The clouds had become grey. And the wind had picked up.
Blackthorn hadn't cracked a single joke all day, and every sailor seemed in a frenzy. The storm had kicked up more than just a notch, and was bearing down strong on us. We were still on the edge of the storm, but it was definitely catching up to us. Watkins was nervous as well, but the storm wasn't the only reason.
"We're less than a thousand miles away from the coast of Mexico." He explained. "In time, the storm will blow over our course and onto the mainland, where it will eventually disperse. But," He pointed to the map. "We're damn close to the coast, which means we're in Pirate territory. And the last thing I need on top of this storm is a couple of gunships to deal with."
Within five hours, the weather had worsened considerably. It had started to rain, and the supertanker was now being gently swayed by the swells that crashed alongside it.
That was when the Pirates came. Three mother fucking gunboats that came skimming over the waves, now much higher than before. We saw them well before-hand, and the crew was ready. Alarms rang out, and each sailor dashed in turns to the armory, returning equipped with armor and rifles. Watkins met up with me in the middle of the fray.
"You'll be needing it." He grimly said as he handed me my Colt, along with an M16 rifle and a kevlar jacket.
"I trust you know how to use the gun."
I cocked the rifled and aimed down the sight. "I'll manage."
As they came closer, the gunboats split up, two heading port side while the third drew up on starboard. As soon as them came in range, they began to firing. The rifles carried by the pirates weren't as much of a threat as the twin 50mm canons mounted on each ship. They punched holes through the weaker sections of metal, and already three men had been hit. We fired back salvos from both ends, taking out a few men on each ship. I looked down the deck to see one sailor aim a grenade launcher at one of the ships on port side.
With a dull whup, the grenade sailed straight onto one of the cannons blowing the weapon and the pirate handling it apart. The sailor let out a whoop of joy, right before he was hit twice in the chest and once through the face.
Carefully aiming, I shot the pirate who had killed him, before aiming at another ship and shooting another pirate. The port side of the supertanker was under hell. The sailors were not soldiers, and as all rushed to aid the port side, our starboard flank was left clear open.
Which is exactly what the pirates were banking on.
By the time I had realized this, almost a dozen pirates had already climbed onto the ship via grappling cables, and laid down a devastating surprise attack, taking out at least ten men in one wave.
Those idiots deserved to die. First rule of war: always guard your rear.
But from the tower came another salvo, and without any cover, the pirates were quickly moved down. I looked up to see Watkins with a group of sailors staring down from the windows, the rifles of their barrels still smoking. Blackthorn gave me a cheeky wave, before his head disappeared.
And this...
:)
This is my favorite part of the story. The part where I come out and you go back into the room.
The second my eyes opened, I raced for the starboard side. The grappling hooks of the pirates were still hanging from the side of the ship. I didn't even hesitate as I grabbed one of the cables and swung down, landing in a neat crouch on the pirate ship. My Colt was up before I was. Three shots, three dead pirates before I jumped for cover.
Oh boy, I was so happy to finally have people I could go God-of-War on. Blinking the rain out my eyes, I ran forward, taking two more down with shots to the head. I reached the entrance to the cabins just as another pirate was running out of it. My open fist caught him in the throat just as a wave hit the ship, and I used the jolt to tackle him to the ground. I then crushed his windpipe with my boot, before running in. The deck had only one pirate left, who came charging at me with a machete. I ducked under a swipe at my head, and caught the next slash on the barrel of my rifle. I then head-butted him. I still remember the sound of his nose breaking, followed by a howl of pain, cut short by a quick round of bullets pumped into his gut.
I pistol-whipped him for good measure as well.
Now the ship was mine, just as I had planned. I had seen enough of Blackthorn at the wheel, and knew enough to pilot the ship. But doing it through what were now thirty-foot swells was another matter. It took every fuckin' thing I had in me to turn that bloody wheel around and bring the ship to heel. Worse, the waves were bringing me dangerously close to the side of the supertanker. If I hit that, it would have been like a bike going head on into a pick-up truck.
Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, I was flipping, I was. But man oh man, you had to have been there. Its fucking pouring so badly that I can barely see past waves that are now bigger than the ship you're piloting, each one drenching the open deck in sheets of water that then spill of the sides, only to come pounding back with as much force. But it was something else, knowing that it was just me going out with everything I had against the one enemy I knew I could never kill.
Somehow, I steered the ship around and took it behind the rear of the supertanker, until I was drawing up to the other two gunships. The battle was still going on, though the amount of fire from the Mexicans had gone down, as the bastards were now also having to concentrate on staying afloat.
I carried on, steadily pushing forward, increasing speed. The ship was now straining its engines as I seemed to leap of the waves, rising up with a slight bounce on the crest of a huge wave. Higher and freaking higher until the entire boat rose from the sea on the back of this mother-fucker of a wave. For one minute I looked to my side, and out the window I could actually see Watkins staring out at me from the tower of the supertanker, his mouth fallen to the floor in shock. I gave him a weak smile before I looked forward just to see where this wave was taking me.
