a thing for puns and any chance he got to use them, he would.
“What’s wrong Shark?” Ollie spat, “missing your momma?”
Shark looked at him and the crew fell silent, Ollie regretted it at once and took a few steps back when Shark got up and approached him. Spider didn’t usually interfere when this sort of thing happened, he generally only would step in if Shark looked like he was getting his butt kicked.
“I’m tired of you saying that,” Shark grabbed Ollie and thrust him towards the fire.
Ollie struggled to get away, but within seconds he found his face firmly planted between the boar’s ass cheeks, his lips close to it’s hole. His muffled screams from the searing flesh burning his face were heard by all but nobody moved to help him. One of the drawbacks from being a bully, nobody was going to save you when you got what was coming to you. Shark held Ollie there for a long time, until his frantic movements became sluggish and his shrieks became sobs. Finally, Shark pulled Ollie’s head out of the pig’s arse and threw him to the ground. He knelt down and leaned over Ollie, who looked very badly sunburned indeed.
“You will not mention my mother again, is that clear?” Shark spoke in a hushed tone.
Ollie nodded quickly, trying not to cry because it only stung his burnt flesh. Nobody tried to stop Shark at all, even Spider watched silently and worried for his own safety. Shark was getting stronger, more confident and less patient with his fellow crew members. He knew that someday, it’d only be a matter of time before Shark set his eyes upon the Captain’s position. Spider wasn’t ready to give up his ship or his crew just yet, but if he had to lose to anyone, he would be honoured to lose to Shark. Shark stood up and stepped back as Ollie slowly pulled himself up onto his feet, keeping his gaze lowered in shame.
“Ollie,” Shark spoke once more.
Ollie slowly looked up at him, his body shaking from the pain and the shock of it all.
“Tell me,” Shark grabbed him by the throat and squeezed, “who’s your daddy?”
An uproar of laughter suddenly exploded all around, if it wasn’t already red, Ollie would have been seen to blush with further humiliation. Shark squeezed harder and shook Ollie, demanding a response.
“Y-You are!” Ollie stammered.
Shark spun him around and bent him over, striking a pose with Ollie to embarrass him beyond belief.
“Don’t you ever forget it,” Shark thrust once against Ollie’s rear, then pushed him face first into the sand and stalked off into the dense thicket.
“Shall we go after him, Captain?” Claude wondered.
“Leave him,” Spider shook his head, trying to ignore Ollie’s screams as the sand scratched his raw skin, “he’ll come back when he’s ready.”
But as he watched the darkened line of trees where Shark had vanished into, he became less and less certain of that.
*
The moonlight was more than enough to light his way for the most part, Shark picked his way through the trees until the undergrowth became too dense and he had to resort to using his cutlass to clear a path. It got steadily darker the deeper he ventured inland, so he was careful about keeping his guard up. Shark didn’t want to run into anything that might consider him a snack, though at some point he did mistakenly lop off the head of a giant python when he thought it was merely a vine in his way. Shark paused to watch the reptile thrash and writhe, it seemed like it’d be such a waste of material and flesh. Looking back to the way he had come, Shark knew it wouldn’t do to stay out here too long anyway. He sighed and knelt down, hoisted the python onto his shoulders and struggled as he dragged the carcass back towards the beach.
It was quite noisy at the camp fire, though most of it was laughter and sea shanties being sung, Shark was undetected as he formulated an amusing plan in his mind.
Ollie was laying not too far away, his head wrapped in seaweed to help with the burns on his head and face. He was in a sorry state, as the salt rubbed into his raw flesh and made him whimper. Either nobody heard him, or they just didn’t care and it was quite likely that he might even be left behind, abandoned to his fate. There was no room a pirate ship for someone who couldn’t pull their weight, everyone had a job to do and only the fittest would survive in any case. Ollie’s future looked grim and he knew it well, he was fearful as he lay there in the shadows by the tree line, he didn’t want to be left stranded and alone on this island. Suddenly, he was set upon by a large, scaly beast and he screamed in terror. He couldn’t understand what all the laughter was about as he struggled to keep from being squeezed to death by the python’s coils, it took him far too long to figure out it was dead and he sat there panting to catch his breath. Shark dragged the python away from Ollie and over towards the others, the skin would fetch them some gold and the flesh would be a welcome treat for all.
