Pirates of the Storm (Stranded In Time Book 1) (28 page)

Jeff returned to the bedroom, where
the woman was now wrapped up in a blanket and sitting quietly on
the bed with a glass of wine. Captain Coxen urgently waved him over
to the window. “Mr. Greene, look!” From the second story window,
there was a clear view out over the water. In the distance a storm
was moving through… a storm with rapid bursts of pink and blue
lightning that crackled instead of thundered!

Jeff dropped the sack in astonishment.
“Captain, I need one of the longboats!”

“No, Mr. Greene, you’ll never make it
on your own in a longboat. The storm is too far out for you to
reach it in time. Come on!” Coxen ran to the stairs with Jeff right
behind him.

They met Captain Jamison at the foot
of the stairs. “John, what the devil…”

“No time, Jamison. I have
to get Mr. Greene to the
Wench
. I’ll return within the hour
and will explain everything then!” As they ran out the front of the
house, they nearly knocked over Stevens and the other Stevens
entering the house. Coxen yelled to them as he passed, “You men,
you’re with us!” The two Stevens looked at each other for a moment
and then turned and ran after Jeff and the Captain.

As Jeff and Coxen reached the village,
Jamison’s men who were keeping watch on the villagers jumped up in
alarm. “What be the matter, Captain Coxen?!” one yelled as they ran
past.

“Not..to…worry. Be… as… you… were!”
the Captain gasped back, winded from the exertion. When they
finally reached the shore, the Captain was about to collapse. He
and Jeff started to push one of the longboats into the water, but
the Captain’s legs gave out and he collapsed on the
sand.

In a moment, the two Stevens arrived
and they helped Jeff shove the boat into the water before helping
the Captain aboard. Jeff grabbed one of the oars and the other
Stevens took the other. The storm was a good distance off, but
still within reach and it appeared to be moving slowly. Jeff and
the other Stevens rowed hard as Stevens steered toward the ships.
Captain Coxen was still breathing too hard to talk, but he was now
sitting up and watching the storm intently. Within minutes, they
were approaching the ship and the Captain had now recovered enough
to yell to the crew onboard. “Mr. Crabtree, begin hauling anchor
and prepare to set sail for that storm!”

“Aye, Captain,” came the
reply from the shadows of the ship. Jeff could hear Crabtree
barking orders and the noise of the crew pulling the anchor. As
they pulled the longboat alongside the
Wandering Wench
, Jeff scrambled up
the cargo net as the two Stevens helped the still-gasping Captain
to his feet .

Jeff ran to the cargo hold and began
clearing a path to get his kayak out. As he moved crates and sacks
out of the way, he could hear the Captain giving the order to set
sail and he felt the sudden shift of the ship as the sails were
unfurled. A moment later, Jenny appeared in the doorway of the
cargo hold. Without a word, she started helping Jeff move cargo out
of the way so he could get to the kayak. Jeff finally was able to
yank the kayak out from behind some crates and Jenny helped him
carry it to the doorway. They started to maneuver it through the
doorway when Jeff stopped. “Wait! The paddle!” he said as he
retreated to the back of the hold once more. Fortunately, the
paddle was easy to find and he quickly retrieved it and headed for
the doorway.

Jenny was poised to pick up her end of
the kayak when Jeff stopped her. “You can still come with me…” he
started.

Jenny sighed, “I will miss you, but my
place is here.”

“In that case, before we go out on
deck, there’s something I need to do,” Jeff said as he stepped
forward and kissed her passionately.

“What the devil?!” they heard Crabtree
exclaim from behind them.

“Oh, Mr. Crabtree… I, uh, well… It is,
uh… It is customary in my time when you take your leave of someone
forever that you give them a kiss goodbye.

In fact, I’m glad you’re here,
because,” Jeff said as he stepped up to the big man and pulled
Crabtree’s mouth to his and planted a big, wet kiss on his lips,
before Crabtree pushed him away, sputtering, “Bloody hell, Mr.
Greene!”

