Beacon

13

Wesley rushed me into an unfamiliar room and closed the door without speaking. Attacked? What kind of enemies could they have procured, and just how many pirates are there? Placing my ear to the door I could hear yelling and gunshots from the top deck.

I started pacing around the room to calm the anxiety stabbing at my throat, and began to observe the room. The walls were painted black, and sloppily, the coats don't even look close to even. The floor was disgusting and covered in garbage and dirty clothes and, oh god food pieces. For furniture there's a bed, halfway covered in trash as well, a nightstand full of half empty metal cups and a cage on the floor with what looks to be a rat inside. Charming.

The yelling and shooting grew louder and the panic rose in me again. Hearing zombies be shot is one thing but people, entirely different. Alongside the panic some guilt is also forming. Alex is the most obnoxious and vulgar person I've ever met, but this crew has been kind to me since I've been here, and they're out there fighting and possibly dying, and I'm sitting in a disgusting room on the verge of tears.
   
I continue my pacing. It's obvious that I can't help out there, unless by help I just get myself killed. But I can clean up this room, whichever crew member lives in here obviously needs a little tips on organizing, and decency.

    I started by making the bed, then folding clothes and making a pile on the bed. There's no way I would ever smell them to find out whether they're clean or not. Then I gathered all the dishes and made another pile by the door. And finally managed to pick up all of the decomposing food bits and make a trash pile with that as well. By the time I finished the noise had died down, is that good or bad?

    I sat tentatively on the bed and noticed a golden circle on it. I hesitated, but picked it up and held it. I realized it had a lid and opened it, it's a compass. On the inside of the lid was a picture of a beautiful woman, she had light brown, skin long black hair and a huge smile on her face. Next to her was a tall man, he had red hair and fair skin, and on his face was a contagious but cocky grin, which looked almost too familiar...

    Suddenly there was banging on the door that made me jump about a feet into the air. I walked slowly to the door but didn't open it. What if it was whoever fought Alex's crew? The banging only got louder.

"Whichever coward decided to lock yourself up instead of fight better open up now! Or you'll lose both balls instead of just the left one!"

    Thank God. The banging continued even more loudly and I unlocked and swung open the door. She stumbled in and looked at me in surprise, but her eyes didn't have the life they usually did.

"Wesley told me you were in your own room, musta made a mistake I guess. Why don't you head on bac-"

    She interrupted herself with a wince and held her bicep, which was bleeding profusely.

"What happened?"

    My voice came out sharper than I meant it to, and I noticed that she looked paler than usual along with her eyes being pained. She must be hurt badly.

"Some dirty bastard sliced me out there. They really were dirty too, not even real sailors. Just cowards hidin' from the shit brains at sea."

"Let me look at it you might need stitches."

"No I'm good, don't touch it."
   
I gave her a stern look and reached towards her arm, and she recoiled but eventually let me take a look. I could see the bone, she definitely needs some stitches or she'll bleed out.

"Let's move you to the bed alright."

"That's what she said."

    I couldn't help but laugh at this one, even when she's wounded she's ridiculous.

"Do you have a first aid kit anywhere?"

"Wesley has one in his room, it's on the other side of yours."

    I ran out of the room without speaking and into the room two doors down. Wesley was sitting on a small bed tending to his own lesser wound.

"I need a first aid kit for Alex, now."

    He got up and handed me a small white box, and I immediately turned to leave.

"Sure are in a hurry to help someone who is so vulgar."

"I don't need to like someone to prevent them from dying."

    I turned around to look at him before I left and his gaze was too..knowing, for my liking, so I ran back to Alex's room without another word.

    Once back into Alex's room I started cleaning her cut without a word to her.

"I see you cleaned up in here."

"I wasn't going to sit in a room that disgusting, I'd probably get Cholera."

"So is that why you don't like me, because I'm messy?"

"There's a lot of reasons why I don't like you."

    She laughed which put a small smile on my face that was hard to fight.

"I'm serious you know."

    I was halfway done stitching up her wound at this point, and she wasn't as pale anymore, and her eyes had half a sparkle.

"Oh I know you are, princess."

    I finished stitching up her cut and wrapped some gauze around it. Not my best stitch job but it'll do.

" How do ya know how to do this anyway?"

"Having a little brother gets you pretty good at tending to wounds."

"Shouldn't the mom do that kinda stuff?"

    I tensed my jaw to prevent emotion showing on my face, but tears sprung to my eyes regardless.

"Yeah the mom probably should have."

    I tried to cover up the shake in my voice but it didn't work too well, so I just hurried back to my room without a goodbye.