Of course, it had to be right on top of one of the other gunships.
Imagine a being hit by a hundred ton boat with a side dish of a gazillion tons of sea water. My ship went straight through theirs, driving straight into its port side at over a 100 kmph. I practically went through them. Cut in half, the remains bobbled shakily before they were swallowed by the next wave.
I remember gulping. Because now came the tricky part.
You could have always stayed on the supertanker, there was no bloody need for this.
Are you mad? Out there in the middle of all of that, knowing I could die any second... I'd never felt more alive. I was shivering in fear, could've pissed in my pants right there and then. God, I was so scared and I loved it, loved every shiver, every thought. It was like a fucking high, and what a high at that. The fear of death does that to you kid, you experienced it too. The only difference is I don't cry about it later like a little girl.
Fuck you.
Anyways, my boat was now pretty fucked as well. Parts of it were missing, and not non-important parts but very important ones. My boat was now moving about more because of the waves it was riding instead of its own engine, each crest sending me soaring to the sky before we'd come crashing down again. How that little boat held out for so long I'll never fucking know.
Oh fuck, I still get chills thinking about it.
My boat was going to collide with the supertanker, on the forward port side of the ship. I could see no other option. Hell, I wasn't really even driving anymore. But as each wave took me higher and lower and closer and closer, I finally realized what the fuck I had to do.
I exited the control room and headed back outside, gripping the side of the gunboat with everything I had. The side of the supertanker was less than fifty feet, no thirty feet away. I could feel a surge starting as the boat was lifted for the last time. For a second, all I could see was the stormy sky as the boat climbed higher on the back of the wave. Then the deck of the supertanker was in my sights.
Letting go of the guard rail, I ran for my life. It was less than ten steps to the end of the ship. How the fuck I made them, I'll never know.
But I'll never forget the jump.
As the wave began to pound into the ship, I leapt for safety, fear, glory, whatever the hell you wanna call it. And I made it, I actually did, landing almost feet first on the ship.
But the gunship didn't, and crashed headfirst into the side of the supertanker. The crash threw me off my feet and as the remains of the gunship fell apart, a massive gash opened up in the supertanker, through which gallons of sea water was already pouring through, turning the football sized holds of the ship into what more resembled Olympic sized swimming pools. Already I had to maintain my balance as the ship began to list onto one side.
The next second an angry hand clamped down on my shoulder in an iron grip. I turned around to see that old faggot, Watkins standing there.
"What the hell did you just do?" He screamed. "You just killed us all!"
"I don't have time for this." I muttered, and shot his twice in the gut. I let him be there and ran onwards, stumbling and falling as I headed for the tower. As I was, I looked out over the sea, just in time to see a massive wave come crashing down on the final gunship. The pirate boat was swallowed without a single trace. I finally reached the tower, but now I had that bitch of a stairwell to climb. Fucking thing nearly killed me, too. A wave slammed into the ship's tower, hurling me over the side and leaving to dangle over a thirty foot drop. But then the next second another wave hit from the other side, knocking me back on. Go figure.
When I finally reached the control room, Blackthorn was the only one there, in a desperate struggle with the wheel.
"Where are the others?" I shouted, gripping a table for support.
"They're down in the holds trying to keep the water out! And do you have any idea where the hell the Captain is?"
"The Pirates got him! He didn't make it."
At once Blackthorn's face fell. His arms hung loosely by his side and the wheel began to rapidly spin without halt.
"The Captain's dead. Wha... I mean..."
I didn't even hesitate as I walked up to him and slapped him the face.
"Control yourself and this ship or else I swear I will kill you." I snarled.
At once he snapped out of it and jumped back onto the wheel, wrestling it back into hold. I stood there right beside him, not moving at all as we rode out the storm.
After three hours, the waves began to recede. Three hours more, and the rain finally stopped. And as the first rays of sunshine finally broke through, I leaned back against the wall and slid to the floor, closing my eyes in exhaustion. Lord, I was tired.
A phone on the console rang. I opened my eyes.
Blackthorn picked it up, and after a short conversation put the phone back down again.
"Who was that?" I asked.
"The call was from down-below." He gave a tired smile. "The pumps are finally pushing the sea water back out into the ocean."
"So the ship is safe?"
"Yes, yes she is."
I gave a tired sigh. "Good. That mean's I can start."
He gave a confused frown. "Start? On what?"
"This."
The bullet flew straight through his forehead, bursting out from the other side in a neat hole and a slight mist of blood. His mouth formed a little 'O' of surprise as he pitched backwards and fell to the floor.
I stood up. Stretched. Checked ammo and then headed out. Might as well start sooner then later.
