Katie glared at him for a few more seconds before returning to clean. All the while, the Captain watched her, occasionally letting out a breath of satisfaction or making comments that made Katie want to stab him.
When Katie bent over to pick up the items on the floor, she heard a loud gasp from the desk. She glanced over and wish she hadn’t. The Captain was reposed, his head tilted upwards and both his hands hidden beneath the desk. Katie looked away quickly and pushed all thoughts and images from her mind.
After what seemed like hours, the Captain had her stop and sent her out to get some lunch. Katie ate by herself. She was given a small tin plate with a half-eaten, odd-colored fish on it and a few scraps of, perhaps, seaweed. She didn’t touch any of it.
Captain Reynolds called her back after twenty minutes and had her clean the floors with a dirty, nearly unusable, mop. It was covered in grime and sludge and she didn’t want to think of what it could be.
Again, the Captain sat by his desk and watched her. Katie knew that his hands were dirty, and even more so now, but she was grateful that was all the Captain was doing with her. How he got so much pleasure from watching her clean, she didn’t know.
More hours went by and he sent her out to eat dinner. The sun was about to set below the horizon but was still fully visible above the sea. The sky turned from clear blue to shades of orange and purple. Katie saw a large mass of land out in the distance and hoped that she wasn’t just hallucinating. She hoped, even if it was delusional, that the pirates would drop her off on land.
This time Katie wasn’t alone. She was led to the mess hall where everyone ate, though all the ship’s crew had already eaten.
Tyson brightened up when he saw her, though she noticed that he had dark and purple marks across his face. The blonde man was also there, but he was as silent as ever and looked even worse, though Katie hoped that he was healing.
“Katie,” said Tyson, his voice dry.
“Hey,” said Katie. “Where’s Cyrus? And the other guy?”
Tyson shrugged but answered, “I don’t know. I think Cyrus followed the other guy when he was taken to the deck. I think they were going to kill him. But I heard this talk hours ago.”
“Who?”
“The younger dude,” answered Tyson. “I don’t know why they’re killing him.”
To Katie’s surprise, the blonde man spoke. “They said that he had stolen something from them.”
“Stolen what?” Katie asked.
“I don’t know,” the man said. “My name is Tantor, just so you know.”
Katie didn’t respond but got up and ran up to the deck. Tyson followed right behind her. No one paid her any attention as she walked across the deck. There were about thirty pirates in a circle around Cyrus and the darker man. Captain Reynold was also in the center, holding a large sword in one hand.
“Koran, you are hereby sentenced to execution, for stealing a valuable treasure from this ship.”
“I didn’t steal anything,” the man named Koran said. “Do what you want. It’s not going to help you.”
“Oh, yes it will,” said the Captain. “One less enemy equals one less enemy,” Captain Reynolds so wisely said.
Katie squeezed herself through some pirates and faced Captain Reynolds. “What are you doing?” Katie acted much braver than she felt.
If the Captain was surprised, he didn’t show it. Instead, he smiled widely, showing his brown, decaying teeth. Katie was sure she saw green stains dotted in his repulsive smile. “How nice for my sweet, pretty lady to join me at sunset on the deck.”
“Katie!” shouted Cyrus. “Whatever happens you need to get off this ship!” As soon as he said it one of the pirates behind whacked him across the head with a pole.
Captain Reynolds stared at Cyrus for a moment and turned back to face Katie. “Join me, if you will, while I perform this execution.”
“I will not,” said Katie. “Let them go.”
Katie noticed that Tyson had made his way around and was standing, unnoticed, behind the pirates. Tantor was also there. They were craning their necks to see what was happening.
“Of course,” said the Captain. “I understand how hard this may be for you. I can’t let them go, unfortunately. But don’t you worry, you have a long, pleasant life with me ahead of you.”
“I’d rather die,” said Katie.
“As you wish,” said the Captain. “But I must do this quickly.”
He drove his sword towards Koran. Cyrus shoved Koran out of the way and the sword went straight through his body. Katie screamed and watched Cyrus’ eyes gloss over. He looked at Katie and tried to speak, but blood poured out of his mouth and he gurgled in it before dropping dead on the deck.
Koran yelled furiously on the ground, picking himself up. He was screaming out words that Katie was too angry to make out. She didn’t know where her energy came from, but it surged through her like a rocket heading through the atmosphere and into space, taking her anger with it. She felt her necklace burn cold for a moment. She threw her arms up and a large wave hit the ship, knocking everybody over, including herself.
Katie got to her feet quickly, stuck out both her arms in front of her and swung them upward, causing thick jets of water to shoot through the ship’s hull. The jets fired out like geysers. They hit three of the pirates and they flew into the air before crashing down through the wooden deck.
Captain Reynolds’ eyes widened with shock and fear as Katie
