Subjects

31- The Once And Future Captain

They run.

Away from the sound of heavy thumps and growling, up to the main deck. The ship is in chaos, everybody is running around aimlessly. A group of five armed soldiers are running back down to hunt the thing that started this mess.

For the first time since they got to the ship, Eva, Emily and Roger see the Captain. He walks from where the bridge is, giving orders to the people walking with him. "Clear the deck, I want this place empty, we are dealing with something that will not stop for nobody. Get me the gun from my room. Now!"

The three run across the deck, unsure of where they are going. They hear something behind them. Roger keeps running, Emily too, but Eva makes the mistake of turning around. This is nothing like anything she ever saw or heard of before. It is huge, everything about it says danger.

It has something held between it's jaws. Eva freezes. The captain yells at her, "move, girl! Move!" But she hears nothing. The captain runs and stands between Eva and the creature. The creature stops running.

Right then one of the soldiers arrives with the captain's gun. "Shoot it!" The captain orders. The creature stands still as the small arrow hits it. It falls.

It takes a whole two days to fix the damages that the creature did.

Three men were killed, twelve injured. The floors of the ship are still smeared with bloody footprints of the creature running through the hallways. It takes a whole team to carry the creature down to the cargo halls and put it in a new cage.

On the evening of the first day the captain called the entire crew to the main deck.

"What you all saw is one of the most secret projects that the army is working on. So secret that I am the only one on this ship who is allowed to know about it. This was a horrible accident. We must all be extremely cautions when it comes to what we deliver on this ship. Because of the high classification of this weapon, I must brief you all as to what you should say about this incident."

The captain keeps speaking, telling them that no one outside the ship is allowed to know about the weapon. The families of the deceased will be told that they died because of an explosive malfunction. They must continue on in their tasks, no matter how difficult it may be.

When the speech is over, Ben is planning to go back to the infirmary. "I want to see how Jeff is doing," he tells the group.

"I will come with you," Eva offers. In all honesty, after the argument she had with Emily, it is just a little hard to be around her.

The infirmary has never been fuller. The twelve that were injured in the creature's attack are all lying there in hospital beds, the medics are busy banding wounds, giving medicines and seeing that everyone is okay. There are also about fifteen visitors sitting next to their injured friends.

Ben and Eva go straight to Jeff. He looks so pale that they barely recognize him. Eva inhales sharply when she sees the state that he's in. His left leg is... It is just... From the knee down there is just so much...

"How are you feeling, Jeff?" Ben sits next to him.

"I don't know, they gave me so much medicine that I don't really feel anything," he smiles sadly. Jeff seems like he is not completely at it.

"I am so sorry," Ben says.

"What are you apologizing for, man? You saved me!" Jeff chuckles but stops when it hurts too much.

"But it was my fault, the creature, everything," Ben feels so horrible that he almost can't breath.

"Is he always like this?" Jeff asks Eva.

"He is," she laughs. Seeing Jeff like this, it's hard. Maybe it's the medication he's on or maybe just the fact that she is trying to cheer him up, Eva just feels like smiling all of a sudden.

"Do you think I am going to get a medal for this?" Jeff smears the words as he speaks. "Even though Ben did most of the saving, we don't have to tell anyone, right?" For some reason, Jeff's goofy smile makes Ben feel even worse. "At least, something good will come out of this, I mean, they are not going to keep me around anymore. They are going to send me away for the surgery and after that I am not coming back. What good is a solider with only one leg?"

Jeff stares at the wall in front of him, his mind somewhere else. Ben and Eva just don't know what to say to this statement. Jeff starts crying, silently, tears slowly dripping down on his pale cheeks.

"It is not over, Jeff," Ben says, but he has a feeling that Jeff no longer hears him. "You will get better, believe me." He takes Jeff's hand, "Jeff," no answer. "Jeff. Talk to me, man. Please."

One of the nurses comes to Jeff's bed. "I think that he needs to rest now. You can visit again tomorrow."

Eva gets up but Ben still hasn't moved from his sit. She puts her hand on his shoulder, "come on, Ben. We need to go now."

Ben finally gets up and follows Eva out of the infirmary. "Do you know that Jeff wanted to be a captain some day?" Ben stops right outside the infirmary and leans against the wall. Eva can already tell that this is going to be a hard conversation. "I ruined it for him. I woke this creature from whatever hibernation it was in. If I just left it alone, if I didn't have to always pry and snoop and I..." He sinks down to the floor and puts his head between his knees.

Eva sits on the floor next to Ben. "First of all, Ben, I don't know why they keep those things just sitting about where every random person can get to them. It was only a matter of time before something like this happens." Ben still looks down at the floor. "Ben, look at me," Eva insists, he slowly turns his head to look her in the eyes. "This is not your fault. Neither is Leo's death. You should never stop wanting to know more, to explore. This is your gift."

"I want to believe you."

"Believe me," Eva insists. Ben leans to the side and puts his head on her shoulder. Eva takes his hand, "and next time when you decide to go exploring something," she says, "take me with you."