“I shall miss you, Mr. Crabtree.”
Jenny could barely keep from laughing as Crabtree wiped his hand
across his mouth before saying,

“Uh, likewise, Mr. Greene, but I could
ha’ done without the kiss!”

“Sorry, it is just a custom,” Jeff
said as he and Jenny started to lift the kayak.

“A moment, Mr. Robinson,” Crabtree
said.

“Take your time, I can handle this
myself,” Jeff said hefting the kayak onto his shoulder and grabbing
the paddle in his free hand before making his way towards the
deck.

Crabtree turned toward Jenny and said,
“Not a word o’ this to anyone, Mr. Robinson!”

Jenny was still fighting back laughter
when she answered, “I won’t say anything if you don’t Mr.
Crabtree.”

“See that ye do not!” Crabtree said
before turning to head out on deck with Jenny behind
him.

As Jeff reached the deck, he could see
the storm ahead of them and they had definitely closed some
distance on it. He set the kayak down at the rail and tied the
paddle to it with a length of rope to make sure he didn’t lose it
when he put the kayak over the side. Captain Coxen called to him
from the navigation deck and Jeff quickly made his way up the steps
to the wheel. “Mr. Greene, we should be within range of the storm
in a few minutes. I will get you as close as I dare take the ship
and then it shall be up to you to get your canoe the rest of the
way.”

“Thank you Captain,” Jeff
replied.

The Captain continued, “Mr. Greene,
words cannot express how much I have valued you as a friend and as
a member of my crew. I am happy for you that you have this
opportunity to return to your own time, but you shall be sorely
missed – especially since I suppose we will have to reinstate Mr.
Graves as the ship’s surgeon!”

Jeff laughed, “God help you! But in
all seriousness, Captain, there’s no guarantee this is going to
work, but if I do leave you tonight, I want you to know that I too
have valued our friendship greatly. If I am not able to catch the
storm, I could certainly do much worse than to continue my life
here with you and the crew.”

“Thank you, Mr. Greene. I trust you
have said your goodbyes to Robinson.”

“Yes Captain. Mr. Crabtree caught us
in a kiss, but I told him it was a custom from my time – right
before I kissed him!”

“You kissed Mr. Crabtree!” the Captain
exclaimed laughing, “I wish I had been there to see that! So, then
he does not suspect Mr. Robinson’s secret?”

“I don’t think so. He seemed a lot
more concerned about me kissing him than kissing Jenny,” Jeff
explained.

“I suspect that to be true,” the
Captain said with a chuckle, “That was quick thinking indeed, Mr.
Greene. Bravo!”

“Thank you, Captain.”

Coxen eyed the storm and said, “I wish
we had a little more time, but we are getting close now, Mr.
Greene. You should take your position at the rail. When I am as
close as I dare be to the storm, I shall signal you. I will briefly
turn into the wind to slow our pace and you may then take your
leave of us. I shall look to see if the storm takes you, but it may
be difficult to tell in the dark. If the storm passes without you,
yell out and we shall come for you. Just to be sure, we shall wait
until first light before we depart from Pueblo Carcel, so if you
are not taken by the storm, we shall look for you to rejoin
us.”

“Thank you, Captain – for everything!”
Jeff said extending his hand.

“What, no kiss for me?” the Captain
asked in mock offense.

“I thought a handshake would be more
fitting,” Jeff said with a smile.

“Indeed,” the Captain agreed as he
bowed and shook Jeff’s hand firmly.

Jeff moved down the steps to the main
deck and took a position at the rail next to his kayak, where a
group of several crew members was waiting. Jenny stepped forward
and said, “We shall miss you, Mr. Greene. Fair thee
well!”

The crew members each stepped forward
to offer well-wishes. Even Crabtree, who was now recovered from the
unexpected kiss, stepped forward and shook Jeff’s hand and said, “I
be glad we did not hang ye that first day, Mr. Greene.”

“Thank you, Mr. Crabtree. Coming from
you, that is high praise.”

Crabtree thought for a moment and
replied, “Aye, that it be! Good luck to ye, Mr. Greene.”

