First off, I want to apologize for how long it has taken to get this chapter out. However, we all understand real life. It comes first. I've kept everyone waiting long enough though, so I present to you...
Sea Dangers
Kat and Lawrence sailed for a few days, getting used to each other mostly, and finally happening upon a broken and tattered skeleton ship. The revenge Kat felt in her heart led them straight to it, with some help from her compass. When the torn sails appeared on the horizon, the pair quickly decided on a plan of action to take the servants of Jolly Roger down. The broadsides were loaded and Kat took the wheel to lead them to battle.
Kat sailed up to the skeletons and lined up the starboard side with the back. “Starboard side!” she yelled down to Lawrence. He went across all the lower deck cannons, setting each of the three off with a deafening bang. They were loaded again as quickly as possible, but the skeletal frigate began turning towards them.
“Hurry it up down there, Lawrence!” Kat hollered. She attempted to keep them behind the ship, but it was difficult. Her ship may have been faster, but the enormity of the skeleton’s frigate was almost overpowering.
Meanwhile, Lawrence was below deck loading up the cannons as fast as he could. He fired one that he had loaded, and then moved on to the next one. His ears rang from the force of the blast. Now he could understand why Gunner yelled so much.
As his last cannon rang out, an idea came to him. He sprinted to the top deck and the starboard cannon. It was already loaded, so he didn’t worry about taking that time.
“What are you doing?!” Kat yelled at him. “Get back to the stronger cannons!”
“Just trust me!” he told her. He adjusted the cannon, aiming for the bottom of the already damaged hull. The fuse was lit, the shot rang out, and a single cannonball hit the ship. At that the skeletons stopped turning and began sailing straight. Lawrence had hit the rudder, severely damaging the enemy boat.
Kat’s eyes went wide. That had been one of the most incredible shots she had ever seen. Lawrence gave a whoop of joy and loaded the cannon back up. When he was finished with that, he ran back down to the other cannons. He stayed below for the remainder of the time they attacked. Finally, the ship went down, sinking with horrible clanking and groaning noises as it headed to the Locker.
Lawrence jumped back up on deck with a shout of laughter. He began dancing in the glow of their victory. Kat couldn’t help but laugh with him. She let go of the wheel and danced with him. They linked arms and spun around, kicking their feet up, merriment evident on their faces.
“Our first victory together!” Kat cried. She stopped suddenly. “This calls for rum!” Lawrence looked at her as she began walking towards the hold. They were on top of the world!
A crash rocked the ship, brutally ending the glee. Kat fell down the stairs in the hold, and Lawrence fell onto the mast. She popped her head back up with a grimace. “What in the bloody love of Blackbeard was that?!” she yelled.
Lawrence shrugged. A blast rocked the ship again, making Kat fall over again. “For the love of mother and child, Lawrence, take the wheel!” she yelled from below. He ran to it and began turning the ship. We must have hit a reef, he thought.
Kat was still down below, checking on the cannons. She looked out the cannon window to the sight of red and white sails.
“Navy,” she whispered in shock. “Navy! Port side!” she yelled up at Lawrence. He looked to port, and sure enough, he saw a Navy galleon sailing steadily towards them.
Kat ran up from the hold frenetically. “We’ll never take that thing down, or even outrun it!” she yelled. “We need to figure out a way to board it. I’m going to look for a chain shot. Keep us steady!” She ran around, gathering supplies they would need. There were a few chain shots, some grappling hooks, and he watched her slip a grenade into her pocket.
“Direct us towards that swine, Lawrence!” she ordered as she loaded a chain shot to the deck cannon. Lawrence began sailing head on to the Navy ship. Kat braced herself for the battle about to come.
When they got in range, Kat shot off the first chain, making a solid hit on the front sail of the galleon. The next shot was quickly loaded, fired, and connected with one of the main sails. It created a grand tear in it, making Kat grin.
The grin quickly disappeared as the naval ship returned the fire. It’s broadsides were high enough that no shot connected with the hull, but the sails took a beating. Kat grimaced. “Alright, it’s serious now,” she growled. She took a grappling hook and swung it around, gathering momentum so that it could connect with the naval ship.
A red and black hat popped into view from the other ship. “Pirates!” the Navy soldier yelled. “Surrender and give us control of your ship, or be sunk!”