Spider gave Shark his space as he watched the pirate slink back off towards the trees, but Shark didn’t vanish into them this time and instead sat down to watch the festivities.
Sometime after midnight, everyone had fallen asleep and were so full and drunk that they’d not awaken until well after sunrise the next morning. Only now did Shark arise from his position and wander about the remains of the party, picking at the leftovers and assembling them onto a plate that he then took in to serve to Marie. She was too hungry to have been asleep, able to smell the aromas of food coming in from the shore and it did take Shark a little while to row back to the ship on his own.
“It’s about time,” Marie grumbled, “I’ve been starving all night.”
She made a grab for the plate and Shark held it just out of her reach, pushing her firmly back with his free hand.
“That’s hardly gratitude,” Shark scolded her, “I should eat this myself.”
“Likely your belly’s already full enough,” Marie bit back, eyeing the plate and licking her lips.
“I could stand to eat some more,” Shark threatened. Marie considered to call his bluff, would he eat all that by himself? Could he?
At her silence, Shark sat down and began to help himself to the meal without another thought to her hunger. Marie watched him in disbelief, Shark ate with large bites and what seemed to be quite painful gulps, as if it might be stolen right out of his mouth if he didn’t swallow it fast enough. She shook her head and just stared, perhaps this is really how Shark had gotten his name..? Marie soon snapped out of her near trance and settled down beside Shark, putting her hand on the plate and pulling at it gently.
Shark paused, mouth overstuffed with food and she almost expected to hear him growl like a savage dog. But he didn’t, he let go of the plate and she thanked him quietly at long last, moving back over to the corner to enjoy her meal, for who knew when the next one would ever arrive?
Shark watched her as he finished his last mouthful, licking his fingers and sucking them clean.
“There will be fruit for some days,” he told her, standing up and walking back to the door, “I’ll try to bring you some. Be sure to have your manners handy.”
Marie looked over at him and Shark left, he had to get back to the island before he was missed.
Shark made it back to the beach and walked over to the still slumbering pirates, he yawned and rubbed one eye as the sounds of snoring and belching reached his ears. Such familiar sounds of the night made him feel tired and easily helped him to get to sleep, so he settled down near the waning flames of the fire and rested his head upon Spider’s chest. The beating of his heart and the sounds of flatulence from a few others soon had Shark fast asleep, only blinking awake the next day to sounds of shouts and orders. He sat up and squinted, watching everyone loading the food and water up onto the ship.
His attention was diverted to Ollie, who was still on his own over by the line of trees. The man was clearly in pain, pus was beginning to ooze from his blistered and burned face and nobody was paying any attention to his desperate pleas for help. Shark knew they could hear Ollie, but as each pirate walked anywhere near the pitiful man, they would put their head down and completely ignore him. Ollie’s eyes were wide and filled with tears, he was terrified because he knew what was to become of him. This had happened before, the demeanor of the crew was a dead giveaway, he was a lost cause and nobody was allowed to help him. Desperation filled his tone as he continued to call out, begging to his shipmates, pleading for his life. He was unable to eat or drink since yesterday and he was now in the full sunlight, quickly dehydrating, his lips dry and cracked as was his tongue. His voice sounded like gravel and dry leaves crackling by the time almost everyone had walked by him, eyes downcast and faces turned away as they headed back to the ship.
Ollie’s gaze slowly lifted as a shadow fell over him, providing him with a little relief from the glaring harsh rays of the sun and the burning sand.
“Please,” he croaked, his vision blurry now and his eyes sunken in a little, “Shark, help me.. I don’t want to die here like this.”
Shark stared down at him and produced a bottle of water, Ollie tried to lick his lips in anticipation, opening his mouth and lifting his head slightly. A groan escaped Ollie’s dry throat as Shark began to pour the cool, refreshing liquid… out onto the sand. Ollie’s head dropped back down and he sighed defeatedly, his chest tightened and heaved as he tried to sob but he had no moisture enough left to form any tears now.
Shark smiled and knelt down beside Ollie, setting the empty bottle down into the quickly drying sand.
“I’d not piss on you at this point, Ollie,” Shark hissed at him.
Slowly, he got back to his feet and began to walk towards the last of the group of pirates, ready to leave the island.
“Shark!” Ollie called to him one last time.
Shark stopped and looked around at him.
