Dark waters

4. Surprised by a squall

Cole got a brutal awakening when he slammed in to the wall. Shortly after he almost rolled out of bed.
He quickly got out of bed and tried to stay standing. It was still dark outside, but a faint gray light showed water poring over the window. The whole ship creaked and seemed to moan from exhaustion.
Cole quickly got his clothes on and stumbled out of his room. He had to pause and hold on to the walls for a moment before he tumbled to the stairs at the other end of the hallway. Thank the gods for the hallway down under which let him get to the kitchen without crossing the deck.

The lanterns swung violently above the table and the wind whistled in the hatch above the stairs. A few drops of water dripped on the stairs, but not enough to cause any concern.

Vock looked up from the stove in the kitchen.
“You’re up early.”
Cole held on to the wall before he walked over to the kitchen counter.
“I almost fell out of bed.”
“Don’t you have a lee cloth?”
“A what?”
“A lee cloth. It’s like a strong bedsheet that you tie to your bed and the walls. It keeps you in bed when it gets rough.”
“I don’t know.”
“It should be in one of the cabinets under your bed.”
Cole shook his head.
“I don’t think I would have slept through this anyway.”
“Probably not, but I bet your night was better than the captain’s.”
Coles eyes widened when he realized Tan had been standing outside all night.

Track walked in through a door behind the kitchen with a few blankets in his arms.
“Found them”, he said shortly and gave them to Vock.
“Good. The water is soon hot enough for the water bottles.”
Track nodded and walked out again.
“What are you doing?” Cole asked.
“Getting prepared to warm up the captain as soon as the sun gets up.”
“Right ... Anything I can do?”
“Sure. You can hold the water bottles while I fill them with hot water. When they’re done, you bring them to the captain’s bed and put them under the covers. He’s gonna need a warm bed when he gets inside.”
Cole nodded again.

A loud whistle of wind came from the hatch above the stairs. Cole glanced at it over his shoulder.
“Do you think the captain is alright?”
Vock shrugged.
“This type of storm can ambush you with no warning. It's called a squall. They rarely last longer than an hour, but they are intense and bring lots of rain. Occasionally there’s thunder and hail. I think we are in the middle of it now, but I certainly hope the captain did put on his coat yesterday.”
Cole glanced at the hatch again. He felt even colder just thinking about clutching the wheel out there in the storm.

Cole carefully placed the five bottles on the bed. He wanted them to cover as much of the bed as possible. Tan was going to need all the warmth he could get.

He had just put the covers back when Track stepped in to the cabin.
“Ready?”
Cole looked at him and noticed a harness around his waist with two lines hanging from his hips.
“What is that?”
“A safety harness. The hooks attach to the wheel and keep you from falling off the ship. I need you to come with me and get the captain. After a night like this he’s often so cold he has a hard time getting the hooks on his harness of the wheel. After that he might need help getting out of the wet clothes.”
Cole nodded and followed Track to the door to the deck.
Track gave him a look and a nod before he forced the door open and stepped out.

Cole had never experienced anything like that. The wind hit him hard and the icy rain quickly soaked through his clothes. The rain didn’t even come from above. It seemed to rain sideways.
When he walked to the stairs to the upper deck he got rain in his ear and had to turn his head to avoid it. The icy drops hit the back of his head before trickling down his neck.

With an eye on Track’s feet he fallowed close behind. Just a few feet away from the wheel he lifted his gaze and saw Tan clinging to the wheel, squinting against the rain. Thankfully he had a dark coat on, but it was probably soaked.
Track stood behind Tan and took the wheel by reaching pass him. Cole walked to the other side and unhooked Tan’s safety harness before hooking Track’s harness in the loop on the wheel. After that he got back to the first side and unhooked Tan before he pulled him out from between Track and the wheel.
Tan seemed exhausted and bumped in to him. Cole quickly put Tan’s arm around his neck and started walking back to the stairs. He had to walk with his feet wide apart to parry the wild waves.
He glanced out over the sea and felt a heavy knot in his stomach when he saw nothing but huge foaming waves and cascades of rain.