Apocalyptic Pirates 4, page 20
“Okay.” Shannon leaned over and poked her finger into the Dia-shaped mound beneath the blankets. “Come on out, Dia. We’re going down to breakfast now.”
Dia tugged the blankets down around her head and shoulders so they covered her like the robes of a saint.
“I demand extra bacon for breakfast,” she announced. “I’ve been the victim of a dragon blood-related incident.”
“Sure you have.” Letty rolled her eyes.
“Technically, that is true,” I pointed out.
“See!” Dia declared. “Drew agrees with me. I deserve extra bacon.”
“I didn’t agree with that part,” I amended. “I think I deserve the extra bacon for having to stay up late with Daryl.”
“You volunteered to stand watch,” Dia retorted.
“And no one made you put dragon blood on your arm, either.” I lifted my eyebrow at her.
Dia pushed out her bottom lip and pretended to sulk.
In the end, it turned out to be a pointless discussion, because when we went downstairs, the breakfast on offer was porridge and toast.
“You can have extra bread crusts,” I suggested to Dia as we took our seats in the hotel dining room. “I hear they’re good for helping your hair curl.”
Dia flipped me off with a sassy smirk on her face that was so full of attitude, I had to laugh.
It was a beautiful day outside, and the sun was shining long golden strips of light through the windows in the dining room. Despite the tarp repair job we’d done the night before, there was a faint breeze blowing through the hotel from the holes in the lobby door. But it was a warm breeze that smelled of flowers and the sea air, and after what felt like so long inside the hotel, the women and I couldn’t wait to get outside again.
Kemelia stopped by our table as we finished eating.
“Morning everyone,” she greeted us.
“Morning, Kemelia,” I replied. “Any trouble in the night?”
I’d assumed she would have told us sooner if there had been, but it didn’t hurt to double-check.
“Not a peep.” Kemelia smiled in relief. “Our maintenance team will be working on getting the door and windows fixed today. I assume you want to check on your yacht?”
“Yeah.” I nodded and glanced around at the women. “And after that we were hoping we could trade some supplies with the people in the hotel.”
“Yes, of course, I remember.” Kemelia looked around the dining room. “I’ll spread the word.”
“Great,” I replied. “Thanks.”
We saw Ray and Valerie on the other side of the dining room chatting away with a group of people, and when we’d finished eating, we went over to them.
“Drew!” Ray called. “Everyone! What a beautiful morning!”
“It certainly is,” I said with a smile.
“How are the two of you?” Ally asked them.
“Oh, we’re just grand.” Valerie smiled warmly up at us and then around the group of people she was sitting with. “Everyone, this is Drew, Ally, Shannon, Letty, and Dia. They helped us get away from Providencia.”
“Nice to meet you,” I said.
I was glad to see that Ray and Valerie were starting to make friends here. They already looked right at home here. I recognized James in the group, and I gave him a little wave, which he returned with a grin.
“I’m Stella,” a woman said. I’d seen her last night bringing in the dinner. She was a short, sturdy woman, with a pronounced Dominican accent, and black hair braided in two plaits pinned to her head. “I’m the cook here at the hotel. Ray and Valerie have been telling us all about you.”
“All good things, I hope,” I said with a chuckle.
“Moderately good,” Stella replied with a twinkle in her eye.
“I told everyone about your videos,” James added. “We’ve all seen them. It’s very impressive.”
“Oh, yes,” Valerie said with a proud smile. “Drew and the girls are real celebrities.”
The women laughed and blushed.
“We’re really not,” Shannon said.
“Drew’s the one who films all the videos,” Letty added.
“You girls should put yourselves in the videos as well,” Valerie urged. “Pretty things like you, I’m sure thousands of people would want to watch them.”
“Okay, okay.” Ally held up her hands in protest. “I think we’ll let the news speak for itself.”
“I don’t know,” Shannon teased her. “I can see you in a sexy thumbnail.”
“You’re the one prancing around in your black bikini top all the time,” Ally retorted.
“Come on,” I intervened. “You’re all beautiful. And if you want to appear in the videos, then you go ahead, but you should know that I got mercilessly teased the last time I tried to speak in a video.”
“Aw, but that was cute,” Shannon said. “Drew the influencer.”
“See what I mean?” I raised my hands in defeat.
“We’re going down to check on the yacht,” Ally said to Ray and Valerie. “Do you guys want to come?”
“We’ll head down in a little while if that’s okay with you,” Ray said. “We want to let our breakfast digest first.”
“You young folk are always dashing around doing something or other,” Valerie said. “We’re too old for that much energy this early in the morning.”
“Come off it,” I chuckled. “You’re more spry than you let on.”
The old couple laughed softly.
“We wanted to potentially trade for some fresh food,” Letty said to Stella. “We’ve got weapons, clothes, and medical supplies that we’d be open to trading for some fresh fruit and vegetables.”
“Sure thing.” Stella nodded. “There’s actually a bucket of crabs I can give you right now! We’ve got plenty of the buggers around here, but then I’ll come down with Ray and Valerie and see what you have, too.”
“We’re assuming the yacht made it through the storm okay,” I warned. “I’m sure it has, but we still need to check that we have spare supplies for trading.”
