Follow The Current

Chapter 6

Kin sat off to the side with the rest of the crew, picking at a strand of grass. He wondered if he snuck away now, could he actually be free? He looked at the cuff on his ankle that kept him from using his abilities. He doubted it. He sighed as he watched the Shadow Pirates approached their crew. He thought for a moment, Captain Lux's eyes met Kin's briefly. He was imagining, Kin decided. No one noticed him.

"So how do you want to do this," Lux asked Captain Lery. "We will have four rounds, one for each of the members from your crew that I want. If your crew wins all four rounds, then you can have all of the members I won from the Bri brothers." Lux gestured to Kin with his chin, "I want the kid too." Kin couldn't believe his ears.

Captain Lery looked over at Kin then back to Lux. He busted out laughing, "You want that ungrateful street rat?" He laughed to the point he had started crying. He wiped a tear away, "He is a useless kid who is only good at cleaning tables and moping the deck." Lux shrugged, "That means at least one of my crew members will know how to clean up after themselves." Captain Lery then smirked, "Fine if you really want the kid, then you can have him with the others if you win." Kin knew not to get his hopes up because he knew Captain Lery was going to cheat so he could get his hands on their doctor and most of their women. 

"So what are the challenges," Lux asked him. "First a water race with only two crew members each," Captain Lery answered. "I will allow you to choose the two crew members who you want to race." Lux nodded, "Brian and Laya will race." Captain Lery nodded and chose his two members. "The rules are simple," Captain Lery told them once they got to their starting point. "The race is all the way around the island. The two half to get through the finish line together. You're able to use your abilities as well. You just have to be on or in the water the entire time or you loose." 

That made Brian feel a little uneasy. Who knew what the abilities of the other two could do. They'd probably try to launch them out of the water to get them disqualified. When the gun was fired Brian dove into the water, a rope around his hips with Laya hanging on, on the other end. She used her water ability to allow her feet to glide across the water, as if she was on water skis. 

Lux studied Captain Lery, who watched the high speed the two shot off in, with a clenched jaw. Lux showed no emotion. The race wasn't over just yet. Lux watched as one of the two from Captain Lery's crew turned into a sea creature and the other hung on to his spinal fin, as they followed after Brian and Laya. The other on began to fire explosive balls of light at them, to try and blow them out of the water. Brian began to take evasive maneuvers to try and avoid getting hit, but he couldn't see where they were aiming since they were behind him. Laya was getting annoyed with the shots being fired. She made sure she was holding on tight enough with one hand, before using her other hand to create a massive spout of water to shoot them into the air. What she wasn't expecting was the wave it created to send her and Brian even further around the island. 

Captain Lery was now grinding his teeth together out of anger as the two furthered the distance between them and his men. Kin hid his smile at seeing the Captain on the verge of loosing the first round. If he was caught smiling, who knows how badly the Captain would punish him. 

When they made it to the finish line, the Shadow Pirates cheered while the opposing crew, stood there in shock. One round down, three to go, Kin noted. 

When Captain Lery's men made it back Lux turned to him, "So what's next?" 

"A one on one match," Captain Lery answered, calming himself down. "I get to pick a member from your crew who will be fighting, and you will get to pick their opponent." Kin was a little worried now. This was never a contest Captain Lery has done before. Kin knew he was going to choose one of Captain Lux's women, but just who is he going to choose?