“Not a chance, you scum!” Kat yelled back, and she launched the hook. “Come on Lawrence!” she said. He left the wheel and tied the rope down so they could climb across. Kat lit the grenade from her pocket and flung it to the other ship. There was a pause… and then they heard the grenade explode to the cries of the Navy. She gave a satisfied nod and began climbing across.
On the other side, there was chaos. Some people stood on deck, avoiding a fire from Kat’s grenade. She looked around satisfactorily at the damage caused before a man noticed them. “Pirates! They’re here!” he yelled. There was a thundering of feet. Kat drew her sword with a grin, and she heard Lawrence do the same next to her.
“Hello gentlemen!” she greeted them brightly. “Nice weather we’re having, isn’t it?” she acted jovial, but really, she was nervous. There were a few too many people here that she could handle confidently, even with Lawrence by her side. The grin stayed up and steady though, so the Navy were never the wiser.
One of the men (Kat assumed he was Captain by the rank on his collar) stepped forward. “Pirates, you are under arrest by the charge of the Royal Navy of England for-”
“Oh, shove off you,” Kat cut across him. “Your words mean nothing. They’re just there to make you feel high and mighty, and make you feel like you’re actually doing something good.” She raised her eyebrow sardonically. “Savvy?”
“Very well. Men, into position!” the captain ordered. Kat grinned a little wider. Perhaps this wouldn’t be nearly as difficult as she thought. The men with bayonets kneeled down in front while the back row drew swords. “Aim.” The rustling of bayonets. “Fire!”
Kat and Lawrence worked as one mind, diving to opposite sides of the ship. Kat rolled towards the soldiers and landed swiftly on her feet to being fighting the nearest soldier, while Lawrence just ran towards them, taking a dagger from his belt and throwing it at the captain. It hit him solidly in the shoulder, making him fall.
With the loss of leadership, the soldiers scattered. Their formation broke, and instead, they charged the two pirates. Kat and Lawrence ended up back to back in the center of the group of redcoats. A few had already been taken down, but it was still a formidable group.
“What do you think the odds are?” Kat muttered.
Lawrence glanced around. “1 to 3, 1 to 4?” he guessed.
Kat nodded. “Aye, we’ll be fine,” and they moved. She slashed the shoulder of a soldier nearest to her, making him step backwards into his comrade. The clumsiness presented a gap big enough for Kat to slip through, and she ended up on the outside of the ring. She broadly slashed the two soldiers and caught them in the back.
Lawrence stayed in the center, tapping away strikes launched at him with swiftness and fluidity. He caught this soldier in the leg, stabbed that one through the shoulder, all while dodging and ducking the swords and bayonets.
Again, there was that feeling of unity between the two. Each took as many Navy as they could handle, but they were fine tuned to each other. One would warn if the other was in an unnoticed danger. Once, Lawrence yelled at Kat to duck. She listened without hesitation, and he swung his blade over her head, taking out the man about to cleave her in half.
Finally, there were only two left, but these two seemed to be the fiercest fighters. They each took one, hoping they would wear out and stop fighting, but it seemed the pirates were the ones tiring. Their strikes became slower and their wits dimmed. The man Kat fought charged at her with blurring speed, and Kat had to jump backwards to avoid him.
She didn’t realize that was exactly what he had wanted until she was already tumbling down the hold.
“Second time today…” she muttered, sitting up and rubbing her head. “That bloke is tricky enough to be a pirate.”
A shadow suddenly fell over her from above and she rolled out of the way as Lawrence came crashing down next to her. He recovered quickly and grabbed the doors to the hold, shutting and locking them before the Navy could come down.
Kat was looking at him like he was insane. “What?” he replied to the look. “I saw you fall.” Kat just shook her head at him.
They began wandering down in the hold, looking for anything of interest. There wasn’t too much near the top – mostly things for the soldiers – but it was in the lowest depths of the ship they found a real treasure.
“Well what the bloody hell are you looking at? Get me out of this cage!”
Well, there it is mates. Took forever, but it's finally here. I know some of you were like
(*COUGHDELCOUGH*) but I have another chapter finished already, so no worries. I won't be late again for at least a week.
So mates, loved it, hated it, horrible and tragical? Haha. Thanks for reading mates!
-Kat Crestshot