Hooked

Chapter Five

Later that night, a storm was raging. It was worse than the one before that I, in turn, got seasickness from. The whole crew was being tossed around, the storm going out of control.

"Smee!" I yelled over the storm. He was nowhere in sight. I was becoming worried. What if he fell overboard?

"Princess Madeline!" I heard him yell to my right.

"Oh thank goodness! You scared me half to death!"

"I'm sorry. I must not be easy to pick out from a crowd."

"I guess not... Shouldn't we go below deck?" We both were now sopping wet, concern written on our faces.

"No!"

"Why not?!"

Thunder crackled. "Captain's orders!"

"Captain's orders? He must be insane! Does he want to lose half of his crew?!"

The wind blew rapidly, ripping through the pirate flag that hung from the crow's nest.

A gust of powerful wind, combined with the jumps and rocking of the ship and raging sea, made me lose my balance. I tried to grab the side railing of the boat just as I was about to fall off, but failed.

I screamed, flailing my arms as I tried to grab onto nothing. "Smee!"

I saw his white receding hair line on his shiny head pop out of the ship, and I yelled his name again. Just as I was about to smack against the ocean, I saw someone dive off of the ship.

Smee? No way. He was too out of shape to do such a thing. I'm not even sure if he knew how to swim.

As I saw the muscled figure make its way over to me, I struggled to keep my head above water. Cold. Wet.

I looked over my shoulder to see an enormous wave. Larger than any I've seen before. I gasped before it hit me, making sure to get enough breath before I went under.

As I felt my lungs ache underwater, my ears popping, I tried my hardest to make my way back to the top. Cold. Wet. No oxygen. Just water.

My eyes wanted to open, but I urged them to keep closed. Salt water would sting badly.

I was running out of air. I wouldn't make it. I started to panic. I gasped for air where there wasn't any. I choked. I tried to cough, but it only made things worse. Hurt. Cold. Very cold.

I opened my eyes, giving up, which in turn, stung like I thought it would.

Before I blacked out and the water consumed me, I saw a shine of light. It was reflecting off of something metal.

...

My eyes fluttered open, and I smiled as I saw Hook's coat hanging over a chair.

Hook saved me from drowning. I was very thankful for that. I wasn't thankful for the fact that I was still sopping wet.

"Oh good. You're awake." I heard his raspy, calm voice say. "You should help everyone else clean up the ship, plug the holes..."

I interrupted him, not paying attention to the fact that he didn't care to ask how I was, as he was trying to act tough and cold. "You saved me." I was shocked.

He shook his head, wiping his hook with a white towel. "Don't get a big head. You're just another crew member. I would do the same for anyone else." He scowled, his jaw clenched.

His words hurt slightly, but I tried not to let them get to me. He enjoys it when he catches hurt in someone's eyes. I knew it.

"No you wouldn't. You would love to let them drown." I couldn't believe I just said that.