Siren's Silence

Chapter 3: Secrets of the Ghost Ship

James

I glared at the wood planking between my knees as I twisted my wrists in their tight bonds. I glanced over at my first mate, he didn't look good. Dried blood covered the side of his face, his eyes were half-closed, and it seemed that the only thing holding him up was the mast that we were both bound to. I was worried for him, but, seeing as my condition was not much better, I could do nothing.

I heard the heavy thumping of boots on the deck and lifted my head to glare into the black eyes of the Wolf Ship's captain as he approached. He smirked as he observed Thomas and me. I narrowed my eyes and tried to stand, but was kept on my knees by my bindings. He laughed, "Ah, how is the mighty Wolf-killer now? Comfortable?" He sneered arrogantly.

"Mm, not usually my cup of tea, but I'll make do," I snarled back.

He rested a hand on the mast, looking down at me. He opened his mouth to say something, was hurled backward a moment later when the ship suffered a hard impact from the side. There was the blast of cannonfire and the Wolf Ship on which we were imprisoned shook and trembled. There was barely a moment's rest between the cannonfire and the second impact. I heard a loud screech of metal scraping and the crack of breaking wood. More cannonfire followed. I tried to figure out what was going on, but what part of my brain wasn't sluggish from exhaustion was riddled with panic and confusion.

I looked up in time to see a large bronze structure dig into the deck, holding the Wolf Ship in place. I felt a cold blade rest on my throat and heard shouting from the bloodied Wolf crewman holding it, but my muddled brain couldn't comprehend his words. The sound of a gunshot snapped me back, making everything come into focus.

The man beside me collapsed. I looked up at the top of what I now recognized as the beak of the Griffin's figurehead and noticed the cloaked figure atop it. In its outstretched hand was a pistol, which it stowed as soon as the man's body hit the deck. It made a quick motion, signalling the crew of the Griffin to swarm over the deck. The sound of gunfire and clashing swords rang through the air, but not for long. The Griffin's crew soon disappeared, heading to the lower decks. Within a few minutes, I heard the raucous cheers from below deck that I assumed meant victory.

The Wolf's crew was marched onto the upper deck and pushed to their knees. This warranted the first motion I had observed from the figure since signalling the crew. He suddenly grabbed a rope hanging next to him and swung down onto the deck. He landed surprisingly lightly, but, seeing him up close, I noticed now that he was a rather small build. He approached the captain of the Wolf Ship who was glaring up at the him with a fury and stubborn arrogance that even I had not yet seen. The hooded figure continued to stare down at the captain, bearing a relaxed and confident posture. What he was waiting for, I was unsure until I observed the other Wolf crew members. They were all turning away, staring intently at the deck, avoiding the shadowy figure's gaze. The captain, however, sneered at the figure, which responded by pulling out a sword and hitting him on the side of the head with the flat of it. He collapsed, unconscious. The figure thumbed toward the Griffin, causing his whole crew to begin moving the captired sailors aboard the ship.

It was a moment before I realized the figure was now crouching beside Thomas and me. His hand grabbed my jaw and I felt his surprisingly soft fingers touching the cut on my cheekbone that was now a few hours old. He suddenly let go and turned to Thomas, examining the bloody lump on his head. He stood suddenly and I heard a shrill whistle. One of the figure's crew ran up. I couldn't be sure, but I didn't think I'd heard any dialogue exchanged between the two.

There must have been something that I missed, however, because the crewman immediately nodded and called out, "Check belowdecks, find the brig! There's more than one crew on this ship! Find the others, get them off before this bloody thing goes down and takes them with it."