Second on the Right (4 page)

Eileen sprinted to her cabin and, once
inside, slammed the door shut. She cursed herself for the way she
acted and knew her erratic behavior would ensure that James would
make no further attempts to see her. Wanting to forget the meeting,
she resigned herself to remaining in her cabin. She slipped into
her pajamas, an old t-shirt and sweats, and curled up under the
blankets of her bed. The breeze coming through the balcony door was
nice and cool and the sound of the ocean waves was soothing,
helping to overcome her anxiety, her exhaustion from work and life.
But more importantly, her surroundings aided in pushing aside all
thought of her encounter with James and the surprising way it had
made her feel. She could hear the rhythmic boom of a muffled bass
on the pool deck above. The music served as a reminder of her
failure.

Her thoughts were interrupted when a white
piece of paper was shoved under her door. She ignored it and
glanced over at her clock. 6:00 pm. With a deep sigh and the
growing feeling of regret, she wrapped herself tightly in the
blankets. Looking over the horizon where the sun had begun to set,
Eileen saw beautiful colors of orange, purple, pink, and blue
streaked across the sky. Her eyelids began to close slowly as she
fell asleep.

A loud crash woke Eileen. Her world was
moving violently back and forth. It took her a moment to realize it
was not a trick of her eye, but that the ship itself was rocking.
She squinted, peering out the glass door to a sight of large ocean
waves, heavy rain and flashes of lightning followed by thunder.

Eileen was terrified. Her pessimistic nature
had convinced her something bad would happen, that the trip would
end in disaster. Swallowing hard, she stood for a moment, tightly
gripping the frame of the glass door. She was unable to remove her
eyes from the frightening scene that played outside.

Her jaw dropped and her eyes welled up with
tears. As a flash of lightning hit over the ocean, she could make
out an enormous wave headed for the ship. The
Destiny
leaned
towards the inside of a gigantic whirlpool. Engines whirred loudly
as they worked to break free from the whirlpool’s pull.
Unfortunately, it was no use. Pushed to its max, one propeller
overheated and stopped. The other propeller screeched and whined as
it tried to take up the slack, but it, too, eventually froze. The
ship, now without either large propeller in use, began to swirl at
the mercy of the ocean.

Eileen reached for anything to keep herself
from stumbling out onto the balcony. The ship was leaning nearly
horizontally. The lock on the sliding door was not latched and as
the ship swung around the whirlpool once more, the door slid open.
Rain and ocean sprayed into her cabin, soaking everything,
including herself. She had not thought about the disaster becoming
her potential demise. She lost her grip. The last thing she
recalled seeing was her cabin, as she fell through the open sliding
door and into the icy ocean waters.

May 30, 1641, midday

The feel of the gentle, rocking ocean waves
were as soothing as their sound. Eileen blinked and squinted,
forcing her eyes to adjust to the sunlight. She found herself
floating on driftwood, one leg dangling in the water.

Eileen's auburn hair was beginning to dry in
the sun, springing into a cascade of curls. Her coat was soaked and
heavy. Her dirty, white blouse was ripped along the collar and the
bottom edges. Her black pants plastered against her legs.
Huh. I
don’t remember changing my clothes.
She leaned against the
wood, taking inventory of herself; all the while, a wooden ship
steadily approached her position.

As it approached Eileen's position, she
turned in surprise. She could make out a carved figure on the front
surrounded by smaller, more elaborate sculptures. She could not see
the sides of the ship, as it was pointing in her direction. She
also could not see any crew on board, but screamed for help.

Realizing the ship was continuing at what
seemed like full speed directly towards her, she dived into the
ocean and raced away from its path. Eileen saw her only lifeline
completely destroyed when the vessel crashed through the driftwood
she had been clinging to moments earlier, sending splinters of wood
spraying up against the hull like ocean mist. Her heart sank.

She screamed again, frantically waving a
hand. She heard shouts from the ship and saw a sailor at the
railing. As she continued to cry out for help and wave, more
crewmen looked for her.

"Shorten the sail!" a deep voice commanded
from the ship.

The large galleon had a black hull, huge
sails and was armed with several cannons. It looked intimidating by
day and, she imagined, even more so at night in cover of darkness.
Adorned with deck lamps, the black ship appeared to grow larger,
and closer, rather quickly. The sails were opened wide, billowing
in the wind.

She could barely make out the tops of some
heads, as the crew scrambled around. She felt relieved, for the
ship was slowing down to a near stop. One figure looked different
than the others, a silhouetted shape of a broad-shouldered man
wearing a large hat. He had a presence about him, compared to the
other crewmen. His frame was slightly larger and he stood up
straight and tall. The man turned back towards her, paused, and
then walked away, disappearing out of view.

Discouragement set in.
They aren't going
to help, s
he thought.
I'm going to be fish food…no, shark
food!
A shiver ran down her spine. The ocean was dark and gave
no hint as to what might be lurking beneath her.

