Our Demise 🌈

3 - Frustration

At first sight, the Skull Crusher was a little bigger than Imo Gen, although it was a close call. Rory leaned against the railing; now the adrenaline had slipped away he was reminded of how sick he was. Sweat was beading on his forehead, and he was dizzy and short of breath. Yet, he wanted to look tough – especially on a ship filled with unknown men to whom he still had to prove that he was not inferior to the others, despite his young age. He would work until his legs gave out. 

From the corner of his eye, he noticed Lee, who was hugging a man with dreadlocks. They were both smiling from ear to ear as if they hadn't seen each other in years. 

Lee pulled Rory closer and wrapped an arm around him. "Hey, my matey over here is Rory," he said. "And that's Kidd. You remember him?"

Once Rory listened to a story, he remembered it for years, and he liked to retell them to other people while making them a little cooler. Lee's history was quite special, so he definitely remembered it. He had barely been on the ship when the redhead told him how he ended up on the Imo Gen; Mack won him during a game of poker. He had been Kidd's bet, who had lost the game on purpose because his father – a pirate captain – executed heavy corporal punishments when his crew was disobedient, and well, Lee was quite a scatterbrain.  

After shaking Rory's hand, Kidd turned away from them; his back showing various scars. He knew his friend had them as well, and he wondered how hard his father had punished Kidd when his son had not only gambled away a crew member, but also the crew's surgeon. The friendship between both must have been strong, and he was happy the boy was now reunited with his former friend. Rory was curious about Kidd's story since Rogier was way too young to be the man's father, but he looked like a spontaneous guy who wouldn't hesitate to answer his questions. 

"Why are ye standing there and doing nothing, ye filthy rats?" Suddenly, Markus was standing in front of them, his feet apart and his arms crossed in front of his chest. He glared at Rory, the look in his eyes dark like he wanted to slit Rory's throat right here and right now. "Go clean out the hold of yer little skiff, we're gonna leave that thing behind. All yer possessions are ours now." He showed them a daring grin. 

Rory didn't answer. After all, he was just glad they wouldn't die. Furthermore, he knew perfectly well that the asshole was trying to lure him out and he wasn't going to take the bait again. He was an adult. In silence, he wanted to walk the plank to the other ship, but before he could do so Lee grasped his arm. 

"You gotta take it easy, mate. Past days you were far gone man."

Rory yanked away his arm. "I'm fine."

Before his friend could add another word, he balanced on the plank towards the other deck. The water was churning between the ships and he was dizzy as hell, but he didn't back off. Descending the stairs until he reached the hold, he carried the boxes back to the main deck. However, after going up and down the stairs three times he was shaking on his legs. He leaned on his knees, breathing heavily. Sweat poured down his body, now and then he was even shivering. 

C'mon, don't be such a baby. It's just a fever.

Skittishly he looked around, hoping nobody noticed how awful he felt. His glance crossed Erik's, who walked over to him. 

"Ye look paler than a corpse, boy. You've done enough for today."

Rory ignored him. He hadn't paid any attention to him the past weeks, so why would he care now? "I'm fine."

Behind Erik, he saw the captain looking their way. Quickly Rory wanted to get to work again, but it felt like those cold blue eyes pinned him to the ground. Part of him hoped that Rogier would walk over to him, taking care of him like North had done when he met Finn. Despite his tough exterior, the man had a good heart, but he wasn't really sure about Rogier. Something told him the captain would let him drown if he would fall overboard.