A moment later, the Captain called
down, “Get ready Mr. Greene!” The crackle of the strange lightning
was now getting quite loud and the rapidly shifting winds from the
storm were whipping the sea into a heavy chop. The Captain turned
into the wind and yelled, “Now!” Jeff, Jenny, and Crabtree lifted
the kayak over the rail and dropped it into the churning water.
Immediately, the small craft started to drift away. There was no
time for Jeff to climb down the cargo net, so he leapt over the
rail and dropped into the water feet first. He sank below the waves
and quickly swam to the surface. The kayak was already several feet
away, so he swam hard for it. He was thankful when he grabbed hold
of the plastic hull and he quickly hoisted himself
onboard.

Jeff could see that the storm was
already moving off and he needed to get after it. He quickly pulled
in the rope and untied the paddle and shoved the blade hard into
the water to turn the kayak toward the storm. He paddled as hard as
he could and started to slowly close the distance. After some
minutes of paddling at a frantic pace, his aching muscles forced
him to settle into a more even stroke.

To his surprise, he actually started
to make better headway at the slower pace. It was then he realized
that the storm had changed direction and was now heading straight
for him. The flashes of lightning were nearly blinding to Jeff’s
night-attuned eyes as the tunnel of clouds approached. Just as with
his first experience, Jeff’s hair stood on end as he entered the
storm. As the tunnel narrowed and the crackles of lightning
intensified, Jeff’s skin tingled with electricity. He willed
himself to keep his eyes open as the storm engulfed him, but the
intensity of the lightning flashes were quickly too much and soon
the tingling transitioned into painful shocks. A moment later, Jeff
lost consciousness.

Aboard the
Wandering Wench
, Captain
Coxen was fighting to stay out of the path of the storm. He had
allowed what he thought was plenty of room for the ship to escape,
but that was before the storm changed direction and was now headed
right for them. The flashes and crackles of lightning were now
closing in on them and Coxen was trying to coax all the speed he
could from the
Wench
. Just as the cloud tunnel started to close in on them, it
suddenly vanished. The lightning was gone and the wind suddenly
dropped.

As the ship slowed to a crawl, Coxen
picked up his spyglass and scanned the darkness for Jeff and his
kayak. “Mr. Greene!” he shouted out in the direction where he had
last seen him. Jenny, Crabtree, and the crew took to the rail to
search for signs of Jeff. After some minutes of calling out and
searching the waves, Coxen called down to the crew, “I believe he
made it, men! Three cheers for Mr. Greene and may he now be safe in
his own time!”

In unison the crew cheered, “Huzzah!
Huzzah! Huzzah!”

“Now, take your stations and prepare
to make anchor at Pueblo Carcel. Captain Jamison is no doubt
waiting for us to transport the spoils of the raid.” Coxen took one
last look through the spyglass before setting a course for their
anchorage.

“Mister, wake up!” the voice
penetrated the fog of Jeff’s unconsciousness. “We have to get out
of here! Wake up!” Jeff blinked his eyes against the glare of a
light. “Come on, get in the boat! We have to go!” Still only
half-conscious, Jeff sat up in the kayak and felt a hand tugging at
his shoulder. “Hurry!” the voice urged. Jeff turned toward the hand
and saw the hull of a small fiberglass boat beside him. He grabbed
hold of the side of the boat and struggled to his knees. As he
turned his torso toward the boat two sets of hands grabbed him
under the arms and yanked him in. A moment later, he heard the
boat’s motor rev up and his head banged repeatedly on the deck as
they bounced over the waves...

###

Jeff Greene’s Adventures Will Continue In:
The Corpornation -
Stranded In Time Book
2
.

What follows is the first chapter…

Jeff’s head bounced up and down on the deck of
the small boat several times before he regained his senses enough
to sit up. Salt water splashed in his eyes and stung them as he
squinted against the blinding sunlight. He wasn’t sure but it
looked like there were three other occupants in the boat. Things
were still pretty blurry, but it looked to Jeff like there was a
large man standing over him driving the boat, another smaller man
in a seat just in front of the center console, and finally there
was a woman, or perhaps a slender man with long hair, who was
sitting in a seat in the back.