The Children: The Moonserpents

Chapter 14 Calder - Alcohol is Bad for You

"But he was hurt! Bleeding, Reef! Bleeding!" Calder screeched as Reef slammed the door closed.

Reef turned to him; a pained anger filled her eyes. "That man has some nerve showing up at this house."

"He was injured Reef."

"That's enough! Go to bed!" Calder stared at his sister, tears welling in his eyes. How could his sister turn someone away? It didn't matter who they were or what they had done. If he wasn't treated, he would die.

Calder shuffled off to his room, bile rising in his throat along with an idea. Bonnie and Reef's rooms where on the upper level of the house. But Calder's room was downstairs. If he could slip out the window, then surely it wouldn't take long to find that injured person. With wounds like that he couldn't have gotten far. Calder sat in his room and surveyed it, a soft carpet under his feet blanketed the floor, there were shelves full of books about almost everything you could ever need; survival tips, navigation, and even a few super SeaWeed comics. His room had dark blue walls with stick on light up stars covering the roof. Calder waited until he heard Reef's heavy footsteps drag up the stairs sleepily as she made her way along the hall towards her room. Calder crept towards his window, pulling it up as it let out a low moan. The humid night air filled his lungs as he swung his leg out the window, resting his chest on the windowsill. He was about to hall himself out when the door crept open. Glacie stood in the door, staring at Calder with great interest. A mischievous grin consumed her face. Bal stat on her shoulder as he chewed on her hair.

"Whacha doin?" Glacie asked, her voice filled with threatening excitement.

Calder's hands shook as he gulped down fear. "I-I. That person was r-really hurt. And if Reef won't help him. Then I-I will."

"I'm coming with you."

Calder looked at her, shock gripping his features. "Y-you will?"

Glacie nodded vigorously as she closed the door behind her and ushered him out the window. Calder felt her cold fingers grab his leg and fling it out the window, shoving him so the rest of his body followed. He hit the ground with a shuddering thud, making his teeth chatter. Glacie soon followed, giving Calder barely enough time to roll out of the way before she smashed into the ground, just centimetres away from him. She then jerked upwards and sprung to her feet, dragging Calder with her.

"Where'd you think he went?" She asked excitedly

Calder tried his best to reply but he was in pain from being shoved out a window. Instead he shrugged in the hopes to cause the least amount of pain as possible. Turns out the least is still a lot.

Calder stumbled around the side of the house into the front garden with Glacie following close behind. He expected it to be difficult to find the mystery man who had come to his door. However, he was proven wrong by the trail of crimson blood that lead to a nearby alley. And from that alley emerged the most horrendous singing Calder had ever heard in his entire life.

Calder inched towards the dreadful noise growing ever more nervous. He hesitated at the corner, just out of view of the stranger. He took a deep breath, about to step forward, when he was shoved. Cleary Glacie thought that he had spent enough time doing breathing exercises and decided to take matters into her own hands. Calder stumbled into the stranger's view as Glacie followed behind. Calder blinked slowly, taking in the sight in front of him. The stranger was wedged between two crates. Each hand held a bottle of rum, one he tipped onto his wound, the other he tipped into his mouth. Even through all that rum the man still managed to holler some nonsense about pirates and donkeys. The smell of ale burnt Calder's nose as he inched forward. The stranger barely seemed to notice him.

"S-sir." Calder stumbled over his words nervously. "Y-you need medical attention."

The stranger looked up at him with piercing blue eyes. His words were slurred so it took Calder a few moments to work out what he had said.

"I'm looking for some horses. NO! Donkeys. WAIT, no. Swashbucklers! Yeah! That's the word!"

Calder stared at him in horror as Glacie tensed behind him, her head darting back and forth.

"P-Pirate?" Calder studdered. "T-There are no pirates here."

The stranger let out a loud, slurred cackle. "My pirate friends are your parents." Calder stared at him; eyes wide. The stranger began to laugh harder. "You mean Reef didn't tell you. Oh, that's priceless."

Angry tears welled in Calder's eyes. "My parents are NOT pirates. My Mother worked in the church and my Father in the seaweed fields. Neither would ever steal, or lie, or cheat."

But the stranger only laughed harder. "They taught me everything I know! Though they weren't to fust on the whole stealing thing."

"Prove it!" Calder blubbered.

The pirate snorted. "Ya last name, its Lephiosis. Your Ma had blonde hair and a limp. Your Pa had curly brown hair and a scar on his face."

Calder's eyes bulged as he let out a small gasp. This pirate couldn't know his parents. His parents were good. Good people. Good lives. Calder felt his lip quiver. He tried to speak, to remember something that would prove this man wrong. But he couldn't. His mind was swirling and all he could do was be pulled in by the current.

He turned to Glacie, hopeful that maybe she could tell this man was lying. But she wasn't looking at him. She clenched her fists and bared her teeth at the pirate.

Something buzzed in Calder's pocket, his walkie talkie buzz calmingly, reminding him of his friend. Amirah and Calder talked to each other almost every night. Calder took the walkie talkie from his pocket and held it in his shakey hands.

"Hey Cal!" Amirah's cheery voice rung in his ears.

Calder took a deep breath, calming his nerves as he spoke into the walkie talkie. "Mira. I need you here. Bring the first aid kit."

"Cal what's going on? Are you okay?"

"J-just get here, we're in the ally outside my house." Calder switched his walkie talkie off before Amirah could continue. He didn't exactly feel like talking.

Calder stared across the street at the house next door to his own until his friends small frame emerged from the house with a first aid kit in her fists. She dashed across the street dropping a trail of bandages as she went. It didn't take much to convince her to help, Amirah was always willing to help other people, and the fact that she was a doctor in training made it much easier to do so. She only needed an hour to pluck the bullets from the pirate's chest and with him already thoroughly drunk no pain killers were needed.

The group sat uncomfortably in the alley way as a breeze of smothering, humid, night air flowed past. They were exhausted and drenched in either blood or sweat, the pirate that they now knew as 'Ash' was sleeping soundly in the back corner. Glacie had propped herself against the alley wall trying to deal with her scrambled leg. Amirah leant on Calder as he sat on the floor. He gripped the hem of his shirt to stop his hands from shaking. He was cold, confused, tired, and filled with anxiety. But despite all of this he was proud. He had helped someone who really needed it, and if Reef couldn't see that then... Well he would make her.