Clark of the Future Sea

9. Better than Nothing

The sea was calm, but the air around him was tense. They hadn't had any luck in town.

"You row while." Silas huffed annoyed before he shoved the oars at Kirkland.

Kirkland switched seats with Silas and began to row the boat along the shoreline. The rocky cliff side intensified the echo of the waves, slapping against the rocks. He turned his head out towards the open sea. It was a beautiful night. The dark waters reflected in the light of the full moon.

Kirkland watched Silas uncork a bottle of ale and gulp it down like he hadn't drank anything in days.

"Good grief, save some for the rest of us," Kirkland whined.

"SHUT UP! I'm thirsty from rowing." Silas's words were already slurred from the ale he had drank before.

Kirkland reached out and snatched the bottle out of Silas's hand.

"Hey!" Silas yelled.

Kirkland gulped down a few swallows before Silas grabbed it again.

"Greedy bastard." Silas hissed.

"Me? You drank more than half of it." Kirkland snapped.

"Ya, well it's your fault we didn't find any new recruits." Silas retorted.

"How's it my fault that this town is full of nothing but drunk french fishermen?" Kirkland matched his tone.

"Because you're the captain. Everyone takes one look at you and leaves. No one wants to serve under your lazy ass." Silas took a swig.

"LAZY!" That hit a nerve. "Who's rowing your drunk ass back?"

"Yeah, but I already rowed us back more than halfway before you took over." Silas reminded him.

"Oh now your just being petty." Kirkland tossed the oars onto the floor.

The small boat's momentum pushed it up against the side of the ship. Silas took hold of one of the dangling ropes and looped it through an iron ring, while Kirkland did the other. The two began to pull on their ropes, raising the small boat out of the water and up the side of the ship. At times the pair were not in tune with one another, causing the small boat to shift side to side.

"Will you pull at the same speed as me." Silas barked.

"It's not my fault your slow." Kirkland yanked on the rope again causing his side to shift higher yet.

"We are crooked. I'm not slow, I'm shorter than you." Silas defended himself. "And I spilt the last of my ale, " he complained hotely.

"Relax we're almost there." Kirkland chuckled. "There's plenty more to drink."

When they reached the top they tied off their lines and rolled out of the rowboat and onto the deck of their ship.

'Home, sweet home.'

Kirkland got to his feet first and helped Silas back to his cabin. They barged through the door and shuffled through the dark trying to find the lantern. Silas found it first and lit it with the match in his pocket. Kirkland rubbed his eyes a few times as he swore he thought he saw a woman sitting in his chair.

"This is one solid ship you've got here." The woman smiled at them.

Kirkland stared at her dumbfounded. Not sure if he could trust his eyes.

"What are you doing on our ship?" Silas's slurred angrily.

'Oh good, Silas sees her too.' Kirkland sighed relieved.

"I think the more interesting question is how did a couple of drunks come into possession of such a fine ship?" She moved her hair over her shoulder.

"Get off our ship, lady!" Silas tried to move towards her but tripped over his own feet and toppled onto the floor.

Kirkland sighed, unimpressed with his first mate. Silas grabbed a hold of the desk corner and began to pull himself up.

Kirkland turned his attention back to the woman. "Who are you and what do you want?"

She smiled before getting up from his chair. She walked around Silas and came to a stop in front of Kirkland. "Now your talking." She smiled. "I happen to like your ship and seeing as it's only the two of you, I thought maybe we could come to some sort of arrangement."

"I don't make deals with stowaways or women." Kirkland's tone was harsh.

"Not even a shipwright?"

That caught his attention. "You're a shipwright? A woman?" He laughed.

"Yes." She said seriously. "It's more common here than you think."

"Alright, let's say I'm to believe that you're a shipwright. What is it exactly that you want?"

"I want to be your shipwright of course." She crossed her arms over her chest.

Silas started to laugh almost losing his grip on the desk. Kirkland turned to look at him for a moment before shifting his gaze back to the woman. "My first mate doesn't exactly like your idea."

"I don't think you can afford to refuse my help. It's not like there's anyone else here willing to help you."

She had a point. Except they still needed a crew.

"It doesn't matter. Even with your help we still won't get far if we don't have a crew." Kirkland had lost nearly all hope today.

"What if I could get you a small crew?"

Kirkland looked up at her. "You can get a crew together?" He couldn't hide the cynicism in his voice.

"Well sure I know everyone in this town. I can think of some who might be willing to join you. You'll have to pay them of course."

Now she was talking business.

"What's the price for your help?" Kirkland asked.

She smiled. 'Oh boy, here it comes.' Kirkland swallowed.

"I get my own room and when you die I get your ship. We got a deal?" She held out her hand.

"Your nuts, lady. Get off our boat!" Silas yelled, his grip slipping suddenly and he fell back onto the floor.

Kirkland grabbed her hand. "Deal."