Three is Company

The ship careened through the storm, its sails shredding in the wind. Water lashed into my eyes. I squinted and clung to the guideline as I made my way across the deck and to the foremast. The wind was screaming, but shouts and commands cut through. Canon fire roared over the noise of it all, adding to the chaos. I reached the mast.

It shook and wavered as the storm tossed the ragged sails in every direction. My hands, normally hard and blackened by the tarred ropes, had been wet so long that they were getting soft. The rope cut into them as I pulled myself skyward. The rain was thrown so hard sideways by the wind that facing the sky was a respite. I made it to the yard, clenching every muscle to stay balanced as I walked out to the end.

The ropes at the end of the yard were caught in the enemy ship’s rigging. I pulled out my knife and began sawing into the tangled mess. The ships lurched as the wind pulled them apart and the sea heaved them against each other. It was all I could do to keep myself aloft as I worked.

New canon fire cracked through the storm from well ahead of me. The balls crashed into both ships as a new vessel emerged over the top of an enormous wave. It rolled over the crest of the wave, then scudded down the front, gathering speed in a horribly ponderous, unstoppable charge.

They were flying when they hit us. First, the ship below jerked away, then I could see the mast bend length by length as the force of the impact spread upwards. The rippling movement reached me, and I dropped my knife as I hugged the yard. I was still on! But only for a moment. The mast corrected itself, snapping back into position. I tried to hold, but tore my hands apart.

I spun into the air, whipped by rain, hands grasping feverishly. I met the next mast with a dull thud. The world drifted quickly away from me as I saw my body fall towards the deck below. At the last moment, it bounded off of a low-hanging sail and slipped into the sea.