Blackthorn hadn't cracked a single joke all day, and every sailor seemed in a frenzy. The storm had kicked up more than just a notch, and was bearing down strong on us. We were still on the edge of the storm, but it was definitely catching up to us. Watkins was nervous as well, but the storm wasn't the only reason.
"We're less than a thousand miles away from the coast of Mexico." He explained. "In time, the storm will blow over our course and onto the mainland, where it will eventually disperse. But," He pointed to the map. "We're damn close to the coast, which means we're in Pirate territory. And the last thing I need on top of this storm is a couple of gunships to deal with."
Within five hours, the weather had worsened considerably. It had started to rain, and the supertanker was now being gently swayed by the swells that crashed alongside it.
That was when the Pirates came. Three mother fucking gunboats that came skimming over the waves, now much higher than before. We saw them well before-hand, and the crew was ready. Alarms rang out, and each sailor dashed in turns to the armory, returning equipped with armor and rifles. Watkins met up with me in the middle of the fray.
"You'll be needing it." He grimly said as he handed me my Colt, along with an M16 rifle and a kevlar jacket.
"I trust you know how to use the gun."
I cocked the rifled and aimed down the sight. "I'll manage."
As they came closer, the gunboats split up, two heading port side while the third drew up on starboard. As soon as them came in range, they began to firing. The rifles carried by the pirates weren't as much of a threat as the twin 50mm canons mounted on each ship. They punched holes through the weaker sections of metal, and already three men had been hit. We fired back salvos from both ends, taking out a few men on each ship. I looked down the deck to see one sailor aim a grenade launcher at one of the ships on port side.
With a dull whup, the grenade sailed straight onto one of the cannons blowing the weapon and the pirate handling it apart. The sailor let out a whoop of joy, right before he was hit twice in the chest and once through the face.
Carefully aiming, I shot the pirate who had killed him, before aiming at another ship and shooting another pirate. The port side of the supertanker was under hell. The sailors were not soldiers, and as all rushed to aid the port side, our starboard flank was left clear open.
Which is exactly what the pirates were banking on.
By the time I had realized this, almost a dozen pirates had already climbed onto the ship via grappling cables, and laid down a devastating surprise attack, taking out at least ten men in one wave.
Those idiots deserved to die. First rule of war: always guard your rear.
But from the tower came another salvo, and without any cover, the pirates were quickly moved down. I looked up to see Watkins with a group of sailors staring down from the windows, the rifles of their barrels still smoking. Blackthorn gave me a cheeky wave, before his head disappeared.
And this...
:)
This is my favorite part of the story. The part where I come out and you go back into the room.
The second my eyes opened, I raced for the starboard side. The grappling hooks of the pirates were still hanging from the side of the ship. I didn't even hesitate as I grabbed one of the cables and swung down, landing in a neat crouch on the pirate ship. My Colt was up before I was. Three shots, three dead pirates before I jumped for cover.
Oh boy, I was so happy to finally have people I could go God-of-War on. Blinking the rain out my eyes, I ran forward, taking two more down with shots to the head. I reached the entrance to the cabins just as another pirate was running out of it. My open fist caught him in the throat just as a wave hit the ship, and I used the jolt to tackle him to the ground. I then crushed his windpipe with my boot, before running in. The deck had only one pirate left, who came charging at me with a machete. I ducked under a swipe at my head, and caught the next slash on the barrel of my rifle. I then head-butted him. I still remember the sound of his nose breaking, followed by a howl of pain, cut short by a quick round of bullets pumped into his gut.
I pistol-whipped him for good measure as well.
Now the ship was mine, just as I had planned. I had seen enough of Blackthorn at the wheel, and knew enough to pilot the ship. But doing it through what were now thirty-foot swells was another matter. It took every fuckin' thing I had in me to turn that bloody wheel around and bring the ship to heel. Worse, the waves were bringing me dangerously close to the side of the supertanker. If I hit that, it would have been like a bike going head on into a pick-up truck.
Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, I was flipping, I was. But man oh man, you had to have been there. Its fucking pouring so badly that I can barely see past waves that are now bigger than the ship you're piloting, each one drenching the open deck in sheets of water that then spill of the sides, only to come pounding back with as much force. But it was something else, knowing that it was just me going out with everything I had against the one enemy I knew I could never kill.
Somehow, I steered the ship around and took it behind the rear of the supertanker, until I was drawing up to the other two gunships. The battle was still going on, though the amount of fire from the Mexicans had gone down, as the bastards were now also having to concentrate on staying afloat.
I carried on, steadily pushing forward, increasing speed. The ship was now straining its engines as I seemed to leap of the waves, rising up with a slight bounce on the crest of a huge wave. Higher and freaking higher until the entire boat rose from the sea on the back of this mother-fucker of a wave. For one minute I looked to my side, and out the window I could actually see Watkins staring out at me from the tower of the supertanker, his mouth fallen to the floor in shock. I gave him a weak smile before I looked forward just to see where this wave was taking me.