Just as she was about to take another large
breath and scream for help, a rope hit her in the head. Eileen was
highly inexperienced with any and all things nautical. The only
water-related skill she did possess was the knowledge of how to
swim. She picked up the rope and held it loosely in her hand.

One man shouted down to her, "Beggin' yer
pardon, miss. Now would be th' time t' tie it 'round yer…a…chest."
At that last hesitation, the other crewmen laughed and
whistled.

Although the man's speech was odd, she tuned
it out as her mind focused on being saved. Eileen did as the
crewman instructed. She wrapped the rope just under her arms. Her
fingers were so numb she was unable to tie the rope tightly enough
to hold. As the sailors pulled, the rope slipped from around her
and slithered towards the ship. Leaning over the rail, the crew
grinned and glanced at each other. After multiple attempts at
getting Eileen to use the rope, the crew finally gave up and sent
out a small boat to retrieve her from the water.

Two crewmen came to fetch her. They grunted
when pulling her on board. Eileen was still wearing her coat, which
was completely soaked and extremely heavy. Once inside the boat,
she curled into a fetal position on the bottom, shivering from cold
and fear. The men maneuvered back to the side of the ship and
secured the skiff. Forcing Eileen to her feet, the one pulled off
her heavily soaked coat and placed each of her hands on the ladder
rungs that led to the deck.

At this point, Eileen's exhaustion caught up
with her. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she passed
out. Luckily, the other crewman caught her before she fell back
into the sea. Turning her around, he hoisted her onto his shoulder
and made his way slowly up the ladder. Multiple hands grabbed her
once they reached the top. They placed her on the deck, circling
her as they stared.

"All right. Ye seen enough," one man stated
gruffly, pushing men aside. He hoisted her back onto his shoulders
and carried her below deck, while a few of the crew dumbly
followed. The man placed her into the brig, laying her on the
floor, then closed the door and locked it. She groaned and rolled
onto her side. Before leaving, he said gruffly, "Welcome t' the
Mistral Thief
" and made his way back on deck.

There, Eileen remained for the next six
hours, sleeping on the cold hard floor of the brig.

A plume of blue feathers swayed back and
forth as Captain Robert Benedict paced about his quarters. His mind
was racing. He was familiar with superstitions-all pirates were.
But he rarely subscribed to them. He often took risks no other
pirate dared. However, the situation he was now in gave him pause.
A strange woman was on board his ship, in his brig. He had
instructed his first mate to bring her aboard, not wanting to do so
himself. He needed time to think. He had to insist, under penalty
of severe punishment, his orders be carried out. The look on his
first mate's face said it all. The man was scared.

He shook his head, stopping to look out the
glass panes. The witch was right. He never would have thought it.
She had predicted he would find a woman in the water, calling to
him. He had figured the witch had played him or, was quite possibly
mad. He knew the superstition, that it would be bad luck to bring a
lady on board. But the witch had promised this woman's presence
would provide more riches to him than he could ever imagine. It
still came as a surprise, while he was walking the deck, to hear
her voice shouting from the water.

More riches than I could ever imagine,
he thought to himself, a hint of a smirk on his lips.
Must be
true. The witch predicted I’d find the woman. She actually knew.
The treasure must be true also.

Captain Robert Benedict saw the faint
reflection of his image in the glass pane. He leaned in closer,
running his fingers over his scraggly mustache and beard. He
frowned slightly. Were those gray hairs? He sighed heavily at the
thought of growing old. It had been a while since he had focused on
his appearance. His face, with a few faint scars and an especially
prominent one over the right eye, had become slightly weathered
from years of exposure to wind, sea, and sun. He turned away from
his inspection and resumed pacing. He needed a plan of action
before seeing this woman. He had to take a Machiavellian approach
to the situation. Fortunately for Captain Benedict, cunning and
discretion came naturally.

Eileen stood on the deck, near the railing. A
cool breeze blew through her hair. She felt relaxed, as if she were
truly home. The ocean was beautiful. As the sun set on the horizon,
it seemed to dip down into the ocean itself. Overhead, she saw the
clouds parting to give hints of the coming night sky and stars. The
waves crashed against the moving ship, the salty water caressing
her skin.

Return it to the blade
, a familiar
feminine voice whispered in her ear.

The wind unexpectedly picked up speed and
dark clouds churned overhead. Close by stood a dark figure. Eileen
squinted, but could not make out his face. She steeled herself to
approach the man. The rain was ice cold, and she shivered. A flash
of lightning illuminated the ship; the accompanying clap of thunder
distracted her for a moment. The sails of the ship whipped
violently in the wind. Eileen glanced back. The figure was gone.
Hearing a shriek, she spun around, but could not find the source.
Fear overpowering her, she moved backwards as quickly as possible
until she ran into what she thought was the door to the captain's
quarters. With another lightning flash and crash of thunder, she
found herself face to face with a dark and sinister-looking
creature. He grabbed her with claw-like fingers, his silver eyes
sparkling with flashes of red. Throwing his head back, he crowed
and cackled.