“This is my fate for having lived a life of terrible deeds,” Ollie’s voice crackled, “it is the fate of all pirates to die horribly, take a good long look at me, Shark.. Someday, it’ll be your turn.”
Shark gazed down at him for several long moments, Ollie coughed and shook as he tried to get to his hands and knees.
“Perhaps it will be someday,” Shark finally spoke again, “but not today.”
He turned and continued on back to the ship, ignoring Ollie’s screams of his name and the profanities that soon followed once Ollie realized the fruitlessness of his efforts.
Once everyone was back onboard, the food was stored and the water taken to the coolest deck of the ship. It wasn’t very loud or boisterous right away, everyone seemed to be in quite a depressed mood despite their spirits having soared last night. Part of it was attributed to the general feeling of sickness, having overeaten and drank themselves into a stupor. But much of it had to do with leaving a fellow human being behind to suffer a slow and painful death, as it could just as easily have been any one of them.
It was a sobering thought to remember that none of them were irreplaceable, they were all expendable and when it came down to it, it truly would be every man for himself.
Fruit was an important part of a diet, especially at sea. Scurvy was a very real threat if fruit was not regularly consumed, so the haul was a good one. It was a fragile and perishable substance, so it’d not last more than a few days out here. This meant that anyone could take as much of it as they pleased, so long as none of it went to waste. Nobody questioned Shark then, as he gathered up an armful of the stuff because he was well known to have the appetite of a swiftly growing young lad and he was thus able to keep a steady supply of fruit going down to Marie.
However, within a few days of the fruit turning bad and having to be dumped overboard, some of the pirates began to show symptoms of fever. The ship was almost at a standstill as more than half the crew came down with the illness and when the first death occurred, Shark went to see Spider in his Quarters.
“Captain, we cannot continue on like this!” Shark insisted, “we’ll all perish!”
“Damnit Shark! Don’t you think I know that?” Spider slammed his fist down onto his desk, “what do you suggest we do? Hm? We’re too far from anywhere to get them to a doctor!”
“We must throw them off the ship,” Shark insisted, lowering his voice, “it’s the only way!”
Spider lifted his gaze slowly to meet with Shark’s, truly the man had no conscience to speak of.
“We can’t just go throwing every sick man overboard!” Spider argued, “there’d be a damn mutiny!”
“We do it in the night,” Shark suggested evenly, “when everyone’s asleep. We say they died and that’s the end of it!”
Spider shivered but not visibly, he didn’t want Shark to know that deep down he was afraid of his First Mate.
“Sir?” Shark demanded with an air of impatience, his blue eyes fixed upon Spider and intently so.
“Alright,” Spider relented, for he knew that even if he disagreed, Shark would somehow find a way to get the job done anyway, “we’ll do it tonight.”
Shark nodded with a sigh of relief.
“You’ve made the right decision,” Shark told Spider, “it’s the only way.”
He turned and walked out of the room, leaving Spider to feel knots and churning in his guts for the remainder of the day. It’d been bad enough having to listen to Ollie plead for his life some days before, but now they were about to throw many more living people overboard and into the ocean.
Shark stood at the stern of the ship, overlooking the glittering sea as the ship was basically just barely moving with the wind and the tide. Claude wandered over and leaned against the railing beside him, giving the blond pirate a quick glance over.
“Do you think we might have a woman stowed away?” Claude wondered.
Shark tensed a little, shaking his head slightly.
“What makes you think that, Claude?” Shark asked him.
“It’s this damn fever,” Claude worried.
“You don’t honestly believe in bad luck, do you Claude?” Shark questioned his sanity. Claude fidgeted and shrugged, not really wanting to commit to an answer right away.
“We’ve just visited a strange island,” Shark explained, “we probably picked it up there.”
“Right, right,” Claude agreed quickly, “yes, you’re right Shark. I guess I’ve just been listening to too many tales lately.”
“Do you fear for your life, then?” Shark asked.
“Of course I do,” Claude admitted, “we all do, Shark. Some of us have families we don’t want to leave behind. Myself included. I’ve got a little girl back home, she’d be heartbroken if her father were to suddenly die. My wife lives on whatever I can send home, they’d die on the streets without me, she’s too proud to whore herself..”
