Tainted Tides

Chapter 3

AN- underlined means flashback. TW at the bottom. Above is a picture of the Sverdhvalur AKA. Sword whale.

*Ant's POV*

This guy is going to get us all killed.

He really was no captain. He was simply some kid, who'd been lucky his entire life; but luck never lasts forever.

The rest of the crew got back to work, moving in their un-synchronised movement as they were before the Captain's shanty. That shanty was the only display that he looked confident in. That simply wasn't enough to be a good captain.

I walked over to the rail of the ship and pulled out my compass in my hidden pocket. Cabin boys wouldn't normally know how to read compasses so I had to be careful that nobody saw. Checking our course, and judging by our speed and travel time, I knew we were close...

Too close for comfort...

And the entire crew still had no clue...

Yup. This kid is going to get us all killed.

With a heavy sigh I returned to my work and pushed the grim thoughts out of my head. I wanted to be angry, but with Dec... I couldn't... I had no idea why, but I simply couldn't... I got to work, hoping to enjoy what could be my final day.

*Dec's POV*

It took me a few hours to calm myself down and recompose myself. It was nearly noon when I emerged from my quarters and walked through my working crew. As I walked, I received appreciative nods and various formal greetings from my crew. It seemed that my display of luck had earned their respect. With a polite nod to those who greeted me, I made my way to the forecastle deck and pulled out my compass and a map.

Navigation never was a strength.

With some rough math, it seemed to me that we would reach the border of the whale's territory in just over two days. Perfect. That gave me enough time to let the crew relax after the morning's drama and then I can explain the plan to them tomorrow.

A plan that I still was yet to come up with.

********

The next morning came by fast and I'd come up with a flimsy plan. I would split the crew up into three groups. One would man the cannons, the second would man the harpoon guns, and the third would take care of the sails to make sure we wouldn't capsize from the impact. It was enough of a plan to make the crew think I knew what I was doing.

The day started much like the previous. I woke up at the same time, grabbed the same breakfast, stood in the same spot, and slowly ate while staring at the same view.

Well, it started as the same view. Something was off today. In the distance the water seemed uncharacteristically still, but based on my navigating, it shouldn't be. We weren't meant to be near any currents or reefs; the next change in water patterns shouldn't have been until the next day...

My heart sank as realization hit me. My ears rang loudly and my vision blurred as panic flooded over me. I spun around to look at my crew, working diligently in blissful ignorance. All except one; Anthony.

Anthony stood there, leaning against the mast, glaring at me.

He knew.

He knew what was going to happen. How his captain was about to sail the ship into dangerous territory without so much as a warning to his crew. His crew would be led like lambs to the slaughter, complete trust in their leader.