The Eighth Sea

Chapter 12

Wren

"Oh, for fuck's sake," Wren cursed. "Why did they have to notice? Why can't they just leave us alone?"

"Okay, time to get movin'," Hector announced loudly to the crew. "Seems like the navy's on to us; clear out! Everyone to your posts!"

"Is everyone back from the town?" Levi asked as he struggled to stay out of the way of the crew as they began rushing around the deck, pulling up the anchor and preparing to set sail.

"I hope so, 'cause if not, they better hurry up! I don't want to leave anyone behind, but we might have to if it comes down to that."

"Should we send someone to double check?"

"Let's just do a head count instead," Hector retorted before calling for all hands on deck. The crew piled on deck, and Pierre was put in charge of checking that everyone was there via a roll call.

"We've got everyone, Captain!"

"Then let's get outta here! Back to your posts! I don't want a single person taking a break until we get rid of the navy!"

The Jolly Rancher quickly made its way out of the busy harbour, the navy already hot on its trail, firing cannonballs at them. One nearly placed a huge hole in the starboard side, causing panic up and down the ranks. Some crew members began to run below deck where it was safer, but after Hector flashed them a particularly dirty look, they returned to their posts, picking up their oars again.

"Go, go, go!" Hector yelled as the navy ship began to close in on them. "Wren, go deal with the currents! I need a bunch of you at the oars! And some of you need to climb the riggings to the crow's nest to keep watch! I expect constant updates from all of you if anything changes! Charlotte, keep an eye out for the wind; we need to get our sails up soon! Levi, translate whatever she says for us!"

"Who's the captain here? You or Wren?" Levi asked, a bit confused as to how the fuck ranks worked on this ship.

"Me!" Wren shouted indignantly from up atop the crow's nest where he had gone to keep watch for Hector under his orders. "He just gives commands to the crew on my behalf! Obviously!"

"Yeah, sure. Obviously," Levi deadpanned as he went to talk to Charlotte, who was busy freaking out about how dangerous it was for Pierre to be on deck where the cannonballs could hit him.

Despite their best efforts, it seemed like the navy ship was steadily gaining on them every moment. The navy had more crew members and a more modern ship, so the Jolly Rancher didn't have much of a chance against it. Even with all hands on deck trying to get it to move faster, Wren could tell that it was only a matter of time before the navy caught up and they would have to answer for their actions.

However, just when all hope seemed to be lost, something in the water changed. The blue waves shifted to a swirling black with foam frothing along newly-forming eddies, and clouds drifted in, covering up the light of the sunset. A cold wind began to blow, and the Jolly Rancher rocked violently back and forth on the ocean. Rain fell from the sky in sheets, beating down on the deck, and Wren ducked under the sails for cover as he climbed down from the crow's nest.

"Storm!" Pierre shouted and the crew began to panic. However, something about this storm seemed different to Wren. He had seen many storms at sea, but this was something else entirely.

"Charlotte says we need to turn back!" Levi called out, and Wren felt a sinking feeling in his gut as he finally recognised what was happening.

"We can't turn back! The navy is right there behind us!" Hector replied, but Wren shook his head vehemently.