Shark nodded silently, he understood his reasons for not wanting to die of this fever and that everyone was on edge because of it but that didn’t mean he had to give a damn. He had to do what was best for the healthy members of the crew and that meant getting rid of all trace of the disease. If they continued to allow the dying pirates to stay onboard, the illness would just keep spreading to everyone else until there wasn’t a soul left alive. Shark set his jaw, steeling his resolve. This had gone on long enough, it was time to become the cure and send this run of bad luck down into the depths of the deep blue.
“Are you not afraid?” Claude wondered, breaking into Shark’s silent thoughts.
“Why should I be afraid?” Shark asked him, looking at the other pirate with a curious expression.
“Oh I forgot,” Claude waved it away, “you don’t have a family, do you?”
Shark turned his gaze back over to the sea.
“Everyone aboard this ship is my family, Claude,” Shark told him quietly, “it’s the only one I’ve ever known.”
Claude gave Shark’s shoulder a gentle but firm squeeze.
“I’m sorry,” Claude apologized, “I didn’t think. It must be difficult for you.”
Shark lowered his head and nodded.
“Try not to worry,” Claude reassured him, “once the fever breaks, it’ll be clear sailing from then on.”
Shark pursed his lips and Claude moved away to help with shifting the sails, but could they wait that long? What if the fever did not break? What if the disease simply continued to spread? Spider had been talking about there being too many men onboard, perhaps this was simply nature’s way of culling the unfit so that the strong could survive.
*
After dinner that night, Spider reclused into his cabin until after midnight when he heard a soft tapping upon his door. His heart thudded and his stomach flipped, dread filled his chest with heat and he began to perspire.
“Captain,” Shark’s voice came through the door, “it’s time, sir.”
Spider slowly got up out of his chair and opened the door, meeting Shark’s gaze with his own. Shark instantly noticed the reluctance in Spider’s eyes, but he was determined to see this through.
“Let’s go,” Shark insisted hurriedly, “before anyone gets wise.”
“One more day,” Spider tried to argue, “let’s just give it one more day.”
“And see you or I fall next?” Shark wondered.
Spider fell silent, defeated. They walked quietly down to the lower deck where the sick pirates were kept isolated from the rest of the crew, but they were met with a curious sight indeed. Many of them were sitting up in their beds, their eyes clear and their bodies no longer shivering.
“What’s going on down here?” Spider demanded.
“We’re getting better Captain,” Peter answered with a smile, “the fever’s broken, sir! We’ve beaten it!”
Spider felt his knees just about turn to jelly, he wavered and Shark grabbed the Captain’s arm to hold him steady.
“Sir?” Shark hissed. Spider turned and led Shark back out and up to his cabin, shutting the door behind them.
“It’s over, Shark!” Spider scolded him angrily, “we very nearly went and drowned innocent men!”
Shark balled his hands up into fists.
“It was us or them!” Shark defended his actions, “we weren’t to know!”
Spider took some deep breaths, the more intimately he got to know Shark, the less appealing the lad became.
“Perhaps I should throw you overboard,” Spider grumbled. Shark barely even flinched at the threat, instead he simply inclined his head and looked at Spider with his most innocent stare. Spider always got weak at those big, blue eyes and now was no different than any other time Shark used them on him.
“I’m sorry, that was uncalled for,” Spider uttered softly, but was it? Shark moved closer and reached out to Spider, who swatted the boy’s hand away.
“Get out,” Spider spoke sharply.
Shark looked bewildered but slowly left the cabin, knowing better than to stick around once the Captain used that tone of voice. He wandered down into the Crew’s Quarters and got into his hammock, letting the familiar snores and grunts lull him into a deep sleep once more.
Spider took a long time to fall asleep that night, he lay there with his eyes wide open and startling at every sudden noise. He slept fitfully, dreaming of the day when Shark turned against even him, the end of the dream had him sitting bolt upright in his bed, drenched with sweat and shaking like a leaf. He was breathing heavily, his heart thumped madly in his chest and his eyes were darting around to see if Shark was somewhere in the cabin, waiting to jump him from out of the shadows. But he thought he was completely alone and he sighed, slumping back down in relief.
“Captain,” Shark’s voice suddenly had Spider tensing up again, “I really don’t enjoy being threatened, sir.”
Spider lifted his head to see the blond pirate standing there at the foot of his bed. Spider swallowed dryly, this was it..
He was a dead man for sure.
****
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