“You’re in the northeast dock, right?” James asked. “That’s pretty secluded. You should be fine.”
“All the same,” I said. “We’re going down there now, so we’ll see you guys soon.”
We followed Stella to retrieve the promised bucket of crabs, and then we went back upstairs to our rooms to get our weapons in case we ran into any trouble. We hurried back down to the lobby as fast as we could while I carted a wriggling bucket of crabs, but I did notice a few of the women eyeing it uneasily, like the crabs might jump out and attack any moment.
We found three men already taking down the barricade and tarpaulin from the damaged door.
They let us pass through, and then we were out of the hotel and on the path going down to the dock.
“I didn’t think about the yacht not making it through the storm,” Dia admitted. “What if it hasn’t? What if it’s completely wrecked?”
“I don’t think it will be,” I replied. “It’s more a case of whether we’ll end up with any repairs to do.”
Dia still looked concerned, and unconsciously I quickened my pace so we would reach the dock as soon as possible.
Last night we’d been able to catch a glimpse of the yacht from the lobby doorway, but the storm had ripped through the foliage, and now there were trees leaning where before they’d been standing upright, and they blocked our view down to the dock.
The sun was shining down, and the air felt fresh and clean like the island had been freshly laundered by the storm and was now ready for the day. A green parrot fluttered across the path and landed in a tree where it released a loud squawk. Its call was answered by a whole flock of birds, and they wheeled overhead like little green darts against the bright blue sky.
Despite the beauty of the morning, I couldn’t concentrate on anything except my feet taking me down to the dock as quickly as I could.
The gravel path curved around, and we left it to take the little footpath that crossed the white sandy beach. There were more swaying palm trees here, and for a moment I lost my sense of direction. It had been so dark and wet last night when we’d come up here that it was difficult to retrace our steps.
There was a palm tree that had once been tall and upright and which was now almost completely broken over with its head blowing back and forth in the wind. As I turned around to get my bearings, the breeze blew up the palm tree’s long green leaves and revealed the rest of the path behind it.
Beyond the tree was the dock. And there was the yacht.
“It looks okay!” Ally cried. Her voice was breathless with relief.
She ran across the sand and ducked under the swaying palm tree. I followed her with my feet thudding over the sodden boards of the dock, and we clambered on deck.
“It feels so good to be back on board,” Ally sighed. She patted the guard rail fondly. “Hello there, old girl. Did you miss us?”
The deck was covered in sand and rubbish that must have been blown in from the beach and tossed up from the bottom of the sea. I picked my way over shells, pebbles, and half a broken bottle. Seaweed hung from the guard rail like a weird, slimy, party banner, and Ally gave a little squeal as she discovered a dead fish in the cockpit.
The others had caught up with us, and they climbed on board and gazed around at the aftermath of the storm.
“Well, this is a mess,” Dia stated.
“It is,” I agreed. “But so far, that’s all it is.”
“Everything in the cockpit looks fine,” Ally announced. “What about below deck?”
“I guess we’ll find out.” I pushed open the hatch and climbed down the ladder.
Part of me had been fearing the worst, but it was all in far better shape than I’d anticipated.
We’d tied everything down as best we could before we’d left last night, and there was no real lasting damage done. One of the cupboards had managed to pop the latch used to keep the door closed, and the glasses inside had fallen out onto the floor and smashed into smithereens.
“Aw man,” Ally said as she climbed down the ladder after me with the other women close behind. “I picked out those glasses specially.”
“More broken glass,” Dia groaned.
“Yes,” I agreed. “But it could be a lot worse.”
“The stove and fridge are fine,” Letty reported in tones of relief.
“Okay, that is good news.” Dia made finger guns and pointed them at Letty. “I will take the broken glass so long as the food isn’t affected.”
“Honestly, this is a lot better than I expected.” I ran my hand through my hair. “I was worried we’d come back and find it completely trashed in here.”
“You told me you didn’t think it would be wrecked,” Dia said indignantly.
“I was trying to be reassuring.” I grinned as she scowled at me.
“Fine.” She rolled her eyes in a huff. “I guess we’d better get started with cleaning up all of this.”
Following Kemelia’s example from the night before, I divided us into two groups, one to tackle the deck and one to clean the living areas. Letty and Ally stayed below to sweep up the broken glass, and I went up with Shannon and Dia to clean the deck.
There was a broom in the supply locker that I used to sweep the sand over the side. It fell into the water with a satisfying splash.
Dia and Shannon went around and picked up all the rubbish and debris that had been washed on board during the storm.
I paused for a moment in my sweeping and stared up at a clump of seaweed that had somehow managed to get itself wrapped around the mast. I was considering whether it would be worth climbing up there to unwind it when a sudden scream rang out.
I whirled around with my broom held up as the only weapon I had nearby. My heart pounded as my body switched into high alert.
Shannon and Dia were stumbling away from the cockpit with their faces contorted in horror.
“What is it?” I ran across the deck to reach their side.
“Oh, my god,” Shannon breathed.
“It’s so horrible,” Dia wailed.
I peered at the bottom of the cockpit where they were pointing.
