Clark of the Future Sea

5. Filthy Rich

Silas threw himself up over the edge of the ship and back onto the charred deck. He was dripping wet and still catching his breath, after freeing the jammed rudder under the ship. He sighed he had thought Kirkland would have shown up by now. 'Better go wake that asshole,' Silas thought before heading off to the bunk room. Only to find he wasn't there. He sighed yet again, 'where is he!'

He moved to the deck of the ship, deciding there was only one place he could be and threw the door to the admiral's cabin open.

'Unbelievable,' he thought when he saw Kirkland passed out on the admiral bed. When he approached, he then noticed the leather hat on Kirkland's head. The red feather fluttered when he exhaled air.

"So, I take it you're the captain now." Silas teased. Kirkland jolted awake and yelled back

"Shut that door! You have no idea how my head feels." Kirkland groaned and tenderly touched the wound on his face, promptly reminding Silas of the injury he had sustained. 'I'll have to patch that up too,' he thought.

"Yup your a captain alright. Laying in bed, while I do all the work." he snapped. Kirkland removed the leather hat from his head, his face fully flushed with embarrassment.

"Your right, sorry. I'll come help you now," he went to stand but Silas pushed him back onto the bed.

"Don't bother. I already repaired the rudder and hung a new sail." Silas informed his friend. He would never admit it to Kirkland, for fear of inflating his ego but he truly thought Kirkland would make a good captain. 'He's already fitting into the role like a natural,' he openly smirked at the thought.

"The wind died down, so we're not sailing anywhere. Let's patch up your ugly face." He received a sour look from Kirkland before he got to his feet and went about the cabin looking for the things he would need.

"Have you done this before?" Kirkland asked, hesitantly.

"I sewed up my horse's leg once. A wolf bit her, real bad too. Patched her up just fine, she did, however, have that scar forever." Silas admitted. He lit a candle and pulled out a needle that was pinned under his collar, waving the needle over the flame to sterilize it. Then removing the spindle of catgut from his pocket, which he found amongst the admirals belonging.

He then removed an unopened bottle of gin from his coat, popped off the top and doused the wound. Kirkland swore, taking the bottle right out of Silas's hand and took a greedy drink.

"Ready?" Silas checked to see if Kirkland was done with his little outburst.

He took another big gulp of gin. "Alright."

Silas stuck the needle into the top side of Kirkland's wound, crossed it over and connected the bottom skin, giving it a small tug. Followed by an uncomfortable grunt from Kirkland and a single drop of blood from the fresh piercing. Silas stitched through the top skin a second time, looped down for a second poke through the lower layer of flesh and gave it another firm tug. This time Kirkland hissed.

"Are you done yet?" He snapped.

"It covers more than half the length of your face. Relax. It's going to be awhile. Besides this scar will give you a good pirate name. They'll be calling you Kirkland Scar Face Ragnor," Silas teased.

"You forgot captain," Kirkland reminded him. He let out a deep belly chuckle.

"Of course, captain. How could I forget." Kirkland scowled but regretted it immediately as he winched in pain.

"Just hold still, will ya," Silas scolded him.

By the time Silas's clothes had dried, he had finished the last stitch and knotted it at the end. He admired his handy work, only to find he had made a mess of Kirkland's face. 'I never admitted to being good,' Silas thought.

Kirkland suddenly got to his feet and moved to the admiral's locket, removing one of the more expensive bottles of gin.

"I think we earned this, don't you? Kirkland asked but did not wait for Silas's reply before popping it open. Kirkland closed his eyes, doused his face once and winced until the sting faded away. He brought the bottle to his lips and took a big gulp before bringing it to Silas. He took the bottle from Kirkland and took a well-deserved drink.

"Do you have any idea how much gold, you and I have right now?" Kirkland asked. Silas shook his head side to side, indicating no. Kirkland retrieved the chest from the desk top, bringing it to Silas before opening the lid to reveal it's contents to him. Silas had never seen so much gold and immediately became excited but then his mood sunk.

"What good is gold if you can't take it home and spend it." He pouted.

"I've been thinking about that. Your right, we can't go home. We will be hung immediately." Kirkland solemnly admitted. Silas's thoughts drift back to his mother and two younger siblings. They'd be alone now without him. His poor family had just lost his father to this war only a few months ago and now they would think he had been lost too.

"Well, then where do we go?" He asked Kirkland.

"There's only one place we can go if we plan to have any kind of a life," Kirkland said with confidence. Silas gave him a confused look, not following his captain's logic.

"The new world," Kirkland said with passion in his voice. Silas's eyes opened wide. He was filled with cautious excitement until reality set in once again.

"We will need a crew to do that." He said trying to kill Kirkland's lust for adventure. He smirked at Silas before taking a drink from the bottle.

"We will get one" Kirkland reassured him.

"Where and who would join us? Two outlaws on a charred vessel, crossing the Atlantic. That's an outstanding incentive to join up." Silas doubted their chances.

"We will pay them. I say we head for a fishing harbor. There's always a sailor looking for work, someone will want the pay." Kirkland laid out his plan for Silas.

"We will be noticed the moment we pull into harbor, we're sailing a half-burnt military ship." Silas countered with yet another concern.

"Well then, we'll dock at nightfall and leave before sunrise." Kirkland fixed yet another of Silas's problems.

He mumbled to himself, not liking this idea one bit but the passion in Kirkland words today, told Silas there would be no changing his mind. Kirkland turned to face Silas, with a grin on his face.

"You're just going to have to trust me." Kirkland grabbed the leather hat, raising it to his head and positioning it low on his brow. "I'm the captain after all."