Compass (A Pirate Story)

Chapter 4 (Robert)

The captain paced to and fro.

"So we lost a sailor," he muttered, biting his lip.

"Yes sir," a young man replied to him. Robert felt like crying. He had lost his good friend to a pirate because he froze! But in that moment, all he could think about was his wife and kids. If he died, they would be all alone. He would never see them again. But now those pirates might kill Nic! He had to do something this time!

"Captain, sir, we need to rescue Nic!" Robert fiddled with his shirt before looking up to meet the captain's eyes. He was an intimidating and rather large man with several medals over his vest due to his part in the last war. It was odd to Robert. Why would they hire a man of such sophistication and importance for some random boat ride to Jamaica?

"Why? How is this kid of any importance?" the captain asked, looking down at Robert.

"He is the assistant navigator, and we should help him because its the right thing to do!"

"I think," the Captain started, running his fingers through his beard, "that it is not worth it." Before Robert could explain why it was worth it, they were interrupted by the assistant captain who whispered something into the captain's ear. His face went white, then red.

"Change of plans. Robert, you need to finish the ship's repairs from the battle because you are the only carpenter that is not injured. After that, I need you to gather the unharmed people for an announcment." the captain rubbed his temples in frustration. Robert couldn't imagine what would be so important. The captain never called for announcements, even during life-threatening situations like the storm they faced a few days ago. But Robert knew that first he had to finish the repairs, first.

Thankfully, there wasn't much repairing to do. Victory's Fortune was incredibly lucky that the pirates had not brought out the cannons. He nailed in a thicker piece of wood where some sailor accidentally fell threw the deck, then repaired the bowsprit that had a hole from a bullet in it. Before long, he put his tools back next to his hammock and went to find the biggest group of sailors.

"The captain has an announcement! We need to meet him on the main deck," Robert raised his voice louder than the chatters. The talking stopped as confused faces looked back at him, before the sailors started gossiping even louder. The group headed upstairs slowly, as many of the sailors did have wounds.

"We are going off course," the captain stood on a barrel. "We won't arrive at Port Royal for a few more days." The captain rubbed his forehead, conflicted, as protests sounded from all over the deck. Robert was shocked. Maybe the captain was actually a nice guy!

"You may be wondering why. Well, it goes back to the reason why you are all here in the first place." The protests and shouts ceased. Robert frowned. It has been weeks since they left for Jamaica, and now the captain was telling them why they were even going to Jamaica in the first place? Well, there had to be a reason. A ship this big wasn't going to Jamaica to transfer a bunch of sailors.

"We are transfering something incredibly important. The King needs this treasure to be brought to Jamaica to the English colony. But we have reason to suspect," the captain gritted his teeth before continuing, "that the sailor who was kidnapped during the pirate attack may have taken this artifact."

Robert's mouth dropped, as chaos embraced the entire ship. He was confused why Nic would take this treasure. Then, Robert thought back to their last conversation. Damn it. Nic probably took his words the wrong way. He meant to suggest that Nic try to save some food, not steal! This was all his fault!