I blinked.
“Um…” I ventured. “What did you do to my crabs?”
“They started it!” Dia squealed.
I bit my lip hard to keep myself from bursting out laughing.
“The crabs started what exactly?” I asked finally.
“They were crawling out of the bucket and then tipped the damn thing!” Shannon flapped her hands in disgust. “Then they started clicking their creepy claws at us, and now they’re everywhere! Oh, my god, I hate crabs so much.”
“Their horrid, skittering legs.” Dia shuddered. “We never should have brought them on board.”
“Let me just get this straight.” I cleared my throat. “The two of you will face a man-eating dragon without hesitating, but a few crabs are too much for you?”
“They’re crabs!” Dia gestured wildly with her hands. “They’re basically like the spiders of the sea.”
“Only worse, because you only see crabs when you’re supposed to be having a good time at the beach,” Shannon added.
“Don’t you dare laugh, Drew,” Dia said in a stern voice.
“I’m not laughing,” I insisted. “I’m taking this very seriously. Because you let my crab gift tip over.”
Shannon sent me a severely unamused look.
“You loved eating crab patties,” I reminded her. “Think of it… Crab patties whenever you want.”
“I like chicken, too,” the Indian woman scoffed. “You don’t see me keeping live chickens all over this yacht, do you?”
“You’re not letting me keep my crabs, are you?” I sighed.
“Do you want to murder crabs for dinner?” Dia arched an eyebrow.
“We need food,” I pointed out. “And I’m pretty sure it’s just slaughtering when it’s something you eat. Not like… murdery murder.”
“Spiders of the sea,” Shannon reiterated as about twenty crabs scuttled all over the damn cockpit and prepared to race toward us next.
I swallowed the chuckle that threatened to spill out of me, and instead, I used my broom to gently and very seriously sweep the crabs over the side.
“Sorry, guys, I was fully prepared to eat you all,” I said as the offending crustaceans plopped into the water. “I just had no idea these ladies were so scared of crabs.”
“Um, excuse me?” Shannon put her hands on her hips. “Have you ever looked into a crab’s eyes?”
“Well, no,” I confessed.
“There you are, then,” Dia sniffed. “No wonder you’re so calm about this whole thing.”
“Next time you see a crab, you look deep into its eyes,” Shannon instructed me with an air of deep wisdom. “You’ll soon be as scared as the rest of us.”
“Okay,” I said in a grave voice.
I didn’t quite know what that meant, but I had a sneaking suspicion it was some bullshit.
Once the dramatic crab adventure was over, we went back to cleaning up the yacht, and we were soon done. Letty and Ally came up from below deck, and they leaned against the rail and watched us work.
“Enjoying the view?” Shannon called.
“Yep,” Letty responded with a casual grin.
Shannon picked up a clump of seaweed from the guard rail and flung it at them.
They both squealed and ducked, and the seaweed passed harmlessly over their heads.
I shook my head and smiled to myself. It was just a wonder to me how all of these women could face a dragon, attacking gangs, and a violent cartel without batting an eye, but somehow crabs and seaweed were too much to handle without squealing in disgust.
I supposed I had some inconsistencies as well. I’d wiped up dragon fluids without thinking too much about it, but if someone presented me with a baby with a filled diaper, I’d still have to steel myself to change it.
There were many things I missed about Sammy being a baby, but changing diapers was not one of them. Let’s say I was very glad when she was finally potty trained.
“Oh, look,” Ally called. “There’s Ray and Valerie.”
She waved, and I looked up from sweeping to see that the old couple had come down to the dock along with a crowd of other people from the hotel.
“How is she?” Ray called.
“She’s great!” Ally called back. “A few broken glasses and a fair amount of sand.”
“Not to mention terrifying intruders,” Dia muttered.
“That’s great news!” Ray gestured to the other people with him. “We told everyone about wanting to trade.”
“Do you have any antihistamines?” someone called. “I was only supposed to be here for the weekend, and my allergies have been non-stop.”
“Sure, I think so,” Letty replied.
“What about vitamins?” someone else shouted. “Have you got any echinacea?”
Another man was listening intently to a local woman who was speaking fluent Spanish and pointing to the yacht, but then he turned to me.
“What about antibiotic ointment?” he called.
“Let’s get the medicine bag and show them what we’ve got,” Ally decided. “Do you think that’s a good idea, Drew?”
“Yeah, sure.” I nodded. “Just make sure that we keep enough behind so we don’t go without.”
“Oh, yes, of course,” Ally agreed.
I leaned on my broom and watched as Ally and Letty went down to get the bag. They came up with not only the medicine bag but a duffel that they’d stuffed with clothes and toiletries, and they climbed down to the dock and were soon busily handing things out left, right, and center.
I loved the women for their generous hearts, and if the trades they made came down more in favor of the islanders than they did us, well, we could afford it. The truth of the matter was that these people would be holed up here for who knew how long, and we would be safely on our way to other lands and opportunities for looting.
I knew if I was in the islanders’ position and someone offered me a trade, I’d be grateful for someone who didn’t try to squeeze every last drop out of me. The women were sensible, and they wouldn’t trade us out of the essentials.
