The Pirate's Legacy: New Horizons

Chapter 34: The Divine Reprisal

Em sat up on the bed when the door burst open. Beside her, Louise screamed, but the intruder only focused on Em.

"Em," said Michael. "We found him! We found Roger!"

Em scrambled over a protesting Louise and slipped out from under the wool blanket. She jumped into her trousers and stamped on her boots before she and Michael ran outside. He led her up to the main deck where a buzz of activity awaited them on the starboard side. Oh Henry and his first mate stood near the mizzen mast. Polides directed the men hauling up a damaged longboat from the sea. Among the group were the red-headed Matt Colosi and the Twins, who had been woken up by Polides along with their blond roommate. Seaweed hung off the longboat's sides. Holes from moderate to tiny sizes spat water on the men and soaked the deck. The men pulled the longboat into the ship and lowered it on the floor. Em and Michael ran into the crowd gathered around it. When they reached the side, Em covered her mouth and cried into her palm. Tears rushed into her dark brown eyes as she gazed upon Roger, lying on his back. His long arms were crossed over his chest with his hands curled tight into fists, in the exact position of a dead sailor being cast into his graveyard, the sea. His long mane of black hair was wild and coarse, lying all over his face and the seat on which his head lay. Pieces of seaweed stuck out amongst the curls. He no longer wore his grey overcoat. The left sleeve of his dirtied blouse was ripped to shreds. Holes dotted the landscape of his clothes. Despite his ragged appearance, Roger's pale face was peaceful.

A tear slipped down Em's face. Grabbing the longboat's edge with one hand, the other hand reached over and touched his cheek. Though the skin felt so cold, she still detected the small spark of life underneath her fingertips. "He's alive," she said.

Upon hearing her confirmation, Oh Henry shouted, "Alright, men! We need the strongest of you to carry Dread Robin below decks! Smartly now!"

Grudgingly, Em stepped away from Roger. The majority moved as six brawny pirates of nearly equal height walked up to the sides of the longboat. Matt and the Twins did the same over the six men's objections. Together, they placed their hands underneath the Pirate King and pulled him out. The onlookers parted so that Oh Henry, Michael, and Em led the men carrying Dread Robin down the hatch to the second deck. The hallways and cabins were teeming with more onlookers, who dropped their jaws and exclaimed when they watched the procession passed.

Michael took the lead and brought everyone to cabin he shared with Matt where a small gathering of Oh Henry's men and a handful of the survivors waited beside the open door. They parted and allowed Michael to open the door for the procession. Dread Robin was placed on the large bed, which was set up against the left wall. Across from it was a wash table with a mirror nailed on the wall above the wash bowl. A porthole hung in the middle of the wall across the door between the bed and the wash table. The circular window was covered with cloth to prevent Dragus's pale red eye from seeing the taper's light on the wash table. Directly underneath the porthole was a stool. The cabin was small, and even after Oh Henry ordered his men to leave, it was still cramped.

Michael wormed his way next to Daryl and said, "See to him." Then Michael turned to Craig and Matt. "Wait outside."

Em stood at Roger's head. Daryl took a place beside her and reached down to grab Roger's limp left wrist. After ten tense seconds, Daryl placed the limb down and pressed two of his fingers against Roger's neck. Nodding, he requested the taper, and once Em handed it to him, his free hand moved to the pale face where the fingers pried open the left eye. Daryl waved the lit taper over the eye, but did not receive a response. He looked up at the three people in the room—Em, Oh Henry, and Michael—and told them, "He has a pulse, but his lack of response indicates that he's comatose."

"Stop speaking gibberish, Daryl," said Em. "What do you mean?"

A pained expression similar to having a tooth pulled out crossed Daryl's face. "Em, it means that I don't know when he'll wake up from his slumber. I don't know the cause of this state, and so I can't prescribe a course of action other than to wait and see."