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Faraway at a distance, across the wide stretch of a never ending line where the rolling sea waters kissed the sky, the horizon began to quiver. The darkness was heavy, the rumble was low, the ambience, stiff. Amidst the cruel wickedness of the nocturnal hour, the open letter of an approaching calamity had already arrived. A clap of thunder reverberated across the place, illuminating the waters for a speck of seconds and then, once again, going black.
A storm was brewing.
The ship sailed on, without any signs of stoppage. And where would she stop? All around her were nothing but the gigantic waves, the empty abyss of the inky water body, famished and ferocious. She could have been paralysed, with no other chance other than facing the disaster that was soon to attack her without any mercy. But she didn't. It was because of the crew she cradled within herself.
The men cried to one another, quickly putting themselves to work. Everybody focused on their individual tasks to bring everything together and prevent a possible ship wreck. Materials were carried away from the deck, sails were reefed, hatches were battened down and important chamber doors were bolted and locked. Their voices were loud, yet louder was the growl of the approaching storm. These men weren't scared, nor were they loosing any hope. Instead, they continued with their tasks with all the energy they could implement. They were meant to win every battle, even if it was a battle with the sea. They didn't know the definition of 'loosing'.
After all, they were the pirate's men.
"A-hoy Cap'n!"
A man shrieked, as he paused his task and looked to his right and noticed the Captain walking up to them. This man had attires a little different from the rest. The difference didn't specifically lie in the attires though, it was probably due to all the other materials that surrounded his dress and his entire self that made him stand out from the rest.
He had a white loose shirt, with dirt and tears at places, a little frilled near the neck and chest. Above that was a dark sleeveless coat of leather, almost worn out. A belt was tied stiffly around his waist, which had a complex metallic decoration in the front, right above his navel. Brown short pants and shabby leather boots completed his formal attire.
The man had numerous chains around his neck, two of which hung several keys from them, and the rest were thin strings of expensive metals. Rings of various colors adorned his fingers, and his cutlass dangled across his waist. His hair was midnight black, flowing till his shoulders, slick and shiny, rare for a sailor. On his head he had a dark hat, on which was a prominent imprint of a human skull, speaking volumes about his profession.
The captain waved at the sailor who addressed him earlier, and then turned his attention towards the emptiness that lay in front him. Dark. Completely dark. Yet he could see, he could hear, he could feel the rush of the violence that would thrash upon them any moment. The gale had been speeding every second, becoming powerful with every beat of the heart. The waters rose higher and higher, foaming white against the surface, gurgling with rage. Another clap of thunder dazzled the region for a second, and then disappeared, it's aftersound creating an almost deafening effect to the ones on the ship.
The captain had taken out his spyglass and was focusing towards the sea. Even though there was no illumination, the man tried his best to check the surroundings out for any possible 'man-made' dangers. The storm had almost hit the sea, the men shouted, the ship moved in an erratic manner, tossing and turning above the sea waters, when suddenly, amidst the chaos of the sea storm, a voice called out.
"A-hoy Cap'n! Here! Here!"
The captain heard the call. He quickly slipped his spyglass into the wide pockets of his pants and strided forwards, towards the source from where the call was heard. On reaching the starboard, the captain noticed a small crowd. Low voices of gossip were audible and blurry faces of wonder and excited expressions were visible to him under the wan lights of the lanterns the sailors carried. His crew members had definitely discovered something extremely interesting from the waters which had made them leave their works and rush to the spot to create a pandemonium. The turbulence had already become stronger and there was not much time left. The captain had to look into the matter and disperse it off, so that his sailors focus on their respective tasks and save the ship from her demise.
"What is it?" he spat, his voice deep and disciplined. His presence was immediately acknowledged with a bow, and quickly after that, all the sailors around parted and made a way for him to walk forward to view their finding.
"Look Cap'n," one of the sailors, youthful and bright, spoke up, pointing at the ground, "We found a big fish. Don't you think it'll last us for months?"
The captain raised a brow at him and then turned his gaze at the space where the boy had his index finger pointed at. He saw a bundle of fishnets curled around each other in an absolute dark mess, and upon a closer observation, he noticed that the fishnets were wrapped around something that, perhaps, was the 'fish' his young shipmate had mentioned earlier.
"Are you sure it's a fish?" the captain asked, looking questionably at the boy and then back at the mess which definitely looked way too big for a 'fish'.
"Yes! It is," the reply was quick and was endowed with enthusiasm, "Yunho here was throwing the fishnets all the way down the ship-"
"Why?" the captain interrupted, feeling extremely flabbergasted.
"To catch fish!" came the reply, "Isn't it true that when there are storms, the fish's swim shallow? I believe it's true, because," he pointed at a few buckets lying close to them, all eyes travelling to them as he pointed, "We did catch some fish!"
"We?" A tall boy intervened, "Wooyoung, it was me. I caught 'em all."
"Whatever matey," the tall boy was speechless. The other one continued, "Okay Cap'n. So, while catching fish, Yunho suddenly called us saying his nets felt way too heavy than what a fish would. Blimey! Blimey! Even a horde of fishes wouldn't feel as heavy as what it felt to pull that thing up. Did we catch a whale?"
The captain heard it all, his eyes fixated at the motionless object underneath the fishnets. A sudden loud thunder shook them up, breaking the ambience of the discussion and the rumble grew louder.
"The storm is close," the captain spoke, turning his face towards his men, "Ahoy! Get to work now," he commanded, "And take hold of the steer, San. You know how to sail this ship better than I, mate. I'll stay here and examine this foreign object. Everyone! Back to your tasks."
"Yes Cap'n," the crew immediately dispersed away, emptying the place.
The man picked up a lantern lying near to his feet and brought it closer to the bundle. He crouched low and took his hat off, placing it down on the wooden floor. He brought the lantern closer, yet couldn't make out what was the object within. Finding no other choice but to use his hands, he then held the illuminator high in his left hand and started untangling the fishnets with his right.
It was true, the object within was not moving at all. The man was curious and continued fidgeting upon the nets, removing layers after layers. The winds was strong and the glow of his lantern was flickering fast, threatening to blow off any moment. Another clap of thunder and the ship trembled violently, going a sudden up and then crashing down against the waters, almost throwing him away if he didn't have a grip nearby. The captain was close to give up on unveiling the fishnets as it was too tangled up when all of a sudden, he untied a specific knot and quickly removed the layer and finally opened the fishnets. He didn't waste a moment and brought his lantern closer to see what the thing was when...
...he finally saw what it was.
He froze.
"It's a- It's a boy."
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Thoughts?
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