Of course, it had to be right on top of one of the other gunships.
Imagine a being hit by a hundred ton boat with a side dish of a gazillion tons of sea water. My ship went straight through theirs, driving straight into its port side at over a 100 kmph. I practically went through them. Cut in half, the remains bobbled shakily before they were swallowed by the next wave.
I remember gulping. Because now came the tricky part.
You could have always stayed on the supertanker, there was no bloody need for this.
Are you mad? Out there in the middle of all of that, knowing I could die any second... I'd never felt more alive. I was shivering in fear, could've pissed in my pants right there and then. God, I was so scared and I loved it, loved every shiver, every thought. It was like a fucking high, and what a high at that. The fear of death does that to you kid, you experienced it too. The only difference is I don't cry about it later like a little girl.
Fuck you.
Anyways, my boat was now pretty fucked as well. Parts of it were missing, and not non-important parts but very important ones. My boat was now moving about more because of the waves it was riding instead of its own engine, each crest sending me soaring to the sky before we'd come crashing down again. How that little boat held out for so long I'll never fucking know.
Oh fuck, I still get chills thinking about it.
My boat was going to collide with the supertanker, on the forward port side of the ship. I could see no other option. Hell, I wasn't really even driving anymore. But as each wave took me higher and lower and closer and closer, I finally realized what the fuck I had to do.
I exited the control room and headed back outside, gripping the side of the gunboat with everything I had. The side of the supertanker was less than fifty feet, no thirty feet away. I could feel a surge starting as the boat was lifted for the last time. For a second, all I could see was the stormy sky as the boat climbed higher on the back of the wave. Then the deck of the supertanker was in my sights.
Letting go of the guard rail, I ran for my life. It was less than ten steps to the end of the ship. How the fuck I made them, I'll never know.
But I'll never forget the jump.
As the wave began to pound into the ship, I leapt for safety, fear, glory, whatever the hell you wanna call it. And I made it, I actually did, landing almost feet first on the ship.
But the gunship didn't, and crashed headfirst into the side of the supertanker. The crash threw me off my feet and as the remains of the gunship fell apart, a massive gash opened up in the supertanker, through which gallons of sea water was already pouring through, turning the football sized holds of the ship into what more resembled Olympic sized swimming pools. Already I had to maintain my balance as the ship began to list onto one side.
The next second an angry hand clamped down on my shoulder in an iron grip. I turned around to see that old faggot, Watkins standing there.
"What the hell did you just do?" He screamed. "You just killed us all!"
"I don't have time for this." I muttered, and shot his twice in the gut. I let him be there and ran onwards, stumbling and falling as I headed for the tower. As I was, I looked out over the sea, just in time to see a massive wave come crashing down on the final gunship. The pirate boat was swallowed without a single trace. I finally reached the tower, but now I had that bitch of a stairwell to climb. Fucking thing nearly killed me, too. A wave slammed into the ship's tower, hurling me over the side and leaving to dangle over a thirty foot drop. But then the next second another wave hit from the other side, knocking me back on. Go figure.
When I finally reached the control room, Blackthorn was the only one there, in a desperate struggle with the wheel.
"Where are the others?" I shouted, gripping a table for support.
"They're down in the holds trying to keep the water out! And do you have any idea where the hell the Captain is?"
"The Pirates got him! He didn't make it."
At once Blackthorn's face fell. His arms hung loosely by his side and the wheel began to rapidly spin without halt.
"The Captain's dead. Wha... I mean..."
I didn't even hesitate as I walked up to him and slapped him the face.
"Control yourself and this ship or else I swear I will kill you." I snarled.
At once he snapped out of it and jumped back onto the wheel, wrestling it back into hold. I stood there right beside him, not moving at all as we rode out the storm.
After three hours, the waves began to recede. Three hours more, and the rain finally stopped. And as the first rays of sunshine finally broke through, I leaned back against the wall and slid to the floor, closing my eyes in exhaustion. Lord, I was tired.
A phone on the console rang. I opened my eyes.
Blackthorn picked it up, and after a short conversation put the phone back down again.
"Who was that?" I asked.
"The call was from down-below." He gave a tired smile. "The pumps are finally pushing the sea water back out into the ocean."
"So the ship is safe?"
"Yes, yes she is."
I gave a tired sigh. "Good. That mean's I can start."
He gave a confused frown. "Start? On what?"
"This."
The bullet flew straight through his forehead, bursting out from the other side in a neat hole and a slight mist of blood. His mouth formed a little 'O' of surprise as he pitched backwards and fell to the floor.
I stood up. Stretched. Checked ammo and then headed out. Might as well start sooner then later.
