OUTCAST : THE PATH OF A WARRIOR

17. DOUBLE - CROSS

CHAPTER 17

The ringing in my ears was still there, even long after the canons stopped firing, but the sounds that man, or beast, makes when they are caught in the midst of battle.... Does that ever subside?

Do the screams, grunts,and bellows, the roars , and of course the wailing of utter pain, remain, deeply embedded in the mind...?

One by one they fell , and who ever was  unfortunate to be caught between Paulos's heavy cutlass,  were never to see the light of day again.

I felt the ship tilting to one side.

"Are we sinking brother?" I grunted, as I slashed awkwardly at soldiers climbing aboard the now, badly damaged Black bull.

"Aye, brother, that maybe true.... Arghhh!" Roared Paulos, while doing his best to duck a blazing flying kick attack by something enormous, which seemed to appear out of nowhere.

The creature's lean, masculine, body, gleaming in the morning sun. It skidded a few feet away to a rapid stop, and pulped the nearest pirate's brains, to near mush, in one quick slap with his hand and claws.

His menacing huge torso, was looking down on our seven foot, frame, and it felt quite intimidating. We watched in awe, while at the same time, desperately trying to figure out it's next move.

Suddenly it crossed its arms. "So boys...." It said, growling. " We meet again.....Surely, you Bull brothers, know who I am...? And you...!" Said the creature, nodding his head towards me. " You left me to die, tied to the tree, and killed by the hand of that...Jaxon boy!"

I looked at Paulos who was gazing blankly at this humongous thing in front of him, and then looked at me as we both shrugged our shoulders in unison.

" Are you talking about the old man they called The Master, who died in the woods the other night". I said cautiously.

The creature made a mock bow, keeping its head firmly fixed on both of us. "The one and only, and as you can see, back from the dead , fitter and stronger.

"But i saw you die! How did you get like this?" I asked

" The one you call Fish-Hook, you see, we two go back a long way.

He saved me, just like I saved him, so many years back, dug me back out from the dirt that your friends so crudely buried me, in a shallow grave in the woods.

Thankfully he somehow found me, cut my chest open, and placed the blue crystal inside...." Said The Master, smashing down another man.

His enormous long, ape-like arms, almost touching the floor, swinging left and right, catching all in his wide radius.

"....So here I am...." He continued  as if he just squished some bothersome flies.

"And yes... everyone still calls me The Master....So let's make this quick then, before we sink and have to swim back to shore!....Tell me where you are keeping the crystals...! And I will not kill you! For I promised your old pal Fish-Hook, that I'll to do my best not too." His beady eyes  were glaring at Paulos.

"I can not make the same promise to that double-crossing.... fish. His betrayal is unforgivable....and it will cost him dearly...!" Paulos words retaliated, but the colossal figure in front of us didn't flinch.

"But, while we're on the subject, and if I remember rightly, we had a fruitful business understanding. So why are you attacking our ship? And who is this Fish-Hook to you, anyway?" Paulos asked.

"Well...Fish-Hook, a long time ago, was known as Lord James, and, although he may not look it, he's my father...!" Said The Master, turning his head to his side.