Outlaws | An Eclipse | [Vol.1]

Chapter Fourteen - "The Storm"

Dimitri gritted his teeth as the sound of thunder cracked through the air around him, light flashing through his circular window. He rolled over impatiently on his bed, the unsteady swaying of the boat making it hard for him to find comfort. The loud creaking of the boat's movement was starting to grate on his nerves. There was something rolling back and forth in rhythm with the ship's rocking, but Dimitri didn't care to find out what it was and stop it. That is, until it rolled off of whatever it was on with a loud clank.

Dimitri huffed out a half growl and rolled lazily off of his small bed. His feet lightly touch the wooden planks. He pushed down on them to hear the floor groan underneath him, but the sound seemed muffled, so he pushed himself forward until he was standing.

Snapping thunder rang in his ears as it pierced the atmosphere again, the flashing lights of the sky's electricity following suit outside of the ship. Not too close, but too close for comfort. The ship moaned in protest to the rocking sea, dipping to the left enough to make Dimitri stumbled for balance.

The young boy sucked air sharply through his teeth has the ship not only dipped enough to make him stumble, but dipped enough to make him feel like the floor was about to become his new wall. Dimitri lost his footing and rolled right out of his room, his forced inertia only coming to a stop once his back slammed against the bottom of the ship's stairs. He let out an unwanted grunt from the impact and winced. 

From above, Dimitri heard the heavy hustling of footsteps and glanced up the stairs.

There was a single door keeping him from seeing the ship's deck at the top of the wooden staircase. A couple of muffled shouts are heard from just on the other side, none of them being clear enough to understand.

Dimitri shifted awkwardly as the ship began to tip in the opposite direction, the newly steep angle being enough to put him onto his feet. With one quick motion, he took advantage of this and started to run up the stairs with what little balance he had.

If the world around him hadn't been so roughed up by the storm at hand, Dimitri would have criticized himself for running up so noisily in the middle of the night. But, due to the crackling thunder and shouting, Dimitri's steps barely made any sound against the groaning stairs.

When he reached the door at the top of the steps, he grabbed the handle to push it open, but to his inconvenience, it wouldn't budge.

The boat continued to rock, swaying the teen unsteadily as he fiddled with the door handle. Dimitri heard someone on the other side of the door shout with dismay and a small feeling of desperation started to build in his chest.

He was normally really good at keeping calm no matter the circumstances, but his senses were starting to become overwhelmed with all the noises and movement. If he had been asleep before getting up, he would most likely have gone unconscious after being tossed at the base of the stairs.

Dimitri's hands clutched the door handle as the ship abruptly arose and dipped, gravity pulling at him as his feet lost the stairs and dangled fruitlessly, the door now facing down like it was the ceiling and leaving Dimitri to hang from its rugged handle.

Panic pinched at his stomach, and for an alarming moment, the young prince thought the boat was about to flip upside-down as it continued to keep turning. He heard others on the the other side of the door all fall against the wall he was currently hanging from.

Dimitri's knuckles were pale with how tight his grip on the door handle was. His breathing hitched as the boat started to drop to its natural set up. This stairs moved to be under him like they were originally, and Dimitri landed on his hip, sending a sting of pain to shoot up from it and travel to his shoulder and neck like hot energy. He hissed through his teeth and screwed his eyes shut.